It’s the penultimate episode of Saving Hope with the series finale airing a week later. CTV has released a synopsis and images for “First and Last”. One thing to note in the synopsis is when did Jackson become a doctor?

Dr. Alex Reid (Erica Durance) and Dr. Charlie Harris (Michael Shanks) have to put their own wedding plans aside while visiting a chapel, after a bride falls down the stairs and they have to work to save her life. When a down-on-his-luck patient comes in with liver failure due to a lifetime of hard drinking despite trying to turn his life around, Dr. Zach Miller (Benjamin Ayres) takes a special interest in the case and tries to get him a transplant, with Dr. Jackson Wade (Joseph Pierre) offering to help . Dr. Shahir Hamza (Huse Madhavji) and Dr. Dana Kinney (Wendy Crewson) are confronted with a coma patient who wakes up with no memory of the last 20 years of his life.

“First and Last” airs Thursday July 27, 2017 at 9pm ET/PT.

Check out the images:

It is the penultimate episode of Saving Hope and sometimes after 5 seasons and some odd episodes you forget about certain people that make the show. That one person is Joseph Pierre as nurse Jackson Wade, often a comic relief character, who got a emotional episode just as the series is about to come to a close.

In some Hope Zion tidbits, Dawn has asked Jeremy to stay on as a general surgeon with the exit of Cassie and Charlie leaving. Dawn also tells Jeremy that she believes Charlie will return to work once his daughter is born. Elsewhere, Billy asks for his OR schedule to be reduced. Dawn thinks it is because Billy is traumatized after last week’s incident with Cassie’s stalker but he says that isn’t the case.

Shahir and Dana

Shahir and Dana are avoiding some conflict in their lives. Shahir thinks it is best to break up Jonathan as the adoption process is wearing on their relationship but is avoiding having that conversation. Meanwhile, even though Dana finds trauma exhilarating, she finds it exhausting at the same time and is avoiding telling Dawn that. Also, Dana isn’t so sure that she wants to host a medical show about uplifting plastic surgeries.

Huse Madhavji as Shahir Hamza, Matt Gordon as Liam Quinn and Wendy Crewson as Dana Kinney and Greg Calderone as Billy Scott.

Luckily the two are distracted by their patient Liam, who has woken up after a three week coma but to discover that he thinks it is 1997 and he is 19. Dana wants to tell him it is 2017 and that he is 40 but Shahir doesn’t want to overwhelm him with too much information. Also, Shahir thinks it is bad idea to tell him that his parents are dead and that he is married. Dana disagrees and thinks they should tell Liam the truth to get him ready to cope with things.

Unfortunately, his wife Elise arrives and spills the beans about the nature of their relationship and that his parents are dead.

Liam is understandably upset and kicks everyone out. Back at Shahir’s office, we learn that a little girl in Edmonton is looking for a family and he and Jonathan are the perfect candidate. Shahir doesn’t know if his heart is in it. Dana asks it is the notion of being a father or the adoption process that has worn him down. Dana then looks through Liam’s things and comes up with an idea.

Elise arrives with a picnic basket filled with Liam’s favourite things. Liam again tells Elise that while she is nice, he doesn’t remember their adventures together. Elise asks for a chance to get to know each other again and relieve their first date. We see the two get to know each other again over Chinese food.

This seems to inspire Shahir and Dana to go back to the beginning too and what made them pursue adoption and being a doctor respectively. We see Dana turn down the TV gig but still is going on that date with that silver fox TV producer a few episodes ago. We also see Dana go to Dawn and request that Hope Zion open up a burn unit where she will teach the young doctors.

We also learn from Shahir that Jonathan has bought two tickets to Edmonton that night to see their potential little girl. However, everything gets put on hold as a major casualty from a highway accident comes in that involves multiple ambulances.

Jackson and Zach

All is quiet in the ER, notes Dev but Jackson and Zach thinks he just cursed them. The next patient that walks in is Randy Rogen who is looking pretty jaundice and has a bad cough. Randy blames the jaundice on living in a windowless and mouldy basement suite that he is about the evicted from. Randy uses Jackson’s phone to try and reschedule a job interview but unfortunate cannot. Randy tries to leave but collapses. We learn that Randy has end stage liver disease but cannot go on a transplant list because he is soon to be homeless. Zach and Jackson spring into action to help Randy.

Just before Randy goes into surgery to fix an esophageal bleed, he gives Jackson his wallet. Inside, Jackson finds a picture of Randy’s son. When Jackson calls Randy’s son to let him know about his dad’s condition, we learn that they don’t have the best relationship. Randy confesses to Jackson that he had a hard living lifestyle and was crap to his family hence the rejection now. Jackson confesses a similar story with his father and how he died of liver disease. Randy asks Jackson to stay with him so he doesn’t die alone.

Meanwhile, Zach managed to secure a basement apartment for Randy and chipped in to pay part of his rent. There is a donor liver but not a match but Jackson has found a match: himself. Zach thinks it is a bad idea and doesn’t want Jackson to risk his life for someone he doesn’t know. Jackson insist he wants to do it and tells Zach about his dad.

On Jackson’s surgical team is Jeremy and Billy, who we see his hands shaking as he scrubs up. However, that doesn’t come into play as Jackson gets an allergic reaction to the anesthetics and his air ways start to close. Jackson’s fate is left hanging at episode’s end.

Charlie and Alex

A sweet moment of breakfast in bed with Luke leads Charlie and Alex to start wedding planning ASAP.

The two end up at a church were the Reed and Harrish wedding is about to take place. Alex and Charlie like the wedding and is about to go and book the venue when the priest arrives looking for the groom. The fear is that the bride has been left at the altar and not for the first time.

Michael Shanks as Charlie Harris and Erica Durance as Alex Reid

We then hear the bride, Nadine, calling out for her groom, Foster when we see her take a nasty tumble that involves her tibia breaking through her skin.

Charlie and Alex rush her to Hope Zion and on the way, Nadine describes how she met Foster and their wedding day is the day that they met.

When Nadine arrives at Hope Zion, she doesn’t want anyone to cut her dress. Things start to turn bad for Nadine and she is wheeled into surgery to fix a clot and the ortho doctor will fix her leg.

Foster the groom arrives and tells Alex that he didn’t leave her at the alter but left so he can perfect his vows but didn’t tell anyone and know feels like a schmuck. Alex promises that she will fix Nadine and that Foster will be the first person that she sees when she wakes up.

Before heading into surgery, Alex wonders if they cursed Nadine and Foster. Charlie thinks that is a ridiculous notion. Alex then believes is she can fix Nadine then the curse is broken.

We see Nadine’s spirit sit next to Foster but we don’t see Charlie interact with her. Charlie meets up with Dawn who congratulates him on his engagement to Alex. Dawn also tells Charlie that she be the first one he calls if he wants to return to work.

The surgery goes well and Charlie and Alex become Nadine’s wedding planners to ensure that she and Foster get married the day they met.

As the two watch the ceremony, Alex and Charlie decide to get married right after them.

But I have a feeling this major trauma coming into Hope Zion is going to put that on hold.

Michael Shanks as Charlie Harris and Erica Durance as Alex Reid

Also, the previews seem to heavily imply that Charlie is going to die and that what we see his is spirit giving Alex a tearful speech. I hope that isn’t true but seem inevitable for these two. It would be interesting if the show ends with Alex getting the gift to see spirits.

Programming Note: I won’t be able to recap the series finale next week but I will still have a recap but just a day late.

It is the series finale of Saving Hope and its episode is aptly titled “Hope Never Dies”. CTV has released a synopsis and a scant 8 photos from the last episode. Spoiler alert: One of the photos features Jackson that either means he survived his surgery, is a spirit following Zach around or this was a photo from another episode that CTV accidentally put in here.

Here is the synopsis:

In the shocking series finale of SAVING HOPE, following a mass casualty accident involving a bus full of teenagers, Dr. Alex Reid (Erica Durance) and Dr. Charlie Harris (Michael Shanks) rush to the scene to try and save the kids while waiting for backup to arrive. The Hope Zion Hospital family must band together to overcome the tragedy, and move on to the next chapter of their lives.

So what make this a shocking series finale. Is Charlie going to die as many seems to have speculated or heard that he does? Something tells me that this rumour is true and it does seem like a natural conclusion to Charlie arc no matter how much is sucks.

“Hope Never Dies” airs Thursday August 3, 2017 at 9 pm ET/PT.

Check out the images.

If you wanted the series to end with Charlie and Alex getting married then you got your wish. If you wished for them to live happily ever after, then depending on your point of view, they did.

As for as series finales go, this definitely was a tear-jerker that I didn’t think I was going to cry but there were two moments that the tears were flowing. I am sure it is the same for most of you.

Erica Durance as Alex Reid and Michael Shanks as Charlie Harris

But before we get to the tears, lets start off with some happiness. We open the episode with Charlie and Alex making impromptu wedding rings out of some surgical tubing. We then see Charlie with Luke in the hospital chapel on the cusp of matrimony. At this point we don’t see the ceremony but we know they are married as Charlie, Alex and Luke are on their way up north to start their honeymoon.

However, they are waylaid by Zach who calls them asking them to help out at a scene of an accident until ambulances can come. The two don’t hesitate when they hear it is van filled with kids in a choir.

When Alex and Charlie arrive at the scene, Charlie gets out to tend to the victims while Alex stays in the car to stay with Luke.

Charlie first helps the teacher, Ryan Hines out of the van then tends to Joe, who has a broken leg. Alex has to spring into action when a young woman, Monica, collapses with something impaled in her abdomen. While Alex is tending to Monica, Ryan makes his way over and he collapses. Alex switches to Ryan when she notices gasoline leaking out of the van and flames nearby. Alex yells for Charlie to leave the area ASAP. As smokes starts to envelope the van, Alex is relieved to see Charlie make it out with Joe to safety.

The ambulance and fire crews arrive. Charlie and Alex return to their car and tell Luke they are on their way to Bali. Unfortunately, as Charlie pulls out, he gets hit by a car.

Benjamin Ayers as Zach Miller

Meanwhile at Hope Zion, people are starting to pour into the ER and Zach kicking non-emergency patients out. When the choir van starts to roll in, Dana tries to get Billy to help out with Monica but he freezes so she turns to another doctor. Zach checks out Ryan but he collapses and Dawn is called in immediately as it is cardiac related.

Also, if you recall, Jackson was in the OR to give part of his liver to Randy but Jeremy had to stop the surgery as Jackson was having an allergic reaction to the anesthetic. Turns out Jackson is fine and in fact springs into action helping Zach out in the ER.

Also coming into Hope Zion is Alex, we see Charlie jump out of the ambulance to tell Dana what is wrong with her but the EMT tells Dana the same thing. Dana then asks where are the others and the EMT says they are coming. We then realize that all three: Charlie, Alex and Luke were seriously injured in the car accident. We see Charlie turn into his tux wearing spirit as we see his body being wheeled in along with Luke. Shahir and Dev handle Charlie brain injury while Jeremy handles Luke.

Alex is fine but learns that Charlie and Luke are in the OR. Against Dawn’s better judgement, she lets Alex go to Luke and Dana lets her observe the surgery. Jeremy works on repairing Luke’s spleen and liver and it is a success. Luke is going to be okay.

During Charlie’s surgery, it is bad news. There is too much bleeding and swelling in Charlie’s brain for Shahir to stop and is about to give up but Charlie’s spirit encourages him to go on and save him.

Huse Madhavji as Shahir Hamza

Unfortunately, Shahir has to give Alex the bad news that Charlie is in a coma. Alex sits by Charlie’s bedside as Shahir administers a series of tests for brain activity. During one of these tests, Charlie is all of a sudden in a hospital gown and in a knee brace being seeing by an orthopedic surgeon. The young woman tells Charlie how she is nervous about giving the best man speech at her brother’s wedding and asks if he has a son. Charlie mentions he has a two-year old son so this woman asks what would he say at his son’s wedding as she doesn’t have a father. It is at that point and the fact the actress cast to play this doctor looks remarkably like Erica Durance that I realize this is their daughter. Anyways, Charlie does give the speech and it is lovely about hope and trusting in the love between two people. When Charlie asks for the doctors name, she says her name is Charlotte Harris and was named after her father.

We are back to the present and the tests aren’t looking good. When Alex notes that Charlie’s hand starts to move, Shahir gets a glimmer of hope that is quickly dashed. Shahir tells Alex that Charlie is brain dead.

Back in the ER, Zach rummaged around Ryan’s things and found drugs. Earlier, Dawn and Zach were at a lost at how a 38-year old could have a heart attack with drugs being a possibility. Dawn isn’t happy that Zach was going through a patient’s belongings without their permission and believes he was looking for someone to blame for the accident that killed Charlie. Zach agrees that he was looking for someone to blame but that he blames himself because if he hadn’t called Charlie and Alex they would be fine. We do learn the truth, thanks to Billy, in that the drugs belonged to Joe and that Ryan found them and took it away to protect him. Joe blames himself but Zach tells him no one is to blame.

We then see Charlie going through the hallways of Hope Zion and chasing after Charlotte. We then see Charlotte meeting a very grown up Luke. The two of them have arrived at Hope Zion to say goodbye to their mom, Alex, who has grown into an elderly lady. The two Harris’ siblings admire their mother’s spirit thinking that she was immortal. Fun Fact: Paul Popowich played the older Luke and he was in a TV movie with Erica Durance back in 2007 called I Me Wed and he played her love interest.

At the ICU, Alex is crying over Charlie when we see spirit Charlie touch her pregnant belly and Alex touches his hand, Charlie realizes that Alex can see him and queue waterworks #1. Charlie tells Alex that he has seen the future and everything is going to be fine with her and their children. I am not doing this part justice but trust me I was crying me eyes out. After one last kiss, Charlie’s spirit disappears.

Later at the chapel, Dana goes to comfort Alex. Alex tells Dana that she and Charlie were not cursed but blessed as they had 5 years together and two wonderful children.

Everyone at Hope Zion is grieving this loss and Alex asks Dawn for one final favour for Charlie. Alex gathers the surgeons at Hope Zion to organize which of Charlie’s organs goes to who. Part of Charlie’s liver goes to Randy, the other part goes to Monica. Charlie’s kidneys goes to a Doctor Paul. Alex has a difficult time when talking about Charlie’s heart but manages to say it goes to Ryan.

As we see Charlie’s body getting wheeled into surgery, we see the staff of Hope Zion say farewell.

Sometime later, the Hope Zion family have gathered at Alex’s and Charlie’s for his funeral. After Jeremy makes Alex a smoothie, he finds her hiding in the bathroom. Jeremy tells Alex is it okay to grieve and tells her that everyone is here for her.

Michael Shanks as Charlie Harris

When Alex emerges, we intercut with her and Charlie’s wedding ceremony. We see Alex give beautiful wedding vows.

And we each see our Hope Zion family (which includes Jonathan and Shahir with their little baby girl) say goodbye to Alex until we just get her and Luke.

Luke is painting on the floor when he spills a paint bottle. Alex tells her son that it is okay and joins him on the floor and paints with him. Alex then proceeds to draw a heart on the floor.

We then are on the beach, with the waves coming in. Charlie is drawing hearts (and we see later it is many hearts) in the sand when he sees Alex all beautiful in white approach him. Charlie thinks it is too soon for Alex to be there with him and wonders about the kids. Alex assures Charlie that the kids are alright and that 50 years have passed and she is ready to be with him. Charlie feels like he just left Alex and the two kiss, finally together forever and I start crying again.

So what do you think about how Saving Hope ended? I think it could not have ended any other way. It was a nice way to end with just the two of them and their love. The heart of this show has always been the Charlie and Alex love story and it is fitting that the show ends with those two finally happy.