Transplant Delivered Long-Awaited Reveal For Bash And Mags, And The Showrunner's Explanation Has Me So Excited For Season 3
Showrunner Joseph Kay dropped some details about Bash and Mags' big twist.
Spoilers ahead for the Season 3 premiere of Transplant on NBC, called "Fracture."
Transplant has finally returned to NBC for the third season in the 2023 TV schedule, more than a full year after Season 2 ended with Bash and Bishop coming full circle. The second season finale also ended on a cliffhanger with Bash visiting Mags at her apartment, and the two exchanged some significant looks... only for the credits to roll without showing what happened next. "Fracture" didn't exactly show what happened, but the final scene between the two confirmed that they're definitely not just friends anymore. Bash and Mags are officially a couple, and when I spoke with showrunner Joseph Kay about the premiere, he dropped some details that leave me hyped for the rest of Season 3.
"Fracture" was a rough episode for both Bash and Mags for most of the hour, with Bash running into obstacle after obstacle while trying to start practicing as a trauma surgeon again and Mags still settling into her work in the cardiac trial. He also had to spend most of the episode on edge about whether he and Amira could take the next step toward Canadian citizenship, all while Transplant avoided showing what exactly Bash and Mags were to each other. Luckily, the end of the hour showed them meeting up for a date, establishing that they'd been spending a lot of time in her apartment, and sharing a kiss.
Transplant creator and showrunner Joseph Kay spoke with CinemaBlend about Season 3, and he explained why now was the right time to finally make the jump into romance for Bash and Mags after two seasons of remaining friends:
Joseph Kay credited Hamza Haq and Laurence Leboeuf for bringing chemistry as Bash and Mags from the beginning, and I'm sure I'm not the only fan who will credit the Transplant team for not stringing the "will-they-won't-they" dynamic out indefinitely. There's no going back for the two characters now, which wasn't the case when they were still skirting romance last season.
Of course, the Season 3 premiere proved that becoming a couple doesn't mean that they'll agree on everything professionally, and the showrunner confirmed that element of their relationship isn't going anywhere. Kay continued:
A lot seemingly changed for Bash and Mags over the course of the brief time jump between the end of Season 2 and beginning of Season 3, but the friction to go along with their connection is still there. Given the huge smiles on their faces at the end of the premiere, it seems to be working for them so far! Joseph Kay concluded:
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Of course, this wouldn't be Transplant if Bash was in for nothing but smooth sailing for the rest of the season, and I for one wouldn't want it any other way after Joseph Kay's previews about the rest of the season. The flashbacks to Bash's traumatic time before arriving in Canada will continue, following some Season 2 flashbacks that Hamza Haq shared were "too gruesome" to air without reshoots.
Theo clearly hasn't recovered from his ordeal with the helicopter crash as much as he'd like his coworkers to believe, and newcomer Dr. Devi has some struggles ahead as Dr. Bishop's replacement in the emergency department. And as for Bash and Mags... well, the promo for Episode 2 of Season 3 indicates that trouble will be on the horizon for the duo. The course of true love never did run smooth when it comes to TV romance, and viewers are clearly in for some ups and downs.
New episodes of Transplant will continue airing on Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on NBC, following reruns of Law & Order: SVU at 8 p.m. ET. If you want to revisit the first two seasons of the medical drama beyond this handy Transplant recap video, you can find them streaming with a Peacock Premium subscription.
Laura turned a lifelong love of television into a valid reason to write and think about TV on a daily basis. She's not a doctor, lawyer, or detective, but watches a lot of them in primetime. CinemaBlend's resident expert and interviewer for One Chicago, the galaxy far, far away, and a variety of other primetime television. Will not time travel and can cite multiple TV shows to explain why. She does, however, want to believe that she can sneak references to The X-Files into daily conversation (and author bios).