Drama
The Tattooist of Auschwitz
The Tattooist of Auschwitz is a little like its titular character. It’s painful. It gets under your skin. And it just might leave a mark.
Sam Griffith is everything you’d want in a cardiac surgeon. She’s smart, creative, capable and has a big heart.
Unfortunately, she didn’t have to just prove herself to her peers to become head of surgery. She had to prove herself to her dad, the former head of the hospital’s cardiac department. Because as talented as Sam is, her dad, Rob ‘Griff’ Griffith, is even more brilliant. And even though he’s kind of a jerk, he’s also the best.
Or rather, he was the best.
I guess Griff should’ve practiced his bedside manner a little more, because a former patient shot him, putting him in a six-month coma.
And while Griff was out of it, Sam was promoted to his old position, creating some tension between the father-daughter duo when Griff wakes up.
Sam changes things when she becomes chief. She trusts her team, utilizing their individual talents and celebrating their accomplishments (not to mention rewarding them with better work hours). She implements technology across the hospital to help with communication and patient care.
When Griff returns, he’s not amused. He thinks she’s naïve and setting herself up to fail.
But Griff doesn’t really get a say in the matter because if he wants to return to surgery, the law requires him to be proctored. Which means he’ll have to listen to (and obey) Sam.
Griff’s bedside manner is what landed him in hot water with his patients, but it also ruined his relationships with his ex-wife and daughter.
He cheated on his wife, which led to their divorce (though they still work together at the hospital). And after causing a car accident (he was speeding) that led to Sam needing heart surgery herself, Griff stopped treating her like a daughter and started treating her like an employee.
The show certainly seems to be headed toward Griff’s redemption as he tries to listen to his daughter instead of bossing her around, but Good Sam isn’t entirely redeeming.
There’s some mild language. We hear about romantic affairs (and some crass talk about sex). And, as I already mentioned, we witness some violence, too.
You’ll also want to avoid the show if you have a weak stomach since we see lots of blood and guts as doctors perform surgeries.
A man tells his ex-wife to feel his glutes (a.k.a. his rear end). A doctor fixes a man’s hospital gown to preserve his modesty. A woman shows someone a heart surgery scar on her chest. (Viewers see the scar, but nothing else.) A plastic surgeon talks about breast implants. We hear two men cheated on their wives. A doctor suspects a patient has an STD.
A man is shot and falls into a coma (but wakes again six months later). We hear a woman decked her husband and knocked out his tooth. We witness several bloody surgeries.
Someone jokes about an open bar. People drink wine. A woman says her father gambled away her college tuition. We hear about a bug that bites and then defecates on humans. Griff undermines Sam on several occasions. Doctors cavalierly discuss patients dying. People lie. Insults are thrown around. There are uses of “a–” and “d–mit,” as well as misuses of God’s name.
Emily studied film and writing when she was in college. And when she isn’t being way too competitive while playing board games, she enjoys food, sleep, and geeking out with her husband indulging in their “nerdoms,” which is the collective fan cultures of everything they love, such as Star Wars, Star Trek, Stargate and Lord of the Rings.
The Tattooist of Auschwitz is a little like its titular character. It’s painful. It gets under your skin. And it just might leave a mark.
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