Ever had that embarrassing moment when you’re watching a medical drama and an ailment is spoken about so casually that they might as well be talking about the common cold, only you have absolutely no idea what they’re talking about? I feel comfortable enough with you, readers, to tell you that I found myself in this exact situation while watching this week’s Royal Pains.

This week brought the return of Tucker, a character introduced in the first season. Tucker is a wealthy 17-year-old whose speaking voice makes him sound exactly like Evan. He also has hemophilia, which Hank and Divya chat about with equal brevity and urgency, so it’s tough to gauge the actual seriousness of the condition. (You may have guessed from that sentence that hemophilia is the ailment I’m not familiar with. Not to worry, this is why search engines exist - two seconds later I’m in the know and hoping Tucker isn’t the patient of the week as I’m not the biggest fan of gushing blood.)

Tucker is back in the Hamptons for a winery re-launch party and to visit with his best friend, budding wine maker Oliver, who keeps falling asleep without warning (I’m saved!).

Oliver unfortunately passes out into a large wine-making cylinder that houses toxic fumes and Tucker, eager to help his friend, foolishly jumps in after him, only to fall unconscious as well. This quickly calls for a rescue mission and leads to Hank’s climatic scream to Eddie R.: Dad, I need you.

Eddie R. had shown up earlier in the episode to have lunch with Evan, and brought along a family photo from 20 years ago with the ulterior motive that Evan will bring it home, show Hank, and remind him of the good old days.  Although Evan sees through this and complains about being the middleman – a job he does not want – he still brings the photo home and reminisces with Hank.

To Evan, the photo recalls a family treasure hunt, but to Hank, it represents Eddie R.’s swindling, devious ways. We are shown in flashbacks that Eddie R. had little Hank break into a building to steal car keys. It also illustrates that Eddie R. had a hand in developing Hank’s MacGyver abilities.  When little Hank couldn’t reach the car keys, he built himself a pulley system made out of string, shoelace, and a magnet.

You may recall that this craftiness has come in handy every week, and this one is no exception. Since Oliver and Tucker are stuck in the cylinder, Hank creates a pulley and tosses it to Tucker (who's since woken up), who slips the rope under Oliver’s arms.  Hank and Eddie R. work together to pull him up, but when Hank tries to pull up Tucker and finds he cannot, he shouts out to Eddie R. for help, calling him Dad for the first time in years.  You can see what this means to him by the look on Eddie R.’s face.

Eddie R. and Hank still have a long way to go to repair their relationship, but this has perhaps broken the ice. And to think, this breakthrough wouldn’t have happened without Oliver’s incessant passing out – but not to worry, Hank diagnoses him with Addison’s Disease, so with treatment he’ll get it under control. But maybe he should avoid large cylinders, just in case.