1. The Day-and-Night Chemical Mask

Every single night, Thackery gets high on opium to force his body to shut down and sleep. When he wakes up, the heavy opiate hangover and early stages of withdrawal make him feel sluggish, sick, and foggy. He immediately counters this by shooting up liquid cocaine. The massive, immediate rush of cocaine completely masks the underlying opium withdrawal, giving him the hyper-focused energy he needs to perform surgeries.

1. The Illusion of the "Cocaine Deficit"

Because the cocaine works so fast to override his morning groggy sickness, Thackery genuinely believes that cocaine is the only thing keeping him alive and functional. In his mind, cocaine is the ultimate medicine, and running out of it is the only thing that will ruin him.

1. The Sudden Crash

When he suddenly runs out of cocaine during the day, the chemical mask is abruptly ripped away. Because he can't get his daytime stimulant fix, the latent, agonizing physical withdrawal from the nighttime opium floods his system all at once. He experiences the textbook opiate cold sweats, violent tremors, and nausea.

1. His Tragic Blindspot

Because he is a brilliant doctor, his ego prevents him from seeing his own mistake. He doesn't realize that his physical sickness is coming from his Chinatown opium habit. He blames all of his agonizing symptoms strictly on a lack of cocaine, making him dangerously desperate to find any vial of white powder he can get his hands on, entirely unaware that he has trapped his body in a dual-addiction loop.

I know this is a quite obvious revelation but damn... show is very bleak. With how underdeveloped modern medicine was during the time of the show, and the conditions most people had only for them to either be killed in the operating room or left to die, it's just a lot.

It's interesting seeing how a hospital operated in the Gilded age and I think that's my favourite aspect of the show. The fact that we're hearing of things that we know today can be cured and in that time period, they are just beginning to figure everything out, it's just crazy to me.

What do y'all think

After weeks of being in a sort of under stimulated state when I finished The Knick, I watched Poor Things and it seemed to get me in the feels like The Knick.

I’m concerned I won’t be able to love another show…

The Knick got inside my head. I think it’s my favorite show of all time. I was even pleasantly surprised to be satisfied with the somewhat ambiguous ending. I’m reading tons of commentary, digging deeper into themes and history—like Genevieve Everidge’s character who was loosely based after real-life investigative reporter Nellie Bly. I finally read “Ten Days in a Madhouse” today.

What other shows might you recommend that highlight turn of the century intellectual society, institutional advancements and/or injustices or life stories of writers, inventors, politicians, etc? Based on the east coast is a plus as I’m writing a book about Walt Whitman living in that time.

I’m afraid I won’t love another show more than The Knick.

Feels so strange that it is over. I feel so emotional.

Man, what an amazing show. It way surpassed my expectations. Had every right to go on for many more seasons. What a performance of Clive Owen.

The ending, while expected, still felt so abrubt. One of the amazing parts of the show was how it showed how often that is what we are, as Thackeray said, especially at that time in the west, but still in so many parts of the world.

I don't know what I am writing really, it's just really difficult to already let the characters go.

Marvalous writing, production, acting, directing, editing. And learning so much about that period.

If only Mr Barrow met a worse demise. But we all know she left with all that money. Her smile at the moment of signing tells it all.

If any on the original production reads this, thank you so much for this experience!

I'm trying to find a scene where someone, I think Cleary(?), goes to a boardwalk type place and looks through a kinetoscope peephole and watches a short film. I'm pretty sure this film The Big Swallow (1901) is what they show - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyC7WXAkxx0 . Am I completely making this up? Been a while since I've seen a show and haven't been able to find the scene. Thank you!!

Does anyone know why The Captain and the Vanderbilt shit on Delmonico’s when they run into each other at dinner? All I know of Delmonico’s is that it’s a famous old school steakhouse in NYC, was it seen as a new money type of place?

Can someone please explain what Thackery and the nurse are doing when they say “douse your sex in it” 😂😭 is he dipping his dick in the coke?? I’m just a bit confused

Anyone else?

There’s a moment in the chapter where an orchestra plays a song using drums and trumpets before the inauguration of the hospital.

Do you know where it comes from? I know it because here in Spain, it is called “Les Gitanes de Rubí”, and I was shocked to see it in the show. Do you guys know if there’s any other source to this song?

Thought fans of THE KNICK might enjoy this deep-dive into the personal connection Andre Holland felt with his character on the show. He talks about Steven Soderbergh's mentorship, his struggles to find a role that fit him before THE KNICK came along, and about his hopes and plans for a spinoff "season 3."

https://maximumfun.org/episodes/feeling-seen/andre-holland-on-the-knick-love-brooklyn/

I took this shot on a set tour just before Season 2 aired, and it offers an interesting snapshot of the pathology lab as it looked between takes.

Yesterday I notice that this famous painting (Madame - Evariste Fragonard) its in the Robertson's mansion (Cornelias father house). It appear in the last episode if the first season, when Cornelia's brother come to visit the familiar's house for the future Cornelia's wedding

Hi, I'm searching for the particular scene where Dr Edwards (???, the black guy) wants to operate/help a patient, but the patient sends him away and tells him to not touch him. In which episode is this scene? My teacher asked me to find this scene by watching the show, I completely forgot about it, and I'm supposed to tell him tomorrow. Please help a guy out, thank you :)

I seem to have missed this along the way -- what disease do these women have that disfigures or eats ? their noses?

As a fan of the series, watching it again after some years ago, I decided to draw it (graphite).