And we are back folks. It is the season 3 premiere of Saving Hope and we immediately pick up were season 2 left off and that is Alex’s (Erica Durance) life hanging in the balance. And with that Alex’s spirit is seen by Charlie (Michael Shanks) and the two look on as Dawn (Michelle Nolden) and Maggie (Julia Taylor Ross) and the rest of Hope-Zion’s staff work on saving her life. Spirit Alex observes that she has no heartbeat and believes she is going to die while Charlie is saying the opposite.

Meanwhile. Joel (Daniel Gillies) is alerted to Alex being stabbed and realizes his patient is responsible and rushes off.

Dawn cracks her open and discover that her lung is collapsed and works hard and saving Alex imploring Charlie to stop talking. But Charlie needs Alex to stay but she feels that she needs to be elsewhere.

When Alex’s spirit disappears, we see Alex wake up and is in a bedroom with pretty ugly wallpaper. Next to her is an unknown man that could be Charlie. Alex goes about doing domestic duties like bringing back in the garbage cans where a neighbour calls her Ms. Reid. Then Alex’s daughter, in a hockey uniform, comes bounding up to her with Alex proclaiming she has a special day planned.

As this dream continues, we see Alex prepare breakfast for her daughter and young son. Alex also preps a shopping list for a birthday party that day. When Alex decides to play some music during breakfast, it suddenly dawns on me by the look of the kitchen and the dial radio and the 80s station wagon that Alex is having a memory of her mother. And that Alex’s daughter is actually Alex and the boy is her brother, Luke. On their way to buy party supplies they get a flat tire so they abandon their car and walk to dollar store. They see Ian (Joel’s patient) there and we see that Alex’s mom is not very trusting of others. Alex wanders off and worries her mom. When they get home, Mom reams her out and then realizes she forgot the pinata. The mother keeps on repeating that she has forgotten something that echoes what is happening in the OR. Later, Alex’s mom leaves Alex and Luke to watch TV but warns both not to go to the basement to disturb their father who is “working”. When Alex’ mom returns home, there is Luke but no Alex. We see Alex venture to basement and there is her dad who has hung himself on the rafters. All of a sudden the young Alex turns into Alex and also there is the adult Luke. The two siblings talk about the after life and wanting to stay in their basement forever. Alex then confesses that after finding their dad, she just went back upstairs to watch TV as she didn’t want her party to get cancelled and for that she feels guilty. Luke reassures her that she did nothing wrong. Alex then hears Charlie but she doesn’t want to leave Luke but he tells her that it is okay and that she needs to go back. The two share a tearful goodbye.

Back at Hope-Zion, Reycraft has joined the team and he, Maggie and Dawn manage to save Alex. And when Charlie finds out that Joel’s patient is responsible for Alex and the two engage in a brawl that is broken up by Gavin and Jackson. Charlie warns Joel to stay away from Alex to which he tells him that it is not going to happen.

Meanwhile, Joel’s patient, Ian has thrown himself off of Hope-Zion but survives but is in bad shape. Zach and Joel work to save him but Joel realizes that it is best to let him die as Ian won’t survive. Joel offers Ian some comfort by first saying that Alex is going to being and next by being with him as he dies so he can see his son again. Before Ian passes, he gives Joel a necklace to him as he has no one anymore in his left to leave anything.

A distraught Charlie is being consoled by Gavin and Shahir when he sees Alex’s spirit. This prompts Charlie to go to Dawn, Maggie and Reycraft to double check Alex before they close up. Charlie believes they have missed something but all three don’t think so. Dawn then realizes it that Charlie’s ability to talk to spirits might be the reason why he thinks this way and decides to think of all possible reasons of something they forgot. When Alex starts to crash, Dawn realizes that she has made a mistake and that Alex is having a heart attack and they need to do a by-pass. During the surgery, Charlie’s presence is making everyone nervous but he eventually leaves and tells Dawn that he has every confidence that she will save Alex. Dawn is successful in saving Alex but alas Alex is now in a coma.

We see Joel outside of Alex’s room, Mal sees Joel holding onto Ian’s necklace of Saint Jude, the patron saint of lost causes and encourages Joel to talk to Alex but he doesn’t and puts the necklace around his next.

In the morning, Dawn gathers the Hope-Zion staff together to let them know about Alex and that the patient that did that to her is dead but Gavin is available for counselling. Dawn jokes that her counselling will be a glass of red wine and talking to her guinea pig (the one she got from a patient last season).

We see Zach go out and console Joel and tells him not to blame himself to what happened to Alex. Joel shares a story of how he first met Alex and was immediately smitten and devised ways to give her a lift home.

Elsewhere, no one has gone to Gavin for counselling but Maggie comes and talks about the passion she saw in Charlie in wanting to save Alex and fighting Joel over Alex. Maggie wants to feel that in her relationship with Gavin and despite the words of love from him, doesn’t actually feel it.

In our montage, we see Reycraft console Dawn and Maggie consoling Gavin after their breakup. Later we see Maggie ask Joel out for drinks but he declines. As the two leave the elevator, we see the spirit of Ian following Joel. We then see Spirit Alex walk towards Charlie.

Later in Alex’s room, Charlie and Spirit Alex talk. Spirit Alex realizes that the reason why Charlie hasn’t been the same since he woke up from his coma is that because he can speak to spirits. Charlie thinks it is ironic that Alex is now in a coma and he is the one awake and by her bedside. Alex confesses that she saw her father die and that she has always been close to death. Charlie doesn’t believe that but believes that they have the worst luck. Alex really wants to touch Charlie but knows she can’t because she is a ghost. What Charlie does is sweet and romantic as he gently caresses Alex face and arm and hands asking if Spirit Alex feels what he is doing. Alex thinks she does but when Charlie tells her that he loves her, Alex says that she feels that. I do wonder when Alex wakes up, how much will she remember or not of being able to talk to Charlie. My guess is she won’t remember anything, which will probably crush Charlie.

And so ends season 3. I was a bit dubious about now having Alex in a coma and a spirit but the season 3 premiere was actually quite good. I don’t think Alex is going to be in a coma for the whole season. But it seems the love triangle between Joel, Alex and Charlie will definitely be a presence.