Ep 2. The House Guest

In Mercy Street season 2 episode 2, titled "The House Guest," the Civil War continues to rage on, and the Green family is in disarray as Emma tries to cope with the loss of her father while her mother, Mrs. Green, tries to keep the family together and the hospital running smoothly. Meanwhile, Dr. Foster struggles with treating both Confederate and Union soldiers and must confront his personal ideologies when a Confederate soldier is brought in with a serious injury.

In the midst of all this chaos, a mysterious woman named Lisette arrives at the hospital seeking refuge and medical attention for herself and her newborn baby. She claims to be a friend of Mary Phinney, the hospital's head nurse, but her true intentions remain unclear. As Lisette settles into her temporary living quarters, tensions rise when it becomes apparent that she is hiding something, and the hospital staff begins to suspect that she may be a spy for the Confederacy.

The episode also introduces two new characters: Major Clayton McBurney III, a wealthy Southern businessman who has come to Alexandria to help the South win the war, and Frank Stringfellow, a daring Confederate spy who is tasked with gathering military intelligence on the Union Army. As the war intensifies and the stakes become higher, the characters are forced to grapple with their own loyalties and morality.

Overall, "The House Guest" is a tense and thought-provoking episode that delves into themes of loyalty, betrayal, and the high human cost of war. The new characters add intrigue and complexity to the story, and the shifting allegiances and conflicting ideologies of the various characters make for a compelling and suspenseful narrative.