In exchange for Levin, who moved to USA, an American intern Phil Richards has moved to Russia. He is already here, and Bykov must test him (and prove that he is just as useless as the other interns). He decides to use Lobanov (under a fake surname, "Titkin") as a fake patient: if Phil fails to provide "correct" diagnosis, he must leave immediately; and Semyon must give him no useful data for analysing. Unfortunately, after talking with Lobanov, Phil come to conclusion that he might simply be an idiot. To make things more difficult, Bykov sends in Kupitman, as Titkin's father, to confuse Phil further. But Phil instantly recognises Kupitman as alcoholic, ruining Bykov's plan and forcing him to accept Phil.
Gleb must work with Lyuba, but decides to instead slack off. Lyuba tries to blackmail him by using his and Varya's love for role-play against him, but when she goes too far, Gleb asks Varya for blackmail-worthy information on Lyuba herself, which she reluctantly provides. To decide who would work in the end, they compares their lists of role-play scenarios (whose list is longer)... only to realise that they are tied. They decides to just force Varya to work for them, as the one who can't keep secrets.
This episode provides examples of:
- Atrocious Alias: Lobanov must pretend to be a patient and force Phil into failing Phil by incomprehensible combination of random "symptoms" he has. What surname Lobanov chose for his disguise? "Titkin". Bykov, when hears it, says that he isn't even surprised.
- Be as Unhelpful as Possible: Bykov hires Lobanov and later Kupitman to confuse Phil during his "test", by bombarding him with torrent of completely random and completely useless information, which is supposed to be impossible to properly analyse for data:
- Lobanov's job as "a patient" involves him acting in a way not resembling any conventional disease, so Phil wouldn't be able to provide a "correct" diagnosis. This backfires, since now Phil thinks that Lobanov may simply be an idiot (which is so accurate, Bykov can't help but admit that Phil is correct).
- Bykov decides to not give up just yet, and send Kupitman as Titkin's "father", with a task of confusing Phil even further (and make it look at least somewhat disease-like, instead of "Titkin" just being a moron). Kupitman acts like half-insane drunkard, using profanities after every second word. Unfortunately for Bykov, Phil immediately recognises him as alcoholic (and the reason why Titkin is so stupid), forcing Bykov to admit defeat.
- Blackmail Backfire: Lyuba tries to blackmail Gleb into doing his work (as he tries to slack off again) by using her knowledge about his and Varya's love to role-play against him (Varya told her everything). Unfortunately for her, once she goes too far, he asks Varya about Lyuba's role-play with Levin, which leads to them checking who has longer list, which results in a tie. They just forces Varya to do all the work.
- But Not Too Foreign: Phil is half-Russian (from his mother's side). This is also the reason why he knows Russian.
- Chekhov's Gun: In the start of the episode, Bykov notices that Lobanov is late to work. Him arriving much later than other interns results in him skipping Phil's introduction, allowing Bykov to use him a fake patient for his "test".
- Cluster Bleep-Bomb: Kupitman, when playing "Titkin Sr.", constantly swears, but his profanities are bleeped-out.
- Contrasting Replacement Character: Unlike Levin, Phil acts very friendly to other people, and quickly gets along with Gleb and Varya. He even brings to other interns some presents from the USA. Another immediately apparent difference is him having sense of humour, which Levin lacked.
- Foreign Exchange Student: Phil Richards, an exchange intern from the USA (replacement for Levin, who himself had moved to USA).
- Hate at First Sight: Bykov doesn't even try to hide the fact that he doesn't like Phil (not in the last turn because he's American), and wants him gone. He tells this to his face right at their first meeting.
- Impossible Task Instantly Accomplished: Phil must provide a diagnosis for his patient Titkin (actually Lobanov in disguise), which is supposed to be impossible because he deliberately acts in a way to not resemble any conventional disease. Phil, in fact, can't provide any diagnosis... except for one: he thinks that Titkin may be an idiot. Bykov considers this to be the point in Phil's favour, but decides to not give up just yet, and sends Kupitman, as Titkin's "father", to dump the new "information" on him and confuse him further. This backfires, too, because Phil instantly recognises that "Titkin Senior" may be an alcoholic, due to the way Kupitman acts near him (which, in turn, explains why his "son" is so dumb). After this, Bykov admits defeat.
- Laser-Guided Karma: In the end, Gleb's conflict with Lyuba results in them forcing Varya to work for them. Why? Because she's the one who revealed the secrets of both sides, firstly Gleb's, for no good reason other than to gossip, and then Lyuba's, when Gleb presses her to give him a way to defend against Lyuba who used info gained from Varya against Gleb.
- Right for the Wrong Reasons: Phil's task was to provide a diagnosis for his patient, Titkin. Unfortunately, because of how "Titkin" (actually Lobanov in disguise) acts, he has only one possible diagnosis for him: he thinks that "Titkin" is just an idiot. Bykov confirms that it's close to the truth, albeit he still needs something more specific.
- The Slacker: Gleb must work with Lyuba, but decides to just waste time instead. To force him into doing his work, she tries to blackmail him, with... interesting results.
