Carol's reaction in "All in the Family"greenspun.com : LUSENET : ER Discussions : One Thread |
Everyone seems upset at Carol's reaction to the whole thing. I think it was perfect for 2 reasons...1. Like everyone said, it was refreshing to see emotions from Benton and others who do not normally show emotions. What a perfect bit of Irony, Carol - the most emotional on the show had none!
2. For those who have watched for a long time, Life goes on. (no pun intended). People were coming in who needed help, and Carol, the one with the most experience in the ER, along with Greene, moved on to new patients. What else could they do?
JMO
-- nm (neilvar@hotmail.com), February 18, 2000
Exactly! I agree. People are a little harsh about Carol. If it was me, because I wasn't there at the time, news of what had happened would seem unreal. It hadn't really sunk in yet. I think that's the case with Carol.
-- Mary (gmv@attcanada.net), February 18, 2000.
I just heard? i just heard?????????? bullshit! she should have been runnin in trying to check on carter...going to see lucy's body something!
-- dawn (qstnevrythng@hotmail.com), February 18, 2000.
I thought her reaction was appropriate considering she wasn't even on duty while any of this was going on. She went home to be with her girls right when Weaver came on duty, and then her next shift was just starting when she saw Dr. Green in the hall and said "I just heard". She did ask Green if he wanted to talk about it and he said "Later", so she went on with her work. Very good episode!!
-- theshotdr (theshotdr@webtv.net), February 18, 2000.
Its just that Carol's reaction did not seem very realistic, these were not patients that she did not know, but co workers that she was good friends with. She did not seem suprised, shocked or sad. It was almost as if she was added to the last part of the show as an afterthought. Her reaction was puzzling, but that again is a writers thing.Rest inPeace Lucy. :~(
-- Sandy VH (superjet90@aol.com), February 18, 2000.
If you saw someone almost everyday of your life for *six years*, and their grandparents give you thousands of dollars a week to do something you wanted to do, and this person was really seriously hurt, possibly dieing, wouldn't you care how they were? Wouldn't you want to see them? I would!!! Carol was so insensitive last night!! She didn't even seem to care how Carter and Lucy were! I'm not saying that she should have broke down in front of everyone or everything, but a little more than "We're short a med-student and a doctor" would have been nice, not to mention a lot more realist and more like the Carol we've seen almost every week for six years!!*~Amelia~*
-- Amelia (sorry@msn.com), February 18, 2000.
I agree that Carol's reaction was awfully cold -- "we're down a doc and a med student." She must have had some reaction to the trauma of the entire situation at the time she heard it, especially now that she's a parent and she realizes the preciousness of life. That said, I believe her reaction was a device by the writers to snap the hospital and viewers, by extension, back to the reality of routine. Medicine is by nature a technical, not an emotional world, and the episode was so fraught with emotion that the writers did their job by reminding us of this. However, it might have been better for another character to have made the comment, to spare all this indignation that I think is about to fall on Carol. On another note, I like the direction in which the writers are taking Rocket Romano, last week with his dog, this week with his anger and frustration over losing Lucy on the table. And I loved Lizzie's comment about "that poor girl" and her gesture in pulling up the sheet. This episode ranks with the best of ER, up there with "Love's Labor's Lost."
-- mjf (usadetroit@aol.com), February 18, 2000.
I've been reading the posts here on the board for a while now, and I suppose I should be used to it by now, but I am still jarred a bit by the Hathaway supporters. Given, I have never been a fan of Carol; I found her whiny and self-absorbed during the early seasons, judgmental and self-righteous in later years. The writers have never attained the consistency with her character that has marked the characters of Greene, Benton, Weaver, even Romano. She is forever changing her moral and ethical stance on life based on the fleeting experiences she is currently "going through." I grew sick to death of her nonsense with Ross; spending years damning and condemning him for being a womanizer who is completely unredeemable, then getting involved (fleetingly) with another man on the night he was ready to be unequivocally hers. Cheating Ross out of the chance to see the birth of his children was the final, unrelentingly selfish act of an unrelentingly selfish woman. The on-going flirting with Dr. Kovash (?) is icing on the cake. So, no, I can't say I was surprised at her off-hand remarks concerning the tragedy. Nor can I say I was surprised to find that no one called her at home so she could help. Maybe everyone in the ER is as sick of her as I am.
-- Don (dgow@excite.com), February 18, 2000.
Mark and Elizabeth were called...why wasn't Carol? I guess those two were mainly called because Mark is head and Elizabeth is a surgeon, but they were partly called because they were friends with them too. I honestly expected Carol to be called and rushing in to help, I can't believe she wasn't. She's good friends with Carter at least. I have many more comments but I have been posting all over this, I can't believe how upset I am over this! At least everyone here is too!
-- Elaine (mrsclooney78@hotmail.com), February 18, 2000.
My take on the whole Carol issue is that Carter and Lucy were both known and loved by the whole ER department but you can't have every single employee going up to see Lucy's body and Carter. Carter just went through MAJOR surgery! Come on people and who would really want to go see Lucy after her body went through all that trauma? The numbness that one must go through knowing that your fellow employee died on the job, and now who knows what your day is going to bring? Besides Carol has a job to do and she needs to keep her mind on the job, just like Mark had to 'regroup' and then jump to the next trauma. That's what makes ER ... ER.
-- Heather (charliegirll@hotmail.com), February 18, 2000.
Her reaction was totally wrong! The writers made a big mistake in not having her seem more concerned. I don't care how busy they are, she could have shown a little more emotion. But maybe that's how they want her to appear so that when she leaves the show at the end of the season, no one really misses her.
-- Denise (dera@uswest.net), February 18, 2000.
I think everyone is forgetting that Carol was getting prepared for a multiple trauma that was coming in. She did ask if Mark wanted to talk. And, as for seeing about Carter, I'm sure she knew he was ok. Her part was cut pretty short. We may have to assume that she would go see Carter or talk about after it quiets down from the trauma. Remember it's an ER BLS
-- BLS (stoner@upstel.net), February 18, 2000.
I loved last nights episode, and cried as well. I understand how we as viewers can feel like we are "owed" stuff from ER - however, for all we know, Carol did have a little cry in the lounge (as we have seen her do before), and now is calm enough to see how her friend Mark is doing. Also - as a professional, she won't (and has never) compromised patient care. As for Carter's reaction to Lucy - If you have ever been on Morphine or any pain reliever, you know how hard it is to react to anything! I think he did a VERY good job of trying to show past that.And I am a very old fan - I have never missed an epi.
-- AP (alison.price@whittman-hart.com), February 18, 2000.
Regarding Carol's reaction -- why are you guys surprised? She sucks! She always has. When I had heard that they were going to kill someone off, I hoped it would be her... that would just be the perfect ending for someone who has been a self-absorbed, control-freak, drama queen, martyr with a hero complex. You know, then there could have been the whole sadness about the orphaned babies, and Doug coming back to reclaim them... that would have made for great television. Also, having Carol be a victim of a patient would have been a fitting demise for someone who prioritized her role in that ER over ever thing and everyone else in her personal life... Anyway, Carol's reaction didn't actually shock or touch me, but rather, it confirmed everything I had always thought about her... that she is emotionally retarded and is only capable of forming bizarre and inappropriate bonds with patients and other characters because she is such a freak. You know, she either hates her patients or wants to take them home with her. She either condescends to new female staff or bullies them. And with male staff... she either develops sexual chemistry with them or cops an anything-you-can-do-I-can-do-better attitdue. That character is just a nightmare all around. One last thing -- umm... why WOULD they page Carol to come assist? I know the actress is a big star, but her character is a nurse... not a surgeon, not a doctor... and there seemed to be no shortage of very capable nurses on hand. You know, it's ONLY Carol who thinks she is the one person in the whole ER who knows anything... (remember, according to her, she knows more than the med students, residents, and often even the doctors... and the whole head nurse thing totally went to her head -- she's a power tripper extrordinarre) Despite Carol's delusions of grandeur, the rest of the staff realizes that she is just another rotating part in a large machine. Oh well... maybe the writers will continue to surprise us and come up with a different shocking and grisly scenario to finally rid the ER of the ever annoying Nurse Hathaway.
-- L (lolabronx@hotmail.com), February 18, 2000.
I totally agree with Don, too. After watching that whole emotional episode I just walked away with this bad taste in my mouth b/c I couldn't get Carol's reaction (or lack thereof) out of my mind! Guess the writer's got their intended response from me, can't wait to see her go!
-- Kim (cktestas@juno.com), February 18, 2000.
This was my take on Carol's reaction.First of all, let's remember that as of late she has been having very fluctuating emotions. She is definately on an emotional rollercoaster lately. The woman is so emotionally drained, repressing her feelings at this point has probably just become easier.
Also, she was JUST TOLD. Mark, too, was very orderly and calm when he first walked into the ER. By the time Carol arrived, everybody was slowly getting "back to business." Let's say it was Malik who told her. He was definately in the working frame of mind by then. She probably saw the commotion, asked what happened, and, in the midst of giving her the run-down on some patient or some work detail, probably told her that Lucy Knight had been stabbed and died. I doubt she got much more than that.
She DID have a look of shock on her face. Notice, as she looks past the police tape, her eyes are sad and her mouth hangs slightly ajar. Mark doesn't want to talk about it, he initiats the "let's get working" mentality. After staring, rather stunned, into the room for another beat, Carol slowly walks away, then rushes to catch up with Mark, whose pace is quick.
This is shocking news and, considering that she didn't work on them, probably hasn't gotten the chance to visit with Carter, view Lucy's body, or hear EXACTLY what happened, the realization of it certainly hasn't "hit" her yet.
Carol tends to keep her emotions to herself, anyhow, as does Mark. I'm sure it "hit" several hours later. A quiet moment came, everything finally sunk in, perhaps after Mark filled her in on HOW they were found...The whole ordeal is, I'm sure, not "real" for Carol at that point. She will deal with her emotions when she is alone, and good and ready. Most likely after visiting Carter, when she gets the chance.
Also, by "removing" oneself emotionally from a situation, it is easier to deal with it. I think Carol rather prefers to do that. Not in every situation, but in the ones that hit closest to home.
-- Leigh (WillnGraceNYC@yahoo.com), February 18, 2000.
Thankyou Leigh for defending Carol the way I was about to. Your observations about her looking into past the tape are right on- I really think she was too subtle and removed compared to the rest of the people and all of us watching. Just a couple of weeks ago she was crying in the lounge- how many times have we seen Carol cry?! Twice? and once with joy for the twins. She was completely dry-eyed when Raul died, but no one thought then that she didn't blub later- and she'll be very sad and visit Carter- don't worry everyone. Besides, in real life, which ER is supposed to somewhat mirror, in a crisis, people don't or can't always do or say the right thing!!
-- May Archer (archerl@cadvision.com), February 18, 2000.
I just have to say I love Carol, and I think she is great. She's one of my fave characters. But I have to admit I surprised with Carol's reaction at Lucy's death. Seeing everyone so sad and crushed about Lucy's death made Carol's reaction a little off, but anyway, i'm still really sad about Lucy's death and i'm sure Carol still was too. BTW-(by the way)- just to make it VERY clear, i'm not bashing Carol in the least bit, and as I said before, she's one of my fave characters.(and i'm trying to cool down from my heartfelt speech about Lucy's death on another subject)
-- Koh McRadu (kmcradu@hotmail.com), February 19, 2000.
Carol-bashing has become the new trend here, on MBTV, and on the newsgroup. She's my second-favorite character ever, and I think that while I'm annoyed at what she's doing now WRT Doug, I have an understanding that the writers have forced this. Just as George Clooney recently stated that Doug would *not* let Carol care for twins alone, so the Carol that I have loved for six years wouldn't do this to Doug. I'm sorry to see it happen and had such hopes that her pregnancy would be a joyful time between the two characters. How hard would it have been to have Doug be an "off-screen" husband? We don't see Hathaway's personal life anyway. After all, Reese supposedly spends tons of time with Peter and we don't see it, yet we accept it.Honestly, if the producers couldn't have come up with anything better than they've given this character this year, they should have let Julianna leave with Clooney. As I stated in my review, Julianna said she wants to leave before she kills the character, but to me the writers are doing it for her. It's a shame.
-- Phyl (erfan@flash.net), February 20, 2000.
Let's hope the writers get a chance to redeem THEMSELVES by giving JM the proper amount of screentime before she leaves, explaining her emotional state, her actions, etc. I agree, would it be so hard to be told that Doug is living with her? We hardly ever see her home anyhow, we haven't seen the twins since Christmas. How long has it been since we've seen her mother? They could've said that Hathaway & Ross wed over the summer, and he got a job where he has to commute to, but nevertheless, they're together. That's what the Doug we "know" would've done, or having the Carol that we "know" leave with Doug.
-- Leigh (WillnGraceNYC@yahoo.com), February 20, 2000.