Warning- SPOILERS and overly long. Okay. This was a well done and clever episode, but wasn't the match unrealistic? HEre are my reasons and feel free to comment: At least a month has passed, even in tv time, since the attack+ it is not everyday that hospital workers are attacked and murdered in a deptartment+ hospitals are real rumour mills+ med students are kept track of= so I think that there is no way that whoever is in charge of matching would not know that Lucy is gone. Pysch would know, the med school would know, her file would have been closed. Even if the decision had been made before she died, which it couldn't have been because she had not finished all of her rotations, it would not have taken a month to deliver. Yes I know that administration makes oversights, but this one is very improbable. It was a very nice thought and she probably deserved it, but I think it was put in to comfort all the people who are upset about Lucy- which is fine, this is tv after all. Aside from that, the epi was grand. It was a good catch-up on all the loose ends we have been wondering about. *Carol. We have seen that she is having a hard time looking after them both, that the expenses are increasing, that she thinks they deserve a father. Fine. But does she still love Doug, which I think should be the only reason she goes back to him. I suppose she does, and will. *Luka. This is what I have been waiting for all season. I adore Luka, and Goran is a fabulous actor. Of all the new peole he is fitting in the best- I care about his feelings- his scene with Carol was so heartbreaking in its...softness. They were so casual, Luka being so genuinely happy that she asked. Imagine, experiencing what he has, living in a new and very differnet country (Romano rubbing it in- insufferable!), having nothing from your former life, knowing no one to share your memories! I love this plot, it brings a new angle to ER= they deal with tragedy all the time, but it is either their job or personnal- this issue is on a larger scale. People in North America don't understand about experiencing aa war like that, and I think it is very good of the producers to include it. The look on Carol's face about the photos was just awful- in a good way. *John. I hate to see John upset, but love it because Wyle is so good at it. His and Carol's conversation was perfect, although Carol's comparing her life to John's was a bit awkward, but real. I laughed Haha at her comment about going back to work- I thought it was aimed directly at all those who were mad at her reaction to Lucy. *MArk and David. MArk's behaviour is completely in character, but he had better learn that caring for someone is giving them what they want, not what you think they need! I have every confidence this is where they are going. I thought their relationship had a connection to the title as well. I will be very very sad to see David go- he is fantastic, he is not just part of a new plot for MArk, but is completely his own person, I mean character, ahem. *Kerry. Missed her and its good to see that she has an important place. *Elizabeth. She was correct, though not her usual smooth self. She's definatly in a bad mood- did anyone comment on her glare at Luka last week? That was entirely inappropriate! *Cleo is actually growing on me. *Abby. I think she recieves the least comments of any regular. I find her likeable and inoffensive. She has good plots, and I appreciate how she always asks for help when she needs it. *This season and especially the last few episodes have been so good I feel spoiled. The last few have really been the quality of the best of the first seasons. Good moods, action, connections, humour, writing &tc. My line of the week: "Just a simple 'Yes, Elizabeth' will do." :D

-- May (archerl@cadvision.com), April 14, 2000

Answers

Thank you for noticing that about the match! I mean, the guy who killed her was and probably still is up there on the psyche floor. Duh! Either the mail is really slow or the people doing the matches are really out of it!

-- Rachel (rachelrr@ivillage.com), April 14, 2000.

I may be wrong on this one, since I'm not a med student, but here goes. I have a friend who's just been going through this process this year, and my impression from her is that while the students interview on site and state their preferences, and the hospitals state their preferences, the "matches" are made via a single, national process. That's why it's not like applying for school, where each school makes its own decisions and one might get into several and have to choose; in this process, if I've understood it correctly, a neutral computer (not privy to the County General grapevine) decides based on a fixed algorithm who should go where. I also thought that all students find out on the same day at the same time -- a few weeks ago -- rather than as letters trickle in.

So while I'm not clear on what was the deal with the letter that went to the ER, the idea that she could inadvertently have "matched" -- based on preferences that all parties stated months earlier -- seems plausible enough.

-- Elizabeth (ebs42@yahoo.com), April 14, 2000.

It's...possible it could have been an oversight. I am currently working in a hospital cardiology department and we've been interviewing applicants for 2001 fellowships. The doctors make their ranks, but then it goes through a national match system, or something like that.

-- Larry B. (larrybro95@hotmail.com), April 14, 2000.

About the matching-- my aunt was doing her residency, allbeit overseas, but the way it worked was that yes,sometimes a national service or agency, if you will, matched the students up to the hospitals. However, it's not random, not by algorithm, I don't think. Usually the med student applies for a number of different residency programs in a number of hospitals, and the match is done then. Sometimes though, if you apply to the same hospital that you did your med school in , you have a sort of home team advantage. Other times, though, there are actual "people" who review your application and make a match based on your abilities, your recommendations etc.

-- samira (matb_west@chickmail.com), April 14, 2000.

Why does everyone think that Carol's conversation w/Carter was so great? As I said in another thread, I thought she was as cold as a stone! To compare her life to his was absurd. And the only advice she gave was "to go back to work." I know life goes on, but geez, nobody even seems to care how hard it is for Carter to work with the emotional & physical pain. She just acted like she didn't understand why he was upset with that patient. I guess we can thank the writers for making her so stupid and devoid of any human emotion. Sorry, I'm just not a Carol fan.

-- ellen (dbspunky61@hotmail.com), April 14, 2000.

I think we liked the scene w. Carter & Carol not so much because of Carol's reaction, but because they finally mentioned Lucy and showed how Carter was affected by it. I mean, the way he pulled out the letter & showed it to Carol and everything. I also think it was kind of odd for her to compare her situation to Carter's, but maybe that was a way for the writers to start focusing more attention on her departure.

-- Melanie (msintn@hotmail.com), April 14, 2000.

I think Carol's comment to Carter about "going back to work", is her way of dealing with things. "One day at a time" and I feel she was letting Carter know that. Although it is obvious that he needs more than that, she is a nurse, not a psychiatrist, so I felt it was good. Not over doing it, is a good way to put it. I am not a HUGE fan of Carol Hatheway, but will miss her, she has been on the show since the beginning and it will be odd not seeing her.

I wish Mark wasn't having any problems right now, because I think he would be the perfect person that could help Carter, since Carter really respects him as a doctor and maybe as friend. Also, I read in another thread that someone wanted Kerry and Carter to get together, I don't know if they meant sexually, that is how I took it anyway. Well, if the writers do that I would be totally not a happy fan. Just can't see him with her.

-- Paula (pbranden@dwave.net), April 14, 2000.

I just wish they would've had Carter open up to someone other than Carol. I mean that's like talking to a wall! He was never that close to her. Since Benton was so concerned after he was stabbed, seems like he'd show a little more interest.

-- ellen (dbspunky61@hotmail.com), April 14, 2000.

I too thought that the letter still came because it was from a national registry. And I thought Elizabeth said that with everything going on, they'd forgotten to remove her name. That, to me, is quite understandable.

Regarding everyone still talking about the stabbings--or not: my boss died a few years ago at our office. He wasn't murdered, but it was traumatic nevertheless, especially for those of us who tried to revive him. We discussed him when we could (and that was a lot at the beginning), but after a while you could tell people wanted to minimize the talking. Plus, with his absence, things were crazy. We took it "one day at a time" and focused on the work. Just like Carol said. BTW, one lady at another location in the same city didn't know until a week later!

-- Diana (dilynne@juno.com), April 14, 2000.

I'm someone who wants to see Carter/Kerry eventually get together. Believe it or not there is a growing number of people who are wanting to see that happen sometime down the road. Regardless of whether Carter /Kerry ever get together romantically , I think they could become great friends. I think Kerry will be the one that helps Carter out. She has already shown concern . I think she will continue to do so. Even if Mark was not having problems with his own Dad failing health, I still can't see Mark being very good to Carter. Mark is too caught up in his own life and problems. I just don't see him being of much use. Who knows maybe most of the er staff will band together and help Carter out.

-- Brenda (jckwfan@aol.com), April 14, 2000.

the yes elizebeth, was the funniest part

-- rachel (thehilfigergirl@aol.com), April 14, 2000.

Dr. Dave thought they had gotten together...remember when he was trying to find out what happened to her leg? I personally would gag more than I do with Benton and Cleo if Carter and Kerry got together. Yuck! They seem more like older sister and younger brother.

-- Diana (dilynne@juno.com), April 14, 2000.

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Um, hi, she only almost died herself once. What did she do? Yeah...she went back to work. It was a perfect response because it is how SHE handles her own life. I believe she was almost ready to open up about her suicide attempt, then couldn't quite go there so turned to the situation with Doug -- no, nobody died, but she may feel a part of herself died or left with him when he walked away. I was SO glad to see their big sister/little brother relationship again, just like in "oldER." He was finally ready to open up to somebody, and who better than Carol? They've both been through emotional hell and can relate to one another in that way.

-- Arianne (CarolRossSusanGreene@yahoo.com), April 14, 2000.