I enjoyed all the comments in Michelle's and Stephanie's posts, but I have a few more details that I don't think have been mentioned elsewhere and would like any and all opinions :). *The writing was excellent- very connected and cosistant. The direction was subtle: Carter's face during his flashbacks, he seems almost numb. Wyle is playing it so elegantly. One of my favourite dteails was the transition from the boat scene to the mother coming to see Abby. I thought the boat scene was cut off abruptly and felt upset, but on second viewing, I heard the last strains of the song playing as the woman appeared. I realized that she was also living on her memories, and that memories can inspire goodness, as with Mark and David, or negativity, as with her. Then I thought of Luka and his many memories and his explantion of how he lives with them. Then the obvious one of Carol and Doug and Carol and her father. Then of course I thought of Carter and his issues. Very interesting. Also loved the little details of direction like David blowing on the thermometer, Kerry's music, and John's white bread! Especially David standing, not sitting! on the boat. All of Carol and Luka's scenes were fabulous. Mr Gallant is a grand actor. *Also, that small moment when Liz approaches Mark from the stairs: They are always giving little kisses at work and this time Mark leans over slightly, but she is being careful and doesn't see. If she had, she would have been very relieved, with all of her trying so hard to please and help. Did anyone else see that, or is it just me being hopeful? *I love ER because of the reality and imperfections of the characters. Carol should have hugged Luka, or at least patted his hand. Mark could have hugged his dad. Liz should have hugged Mark. They all try, but no one is perfect, so this epi was full of gestures: the boat ride, Eliz helping to steal, Abby trying, the daughter and mother wanting to help an innocent. *Would Kerry have been so easy on Abby if she herself had not just done the same thing? Good for Abby for standing up for her opinion! *Kerry is looking marvelous. Any ideas of why that could be ;) ? *The continued mention of HMOs. I live in Canada and am very much against that sort of system, so I noticed something that was possibly unintended: when the ambulance pulls away, we read American Medical Response. We could have cut directly to Kerry and skipped that, but we didn't so it might be a comment on the ridiculousness of the system? *John Callum gets my vote for best guest star ever! I enjoy every word he speaks, and when he is talking I can see what he sees in his memories. I think it is very right and fair to give tonight's title to him and recognize the significance of his year and life. *This is too long as usual but I must say that I have never enjoyed ER more than lately. Everyone is trying very hard and their efforts are paying off because I was at the point of quitting, and now I wouldn't miss an episode for...a new used station wagon.

-- May (archerl@cadvision.com), April 29, 2000

Answers

You made some good points May. I like the way Abby stood up for herself too when she said "I don't think trying to help someone is stupid". I liked this epi because we got to see more of a personal side of the characters this time instead of all the fast trauma action. I loved the look on Kerrys face when the HMO man was being put in the ambulance and he thanked her and she said "you welcome" and then the door closed. Her face changed from doing her job to how she was really feeling. And the scene with the little boy who was afraid of Kerry at first because of her cane and in the end he smiled at her and then the wave they exchanged... very nice touch. I really enjoyed this epi.

-- Yvette (Frazzzld@aol.com), April 29, 2000.

May, I totally agree, I was ready to stop watching too, and now I look forward to every Thursday! I also loved the look on Kerry's face as the HMO guy left. I was thinking, 'ha, Carter was right to be stubborn and care, and now you do too.' Kerry does look nice these days, I think it's that she grew her hair out (since the Rosie show and Under Control) and she mentioned on Rosie that she was getting new glasses...do you think they're new, I think they might be. About Carter, it is so odd to see the usually cheerful, laughing doctor struggling w/ flashbacks and a soon-to-be breakdown. I love how Wyle is doing it, it's like he sits there for awhile with a memory, and then when someone notices (which is rare!) he laughs it off, typical Carter. I cannot wait to see how Mark and the others will deal with a "combative" Carter.

I will miss David a whole lot, I loved his comment w/ Mark..."are you stealing?, I think he's STEALING!" Elizabeth is always beautiful, but seeing her finally so supportive w/ Mark, I thought she looked especially nice today. I agree about the hugs...Mark needed a hug from Elizabeth, Luka needed a hug from Carol, and Carter needs a hug from ANYONE. (random note: I was watching AITF again today, and I noticed that after Carter shrieks out in pain and looks over to see Lucy, you can see Deb's gloved hands comfortingly around Carter's head, as she tells him Lucy is alive...I was relieved to see some affection there that I had never before noticed)

This is getting long, but one last thing about Carol/Luka...their scenes were all delightful, cute, and funny, Carol was herself and it makes you miss her already. If it weren't for Doug, I would be very happy about that kiss, but there is a Doug, who I am dedicated to support. However, during these scenes, I was thinking how Helen Hathaway would *love* Luka. Yikes!

-- Elaine (mrsclooney78@hotmail.com), April 29, 2000.

A few thoughts on this episode:

First of all, I thoroughly enojyed it! Mark's moments with his father and Elizabeth. Carter's flashbacks, and finally speaking about it with a hospital shrink. Hearing Kellie Martin's voice was chilling....Unfortunately, and I'm killing myself for this, I only caught the tail end of the episode where Lucy and Carter are attacked and Lucy dies. I didn't tape it, either. I'm hoping NBC will rerun this one some time this summer, as well as a couple of other episodes this season. When I did see what was happening in this episode, I was glued to the television set and cursing myself for missing it. The next day, I was asking people at work about it. This is when I stumbled across these reviews and commentaries, and I've been reading as many as I can ever since! :)

Also, I thought the scene where Kerry says good-bye to the patient as he's being put into the ambulence was poignant. That scene reminded of the fact that this kind of thing happens to regular ER doctors all the time, and yet they have to deal with it. Doesn't mean they have to like it. They're human beings like everyone else. She'll probably never this man again, yet she was instrumental in saving his life.

-- Justin Merle Brockshus (justin@Brockshus.zzn.com), April 30, 2000.

Elaine, I thought the very same thing about Helen Hathaway!! I guess we can all breathe a sigh of relief, since I can't picture Carol ending up with ANYBODY that her mother adores. LoL. It's the nature of their relationship.

-- Arianne (CarolRossSusanGreene@yahoo.com), April 30, 2000.

I also liked the fact that Lucy's voice was a bit more accentuated in Carter's flashback. Her persistence came out more than anything else in his head. This may be due to his "what ifs" of Lucy's persistence to stop and his to keep pushing forward. Maybe he's thinking he shouldn't have been as aggressive.

-- Elaine (mrsclooney78@hotmail.com), April 30, 2000.

You know, personally that Luka/Carol ending made me sick to my stomach. I can't stand the way Carol just hops from bed to bed and I especially can't stand everyone saying how beautiful they think the scene was. It was a stinking scene. Sorry, it just was.

-- Gina G. (thatsagirl@aol.com), May 06, 2000.

Gina, can you please explain how Carol has been hopping from "bed to bed"? In six years, she's had three boyfriends, and while she's friendly with and has kissed Luka (who doesn't look like he's in the running for "boyfriend" status), it seems to me that she's slept with only one man during the last three years. Is that "hopping from bed to bed"?

-- Phyl (erfan@flash.net), May 06, 2000.