I have been posting all over, but I have too much more to say, so here it goes.

First confrontation:

Loved that Carter walked in joking with Malucchi...I will anticipate Carter's return next season and the fact that he left so abruptly, leaving everyone in shock as to why he's gone (off-screen)...can't wait to see Malucchi welcome him back. And I love Carter, but worst comment: "Abby, maybe *you've* been injecting needles" a bit TOO defensive of a line.

Second confrontation:

*Carter walking in, first seeing Benton's unsure, guilty face of resenting himself for having to be involved with this confrontation too. * Mark's repeating "there's a drug rehab" and exchange of glances between Kerry and Mark; they can't believe they are saying this. * Kerry unable to keep up her stern voice w/ Carter in responding to his question "checking for track marks?"; Kerry's sorrowful "yeah." * Anspaugh's obvious surprise at Carter's attitude and simple question "Is that it?"...he wasn't even angry, probably just sad.

Last scene with Elizabeth, Mark, and Kerry...very different from other seasons. Loved that Mark offered going to eat with Kerry; both of their minds were on Carter. ***Romano didn't call Elizabeth "Lizzy" here!

One question: Did Carter start wearing a watch to hide this? I remember thinking last week, when he was crying in the stall, that I didn't remember him wearing a watch. Odd that I thought that.

-- Elaine (mrsclooney78@hotmail.com), May 19, 2000

Answers

To clarify...I meant that in the scene at the end w/ Kerry, Mark, and Elizabeth was very different for season FINALES.

* one more thought: loved the exchange of looks to keep it quiet about Carter once Romano walked up.

-- Elaine (mrsclooney78@hotmail.com), May 19, 2000.

Elaine,

Great comments! No, Carter always wears a watch, and that is the same one he always wears. I notice this because I find it so cute that he always wears his watch upside down! But no, it's always there!

-- Cassie (samper0812@yahoo.com), May 19, 2000.

how will they hide carters absence from rocket do you think?

-- dawn (qstnevrythng@hotmail.com), May 19, 2000.

They aren't going to hide Carter's absence from Romano. I'm sure they're going to tell him at some point, but it was a very hard thing for them to do and they probably didn't want to have to deal with him right then. I was hoping when Robert looked back at Elizabeth, she would tell him she didn't want to do the surgery, she was going home.

I don't know if Carter ALWAYS wears a watch, but he had one on last week. I noticed it because it wasn't on right when he was crying in the bathroom and thought it was too big.

One the confrontations. Probably my favorite line that I can remember is after Carter leaves the room and Kerry sadly says, "He's lying" and Mark says 'I know." I'm glad Carter admitted to the pain he had, but his denials were pretty obvious. Especially when he pulled a Romano on Abby. In the intervention scene, it is so obvious in his eyes that he is hurt his friends would do this. He doesn't want to believe it, just like they don't want to believe they have to do it. The Benton scene was phenomenal. Finally, Benton can show he really cares for Carter. I know he's shown before but this really proved it. Carter was just waiting to break down, and he just can't help but do it in Benton's arms.

-- Joanne (bucklind@hotmail.com), May 19, 2000.

In answer to your question about how they'll keep it from Romano. Answer: They probably won't. I posted another comment on this. I was talking to a friend in the med field and she said that there are strict legal rules dealing with med professionals on drugs. If they go to rehab, (and stay clean) all is well. If Carter completes his tour of duty in Atlanta, Romano can't touch him.

-- S. Trelles (trelles@ix.netcom.com), May 19, 2000.

Yeah, Carter always weras a watch, he always has, at least since the beginning of season four (or whatever season started off with "Ambush" AKA "ER Live". Watch the scene where Mark tells him about being demoted back to an intern.

-- chris (lilsbgem01@AOL.COM), May 19, 2000.

Yeah, Carter always wears a watch, he always has, at least since the beginning of season four (or whatever season started off with "Ambush" AKA "ER Live". Watch the scene where Mark tells him about being demoted back to an intern).

-- chris (lilsbgem01@AOL.COM), May 19, 2000.

Cater's always worn a watch...you couldn't see it so much in season 1, but it was definately there in season two...all the time.

-- Kimmy (swiss_cheesed1953@yahoo.com), May 19, 2000.

Obviously my most favorite part of the show was with Benton and Carter at the end, but I couldn't help but like the part with Greene and Carter talking outside the ambulance bay (except for the stupid clogs!! :o) My heart just went out to Carter when he said to Greene, "Lucy's dead, which is partly my fault, I haven't slept in months, I had to take even more pain medication to help function." and then the look on his face, knowing he pretty much had admitted to Greene that he has a problem. I felt that his expression after saying this, was almost like he started to realize what he was doing. But still was being stubborn about it. He needed that extra sternness from Benton to get the help he needed. I was soooo happy that Benton was sitting beside Carter in the airplane. Perfect ending for a perfect season!! WYLE BETTER GET A NOMINATION AND WIN, COUNT ME IN TO START PICKETING IN CALIFORNIA!! ha ha

-- Paula (pbranden@dwave.net), May 19, 2000.

I agree with all of the above. I just wish they had made it more clear to Carter that they cared and were worried about him. But then again I guess the ending with Benton wouldn't have been as powerful as it was. I too am soooo glad that it was Benton who was there for him.

Paula, Im glad you said something about the clogs! I noticed those too and thought they were a bit odd for Mark to be wearing. :-)

-- Yvette (Frazzzld@aol.com), May 19, 2000.

Maybe what they wanted to keep from Romano was the fact that they'd called Anspaugh (who is no longer really in charge) to help instead of Romano! I wouldn't have wanted him to know either. He wouldn't have gone off about Carter but his ego would've been oh so angry that they didn't call him.

-- Diana (dilynne@juno.com), May 19, 2000.

OK, the main topics of this thread sound pretty wrapped up, at least to me, but I DO have a comment on the clogs. I'm sure there are quite a few members of the medical community who post here, they might have made a comment already, although I didn't see it. I'm not in the medical field, but have a few friends/acquaintances who are docs. The ones who work in hospitals, especially the residents, really dig those clogs. They can slip them off quickly, for a few secs of rest in the lounge, and find them otherwise really comfortable for their type of work. We do, however, live in an earthy college town, so that may be some of the reason they wear those birkenstock clogs here. Just a thought.

-- Michele (kpminc@aol.com), May 19, 2000.

Since this is my thread, I'll just throw in another question I've been meaning to ask. When Carter brought up Deb's mistake, was he talking about a mistake she made that WE saw? I don't remember her making any big mistakes this season (I could be wrong), so was he talking about the mistake she made that made her want to quit, way back in season 1? I can't remember what it was she did. If it was, that's pretty harsh, but I know, it's a typical defense mechanism for someone being intensly confronted.

-- Elaine (mrsclooney78@hotmail.com), May 19, 2000.

Yep, she made that mistake in season 1 when she was a med student working with (and competing against) Carter. That was a nice bit of history there. I think this incident was also mentioned when Deb came back at the start of this season, too.

-- debbie (riccardoiii@aol.com), May 19, 2000.

Elaine, in season 1 Deb put in a central line on a patient without a doctor present, which she WASN'T supposed to do. She wound up somehow leaving the guidewire in the patient, necessitating surgery. It was REALLY cold of Carter to bring that up. Just shows how desperate he was getting.

-- S. Trelles (trelles@ix.netcom.com), May 20, 2000.

I had similar thoughts watching this episode. I liked that the confrontation included Anspaugh, who was also responsible for saving Carter's life. I was proud of Benton going after Carter the way he did. He seemed distant in the room with the others almost as if he disagreed with the rest, but going after him proved how much Carter means to him.

-- mimi (mimi0428@aol.com), May 20, 2000.

Elaine, The thing about Carter bringing up that mistake that Deb made in Season 1 even more brutal was that when Deb left the hospital after the mistake, Carter was the one who followed her later to her house and tried to talk her our of quitting..when he brought it up the other night it just made it more obvious how desperate Carter was...

-- Dru Lafferty (dklny@yahoo.com), May 20, 2000.

When Carter criticized Deb he was really hitting below the belt. When Deb left the guide wire in, she was a 1st year medical student, she didn't have years of experience like Carter does now. I agree that he was desperate to defend himself and resorted to insults. I'm glad Deb didn't try to retaliate, but she contined to stand beside him. That's a true friend.

-- Carin Haseltine (cdenisehaze@usa.net), May 20, 2000.

Yeah, that chen-carter insult was a low-blow. Yes it showed how desperate he was, and also showed how "differen" he was. I don't believe that the old Carter would have said that. Deb left after doing that, and it obviously shook her up really badly, and it must have taken her guts to come back and start medicine again... and then Carter brings it up. I thought it was a very effective line as it communicated the change in Carter's behaviour and personality.

As for the confrontation-- it was so intimidating. First of all, everyone was *standing*, everyone was so harsh ( I really haven't seen Mark yell so much in one scene), Kerry especially when she asked to see his wrists. I would have been terrified if I was in the room, so I'm glad that the scene conveyed that. And to do it in Curtain area 3 in the first place... whoa. And I liked how the camera kept moving towards Peter's face, although he didn't say anything in the scene (and his first word was a very determined "no"), and I liked how his face relayed his reactions to what everyone else was saying and what his former student was going through.

-- samira (matb_west@chickmail.com), May 20, 2000.

I think everyone did what they had to do in that confrontation. Someone posted somewhere about how they wished there had been more caring in the scene (with the exception of Benton) and I was going to write this there, but I can't find it. I agree, I loved the camera continuously going back to Benton's silent reactions. However, I didn't think everyone else was all that harsh. That is how traditional confrontations go, like Kerry said, "compassionate, but clear". I would have liked to hear more "we are doing this because we care" comments, which Anspaugh did say, but maybe I'd want to hear it from someone like Deb. Anyways, they had to be firm, otherwise they would have given in to their emotions and let Carter go because they don't want to hurt him, which is what they had to do to get him help.

As for Mark, I think he was the most compassionate, after Benton...1st: he didn't even want to accuse him; his "I'm sorry if this was a misunderstanding" comment--he didn't have the heart to go off on him, despite that he firmly knew he was lying. 2nd: His outright "I'm worried about you, I want you to get help, let me deal with this the most supportive way I can" talk; and it eased Carter up a bit, because he patted him on the back with trust. 3rd: he didn't yell at him when he jumped in to help with that guy, even though Mark told him to stay off cases (though Carter was right under the circumstances), he just told him "I've got it"...4th: the confrontation--he calmly, but regretfully told him his options, hesitating at his own words that they want him to go to a drug rehab (probably thinking: 'I'm saying this to *carter*!?"), then saying they would support him in every way possible upon his return. He had to get firm by telling him that that was *it*, but he actually looked hurt by Carter's low blow about his own mistake that day.

Kerry always eased up after she yelled at him; her eyes showed regret. The only sternness Anspaugh used was when he had to, to keep Carter in the room...otherwise, he was pretty easygoing and supportive. So this thread went on pretty long too, sorry, but I love bringing up quotes from the shows.

-- Elaine (mrsclooney78@hotmail.com), May 20, 2000.

I think Elaine says it above: they were firm not harsh. Those scenes were very uncomfortable to watch, especially the last one in the lounge...what wonderful writing, acting, and directing. That was the feeling EVERYONE in the room felt! I wanted to crawl out of my skin.

-- Diana (dilynne@juno.com), May 21, 2000.