"Blackout"
"I still remember when Mark Greene and Doug Ross were running the place." Me too, Chuny. Me too. What a nice shout-out to the long and storied history of our beloved
ER. I do love the episodes that allow the cast to interact outside the workplace. Not only did we learn that Chuny's real name is Ethyl (who would have guessed), but we also got to see the chemistry between Dubenko and Neela on full display, Pratt exercising his newly legit attending muscles and, sadly, Abby falling even further into the abyss of her alcoholism while still proving what excellent instincts she has as a doctor.
Witnessing Abby's disintegration was really painful, especially for those of us who have seen this character turn her life around over the past few years. I know that the writers had to work around the absence of
Goran Visnjic in some way, but I really wish Abby's character hadn't taken such a hit. It is most certainly a credit to
Maura Tierney that my reaction to tonight's breakdown was practically visceral- Abby's pain was that palpable. I was most surprised and disappointed in regard to her indiscretion with Dr. Moretti. While I was struggling to remember who exactly would even know about Abby's alcoholism, I was also disgusted that Moretti, obviously aware of Abby's fragile state, took advantage of her in a weak moment. How awful was it to watch her wake up in a blur, stumble over her embarrassment, totally blow it with the sitter and then drag a frightened Joe to the airport in the middle of the night. I can certainly understand her instinct to get herself and Joe to Luka, to reclaim her center, but it was obvious that she was lacking the clarity to be making life-altering decisions at that particular moment.
Despite her inability to handle her own problems, Abby's instincts were right on about the crying baby. Thank goodness she went against Pratt's orders and decided to probe further. It just goes to show passing a test does not make you infallible. Meanwhile poor Archie, who was on fire with his diagnosis of the man from the nursing home, was too embarrassed to tell his co-workers that he failed. Poor guy- first his girlfriend dumps him, then he fails his boards.
Not too much else to say tonight except I continue to like Tony more and more. It almost seems like John Stamos has settled into the character and is trying to stretch a little less with all the darkness and anger. A little flirting has done wonders for him.
Not to give too much away, but I was thrilled after watching the preview for next week. Let's hope things start to look up!
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