TVSquad

(S13E13) I think ER may have reached a record here. I've lost count, but this could be the five millionth time that the staff at County General have encountered a pair of step-brothers whose father only loves one and not the other. And, the six millionth time that the father seemed to be a bastard. Also, unless I'm mistaken, this is the infinity plus one time that a doctor has confronted that parent and told them, in no uncertain terms, that he was an a**hole. It goes back to the very first days of the show when Dr. Ross (the dashing and dapper George Clooney) would berate a parent at least once an episode.

Man, I've been watching this show too long! This week, the Ray-Neela-Gates love triangle continues, Pratt is in trouble with the law, Abby discovers why Eddie is really in Chicago, and Laura Innes says good-bye to ER.

So, what are you dawdling around for? Let's get going!

Besides the whole 'my stepson is an idiot' story, there was plenty of stuff going on this week. Surrounding it all was a definite air of tension. There have been a number of ER episodes like this in the past. Going back to the first season again, I remember an episode that aired about this time of year that was just filled with anger: everyone on the ER staff was pissed off at everyone else on the ER staff. This appears vivid in my mind because I could feel all of those harsh emotions coming out of the television. This week's episode was no different. You had Luka and Abby fighting over a patient she seemed to have gotten close to, Ray and Gates fighting over the treatment of a patient, and Ray and Neela arguing about . . . well, I don't know but it had something to do with her and Gates because when she stopped yelling he blurted out 'You're screwing' in the middle of the ER hallway. Where's the levity of Archie Morris when you need him?

Gates was actually guilty of causing anger twice. Above in his incident with Ray, and then with his continuing relationship with Sarah and her mom Meg. Sarah was rightly ticked that Tony was moving out without even a mention from him. Gates was able to diffuse the anger this time around by channeling his Uncle Jesse role. I swear, if the placating of Sarah did not remind you of his times trying to cheer up Michelle or Stephanie on Full House then I must be seeing something different.

Another culprit in ratcheting up the emotions was Samantha's son Alex, who has become a right git. The boy slapped his grandmother in public! Let me tell you something, sonny. You. Don't. Slap. Grandma. Then, at the end of the episode what does he do? He lights his apartment on fire. By accident, of course. But, if he wasn't being a prat and placing a lighted match into a glass of alcohol it wouldn't have happened, would it? I smell therapy for that boy.

Pratt helped raise the tension level as well. The ramifications from last week's episode are catching up with him, and now he's in trouble with the law for giving drugs out to the church clinic. It was good that he didn't include Hope into this little matter, although I'm sure she's going to come out and confess that she was part of it as well. Who knows what's going to happen, especially since Greg was shown a nice little jail cell at the end of the episode.

Back to Luka and Abby. They were the ones who gave ER the bad mood in the first place. Luka's jealous that Abby is giving preferential treatment to a man she met in a bar. This particular man finally tells Abby that he's her father: he's been talking to Maggie (Abby's mom) about her progress and that's why he was in Chicago. Abby doesn't take this too lightly and tries to get away as fast as she can from him. She thinks he's safe when she gets home but then encounters Curtis Ames, emulating The Shield's Jon Cavanaugh, sitting in her living room. I actually didn't expect this. Oh, I expected Curtis to go crazy, but didn't expect him to appear now. I'm hoping (pleading) that it all turns out for the best.

The only person who was immune to the tension in the ER was Kerry Weaver. This was the last appearance of Laura Innes as Kerry, a character she played for twelve seasons (including this one). Last week was her big send-off episode, so I didn't expect too much. There were some nice scenes between her and Abby, and her and Luka that were just enough to satisfy me and close that particular chapter of ER's life.

So, we're left with four cliffhangers this week (five, if you count the issue with Abby's Dad). Don't think they'll be resolved next week. ER is taking off again and won't be back until the beginning of February sweeps. Until then, see ya!