TVSquad

(S13E14) Lots of cliffhangers to resolve this week. Let's get right to it!

Luka, Abby and Curtis Ames -- Remember Forrest Whitaker in Good Morning, Vietnam? Gosh, he was so sweet and innocent as Private Garlick. Just think back to that, because Curtis Ames is in no way sweet in his final appearance on ER (and I'm not going to tell you why it's his last episode). In fact, I would have to say he is down right crazed, even more so than Lieutenant Jon Kavanaugh, the role Whittaker plays on The Shield.

After scaring Abby half to death by breaking into her and Luka's apartment he then takes Doctor Kovac on a wild ride through Chicago, stopping first by his former home to watch his wife being romantic with a new man and then by a brownstone that he had hoped to renovate before his stroke. During this little trip he pistol whips Luka and forces him to put his hand into a vice to feel what Ames feels. At first Luka describes in medical terms what he feels as the vice crushes his hand, but he eventually tells Curtis what he wants to hear: he would be useless to his job and his family if he lost the use of his hand. I don't know if he meant all of this or if it was just so Curtis would release him from the vice.

The Luka-Ames storyline was the most intense of the entire episode, and yet the quietest (at least until the end). We really didn't know what Curtis wanted until the very end, when he and Luka ended up on the roof of the unfinished brownstone. Through all this Abby was very strong. Well, strong in comparison to how she used to react during these stressful situations. Her character seems to have really turned the corner emotionally. As for Whittaker's role as Ames, I'm sure there will be an Emmy nomination for him come the summer.

Tony, Meg and Sarah -- The saddest story on this week's episode. We really saw a side of Gates that we haven't seen all season. He has been shown as this tough smart-ass who really does things his own way. In this episode he wasn't tough at all. As he was performing compressions on Meg to keep her breathing you could see the anguish on his face. Not only for the state that Meg was in (once again, not spoiling it for anyone) but for what her daughter Sarah was going through. Her mother was the only person left in her life after her father died in the first Iraq war and Tony moved out. Now, she was terrified at what would happen if her mother passed away. I don't think she should worry, though, because Meg told Tony something very interesting right before she lost consciousness. Something that will probably affect Tony for several weeks to come.

Samantha and Alex -- Did you really think that Sam and her son were going to perish in the fire that he caused? Of course not! She ended up rescuing her son and her neighbor from the fire that blazed on her floor. Man, I hope she had renter's insurance. Alex is, in scientific terms, screwed up royally. This is beyond teenage angst. It looks like it will come to a head in a few weeks between her and Alex. By the way, I really like Samantha's new hairdo. Makes her look a bit more mature.

Greg Pratt -- Nothing much happened this week with Greg, other than the reverend getting him out of jail. He actually tried to convince Pratt that he needed the church in his life to find his way. The way he spoke it sounded like he was the leader of a cult, and Greg said as much to the reverend's face. We'll see more consequences of Greg's arrest in next week's episode and it doesn't look pretty.

Another good episode in an above-average season. Looking forward to next week's show.