TVSquad

I really loved this episode, though I am probably a little biased in that since I really liked the ER years when Clooney was on.

And I am so glad I was totally, totally wrong about how I thought this episode would play out beforehand. I am so used to the ER formula, that I was one of those that just assumed Doug Ross would appear at the last 3 minutes of the show in some brief cameo. How happy was I to see that he was in a good bulk of the episode.

Now I am in an even more somber mode with 3 episodes left. I will be very sad come the Friday after the last episode.

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I thought this episode was extremely well done. It had sort of a "six degrees of seperation" aspect to it which made the point of leaving Doug and Carol in the dark about the kidney recipient even more effective. It was interesting to learn that Carter DID marry Kem. I just hope they don't bring her back as I never liked her character.

A lot of loose ends were tied up...Carter and Kem, Benton and Cleo, Carol and Doug, although we still don't know if they ever married (she answered the phone "Carol Hathaway").

The first episode with Greene and Angela Basset's character was also well done. So all in all, it looks like ER is going out with a bang with some of the best story lines in a long time. Hope the Emmy committee is paying attention.

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I think that it was nice that they didn't connect the organ for Carter. It would have raised ethical questions about harvesting organs for their friend and pushing the grandmother to let go of her grandson for their friend rather than for the multitudes of good that it could do. And, I am fine with them not finding out later either because I feel like they probably have a lot of names pass by them and it would have been odd to focus on one out of all the anonymous. Just my thoughts......

I thought the reconnection with the older characters was well done in this one.

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Karen,
Clooney had a wedding ring on in the episode.

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I couldn't have said it any better. I kept thinking Sam and Neela was going to say that an old doctor came back named Dr. Carter, or Dr. Ross was going to ask about Dr. Carter. I was waiting on someone to mention it to Carol on the phone but it didn't happen. I feel that won't be the end of it though.

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I watched ER for the first time in forever and it was bad. So bad.

Dude! What the hell is the point of having Carol and Doug in the episode if they are not interacting with old friends and colleagues?

Dr. Bennet is always right. Always.

Why is Carter still married to his African Queen even though they are not together?

When in the asteroid going to hit County and destroy the hospital and everyone in it. Not a question, but a statement.

I will say, I got slightly choked up seeing Carol and Doug back together. Since when did Carol's hands become man hands?

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I thought this episode was damn near perfect. Personally, I'd have liked for Doug and Carol to have that Carter got the kidney, but it was obviously a specific choice for them not to.

It was obvious that they don't keep up with anyone back in Chicago (I wonder if Carol's mother even still lives there).

I also think its natural that Doug just asked about doctors... Carol would have asked about nurses.

The producers of this show have done a damn near perfect job with this final season. I'm glad this wasn't the final episode, as focusing the final episode all on older cast members would have been a little disrespectful to the current cast. This way, fans get their cameos, and the current cast still gets their final scenes.

Spoilers for next week based on previews: It seems that Halieh's wall looked a little smaller than it did when she showed it to Abbey. Just my imagination?

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This. Episode. Was. Great.

I wonder if this was the "original" design for the last episode, since NBC decided to give the show a few extra episodes mid-way through the season. It certainly looked as though it could have been the intention to focus on the original characters, but I'm glad that we now have the chance to go back and wind up all of the stories concerning the current characters.

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Last night was the first time I've watched an entire ER episode in years. It was great to see where the old timers are and so forth.

As for the rest of the ER show, it should have been euthanized a long time ago. NBC needs a great show on Thursdays at 10 PM. I'd watch it.

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i felt the episode was mediocre. but clooney and margulies provided enough 'must see' content. look, i was just happy clooney returned. back when it was a maybe/maybe not issue i was adamant that he had to return, out of deep gratitude, because if not for 'er' he is not where he is today. period.

i always applauded clooney for not breaking his 5-year contract (when he easily could have b/c the film career had begun) with the show, and his return - with margulies - was a nice wrap-up.

overall the episode didn't feel forced, and there were some good moments, but by no means was it a special episode. just ok. and that's ok.

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Last night was superb: I thought Benton/Carter and Doug/Carol acted wonderfully. I got all discombombulated and my heart, all quaky, at seeing all these old faces. It would have been perfect to have a reunion of all of them, but it would have been a tad unrealistic. This way was well written, well acted and still satisfying. Not sure if Carol and Doug got married either (Carol may have chosen to keep her name) but I am just glad they were still together, because there was a point there when i thought they weren't! And I didn't know how much I missed Benton and Carter, until I saw their grins at each other. Oh, the flood of memories. Truly great episode!

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Great episode! One thing though that I was disappointed in was that I was wanting to see Doug and Carol's twins. A photo on the night stand at the end would have been great. Or maybe the mention of them having another child.

LOVED seeing Ernst Borgnine. He's been a favorite actor mine for decades!!

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Congratulations on a very good article Bob. You expressed everything I thought about the episode and even gave an explaination why Doug and Carol didn't find out. Well done, love it.

This is the first episode of ER in years that I'll be watching again right now. It's like a good movie.

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it was a stroke of genius to end it the way it ended. especially if this had been the series finale as planned. i like that they kept that element of mystery. their lives touched one more time, but they might never know it.

brilliant episode, i wish it could have been this high caliber forever.

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I thought this episode was fabulous... by far the best episode of ER since season 8's "On the Beach." I loved seeing Doug and Carol again, although I do wish they had known at the end of the episode that the kidney went to Carter and it would have been nice to see Kate and Tess. I think the producers/writers intentionally didn't have them find out, though, because I suspect that this is going to lead into more storylines for the series finale.

To those who asked: Carol and Doug are married. Both characters were wearing wedding rings in the episode. I like that Carol didn't change her last name and this has actually been a pattern with ER characters who get married (i.e. Elizabeth remained "Elizabeth Corday" after marrying Mark, Abby was still "Abby Lockhart" after marrying Luka).

And, also, Doug wouldn't have asked about Frank because Frank first appeared in the season 6 episode "Such Sweet Sorrow" (or well, he was in the pilot, but he was a patient then). So Doug never knew Frank as the desk clerk.

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I think it's funny that some people say that they haven't watched in a long time and although it was nice to see thier old favorites, the rest of the show stunk. Well OF COURSE. Those people invested time and emotion with the "old characters" and aren't even familiar with the new ones. So why would they be even slightly interested in the new characters' storylines?

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I work at a hospital and many women keep their maiden names professionally or they hyphenate...especially when they are married to doctors at the hospital. It was obvious Doug and Carol were married, they both were wearing wedding rings.

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