For me, the series started to lose its mojo after Anthony Edwards left the show. And then after Alex Kingston and Paul McCrane left the series it just wasn't the same. They just introduced too many characters like Victor Clemente, Archie Morris, Ray Barrett, and Tony Gates that really didn't interest me at all. And yes, there was too much Abby. I did like Michael Gallant and to me "The Gallant Hero And The Tragic Victor" was the last great episode of the series. Everything after that is kind of a haze to me.
Speaking of "Be Still My Heart," it contained one of the saddest scenes in the series when the young boy (played by Anton Yelchin) tries to comfort his deceased mom after both his parents were killed in a car accident. Sadly, Anton Yelchin himself would be killed in a weird car accident just as his career was taking off.