S01.E08: Save Me

[photo fox]

Topher is gravely wounded in a shootout with Milo. TC and Scott perform Topher’s emergency surgery as TC struggles to keep his increasingly troubling Afghanistan flashbacks under control. After experiencing the hostage situation, Jordan comes to understand the immense pressure that TC has been under since leaving Afghanistan. She struggles to maintain her composure when she must treat Milo, who was responsible for the shooting. Meanwhile, an explosion at a fertilizer factory sends badly burned victims to the ER and threatens to overwhelm the shorthanded staff. Krista must step up to manage a patient who is crashing. Jordan learns a devastating secret about TC.

[Brattinella]

Was this the finale?  If so (or, if not, even) I am SO done with this show.  My tolerance for cliches and bullshit has been reached and exceeded.  Hopefully I can find something else in this time slot, or I can just read.

[irisheyes]

I'm pretty sure I saw the "burned victim given wrong identity" and "upset doctor accidentally/on purpose kills criminal who shot up hospital" on ER like 15 years ago.

It's like the show writers binged on their collection of ER DVDs and picked out a dozen story lines to recycle.

[Brattinella]

So true, irisheyes!

[LittleIggy]

It was nice to see TC in handcuffs. Aw, poor Ragosa. The mother talking over the phone to her dying daughter made me cry. I'll be watching next season. This show is a guilty pleasure.

[thuganomics85]

Ha!  Oh, The Night Shift!  That was pure cheese, and I was enjoying almost every minute of it.

 

Good news was that Topher pulled through (the original shot, plus a last minute "scare.")  Too bad that it really wasn't about him, but just a catalyst for Dr. Manpain... I mean, TC, to freak the fuck out, and hijack his story.  So, basically, the reason his brother died was because TC hesitated to take out the shooter, because it was a kid.  So, underneath all that rebel behavior and smugness, he's just a poor, guilt-tripped boy!  And, of course, he finally confesses his to Jordan, and she's completely back to fretting over him.  Didn't even take a second, before abandoning Dr. Scott Wolf, to check on poor little TC.  Oh, Dr. Scott Wolf.  You saved Topher's life (twice!), and still get no love.  You deserve better, my man.

 

Meanwhile, of course, they give Ragosa a freaking brain tumor!  We need to have someone be sick like that, plus a nice way to get themselves out of the blind story-line.  So, I guess that's all going to be going on next season.  Plus, I'm assume that will cause him and Landry to grow closer.  Which, hey, I can't complain.  I still root for them.

 

Saw the burned victim/mistaken identity story-line coming a mile away.  At least it was fun to see Wade Williams as the husband. And, we got to see Krista freak out, before Kenny calmed her down.

 

Thanks to hilarious circumstances, Jordan is forced to treat Steven Bauer, is (understandably, I'll admit) rude to him, he dies, and now the cops think she deliberately let him die, and are now going after her.  Sure, why not?!

 

Paul mainly got to hang around with Topher, and finally showed a bit of strength, by telling Topher to quick dicking around and just pee in the cup.

 

Drew, though, was my favorite thing (along with Topher and his wisecracks.)  Thought he did a good job in a more leadership role, and dealing with TC being TC.  I especially loved that he didn't dick around, and as soon as they got back, he went straight to Jordan, all "The guy's lost it, Jordan!  You need to fix this shit, or it's going to get really bad!"  Why couldn't you have been the amazing doctor, who is right about everything, Drew?

 

I totally can't wait to see what they do next season.  I hope they take a page from those wacky promo shots, and find some reason to have TC drive his motorcycle into the waiting room.  Oh, The Night Shift.  You goofy, silly show!

[Dowel Jones]

I for one was a little more impressed with Ragosa this episode, standing up and taking a leadership role, especially between the SAPD cop and Jordan. 

 

Was TC a doctor back in Afghanistan, or was that previous?  As has been pointed out, why would a doctor be on a raid, and now they show him with an M-16 in an active shooter role, which contravenes all the protocols.  And he was on the same squad as his brother. 

 

Lawyer up, Jordan.  I can see this one coming from a mile away, too.  Paging Dr. House for a consult on how to handle an irritated police officer...

[Julie23]

I agree thuganomics85, Drew should be the main character here, not whiny man pain TC. The episode was good except for the parts he was in. And the end sets up the romance for Jordan and TC to return. Run, Jordan, RUN! I like that they have softened Ragosa from the first couple of episodes. I am now starting to like him more. Not sure if I'll watch this next year unless they do something about TC. At least cut and wash his greasy hair!

[Lady Calypso]

You see, I get what they were trying to do with TC all this season. I get the whole 'showing PTSD in its ugliness'' and I appreciate that they would. But, I don't know, it fell flat to me most of the time (until this episode...which was actually ok). I also just don't care about TC and people kept walking on eggshells around him, letting him do whatever he wanted and not treating him like an actual doctor. Also, I hate Jordan when she's with TC. I did like the last scene, but not because of Jordan. Hopefully, though, next season starts with TC finally moving on and getting some goddamn help. Hopefully he's a different character next season because seriously, I understand where they're going but I just wasn't interested in it at all.

 

Oh, poor Ragosa. He literally keeps getting the worst treatment. First it's a divorce, then it's a declining eye, then it's his kids, then it's god knows what else, and now it's a brain tumour. 

 

I really liked Paul and Drew in the episode. Paul finally standing up for himself, which I think Topher respected, and Drew for being a true leader that isn't like Jordan or TC. 

 

I couldn't care less about Jordan getting sued by the cops, really. If she had withheld her anger, she wouldn't be in this mess. Although I fully understand that she couldn't due to the event JUST happening, but still.

 

I really like Krista and I did momentarily think that her and Kenny would hook up next season.

[dubbel zout]

I'm pretty sure I saw the "burned victim given wrong identity" and "upset doctor accidentally/on purpose kills criminal who shot up hospital" on ER like 15 years ago.

It probably happened on Medical Center forty years ago. This show does not embrace originality.

[Shades of Red]

Yes this was a guilty pleasure for me, but I found this last episode to be super depressing.  I didn't watch ER so have no idea about recycled story lines, but it's not surprising they exist.

 

The only real part for me was T talking about hesitating about killing the kid.  One of my neighbours was overseas several years ago and said one of the saddest and scariest people he encountered was a young kid with a machete.  Luckily his scenario turned out better than T's did, but it always stuck with me when he told me the story.

 

 

[starri]

 

Thanks to hilarious circumstances, Jordan is forced to treat Steven Bauer, is (understandably, I'll admit) rude to him, he dies, and now the cops think she deliberately let him die, and are now going after her.  Sure, why not?!

I'm going to state right now that they'll have completely forgotten that by the time the show comes back next summer or whenever.  Because even on a show that's this abjectly stupid so often, that was incredibly stupid.

 

I like that anyone can enter the sterile field in the OR just by putting on a gown and gloves.  And the OR has a sliding door, so I guess they're not too concerned with the surgeons scrubbing before they start.

 

I'm not maintaining my ironic detachment well enough, because I'll confess, I did get a little teary-eyed with Drew and Krista at the burn patient's bedside with her mom on the phone.

[SonofaBiscuit]

I can't believe that this show was renewed.  I know that this probably isn't the reaction I was supposed to have, but TC's little crying scene at the end of the episode had me cracking up.  I thought that the acting there was just terrible.  Note to all shows everywhere, please save us all and stop casting Jill Flint as the main love interest.  She is probably a very nice lady in real life, but she just has no charisma and no chemistry with her male co-stars IMO. 

[Happy Harpy]

 

I really like Krista and I did momentarily think that her and Kenny would hook up next season.

I think he's been into her since the beginning, so I'm sure that's the plan. Thankfully, they didn't hook up yet. I don't know, I just can't warm up to Kenny and I see zero chemistry. But I do love Krista (and I crack-ship her with Dr.Scott since last week).

 

About Dr.Scott, I really hope that Scott Wolf will stay. I think that Dr.Scott and Ragosa could be friends.

 

Loved Drew and Ragosa in badass boss and papa boss mode, respectively. Still love the Drew/Krista friendship. I absolutely loved Topher as the difficult (on purpose?) patient and loved even more Assertive!Paul.

And my ship Landry/Ragosa is sailing smoothly so far. They're the Team Mom and Team Dad so they need to hook up, first thing next season.

 

I'm still ambivalent about Jordan/TC. I think they toned down the free pass given to TC, compared to the beginning of the season, and I think the PTSD storyline is decent, more than could be expected from a summer/shallow show (but I agree that the acting wasn't good at all in the last Jordan/TC scene; although I've seen worse this year). I like Jordan as a colleague and a friend, and whenever she doesn't do the right thing or doesn't act professionally, it comes back to bite her in the ass so it isn't as if she's portrayed as perfect; plus I liked her epiphany about being confronted to violence. I've seen worse, also, in terms of "golden couple".

But I don't particularly care for either of them or feel passionate about them. I wonder if I wouldn't like them better if they got together and were rather happy. Maybe I could see why I'm supposed to root for them

 

So yes, I enjoyed this show a lot and I'm going to miss the cliché-fest. It actually makes me appreciate more the character moments since I don't have to focus on the plot, except to play "guess which cliché" (and this is fun).

Moreover, several characters and relationships turned out different from what I thought they'd be, mostly in a good way; and make me appreciate the show more than I thought I would.

I suspected that Ragosa would be a Jerk with a Heart of Gold, but I didn't think he'd end up as such a good boss (imo) or that he'd still be "himself" in the process; he's still the same guy as episode 1 imo, only we know him better.

I didn't think that Krista, who seemed so outgoing and self-assured, would reveal the most fragile and sensitive of the lot.

I didn't think that Drew would be treated so well as a character (still imo) and not just as the "gay guy". I like how his coming out was paralleled with his taking more responsibilities and more leadership in his work. His boost of confidence was showed, not told, not even lampshaded on the show; props to the writers on this.

I didn't think that Landry would be an efficient psychiatrist, or that she would escape the love triangle of doom so fast and unscathed -as well as her friendship with Jordan, which I appreciate.

I didn't think that Paul would overcome his butt-monkey status and be a competent doctor.

I didn't think...yeah, I did suspect that Topher would be awesome, but not that awesome.

 

So well, I like most of the characters, those I'm meh about aren't insufferable yet -since they didn't ruin any character or relationship that I like, and the show entertains me a lot. So I'll be looking forward to next season.

Edited July 16, 2014 by Happy Harpy

[renard]

Let's get one thing straight: the sun is NOT out at 5:09AM in San Antonio, especially that high in the sky, even on the summer solstice-Minnesota, yes; Texas, no. Shit like that pisses me off.

[CofCinci]

I originally tuned in to this show because I'm a psychotherapist for the VA and a majority of my clients are in treatment for PTSD. I'm also a Veteran and like to see how my fellow Veterans are portrayed in the media. I just don't understand why TC was in that raid or even in unit with his brother. I've fan-wanked that these flashbacks happened in 2003/2004 and that TC was not yet a physician (maybe a degree in biology or something at that point). He experiences his index trauma and goes into the "avoidance" portion of PTSD. In avoidance, some men and women turn to drugs, alcohol, video games, etc - anything that gets them away from the intrusive thoughts of the trauma and hyperarousal that follows. Some people use work or school as avoidance and become successful. I've sold myself that TC threw himself into finishing med school instead of dealing with the trauma. He was successful for a while but it has caught up to him.

Now, this is purely anecdotal, but from my experience helping many combat veterans process their trauma - for those that had to kill a child or saw dead children, these painful intrusive thoughts do not catch up to them until they have children of their own -- then their avoidance behaviors consume their day. So-- I've also invented a child out there for TC. That said, I wish this were the Drew show.

[00redsvt]

Let's get one thing straight: the sun is NOT out at 5:09AM in San Antonio, especially that high in the sky, even on the summer solstice-Minnesota, yes; Texas, no. Shit like that pisses me off.

That's what I said!!!!

I didn't want to pick apart the characters and all that because, lets face it, I am sitting here watching this every week, but the 5:09 am beautifully sunlit sky was enough to make me shake my head!!

[Lady Calypso]

Also, I've found that the timing within the episode is...off. Or maybe that's just me. I noticed last episode, the time at the beginning was, like, 12:09 or something and then by the end, it was before midnight so I find that they're inconsistent when it comes to timing, so I wish they'd just leave the 'clock' aspect out of it. Like, Topher managed to get shot, get stabilized, have surgery and was already waking up within a couple of hours. I don't know if that's entirely realistic, so if someone can correct me on anything, please do! I just find that this show doesn't know how to pace episodes well.

[Sandman]

I like Jill Flint, most of the time; I do. I don't like how paint-by-numbers Jordan's relationship with TC feels. I don't like how Tragic Consequences' belief in his own superpowers seems to have been shared unthinkingly by everyone around him, even though it seemed clear to me (as a layperson who watched all the same ER episodes as the writing staff of this show, good Lord!) that TC was barely holding it together, and had, to put it mildly, incompletely processed his brother's death.

 

That said, I actually found Macken's final scene effective. I actually found myself thinking TC might harm himself in the earlier scene in the bathroom -- sure, it would be a cliché, but the scene held the tension efficiently. Macken can do the work, I think, but the writing doesn't support him enough. I like the cast generally. (Also the scene of Dr. Alien and Dr. Mole on the phone with Mary and her mother may have softened me up a good deal.)

 

But did we really have to drown in the man!pain! to end the season? Tragic Consequences, husband of the English Patient, Drew freaking out over Tee, Topher, No! and Dr. Angry Onion. Oy. Of course Ragosa has a tumour behind his eye. Of course he does!

Edited July 23, 2014 by Sandman

[DeLurker]

 

Meanwhile, of course, they give Ragosa a freaking brain tumor!  We need to have someone be sick like that, plus a nice way to get themselves out of the blind story-line.  So, I guess that's all going to be going on next season.

And in a coming episode next season, Tragic Consequences will do some form of emergency operation and save him while a rare earthquake-hurricane-sharknado-snow storm simultaneously hit the San Antonio area!

 

Oh show...please give me more promotional shots to keep me amused.

[Sandman]

DeLurker, you forgot the solar flare.