S02.E04: Shock to the Heart

[Happy Harpy]

 

TC (Eoin Macken), Joey (guest star Adam Rodriguez), and Gwen (guest star Merle Dandridge) rescue an injured skydiver from the site of a near-fatal crash. Joey and Krista (Jeananne Goossen) counsel the skydiver's girlfriend after they uncover serious complications in the operating room. TC, Topher (Ken Leung), and Ragosa (Freddy Rodriguez) treat an electrocuted janitor whose family gathers around him in the ER. When the patient's wife and children suddenly come down with their own life-threatening symptoms, the night shift team works overtime to save them. Jordan (Jill Flint) and Paul (Robert Bailey Jr.) attend to a college student who comes to the ER with a mild fever. As they uncover the cause of her condition, Jordan teaches Paul a difficult lesson about his limitations as a doctor. Meanwhile, Rick (Luke Macfarlane, "Killjoys") arrives at the hospital with an injury that he hides from his boyfriend, Drew (Brendan Fehr). JR Lemon also stars.

 

[sinkwriter]

I don't know why the character Jordan bugs me so much. I think it's the way the actress plays her. I just don't like her delivery of the lines. When she realized her patient had likely been raped, she had all the compassion and care of a robot -- she says the right things, but it doesn't sound like she really cares. I don't believe her.

 

Say what you will about TC, but at least Eoin makes me believe he gives a shit about each and every patient he treats.

[Happy Harpy]

(Separated my thoughts from the episode summary). This season turns out better than what I expected.

 

Let's get it out of the way, I'm in love with the character of Ragosa. I'm so happy with his development and I hope that it lasts. I don't even care that car and house weren't searched as soon as 4 members of the same family were sick.

 

TC, I want to like you. I even thought that you and Jordan were kind of cute. But.

I'm used to you disrespecting your colleagues/superiors' opinions or orders because you want to try everything to save your patients and do what's best for them and can't stand that people die; even though it's unprofessional, to say the least. Nevertheless, disrespecting a DNR should get your ass fired. Now, wanting to deprive someone of a loved one's last words to them? Is fucking callous and makes you a fucking asshole with a God complex.

 

Thankfully, TC was wrong -can I hope that he learns from his mistakes?- and thankfully, he finally gave the note. Unfortunately, the girlfriend didn't get to know what he intended to do and didn't rip him a new one, as he would have deserved.

I would have liked his conversation with Ragosa, and them finding common ground, but he kind of ruined that, too. After his latest stunt, TC doesn't get to call anyone a dick.

 

Topher, you disappointed me by letting TC act against the DNR. You're the boss, damn it! It's your role, and you need to go against your friends if necessary.

But  Topher likes Chavez and defended him, and I liked that.

 

Chavez owned Little Boy again. I have the feeling that he knew about the note snatching/TC being there. I almost expect him to call TC "Little Grasshoper", in the near future. Hey, Krista went to yoga with him -excellent decision, by the way, she seemed under pressure to me, lately. My new not-so-crackship might be rolling!

 

Paul had a slight case of TC-itis, but I can't fault a man who punches a rapist. Sorry not sorry. And Paul is so cute and has a bit of snark in him.

 

And damn, Luke McFarlane is a fine looking man. Hey, they didn't go for the addiction storyline with Rick. It was a red anvil !

"I'm sure that [Drew] tells you everything". Oh, Rick, I wish I could confirm this, but unfortunately it was about Drew and Krista's second interaction since last season. And he was kind of dickish to her, not cool. It might be a rarity at San Antonio Memorial, but she was only respecting her patient's wishes (yay for her!) and trying to stay out of issues that were none of her business.

I'm sorry about the breakup, and I hope it's only temporary. Because I like Rick, and Rick/Drew, and the Rick/Krista friendship, too. I nevertheless think that he made the right decision. There was no way their relationship could stay healthy with the state of mind he's in. It seems they'll avoid the Callie-Arizona's ruination (imo) redux and I'm glad for it.

But I loved Drew siding Ragosa against TC. Yeah!

Edited March 17, 2015 by Happy Harpy

[sinkwriter]

 

Now, wanting to deprive someone of a loved one's last words to them? Is fucking callous and makes you a fucking asshole with a God complex.

 

That was when I got really mad. I actually said to my TV screen, "You better the hell give her that note."

 

What kind of person decides not to give a patient's girlfriend the very last words he wrote to her? I was glad he decided to give them to her, but he lost major points with me for that behavior. That was bullshit. It is NOT his call. And since he's obviously thinking about his own brother during all of this, he can't say he wouldn't have wanted a final letter from his brother, no matter how much it may have hurt, so for him to decide for the girlfriend what she may or may not be able to handle is major asshole behavior.

 

 

Let's get it out of the way, I'm in love with the character of Ragosa. I'm so happy with his development and I hope that it lasts.

 

He had the best line of the episode, after TC asked if all his moving around as a kid and how it didn't help him to fit in anywhere was what made him a dick: "Yeah, probably... what's your excuse?" LOL. 

Edited March 17, 2015 by sinkwriter

[Happy Harpy]

That was when I got really mad. I actually said to my TV screen, "You better the hell give her that note."

I wonder if it made many viewers talk out loud, because I did, too. In my case, it was: "Oh no he didn't!". LOL.

 

I think that my main issue with Jordan (I don't dislike her, but I don't love her either) is that as a character, she's very generic. In S1, she was basically the center of a triangle and didn't get imo much of a voice, it was more about TC and Scott. In S2, she's the love interest and still imo doesn't have significant interaction outside of TC. Orphaned at a young age doesn't give a personality to a character, either. Actually, I found her more interesting at the very beginning, when she had to be the boss, I think that she had more of a role and a personal agency, then.

Edited March 17, 2015 by Happy Harpy

[Good Queen Jane]

I would totally watch a show with Topher and Chavez as BFFs. They are the only really sensible ones in the ER. Maybe that's where this show is going: Topher/Chavez teaching the other doctors how to handle things. TC doesn't seem to be SuperDoctor any more. And he had no right to disregard a patient's clear DNR no matter how much the pretty girl cried.

 

I did like Jordan telling Paul he was going to have to learn how to deal with a  patient's ladyparts. Paul seems awfully naïve for a doctor. I guess part of the show will be watching him "grow up."

[Calamity Jane]

Did it seem to anyone else that the ER docs were awfullllly slow to suspect that the college girl had been raped?  "I haven't had sex in months"  + evidence found in her doesn't seem that hard to put together, even before "I went to a frat party."  

 

I was glad the note did finally get delivered.  Nobody has the right to make that decision for someone else, anymore than anyone has the right to decide someone else's DNR order should be ignored because they don't like it.  I did wonder, though, in light of the DNR, why was the patient still on advanced life support (breathing apparatus)?  

 

OK show, I think better than last summer's episodes, and I like how the focus has shifted to other doctors.  Not the best, but also not the worst thing on.  

[sinkwriter]

 

Did it seem to anyone else that the ER docs were awfullllly slow to suspect that the college girl had been raped?  "I haven't had sex in months"  + evidence found in her doesn't seem that hard to put together, even before "I went to a frat party."

 

Yes. It was driving me nuts. The writers seemed to make them ridiculously clueless. Meanwhile, as soon as she said she hadn't had sex in months, my brain said, "And you said you got totally drunk last night and can't remember much... hmmm... there's a clue."

 

 

I was glad the note did finally get delivered.  Nobody has the right to make that decision for someone else, anymore than anyone has the right to decide someone else's DNR order should be ignored because they don't like it.  I did wonder, though, in light of the DNR, why was the patient still on advanced life support (breathing apparatus)?

 

I think I've seen this on other medical drama shows -- once the patient gets put on the life support, it is highly difficult from a legal standpoint to simply take them off of it again (which is why it was so wrong of TC to disregard the DNR). I think the brother would have to go to court and get some sort of legal paperwork demanding that they take the patient off life support. But once the patient is on life support, the hospital can't take him off of it without proper legal documentation because their job is now to keep the patient alive and keep treating him. So it's a big mess that TC created.

[Ohmo]

Let's get it out of the way, I'm in love with the character of Ragosa. I'm so happy with his development and I hope that it lasts. I don't even care that car and house weren't searched as soon as 4 members of the same family were sick.

 

I'm sorry about the breakup, and I hope it's only temporary. Because I like Rick, and Rick/Drew, and the Rick/Krista friendship, too. I nevertheless think that he made the right decision. There was no way their relationship could stay healthy with the state of mind he's in. It seems they'll avoid the Callie-Arizona's ruination (imo) redux and I'm glad for it.

But I loved Drew siding Ragosa against TC. Yeah!

 

Echoing the Regosa love.  I know zero Spanish, but there is something about Freddy Rodriguez's delivery.  I'd completely buy whatever he said, and I don't mean that in a sexy way either.  It's more of a competence thing...you could tell that he had great command of the situation.  I dunno...I just regarded it as awesome!

 

This may be unpopular, but I'm not that broken up about Rick.  I want Drew to have a partner, but somehow, the writers didn't do a very good job of making me invested in Rick.  I know that Drew's invested in Rick because we've been told that, but there was never enough that showed me why Rick versus any other guy that Drew met?  I'm more invested in Chavez who we've only met this season.  I understand that Drew's sad and that he loves Rick, but I need some exposition (most likely courtesy of a Drew/Krista exchange) in order for Drew to let me know why he specifically fell in love with Rick.  Otherwise I'm open to Drew moving on and finding someone new.

 

I think the writers screwed up by merging Drew's coming out with Rick's injury.  Taking care of someone isn't the same as loving someone.

 

Paul's reaction would have made a lot more sense to me if it had happened last season when we first met him.  Emergency medicine is his chosen field, and he's spent time literally being taught by Topher and Jordan.  The whole "wet behind the ears" vibe that came from Paul (even before his reaction to the RA) was once understanable to me.  Now it's reading as "incapable."

Edited March 17, 2015 by Ohmo

[sinkwriter]

One thing I was glad about was that the writers didn't turn Paul's reaction to the rapist into some sort of sob story scene about how Someone Very Important in his own life had been raped and that's why he reacted in the way he did. Instead, he was simply outraged because rape is a horrible, offensive, terrible thing, he has a sister, he has a mother, he wouldn't want that to happen to any woman he knows, and the whole situation made him angry. Damn straight.

[Happy Harpy]

I would totally watch a show with Topher and Chavez as BFFs. They are the only really sensible ones in the ER. Maybe that's where this show is going: Topher/Chavez teaching the other doctors how to handle things.

I would love it. And my fangirl self would add Ragosa to the mix. Oh, see those three doing yoga. Or shots.

And I think that's why I don't relate to Kenny. He's stuck in high school mode imo, whereas he's an adult; it makes him seem shallow and out of his depth. Although it was so obvious in this episode that I felt sorry for him -but I still want Krista with Chavez. 

 

Did it seem to anyone else that the ER docs were awfullllly slow to suspect that the college girl had been raped?  "I haven't had sex in months"  + evidence found in her doesn't seem that hard to put together, even before "I went to a frat party."  

 

[...]

 

OK show, I think better than last summer's episodes, and I like how the focus has shifted to other doctors.  Not the best, but also not the worst thing on.  

 

For the college girl, it was imo as slow as someone finally searching the car for the family. I.e, writers stretching the plot beyond suspension of disbelief in order to "last" for an entire episode. Maybe it would have been better if they split and concentrated the plots 50/50 instead of interwining them during the whole episode.

And yes, now that they focus more on the other doctors, this show can is slowly getting out of "guilty pleasure" territory...I don't expect tight storytelling, but good character development is enough to get me involved.

 

This may be unpopular, but I'm not that broken up about Rick.  I want Drew to have a partner, but somehow, the writers didn't do a very good job of making me invested in Rick.

 [...]

 

Paul's reaction would have made a lot more sense to me if it had happened last season when we first met him.  Emergency medicine is his chosen field, and he's spent time literally being taught by Topher and Jordan.  The whole "wet behind the ears" vibe that came from Paul (even before his reaction to the RA) was once understanable to me.  Now it's reading as "incapable."

I think I liked Rick even more than Drew in this episode. I really like how he's portrayed as a soldier who wants to be on the field with his men (but I'm a "military brat", so maybe I relate easily here) therefore as his own person, and not as a  "token gay significant other". And he seemed to respect Drew's friendship with Krista, and trust her, which is for me the sign of a positive/ non-jealous mindset and always a plus. I'm usually not sold on relationships that I didn't see the beginning onscreen, but this might be the exception. And Luke MacFarlane, beyond his very fine self, has imo a way to make the characters he plays relatable/sympathetic to me (it was already the case on Brothers & Sisters).

As for Paul, I agree that his embarrassment sounded weird. But I think that again, it was plot-driven. They needed someone to sound ignorant, and imo Ragosa being an ex-administrator, he would already be aware of the legal issue, so this storyline fell upon Paul.

Edited March 17, 2015 by Happy Harpy

[Ohmo]

I think I liked Rick even more than Drew in this episode. I really like how he's portrayed as a soldier who wants to be on the field with his men (but I'm a "military brat", so maybe I relate easily here) therefore as his own person, and not as a  "token gay significant other".

 

That's what I didn't like...there was too much emphasis on Rick the soldier and Drew the doctor.  I don't need to know about Rick on the battlefield separate from Drew.  I know that happened because that's how the relationship was at the beginning of the show.  They were long-distance.  Then, we got all sorts of refences to Drew the doctor and Drew the caregiver, which makes sense.  That's what he knows, but there was never that much togetherness between them before they each started using their own coping mechanisms to deal with the situation.  Rick's dealing with the soldier aspect and Drew's focused on the medical, which, while I understand it, does not a relationship make.

[thuganomics85]

The DNR plot didn't bug me as much as I thought it would, but TC still was obnoxious as always, assuming he knew what the guy wanted.  Also, I love Topher, but I wished he didn't just let TC walk over him, when he "saved" him briefly.  aWhen TC was all, "You've got two options!  Either leave or help me!", I really wanted Topher to just be "There is another option. Security!"  But, nope, no dice.  At least Chavez (who is quickly shooting up to being one of my favorites) stood up to him, and, in the end, TC was proven wrong, and finally accepted it.  But, this is not the TC I like.

 

Ragosa on the other hand, is continuing to be awesome.  Loved all his scenes with the family, and how he figured out what was happening.  I'm really rooting for him the most.

 

They brought back Rick, only for him to break-up with Drew.  Now, Drew is off drinking his pain away.  I hope this doesn't just lead to Angsty Drew.  Brendan Fehr is better when he has some snark in him.

 

So, they are going with a Chavez/Krista/Kenny triangle, huh?

 

I actually didn't mind all the Paul and Jordan stuff.  Jordan isn't my favorite, but I still prefer her when she is with anyone but TC.  The way they handled the rape plot was sad, but I sadly suspect realistic.  At least Paul got to wail on the rapist for a bit.

[dargosmydaddy]

Hope Rick comes back. I need more Luke MacFarlane on my TV.

 

Also more of Ragosa speaking Spanish. Never cared much about his character, but his Spanish was hot.

[starri]

Is that bar going to be a thing now?

 

Are bars open at 8AM in Texas?

 

Read the following in the voice of Morbo from Futurama:  DNRs DO NOT WORK THAT WAY!  Respecting the patient's wishes is the first thing they teach you in medical school, TC.  Chavez had the much calmer, more rational approach.  He can stay.

 

I also want to know why Krista is suddenly scrubbing into surgery all the time.  A PGY-1 doing an EM residency would at most spend a month on a surgical service.

 

I wish the Rick and Drew thing had been fleshed out a little more.  We've seen Rick twice, and in every mention since Drew finally came out, it's clear that Drew is completely crazy about him.  That was just too abrupt, and I'm afraid it's the end of the story, so yay, Brendan Fehr won't have to do any more icky same-sex intimacy.

[LittleIggy]

I would love it. And my fangirl self would add Ragosa to the mix. Oh, see those three doing yoga. Or shots.

l.

Me, too! They are my faves.

Is that poor man lingering on life support because of TC? As someone said, Topher should have been a boss and kicked his ass out.

BTW, dogs love peanut butter. One of the best way to give them pills is to hide them in PB.

[Sandman]

So, Drew and Rick are breaking up, a woman has to come to terms with her beloved's DNR, a poisoned family is basically homeless (and likely crippingly in debt from health crises in bulk) and there's a sad dog? Have these writers even HEARD of shame? ::honnnk::

 

What? My house is ... dusty.

[Dowel Jones]

Instead, he was simply outraged...

 

Assault, however motivated, is still one huge liability on the hospital.  I was rather stunned that the only reaction was a pat on the back.  Of course, it did occur near the end of the episode so there were time constraints, but still I would think that administration would like to have a long talk with him.