ERHeal Thyself
Original Air Date: 13 Nov 2008
Rachel – TwoCents Associate Editor
rachel@thetwocentscorp.com
We all saw this coming from a mile away. It was only a matter of time, really. All the clues were there: Haleh thought she recognized her, she always acted weird around Trauma One, whenever someone referenced “family” she cringed and changed the subject. So when Dr. Banfield became involved in a rescue of a nearly-drowned toddler and the flashbacks came rolling in, I wasn’t surprised. What did surprise me, however, was the fun I had as a fan of ER seeing County General, circa 2002, with it’s green and yellow walls and very familiar and missed faces.
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[photo: NBC.com]
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We all saw this coming from a mile away. It was only a matter of time, really. All the clues were there: Haleh thought she recognized her, she always acted weird around Trauma One, whenever someone referenced “family” she cringed and changed the subject. So when Dr. Banfield became involved in a rescue of a nearly-drowned toddler and the flashbacks came rolling in, I wasn’t surprised. What did surprise me, however, was the fun I had as a fan of ER seeing County General, circa 2002, with it’s green and yellow walls and very familiar and missed faces.
ReplyDeleteToday at County General, Neela’s intern Andrew missed a diagnosis (no thanks to her hurrying him along in Rounds) resulting in the death of an elderly woman. Tony discovered the identity of his homeless vet (Max) and that he was bounced to the curb by the government without insurance for a “pre-existing condition” of mental instability. But the condition was not pre-existing at all, really, his tour Iraq caused it. Yet none of these tertiary story lines mattered to me last night: It was all about Dr. Greene.
As she was working on the unconscious little girl, Valecia, who had been under the icy waters of Lake Michigan for nearly 20 minutes, Dr. Banfield slowly recalls the worst day of her own life. It started innocently enough, with her husband Russell and son Daryl playing catch in the park.
Then things went horribly wrong: Her son collapsed into a febrile seizure. It had happened before, though, and she decided to wait twenty minutes to call an ambulance. She is an attending at another hospital, after all, and knows what she is doing. Those twenty minutes would haunt her for the rest of her life.
They arrived at County and were greeted by Dr. Mark Greene. At this point in time, Mark was in the middle of his separation from Elizabeth and his second round of chemo treatments. In Trauma One, Mark and a heavy-set Haleh work up Daryl. He can tell immediately that something is not right. Mark takes a blood sample from Daryl and, just by looking at it, can see the boy has leukemia. Banfield doesn’t cry, she doesn’t show any emotion at all. She completely shuts down and becomes the bitter, cold woman who is running the ER today.
With juxtaposed, parallel scenes from 2002 and 2008, Banfield tries to save Valecia and Mark tries to save Daryl. Only one would get the desired result.
Banfield finally shares her secret with someone: Archie. In the break room, she flatly tells him how Daryl died right there, in Trauma One. Morris is shocked. How can she work here when this is where her son died? He doesn’t know what to say. Then, in one of the most profound statements of the episode, Banfield explains that when a child loses parents, he’s an orphan; when a wife loses a husband, she’s a widow; but when a parent loses a child… there is no word for that.
At home, Banfield finally cries over the loss of her son six years previous. Finally, she can start to heal.
What a great episode. I, of course, loved seeing Dr. Greene. He had such a rough life, made some horrible choices, but was always so full of humanity that I just loved him. I also liked the surprise appearances of Carrie (Laura Innes) and Rocket Romano (Paul McCrane). Thank you, ER, for reminding me why I fell in love with this show so long ago.
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I don't care if her son died there- and who didn't see that coming with all the subtlety of a jackhammer?!- I can't stand Banfield. I loved seeing Greene again, but why did have to be all about her? Bleah! And did Romano look a bit chunky under that surgical gown, or was it just me?
ReplyDeleteThis episode made me miss the old ER ~ maybe since that's who I started watching so many years ago, I'm just loyal to that team! I miss Keri, Romano, Elizabeth, Doug, and especially Mark ... those were the episodes that made me cry & made me love ER. It's just not the same without them.
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