Secrets and Lies

Season 8, Episode 16, Aired
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Episode Summary

An unusual patient trigger's the curiosity of Abby, Susan, Gallant, Luka and Carter, which lands them at an all-day sexual harassment seminar. Throughout the day, Carter and Luka clash, Abby and Susan bond, and everyone discovers something new about each other. Susan breaks it off with Carter when she realizes his feelings for Abby, while news and gossip spreads through the ER of Elizabeth and Mark's separation.moreless
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Fan Episode Reviews (14)

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  • A humerous side to ER.

    9.3
    "Superb"
    By bairdo_25, Aug 24, 2008 Report Abuse
    This episode was very, very, very funny, from the start to the finish. I loved the way Luka and Carter clashed over Abby (back off Carter) and the way Abby and Susan bonded. It was really entertaing and different from the medical side of ER. I absoutley loved it. I loved the talk about when they al lost there virginities and Carter's time was hialirious, an eleven year old with a twenty five year old? That's so illegal but funny. Ha ha! Carter was really funny and entertaining, his duel with Luka and eventually telling Susan he put the d*ldo in Weaver's locker, I didn't think he had the balls for it. Loved Luka and Abby competing over Abby, totally glad it worked out with Abby and Luka eventually but Carter and Abby are alright, sometimes.

    Overall an excellent and very entertaining episode. I loved it, I'm glad we got a break from the Mark and Elizabeth story line.moreless

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  • All those little secrets and lies..

    8.6
    "Great"
    By Parricida, Jan 12, 2008 Report Abuse
    It was a really unique episode - I do not count that I would remember anything like this later or before. The story is very simple - Abby, Susan, Carter, Kovac and Gallant are caught by Weaver and then sent to little lecture, where most of the episode, they wait it. As they have so much time, they talk.. we learn so much about all of those characters and Gallant is opened for us first time. The fencing (what was very stylish), all those little secrets, memories, Hamleth in Croatia... and the end scenes.. stunning episode. Really refreshing and great interludemoreless

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  • Five favorite characters stuck together in a single room....fun, angsty, revealing.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By soccermom, Apr 19, 2007 Report Abuse
    No matter how many times I watch this episode I am sucked into the fun and revelations of some of my favorite characters. Through their interactions we are given glimpses of their families, their pasts, their hopes and their characters. A sexual harrassment clinic in a blandly decorated college classroom. We are introduced to Michael Gallant and his dedication to his family and his military career. We catch glimpses of the happy childhood and early marriage of Luka Kovac. We get the comparative families of Carter's well to do - yet sad - upbringing and Susan's relatively normal middle class childhood. We hear Susan's reasons for returning to Chicago....and Luka skirting the issue of his reasons for leaving Croatia. We experience a hauntingly beautiful siloquoy from Hamilet in Croatian. We get to see the sparring of the two men for the affection and attention of Abby come to life in a playfully intense fencing match. Abby. Maura Tierney completely steals the episode as the bridge between all of the characters. The Virgin Game. The confession of being a reality show junkie. The 'girl talk' seeding of a wonderful friendship with Susan. The curiosity about the Carter millions. Acknowledging that she knows as little about Luka as she does about Carter. She also gives a tremendously powerful testament about nursing as a career. (So moving that I was later disappointed that she would go back to medical school.) Nicely written and wonderfully directed, all five actors clearly shown in each of their own moments. It was a fun break from the ER. But not altogether complete. We did get a dominatrix patient...and her client.... whose 'bag of tricks' was the reason for the retraining session in the first place. Hilarious and disturbing....and a whole lot of fun.moreless

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  • One of those episodes that you just keep coming back to and not getting bored of watching over and over again. Altogether unforgettable.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By wittyscreenname, Mar 12, 2007 Report Abuse
    This has to be one of my favourite episodes, marking classic old-school ER as it drew to its close. Between the unforced humour, the well-balanced and believable character development...and well, Luka reciting the To Be or Not to Be soliloquy in croatian, need I say more? Even though nothing exceedingly crucial happens in this episode with regards to plot, there are so many little things that happen that make the show and its characters just that much more memorable.moreless

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  • This is not "Exactly why i watch this series" but it is a very welcome break from the madness of the ER.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By ariel_panther, Feb 08, 2007 Report Abuse
    This is not "Exactly why i watch this series" but it is a very welcome break from the madness of the ER. It is brilliantly plotted. The whole thing with the dominatrix bag was hilarious, as well as most of the other scenes. The characters are & the relationships are really well developed here. You get to see the beginning of a wonderful friendship between Abby & Susan, as well as a bond between Carter and Luka. The latter duel and quote Hamlet in a ridiculous(ly funny) competition for Abby's heart. This is probably my favourite ER episode as it shows another side of the doctors and it has you on the floor at laughing every other scene.moreless

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Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

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  • Notes

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    • Swordmaster Roberta Brown, who is also a musician, dancer, and actress, worked with Noah Wyle and Goran Visnjic to prepare them for this episode's fencing scenes. She would later work on swordplay with Alex Kingston for the 2003 film Boudica. Edit
    • Music: "Prelude to a Kiss," Duke Ellington Edit
    • The character Luka says that he used to play Hamlet every year back in Croatia. In real life, Goran Visnjic, who portrays Luka, really did play Hamlet every year back in Croatia. Edit

  • Quotes

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    • Susan: (about her former boyfriend in Arizona) Charlie Dixon, "Dix." He's a cowboy. Can you believe it? (laughs) An honest-to-God cowboy. He has the horse, the pick-up truck, the whole deal. I am a walking cliché. Edit
    • Gallant: Dr. Carter. Carter: What? Gallant: What does your dad do? Susan: Spends the family trust fund. Edit
    • Gallant: We were told to report to room 224 at 0800. I'm here, and I'm gonna stay here until someone in charge tells me to do otherwise. And I suggest you all do the same. Carter: 0800? This ain't the Marines, Gallant. At ease. Edit

  • Allusions

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    • Susan: (to Abby) I watch Fear Factor. Fear Factor is an extreme stunt reality game show that aired on NBC from June 2001 to September 2006. It was hosted by comedian Joe Rogan, who incidentally also co-starred with Maura Tierney and Khandi Alexander on the NBC comedy NewsRadio, which aired on NBC from March 1991 until May 1999. Edit
    • Although it isn't directly mentioned in the episode, the set-up of a mixed group of people having arguments, making confessions, and talking about their private lives, all while waiting in "detention" for their punishment, could be a reference to the movie The Breakfast Club, in which a group of teenagers follow almost the exact structure of this episode. Edit
    • Susan makes a reference to Coco, a character from the 1980 film Fame , starring Irene Cara, as well as a young Paul McCrane. In another reference to Fame, the lyrics to a song from the movie are written up on the board, a song that happened to be sung in the film by Paul McCrane's character. Edit

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