This episode has some very interesting scenes that are not out of place, just different from the normal operative pattern of 7 Days. The flashback to China during World War II is the main crux of this, it starts things out well enough, albeit somewhat weird.

Parker's immediate concern about his former Navy buddy was very much in character for him, but since it was a non-mission it made less sense for him not to take Donovan with him to help evaluate, or Olga to go along under the pretext of a friend to use her medical and psychological skills to figure out the problem. Dr. Isaac Metnor makes his first appearance of the season and is first appearance since "Space Station Down" in mid season 2. There is no mention of how unusual it is to see him hanging around with the rest of the staff again, he's simply back. This was a missed opportunity, perhaps to give some reasoning for his infrequent appearances. Isaac had a lot of responsibility for the storytelling, setting up an important aspect of the mystery, something that given the established background of the character and Norman Lloyds good performance, is a very strong part of the episode.

Once Parker, Olga and Donovan are rapped within the Quarantine Zone and believed to be lost forever, we see a good look into the thinking of Talmadge and Isaac about their futures in the backstep Program. Calling them The Future of Backstep, implying that they would want for them to take over their jobs once they move on or retire.

This episodes had the final appearance of Sam Whipple as Dr. John Ballard. It was a bit too brief and seemed to be more of a stepping stone to get to the introduction of Andrew Owsley.

This episode like "Rhino" had it's own points that should have made it a contender for being the Season Premiere episode. Despite the fact that they would have had to completely re do the exit of Dr. Ballard, there was a full introduction to the cast in the episode and the opportunity to see the Backstep program through a fresh perspective, albeit a juvenile one.

Overall an episode with a good mystery, it was very character driven with a good mix of the usual action sequences with a little less comedy than we typically get from the series.

This was the strongest episode so far into the season. It Really should have been the season premiere. It had a lot more of the ingredients than "Stairway to Heaven" Parker has to stop a major political assassination, The backstep crew all has a worthwhile contribution to the episode. Talmadge, Ramsey, Olga and Donovan all have parts that are more than a simple cameo.

The Character of Rhino fit well into the flow of the episode, a character who had history with Parker that was established very easily by a brief conversation with Donovan then confirmed by Parker and Rhino battling in the alleyway. With the Parker-Rhino relationship, they were going for some good action with some good comedy. They made more shots then they missed on that front. but there were things that could have been excluded. Most notably the sewage getting dumped on Parker. Not to be a prude or anything, it just was trying t make a joke and it was a miss for me as I'm sure many others.

One of the reasons I would have put this as a better candidate for the season premiere was due tot the fact that there was some strong Frank/Olga interaction. Being that the second season ended with them seeming to be getting a little closer, the scene where Parker expressed concern for Olga's safety would have been at least a god nod toward that connection, even if they weren't going to make any great strides forward. This episode at least paid proper respect to the development the viewers were expecting.

There were a number of good touches in this episode. Parker's "Golf Practice" was a very enjoyable scene. The briefing about the US soldiers killed in Columbia was good to establish the drama of the Program's mission that it can't always fix everything. The viewers were of course glad when the backstep was in time to un do that event. Finally, the moment where Parker is about to board the sphere and asks the entire room if there's anything he can un do for them was excellent. If you worked in that place and had access to Parker, I'd imagine in real life many people would try to get him to give them warnings about upcoming events or problems.

An enjoyable adventure with plenty of action and comedy, exactly why we watched 7 Days.

There was a lot of hype associated with this episode, mainly being due to the possibility ff Denny running for president of the United States. The rest of the plotlines were interesting though even though they got very little hype.

Even though there was a lot of cast involvement in this episode, there were the noted absences of Gary Anthony Williams and Taraji P. Henson.

The episode was served by the scenes keeping within the established bounds and quirks of the characters. Denny's initial reaction to being offered the chance to run for President was spot on, writing and performance wise. Alan's skepticism and critical reaction to the proposition was very good and made a lot of his scenes with Denny work very well. Jerry's reaction to his Dana's return and wanting his help created good drama and his arguments in court were priceless.

Denny Crane had some very great scenes in this episode, the initial reaction, being vetted by the committee, arguing with Alan over Balcony time, and it resolved very well. Having it turn out to be a practical joke run by adversaries was a very good way to end that story. It was far more inventive than simply having Denny decide because of age or timing or some other reason to give up and not try. The turning of the tables was also very well executed.

The case with Shirley and Carl to assist a woman to become a priest was interesting, though a little off balance. Shirley starts and then Carl takes over and runs the rest of the case completely. Both of them delivered strong performances the switch off just seemed unusual for this pair.

Jerry and Katie trying to overturn the law against Prostitution was a Hail Mary play to be sure, but at least it was well established and supported. The internal conflict between Jerry, Katie and Lorraine was strong. The ending of that arc was also well put together, leaving us with the question as to whether or not Lorraine had something to do with Dana's disappearance. Hopefully this will be revisited in the season finale.

This episode had a very interesting twist, 2 major arguments and Alan made neither of them.

Carl was very effective in making his case, while Jerry's arguments were a little diminished by his "Talking in circles" While I am sure many have strong feelings about the arguments made, I thought they were at least well presented and reasoned. In the end, Denny may not have won the chance to be President but he still won the day.

There was a lot to accomplish I this episode, as so often happens with season finales. Since Goran Visjnic and Maura Tierney were not going to return, their storyline had to be wrapped up and resolved. Thankfully it worked nicely taking them on a good arc within the episode, from Luka being standoffish to contemplative to trying to work things out. While it happened a little fast, it was good that it happened and was a least handled with some Maturity.

Doctor Moretti turns up for this episode to talk to Abby and Luka. Giving the lamest excuse ever for having an affair with a married woman. He said he "didn't know" about her and Luka. I'm sorry but was he blind and didn't see her wedding ring? Had he never had a single conversation with anyone in the ER? It was some form of a godsend that Luka punched him since most if not all of the viewers wanted to.

Pratt had a lot to do this episode, coming fresh off a hopeful interview to become Chief of the ER, his half-brother having been accepted to med school, trying to find a suitable engagement ring for Bettina and treating the "Mystery Patient"

That patient was revealed to be in witness protection, which was a good thing to bring into the ER, but I'm willing to bet most of the audience had figured that out or at least suspected it by the time they told us outright. Morris' plotline fit well into the episode but it went nowhere. Sam and Gates had some interactions in the beginning, but nothing really substantial besides being late for work. Dubenko's anger and seming resignation seemed to come completely out of nowhere. Neela and Brenner? Are you kidding me? Could we have eliminated this completely and put in some more Sam and Gates stuff instead? Or a shot of a wall and nothing happening? Can we write it in that he was the person in the ambulance?

Speaking of the ambulance, was it Pratt or Sam? Was it neither? Who knows? I'd be surprised if it were Sam, since they gave so much for Pratt in the episode, very much a send off treatment. But who knows? We'll have to wait for next season.

This was an okay Season Finale, definitely better than last season, but that's not saying that much. Remove Luka, Abby and Pratt, this would have been a clunker. Which may be the case come next season, which sadly is not a great sign for the future.

This episode was an odd offering from the series. Rather than starting off with the disaster about to happen it seems to lay out the objective of keeping Donovan on the Backstep team. Which seemed unlikely given that he was one of the few characters still listed as a series regular. The troops on their own were not that interesting, things got better once they were joined by Parker and Donovan. This is 7 Days second excursion into Bosnia and the 2nd time Parker has worked with US troops who didn't have their act together. This time was a little more realistic, this time some of them didn't come back. It was sad but worked for the episode.

I've always loved the theme hat's playing over the last few minutes of the episode, even though the performances were good enough to portray the scenes depth, it was a big part of the ending.

The moment of the episode was definitely the scene where Parker and Donovan are shooting at the Serb troops and Donovan asks who'll be backstopping if the 2 of them get killed. Very well played by both actors.

Overal a descent episode, not a great one.