Overall I thought this was a good episode, in spite of some significant weak spots. The storyline of the man kept alive by CPR was very well done, especially once they got to the ER. Those long moments where no one talked and there was just the rhythmic sound of hands pushing against his chest were riveting. Pratt was amazing throughout. He has really developed into a dedicated and mature doctor. Gone is the smart aleck who knew it all--please welcome the guy who sticks with his patient even when a colleague may be in danger. Ray prattling on about how he would never have let Neela rush headlong into a life threatening situation and Pratt just quietly letting him vent really emphasized Pratt's transcendent ability to focus.

Neela's character development was also well done, albeit less subtly than Pratt’s. She finally reacted with some positive emotions. I was pleasantly surprised at her good nature when Gates was teasing her and not letting her get in the van. At the scene of the crash she opened herself up and allowed herself to be moved by a young mother’s need to save her child. Neela embraced a fateful moment and ran with it. High on adrenalin, she acted decisively. Granted some of the choices she made, like running into a burning building to reach a child and running into traffic to reach Gallant, could be construed as rather stupid. But this should not be too surprising. After all, she does not have much experience with getting her heart and mind to work together in harmony. Nevertheless, it’s very exciting to see her overcome her usual paralysis and surge forward with nearly blinding momentum.

What lacked depth, and frankly, grandeur, was the plane crash itself. The scene was strangely flat. I never got a real sense of the devastation. And for all the tension between Clemente and Kovac about getting the ER ready and where to do triage and so on and so on, we never really see the ER as a unit coping with what we can only assume was an absolute major disaster. Besides calling in a few extra docs (where were Morris and Weaver, anyway?) and a formerly fired nurse, it just seemed like business as usual. No scenes of the parking lot (Clemente’s choice for triage) full of patients, no sense of the sheer numbers of people that must have, after a disaster of that magnitude, flowed through the ER. After all that emphasis on the potential for problems and congestion we saw no chaos at County and no apparent failures with the department’s preparedness. I expected at least some glitch to occur and get resolved, certainly more than the glib zippering of a wound.

On the ending I have flip-flopped. At first I was terribly disappointed by the “just friends” resolution between Abby and Luka. Get them back together, already! But after some thought, I think it is more realistic to have them awkwardly choose their friendship over suddenly realizing they were meant for each other. These two characters are so very wary of opening themselves up. In spite of the tremendous capacity for love they both obviously have, in spite of the fact that they have a seemingly sacrosanct tenderness and caring for each other, it will take more than two ships crashing in the night to keep these two ships from passing in the night. But hope springs eternal. Ultimately I think the writers will slowly bring these wounded souls together and seal their healing.

I was a bit disappointed with this episode. Sam running around frantically was almost too much to bear. She completely lost her usual practical sense and relied entirely on Luka to guide her along. It just seemed overdone and out of character. I swear the whole thing was purposely engineered to show her running around a whole lot in a tight sweater. Luka's character development, on the other hand, was well done, and well played.

The end of Luka and Sam as a couple opens up many possibilities for both characters. Perhaps now Luka will find his way to a relationship that will give him the family he craves so quietly. And perhaps now Sam's character can develop more depth and breadth.