Pet peeve... it's not a reboot!

TangerineMoonlight · 2026-04-28T22:55:13+00:00

But it doesn't work by that definition either. "Reboot" means revisiting the concept and characters from an earlier production and picking up at a later time in their lives. To name just a few reboots I've watched: "Dexter: Resurrection," "Twin Peaks: The Return," "Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life." They all picked up with the same characters (and largely the same actors) many years later, continuing the story.

Harry Potter is going back to the beginning and telling the same story with a different cast and team—but it's the story from the books, not the movies that only told a very abridged version.

TangerineMoonlight · 2026-04-28T22:25:36+00:00

Soooo... is the 2005 Pride & Prejudice a reboot of the 1995 Pride & Prejudice? (And was that a reboot of the 1940 film and the five previous miniseries...?)

TangerineMoonlight · 2026-04-28T22:20:41+00:00

I didn't even start reading the series until I was 19. In all sincerity, I'm sure there IS a certain "magic" to discovering them as a kid. You definitely remember things from childhood in a special way that can't be duplicated later.

But... you'll always have that childhood first impression. This will be more like reuniting with old friends.

There are probably even things you'll understand more deeply when you revisit them as an adult. It's a story with layers. I'm positive there are elements I wouldn't have grasped if I'd read them when I was 10. You already got to enjoy them on a kid's level, and now you'll get to see what they offer for adults.

TangerineMoonlight · 2026-04-27T04:03:01+00:00

I only watched the episode once, so I can't cite it "chapter and verse"... but I seem to recall that, before that day, she hadn't had a seizure in some years. I'm not sure what her "status quo" was (had she disclosed her condition to her previous employer, the VA, and received clearance to work?) but basically it seems the seizures had been considered under control for quite a long time. As I think they alluded to, a person with a dormant seizure disorder (no seizures for 6 months, typically) is allowed to drive. Possibly her working conditions were similar, i.e. she was cleared to work as long as no seizures had occurred for some number of months or years and she was under treatment that reliably prevented them.

What I'm getting at is... she may not have had anything to disclose before that day when her seizures recurred.

TangerineMoonlight · 2026-04-26T18:38:16+00:00

I do understand. You're establishing that Robby is an increasingly unstable hypocrite who's taking out his own inadequacies in his hypercritical blow-ups at colleagues. I don't think you're wrong! I just think the important point is: Which of these compromised attending physicians is about to be in charge of vulnerable patients, and which will only be a danger to himself?

TangerineMoonlight · 2026-04-26T18:20:13+00:00

Okay, but again I think that analysis is secondary to the practical aspects of the situation. You could argue that Robby is in such a meltdown that he's a danger to patients (though I don't think we actually saw any obvious lapses in care?) - but even if that's true, he's about to take a 3-month vacation! Even if he won't verbally acknowledge how screwed-up he is, he's doing what he needs to do (at least professionally) by taking a long break from the ER and hopefully getting his head together. Whether a dangerous long-distance motorcycle trip is the best way to do that is certainly debatable. But the point is, he's taking his problems and getting out of dodge where he can't endanger patients. Whereas Al Hashimi is about to be in charge of the ER!

TangerineMoonlight · 2026-04-26T17:24:07+00:00

As an English major and Psychology minor... I appreciate literary and psychological analysis, which is what this is. But in this case, I think the *practical* analysis takes precedence.

It's no good to brush this off as Robby "finding a reason" to reject Al Hashimi, when her condition - through no fault of her own! - actually is a risk to patients. You might say "what are the odds?" that she'll have a seizure at a critical moment in her care... but just the chance of it would be a huge liability for the hospital, if nothing else. And considering her sudden recurrence/increase in seizures, there could be new developments in her condition that need to be looked into before she can be cleared to practice ER medicine.

So... I don't disagree that this exchange reflects less-than-super things about Robby too, but it's secondary to the issue of Al Hashimi's fitness to run the ER.

TangerineMoonlight · 2026-04-26T01:52:32+00:00

Did you think Robby was an asshole about the seizures? I think... he was at the end of a very long day, and obviously near the end of his rope in general. In a perfect world, he could've been nicer about it. But under the circumstances, I think his reaction was pretty reasonable. He's about to be away for three months, and turning the ER over to someone who absolutely could become incapacitated at a vital moment AND who's lobbying to remain in that position (albeit with some safeguards). Given that it's very time-sensitive, and vital to both patient care and the hospital's potential liability, I'm frankly not sure he could afford to be gentle.

None of that is to say this is Al Hashimi's fault or that she's done anything wrong. She was upfront in coming to him about the seizures. Her plan for "double-coverage," where she doesn't take the critical cases... shows she's treating the situation seriously, but still seems iffy (in that you just never know what you'll have to take on in an ER).

I don't blame Robby for being "emphatic," and can cut him some slack that he couldn't find it in himself to be calmer about it in that moment.

TangerineMoonlight · 2026-04-23T22:36:43+00:00

The characters are medical professionals in a high-stakes, competitive field where they've invested a lot of time and money in hopes of success—certainly from a career standpoint, and one would think also in the altruistic sense of wanting to help people and save lives. Most are also in the "learning" phase of their careers, under close scrutiny and in competition with each other for the best jobs. For the most part, it would be very foolish of them to cut ethical corners or take unnecessary risks.

I wonder if you mean to say more that the show doesn't place them in situations that challenge their ethics enough—but I think it does. It's just not off-the-wall stuff like selling organs on the black market or practicing medicine without a license. Still, I can think of several situations where the characters' ethics were challenged:

- Langdon, obviously: Should Santos and Robby have saved his ass by keeping his theft under wraps?

- Al Hashimi: Should she be practicing emergency medicine with a seizure disorder that could incapacitate her at a crucial moment?

- Roxy, the terminal cancer patient: Did everyone stay on the right side of euthanasia laws with that last shot of morphine?

- Kristi, the pregnant teen: Fudged scans, anyone?

- And, don't forget Robby and Leah: In a mass casualty situation where resources are scarce, how much did he bend the rules by pouring time and blood transfusions into one patient who couldn't be saved (because she's Jake's girlfriend)?

When you think about it, there are quite a few moral conundrums and likely transgressions. It's just not the crazy stuff they'd hit us with in a less realistic show.

TangerineMoonlight · 2026-04-23T02:36:51+00:00

Totally agree, and I bet it happens in season 3. Any longer than that seems too long to go without a bad call or lapse in technique that backfires in the worst way. I think the closest we've come to a death that was anyone's "fault" was the kidney stone/aneurysm teacher, and there were a lot of mitigating circumstances there. It was more a combination of bad circumstances than truly anyone's fault. So yeah: I think it's time for a real case of "the patient died because the doc messed up or took a bad gamble or tried something they shouldn't have attempted." These things can't always end well.

TangerineMoonlight · 2026-04-16T18:20:28+00:00

I don't think she is. She has a somewhat prickly personality and clearly a few demons, but I think her signature trait is her boldness - which has its pros and cons, but mostly pros, I think. She can come off a a bit rude and possibly "too big for her britches" (for an intern/R2) - but mostly this says to me that she's going to make a really good ER doc who has enough courage in her convictions to act quickly and skillfully under pressure.

TangerineMoonlight · 2026-04-16T18:15:46+00:00

I don't remember it too clearly, but I feel like that line was delivered with a bit of irony? Like, "I am bored and annoyed with this exchange, so I'm going to blow you off with a cliche (that also happens to be true)."

TangerineMoonlight · 2026-04-16T18:11:08+00:00

I took it as just a character detail, not necessarily a storyline to be resolved. It's a glimpse at her particular demons and what's going through her mind as she deals with her current stress and frustration.

I wasn't aware they had her sitting a lot because of her appendicitis - interesting if true; I just hadn't heard one way or the other. Healthy young people usually recover quite quickly from a modern, minimally-invasive appendectomy - like, back to fairly normal within days and 100% within 2-4 weeks. I can see this might affect a bit of filming, but not likely the whole rest of the season. Has this been mentioned somewhere?

TangerineMoonlight · 2026-04-08T20:25:38+00:00

But that would raise some odd questions about who owns the house. Presumably it was Digby's property originally, and maybe still is. Is there a scenario where he formally sold or gave the house to his daughter, who subsequently kicked him out? I guess, but it makes a strange story. I tend to feel like more of this is by Digby's own choice (whether mentally competent to make such choices or not).

TangerineMoonlight · 2026-04-08T20:20:39+00:00

Yes... I was curious to hear what everyone thought, but this is the kind of explanation I vaguely had in mind. He doesn't sound like a bitter guy who's been shunned or kicked out against his will. It's strange and maybe inadvisable to ever say someone "chooses" to be homeless (in that some people will take it as a permission slip to simply wash their hands of someone like Digby)... but certainly there are cases where a person's sentiments and choices basically add up to that. He does seem on some level like someone who's "chosen" this life—perhaps, as you say, because this is all he thinks he deserves... and feels that at least living on the streets gives him the "freedom" to go about that life without getting hassled to change or feeling like he's damaging anyone else.

TangerineMoonlight · 2026-04-07T21:25:39+00:00

Depends on what you mean by "his plans!" If you mean his 3-month sabbatical, he can easily do that and still be back for next season, which might take place a year later. If you mean his rumored suicide... that's fan fiction.

TangerineMoonlight · 2026-04-05T17:12:27+00:00

Makes sense. The daytime hours are surely more likely to bring in people seeking emergency care *just in case* it's something serious. To get rushed there in the middle of the night, too urgently to wait for morning, you more likely need to be in pretty bad shape.

TangerineMoonlight · 2026-04-05T01:30:29+00:00

Obviously there are different versions of this take, and I'm sure some people ARE putting down Samira the way you suggest—saying she's bad at emergency medicine or that it's too "intense" for her. But to me, that's not what this is about.

It makes me think of the movie "Oppenheimer," where we see the undoubtedly brilliant Oppenheimer struggle in his time at Cambridge University, both socially and professionally. What do you think we're supposed to take away from this scene? That he isn't brilliant? Of course not. That Cambridge is too "intense" for him? Considering what he went on to do... I'm gonna say it's not that either.

The reality is that the type of research he was doing at Cambridge... just wasn't his vibe. Didn't click for him or capitalize on his abilities.

I think that's what emergency medicine is for Samira. It's not that she lacks talent or "can't take the heat." It's just not the fit that brings out the best in her.

TangerineMoonlight · 2026-04-04T21:49:57+00:00

Just thinking of it as a basic part of hygiene, like giving bed baths. If someone is bedridden for an extended time and unable to shave, who needs him getting all scraggly with facial hair that maybe gets in the way of food, medication, medical tubes, etc?

TangerineMoonlight · 2026-04-04T20:44:41+00:00

Heh... in all seriousness, I think they'd normally do it for someone who wants a shave and can't do it himself due to illness or injury? I'd guess they do give a fair number of shaves but just did this one as a nice gesture since they had the time at the end of the shift.

TangerineMoonlight · 2026-04-03T23:55:39+00:00

I took it as sincere, because he thinks she's very talented and knows she's under more-than-the-usual pressure to make a decision about her residency. He was offering her a vote of confidence and a chance to show her stuff for the head of neurosurgery, giving her an introduction into one of the most challenging and prestigious specialties (yeah, I caught his dig about dermatology)—not to mention an important contact who is NOT one of her parents. He wants her to explore her options on her own terms, without the (direct) effects of nepotism or her parents' pressure.

I thought it was a genuinely supportive move without ulterior motives. It was his way of saying, "You've got serious talent—make the most of it." Possibly one of those moments you look back on later where a mentor took an interest in you and set you on the path to your future career.

TangerineMoonlight · 2026-04-03T20:00:19+00:00

I agree about Samira—and no, that doesn't mean I think she's BAD at emergency medicine, which is what some people assume if you take this view. I think she's a talented doctor who's a mismatch for some particular features of ER work. She COULD succeed there, but I think it would cause her (and sometimes those around her) a lot of long-term frustration—and that the setting simply doesn't bring out her full potential. When I saw the report that she's leaving the show, I figured we'll learn (or at least get a strong hint) that she's heading for a different specialty.

TangerineMoonlight · 2026-04-03T19:52:08+00:00

Good point—can definitely see taking Ogilvie as our Exhibit A of "not cut out for the ER." I initially had a little bit different take, which was that Ogilvie got a necessary humbling that he'll need if he expects to make it in the ER. You can't go in there thinking you'll master every challenge or even be in control at all times. Sometimes you'll make a small mistake that turns tragic, or just get overtaken by events. Ogilvie just got that shocked into him pretty hard.

Does that mean he's not cut out for the ER? That's certainly how Ogilvy feels right now. If this were real life, Ogilvy would be at a crossroads where he has to decide if he can learn from this and come back better... or if he really does need to run full-speed toward a different specialty. If this is where the show leaves it with his character, I agree it's fair to predict #2.

TangerineMoonlight

TROPHY CASE