Episode 321 "Dream Runner"
Original Air Date: January 15, 2009
Written by: Lisa Zwerling
Directed by: Andrew Bernstein Guest
Stars:
Alex Kingston - Dr. Elizabeth Corday
Moe Daniels - Mrs. Johnson
Imani A. Hakim - Anastasia Johnson
Max Arciniega - Nick Vasquez
Keiko Agena - Mrs. Vasquez
Starring:
Angela Bassett - Dr. Cate Banfield
David Lyons - Dr. Simon Brenner
Parminder Nagra - Dr. Neela Rasgotra
John Stamos - Tony
Gates Linda Cardellini -
Samantha Taggart
Scott Grimes - Dr. Archie Morris
Staff:
Abraham Benrubi -
Jerry Markovic
Leland Orser -
Dr. Lucien Dubenko
After a long night of being on call,
Neela dreams in the surgical call room, musing about the nature of her
profession; the hard part is making the best decisions possible and letting go
of what you can't control. Neela's pager and phone go off at 5:00 a.m., waking
her up. After wishing Ray a happy birthday, Neela runs to the bedside of
sickle cell patient Anastasia, who's had a bad night. Dubenko wants to remove
the source of Anastasia's infection -- her gall bladder -- right away. Neela
is about to suggest a less risky alternative, but checks herself, earning a
lecture from Dubenko on decisions being the hardest part of the job. Neela
runs off to schedule the OR, bypassing new tech Ned and the elevator for the
stairs, where she passes a monk. Neela notices Banfield injecting herself in
the break room, but doesn't say anything. Gates and Morris tend to Nick
Vasquez, who has fallen out a window. Nick is a dream walker; his brain
chemistry is off, so he acts out his dreams while asleep and has frequent
mishaps. His abdomen is studded with chunks of glass, but Neela doesn't have
time to investigate thoroughly. As she leaves,
Sam gives Gates a pair of Blackhawk tickets
that he bought when they were still together. Wondering why Banfield is acting
so erratically, Morris wishes Neela luck on the attending interviews at the
country's top trauma centers that she has scheduled for the afternoon. Jerry has
rebuilt Morris' father's Triumph, and insists that Morris take a ride, which
ends when Morris is catapulted into a dumpster. Neela promises Anastasia that
she'll stay for the duration of her surgery, since she cancelled her interviews,
upsetting Dubenko, who pulled strings to set them up. Banfield lays into Sam for
being "nurse-y." Sam points out that patient Nick is stable, and her shift ended
an hour ago, and leaves to clock in for her clinical hours as nurse anesthetist.
Having just nicked Anastasia's bile duct, Neela isn't happy when Sam steps in --
the risky surgery demands an experienced anesthetist. Dubenko threatens to throw
them both out, as Anastasia yanks out her breathing tube and wakes up. Looking
at her splayed gut, Anastasia screams her head off. Once Sam is cleared of fault
for Anastasia's wakening, Neela has a newfound appreciation for her competence.
Nick crashes and the ER calls for a surgeon, but Neela can't leave Anastasia,
who's also crashing. Banfield insists on taking Nick for an angio, when his case
seems to call for a CT.
Despite repeated shocks, both patients die
on their respective tables. Morris lays into Banfield for missing Nick's belly
bleed, and Neela kicks herself for not fighting to keep Anastasia out of
surgery. Neela steps into the elevator as Morris lays into Banfield, accusing
her of refusing to be part of the team. If Banfield wants to be queen, she
should go back to private practice or quit. Banfield tosses Jerry her badge and
tells him to turn it in to HR -- she's quitting. Neela chases Banfield into the
parking lot, asking her what's really happening. Does this have something to do
with the injection? Wanting to be left alone, Banfield stalks off. Neela's phone
rings: will she come sign Anastasia's death certificate? Hanging up, Neela
throws her phone to the ground, landing at Brenner's feet. Brenner is overjoyed
to see Neela after returning from his Australian vacation, but even his offer of
a mini didgeridoo can't cheer her up. Explaining that Banfield just quit and she
helped kill two patients, Neela slumps off. Just as in the opening scene, Neela
sleeps in the surgical call room when Ray calls and her pager goes off at 5:00
a.m. But this morning is different. Instead of backing off, Neela asks Dubenko
to wait one more day before Anastasia's surgery. Maybe she can beat her
infection.
Neela's surprised when Dubenko agrees,
explaining that now that she's about to become an attending, he needs to start
listening to her. Neela takes the elevator with Ned, who offers Zen wisdom:
sometimes choosing inaction is an action. Neela confronts Banfield in the break
room -- what is she injecting herself with? Banfield claims it's none of Neela's
business, but Neela insists that any drug Banfield takes is her business;
they're on the same team. Banfield admits that she's injecting hormones, which
is making her erratic and nastier than usual. Fed up with hormones, Banfield
wonders if she should quit the ER. Banfield stuns Neela with news that Dubenko
is whining at the prospect of losing her, even if he did set up her interviews.
According to Banfield, Dubenko has been grooming Neela for a faculty position.
Neela scans Nick's belly, but finds no sign of internal injury. She tells
Dubenko that she wants to cancel her interviews. And if he wanted her to stay at
County, why didn't he ask? Dubenko claims they can't talk seriously until Neela
is aware of all of her opportunities. Dressed in a suit, Neela runs into Gates
at the Jumbo Mart. She admits to feeling badly for underestimating Sam; Gates
should never have broken up with her. Gates explains that he's trying to lay
low, then picks up a call from Daria.
Neela's phone falls at Brenner's feet.
Neela confesses that she has no idea what she wants from life; it's hardly the
time for job interviews. Brenner maintains that Neela doesn't have to know where
she's going; she just has to keep moving forward. Neela opens a door to
interview for a position at Duke University and is surprised to behold Corday.
As the interview gets underway, it's clear that Neela's goals for the future
aren't well defined. Corday advises her to leave County; at some level the
faculty will never take her seriously. When Neela's pager goes off, she cuts the
interview short. Clearly, her heart is back at the hospital with Anastasia. As
Neela runs back to the hospital, both Nick and Anastasia take drastic turns for
the worse. Morris is just insisting that Banfield send Nick for a CT when Neela
runs by, confirming Morris' diagnosis. Dubenko is performing CPR on Anastasia
when Neela arrives at her bedside. As mom Sheila begs Anastasia to hold on,
Neela takes over compressions. Nick goes into full arrest in the scanner, and
Anastasia fails to resuscitate.
Neela begins her day at 5:00 a.m. for the
third time. Her dreams tell her that sometimes there's nothing you can do for a
patient, no matter how hard you try. Again, Neela meets Dubenko at Anastasia's
bedside to plan gall bladder removal. Neela offers a third strategy.
Percutaneous drainage is an unlikely solution, but it might help Anastasia beat
her infection without surgery. Dubenko immediately agrees; he needs to start
listening to Neela. Finally remembering to call Ray on his birthday, Neela runs
into the break room, failing to notice Banfield injecting herself with hormones.
Gates calls Neela onto Nick's case. Neela opts to do a quick procedure, which
identifies Nick's internal bleeding, and makes her late for Anastasia's
procedure. After agreeing to schedule Nick's surgery, Gates asks Sam if he can
take Alex to the Blackhawks game. Sam agrees to think about it Anastasia’s
procedure goes well. Dubenko insists that Neela cut out early to attend her
interviews. After weighing her options, he hopes she'll accept an assistant
professor position at County -- her official letter will arrive in a few weeks.
Speechless, Neela leaves when Dubenko advises her to shut up and go. Neela bumps
into Gates on the street, and advises him to give Nick another ultrasound..
Neela drops her phone at Brenner's feet, just as Jerry presents Morris with his
refurbished Triumph.
Brenner borrows the motorcycle to escort
Neela to her interviews. Outside the hotel, he admits to missing her and moves
in for a kiss. Neela lingers for a hot moment then runs into the hotel,
admitting that she missed Brenner, too. An hour before his surgery, Nick passes
out. After a great interview, Corday escorts Neela through the hotel lobby to
meet Brenner. Corday advises Brenner to take Neela out for champagne, but he has
other ideas, and a room key. Neela and Brenner enjoy a little afternoon delight
as... Gates performs CPR on a crashing Nick. In a fit of hormones, Banfield
calls for a thoracotomy tray, refusing to lose another patient for want of an
OR. She intends to clamp his aorta herself. Shocked, Gates and Morris fall in
line to assist. Neela dresses to return to the hospital to check on Anastasia.
Brenner advises her to have an intern do it, and pulls her down for another snog.
Neela runs to the hospital just as Nick is bleeding out. She tells everyone to
meet her in the OR and rushes off. Sam thanks Gates for offering to take Alex to
the hockey game. Relieved to find Anastasia cheerful and awake, Neela finally
allows Anastasia to tell her future -- actions are the seeds of fate. Suddenly,
Neela's phone rings at 5:00 a.m., waking her up for another day in the ER...
Reviewed by Jocelyn on February 14, 2009
NBC Review
WAS I DREAMING?—ALEX KINGSTON (“CSI”) REPRISES HER ROLE AS
DR. ELIZABETH CORDAY—Neela (Parminder Nagra) finds herself having a recurring
dream about her crazy day trying to saving a young girl with sickle cell anemia.
Gates (John Stamos) works on saving a patient that jumped out of a window during
his sleep. Meanwhile, Neela goes in for an attending interview and is surprised
to see Dr. Corday (guest star Alex Kingston).
TV Guide Review
January 15, 2009 :
Dream Runner:
Neela experiences a bizarre recurring dream
about her efforts to save a girl with sickle
cell anemia. Meanwhile, she also attends an
interview and chances upon Dr. Elizabeth Corday
(Alex Kingston, reprising her series role). And
Gates treats a patient who jumped from a window
while sleeping.
Alex Kingston - Dr. Elizabeth Corday
