"And in the End..." is the 331st and
final episode of the American television series ''
ER''. The two-hour episode aired on
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...
on April 2, 2009 and was preceded by a one-hour retrospective special.
Plot
Dr.
Tony Gates
Tony may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer
* Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leag ...
(
John Stamos
John Phillip Stamos ( ; born August 19, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He first gained recognition for his contract role as Blackie Parrish on the ABC television soap opera ''General Hospital'', for which he was nominated for the Da ...
) treats a teenage girl in a coma with
alcohol poisoning
Alcohol intoxication, also known as alcohol poisoning, commonly described as drunkenness or inebriation, is the negative behavior and physical effects caused by a recent consumption of alcohol. In addition to the toxicity of ethanol, the main ps ...
after she played
drinking games with her friends. Gates calls the police when he discovers that the parents of the girl's friend supplied the alcohol, and has the friend's father arrested. Later, the girl's parents arrive and request she be transferred to Mercy Hospital. Before she can be transferred, the girl finally awakens but just thrashes around and is sent for a new CT to diagnose possible brain damage.
Dr. Julia Wise (
Alexis Bledel
Kimberly Alexis Bledel ( ; born September 16, 1981) is an American actress and model. She is known for her role as Rory Gilmore on the television series ''Gilmore Girls'' (2000–2007), and Emily Malek in ''The Handmaid's Tale (TV series), The ...
), new to County General, treats a
gay HIV
The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immune ...
-positive patient who has severe breathing difficulties. It is discovered he has terminal cancer. With the support of his partner, he decides not to seek treatment, as he has already outlived most of his friends who died at the height of the
AIDS
Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...
epidemic in the 1980s.
An elderly patient named Beverly (
Jeanette Miller) is brought in by a fire engine with a broken wrist, and comments on Dr.
Archie Morris
''ER'' is an American medical drama television series created by novelist and physician Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 19, 1994, to April 2, 2009, with a total of 331 episodes spanning 15 seasons. It was produced by Consta ...
' (
Scott Grimes
Scott Christopher Grimes (born July 9, 1971) is an American actor and singer. Some of his most prominent roles include appearances in the 1984 cult classic ''The Night They Saved Christmas'', '' ER'' as Dr. Archie Morris, ''Party of Five'' as Wil ...
) "soft and strong" hands. She is later claimed by her daughter, as she had wandered off before her accident. She returns later, having wandered off again but otherwise not further injured.
A married couple comes in with the woman going into labour with twins, and
John Carter (
Noah Wyle) and
Simon Brenner
''ER'' is an American medical drama television series created by novelist and physician Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 19, 1994, to April 2, 2009, with a total of 331 episodes spanning 15 seasons. It was produced by Michael C ...
(
David Lyons) handle the delivery. During the delivery of the second baby, complications set in. It is discovered that the mother has an
inverted uterus, and requires an emergency
caesarean section
Caesarean section, also known as C-section or caesarean delivery, is the surgical procedure by which one or more babies are delivered through an incision in the mother's abdomen, often performed because vaginal delivery would put the baby or mo ...
. The second baby requires intensive care, and the mother ultimately dies as surgeons attempt to fix the complications.
Mark Greene
Mark Greene, Doctor of Medicine, M.D. is a fictional character from the American medical drama series ''ER (TV series), ER,'' portrayed by actor Anthony Edwards (actor), Anthony Edwards. He first appears in the series' 24 Hours (ER), pilot epi ...
's daughter Rachel (
Hallee Hirsh) is visiting the hospital as a prospective medical student and is interviewing for a spot in the teaching program. She is interviewed primarily by
Catherine Banfield
Catherine "Cate" Banfield is a fictional character in the American medical drama '' ER'', portrayed by Angela Bassett. She is an attending physician with a mysterious past with County General. Bassett's addition into the main cast opening credits ...
(
Angela Bassett
Angela Evelyn Bassett (born August 16, 1958) is an American actress. She had her breakthrough with her portrayal of singer Tina Turner in the biopic ''What's Love Got to Do with It'' (1993), which garnered her a nomination for the Academy Award ...
), who confides to Carter afterwards that she made it through the first cut. Carter shows her around after her interview, giving her a few pointers she will need when she is accepted into medical school.
Carter opens his clinic for the underprivileged, with
Peter Benton (
Eriq La Salle) and his son Reese (Matthew Watkins),
Kerry Weaver (
Laura Innes) and
Susan Lewis
Fictional character Susan Lewis, M.D. is a character from the medical drama series ''ER'', portrayed by American actress Sherry Stringfield.
Having appeared as a primary character since the pilot episode, Stringfield left the show part way thro ...
(
Sherry Stringfield) among the guests. He named the facility after his late son, Joshua. After the event, he has an awkward reunion with Joshua's mother Kem (
Thandie Newton), who is briefly in town; who although is happy to see Carter, rebuffs his efforts to re-connect with her there, but does agree to possibly call him the next morning, giving hope to a possible reconciliation. He also has drinks with his old friends plus
Elizabeth Corday (
Alex Kingston), who brought Rachel to Chicago for her med school interview. Benton and Corday linger together after everyone else go their separate ways.
Marjorie Manning (
Beverly Polcyn
Beverly Polcyn (September 13, 1927 – September 7, 2018) was an American actress.
She appeared in "Mama's Girls", a 1988 episode of the TV series ''Mama's Family'', as one of senior tap dancing ladies.
Poclyn's first film appearance was in the ...
), a previous elderly
multiple sclerosis
Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This d ...
patient suffering sepsis and pulmonary edema, comes in with her husband (
Ernest Borgnine). Mr. Manning is initially unwilling to let Marjorie go, but with guidance from Dr. Gates, he finally accepts the inevitable. Before Marjorie dies, her daughter arrives, and confides in
Samantha Taggart
Samantha "Sam" Taggart is a fictional character on the NBC television drama '' ER''. She is played by actress Linda Cardellini. Linda Cardellini's addition into the main cast opening credits was in the fifth episode of season 10.
Precursor
S ...
(
Linda Cardellini
Linda Edna Cardellini (born June 25, 1975) is an American actress. In television, she is known for her leading roles in the teen drama ''Freaks and Geeks'' (1999–2000), the medical drama '' ER'' (2003–09), the drama thriller ''Bloodline'' (2 ...
) that her mother was an incredibly difficult person who picked fights with and alienated everyone in her life, but she loved her mom anyway and was inspired by how her father was saint-like in putting up with her miserable behaviour. Sam looks saddened and ashamed as she clearly sees the parallel between Marjorie and herself, and she ends up calling her own estranged mother after Marjorie has died.
It turns out it is Samantha's birthday. Her son Alex (
Dominic Janes
Dominic Roque Janes Centorbi (born February 11, 1994) is an American former child actor.
Born in Tucson, Arizona, Janes has had recurring roles in '' ER'', as Alex Taggart, the son of Linda Cardellini's character R.N. Samantha Taggart, and in ...
) reveals her present: a vintage
Ford Mustang
The Ford Mustang is a series of American automobiles manufactured by Ford. In continuous production since 1964, the Mustang is currently the longest-produced Ford car nameplate. Currently in its sixth generation, it is the fifth-best selli ...
restored by Alex and Tony, who both decided upon bright
red
Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...
as its
color
Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associ ...
over
cobalt blue
Cobalt blue is a blue pigment made by sintering cobalt(II) oxide with aluminum(III) oxide (alumina) at 1200 °C. Chemically, cobalt blue pigment is cobalt(II) oxide-aluminium oxide, or cobalt(II) aluminate, CoAl2O4. Cobalt blue is lighter ...
. Later on, while they are walking back towards the ER, Sam surprises Tony by taking his hand in hers, symbolizing that she has gotten over her previous anger at him, and he smiles and locks his fingers with hers.
A young bride and her new mother-in-law (
Marilu Henner
Mary Lucy Denise Henner is an American actress. She began her career appearing in the original production of the musical '' Grease'' in 1971, before making her screen debut in the 1977 comedy-drama film '' Between the Lines''. In 1977, Henner wa ...
) both come in, in separate ambulances, with minor injuries sustained in a drunken brawl at their wedding reception and continue arguing all the way into the treatment rooms. The groom later arrives and is promptly torn between tending to his mother and his new wife.
The episode ends with the beginning of a disaster protocol: an industrial explosion, with a minimum of eight casualties. Dr. Carter, who has decided to stay up all night to wait for his call from Kem and is hanging around the ER with Susan and Rachel, is again pressed into service to assist. Dr. Morris is ordered by Dr. Banfield to triage patients as they arrive. The first patient was thrown 20 feet and is diagnosed as a possible lacerated spleen or liver, to be sent straight to the OR. The second patient has a compound leg fracture with no circulatory impairment, which Dr. Banfield takes herself for an orthopedic consult. The third patient was electrocuted and fell into
asystole
Asystole (New Latin, from Greek privative a "not, without" + ''systolē'' "contraction") is the absence of ventricular contractions in the context of a lethal heart arrhythmia (in contrast to an induced asystole on a cooled patient on a heart-lun ...
on the way in, declared DOA. The fourth patient has smoke inhalation, relatively minor burns and pneumothorax, and is set up for a chest tube. The fifth patient had his left arm blown off below the elbow, with nothing left to save; Dr. Gates takes him in to repair the damage. Dr. Morris gives the sixth patient to Dr. Carter: third-degree burns over 90% coverage. As he runs the patient in, Dr. Carter asks Rachel to tag along saying "Dr. Greene, you comin'?", which she does enthusiastically. As Morris continues to triage patients, the original theme music plays and the point of view pulls back, revealing the entire hospital for the first and only time.
Production
The episode was structured "very much like the show's pilot. Like that first episode, it took place over the course of 24 hours, featured a dizzying number of cases — some comical, and some that were dead serious — and showed the life of the ER through eyes both inexperienced ... and jaded."
It featured several direct references to the pilot and other early episodes, including: Dr. Archie Morris is woken by veteran nurse Lydia Wright, who had done the same to Dr. Mark Greene in the pilot (the shot is used in several early episodes); Dr. John Carter demonstrating how to start an IV to Rachel Greene exactly as Dr. Peter Benton showed him in the pilot; a comedic scene dealing with a child who had swallowed a
rosary
The Rosary (; la, , in the sense of "crown of roses" or "garland of roses"), also known as the Dominican Rosary, or simply the Rosary, refers to a set of prayers used primarily in the Catholic Church, and to the physical string of knots or b ...
, as in the pilot, when a child swallowed a key; and the day marked by
cutscenes showing the time at the start of each act as was done in the series' fifth episode, "Into That Good Night", with both episodes starting and ending at 4:00 AM. A portion of the storyline was inspired by the death of producer
John Wells' 17-year-old niece, who died of
alcohol poisoning
Alcohol intoxication, also known as alcohol poisoning, commonly described as drunkenness or inebriation, is the negative behavior and physical effects caused by a recent consumption of alcohol. In addition to the toxicity of ethanol, the main ps ...
in December 2008.
The episode featured full-length
opening credits
In a motion picture, television program or video game, the opening credits or opening titles are shown at the very beginning and list the most important members of the production. They are now usually shown as text superimposed on a blank screen ...
from the first season (albeit with shots and credits added for both the final regular cast, and five of the past stars that appeared) with music by
James Newton Howard
James Newton Howard (born June 9, 1951) is an American film composer, music producer and keyboardist. He has scored over 100 films and is the recipient of a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, and nine nominations for Academy Awards. His film scores ...
, the show's original composer.
That theme music also played as the camera pulled out and faded at the end of the last scene of the episode, which showed the entire exterior of County General Hospital for the only time in the history of the series, except in high tone and fully in 1080i HD.
Starring
*
Noah Wyle as
Dr. John Carter
John Truman Carter III, Doctor of Medicine, M.D. is a fictional character from the NBC television series ''ER (TV Series), ER.'' He was portrayed by Noah Wyle and appeared as one of the series' principal characters from the 24 Hours (ER), pilot ...
*
Laura Innes as
Dr. Kerry Weaver
Kerry Weaver is a fictional character from the NBC television series '' ER''. The role was portrayed by Laura Innes who debuted as a recurring character in the second season episode "Welcome Back, Carter!", which aired on September 21, 1995. I ...
*
Sherry Stringfield as
Dr. Susan Lewis
*
David Lyons as
Dr. Simon Brenner
*
Alex Kingston as
Dr. Elizabeth Corday
*
Parminder Nagra
Parminder Kaur Nagra (born 5 October 1975) is a British actress of Indian Punjabi descent and Sikh heritage. She is known for portraying Jess Bhamra in the film ''Bend It Like Beckham'' (2002) and Dr. Neela Rasgotra in the NBC medical drama s ...
as
Dr. Neela Rasgotra
*
John Stamos
John Phillip Stamos ( ; born August 19, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He first gained recognition for his contract role as Blackie Parrish on the ABC television soap opera ''General Hospital'', for which he was nominated for the Da ...
as
Dr. Tony Gates
*
Linda Cardellini
Linda Edna Cardellini (born June 25, 1975) is an American actress. In television, she is known for her leading roles in the teen drama ''Freaks and Geeks'' (1999–2000), the medical drama '' ER'' (2003–09), the drama thriller ''Bloodline'' (2 ...
as
Nurse Samantha Taggart
*
Scott Grimes
Scott Christopher Grimes (born July 9, 1971) is an American actor and singer. Some of his most prominent roles include appearances in the 1984 cult classic ''The Night They Saved Christmas'', '' ER'' as Dr. Archie Morris, ''Party of Five'' as Wil ...
as
Dr. Archie Morris
*
Eriq La Salle as
Dr. Peter Benton
Peter Benton, M.D. is a fictional character from the NBC medical drama series '' ER,'' portrayed by actor Eriq La Salle, appearing as a primary character from the pilot episode until part way through the eighth season.
La Salle made two guest a ...
*
Angela Bassett
Angela Evelyn Bassett (born August 16, 1958) is an American actress. She had her breakthrough with her portrayal of singer Tina Turner in the biopic ''What's Love Got to Do with It'' (1993), which garnered her a nomination for the Academy Award ...
as
Dr. Catherine Banfield
Guest starring
Doctors
*
Alexis Bledel
Kimberly Alexis Bledel ( ; born September 16, 1981) is an American actress and model. She is known for her role as Rory Gilmore on the television series ''Gilmore Girls'' (2000–2007), and Emily Malek in ''The Handmaid's Tale (TV series), The ...
as Dr. Julia Wise - Intern
*
Emily Rose Emily Rose may refer to:
* Emily Rose (actress) (born 1981), American television actress/voice actress
* '' The Exorcism of Emily Rose'', a 2005 supernatural horror crime film about demonic possession, loosely based on the story of Anneliese Michel ...
as Dr. Tracy Martin - Intern
*
Victor Rasuk as Dr. Ryan Sanchez - Intern
*
Bresha Webb
Bresha Webb (born Breshae Renee Webb; May 6, 1984) is an American actress. She starred as Imunique Jefferson in the TV One (American TV channel), TV One comedy series ''Love That Girl!'' from 2010 to 2014. She later has appeared in films ''Meet t ...
as Dr. Laverne St. John - Intern
Nurses
*
Ellen Crawford
Ellen Ann Crawford (born April 29, 1951) is an American actress. She is known for her role as Nurse Lydia Wright on '' ER'' from 1994 through 2003 and then again in 2009 for the series finale.
Crawford has also performed on stage, in ''A Touch ...
as Nurse Lydia Wright - first on-screen appearance since 2003
*
Deezer D
Dearon Thompson (March 12, 1965 – January 7, 2021), known professionally as Deezer D, was an American actor, rapper and Christian motivational speaker. He is best known for his role as Nurse Malik McGrath in the American medical drama televisi ...
as Nurse Malik McGrath
*
Lily Mariye
Lily Mariye (born September 25, 1964) is an American television director, filmmaker and actress.
Early life
Mariye was born in Las Vegas, Nevada and graduated from UCLA with a BA in theater arts.
Career
From 1994 to 2009 she had a regular role ...
as Nurse Lily Jarvik
*
Yvette Freeman as Nurse Haleh Adams
*
Laura Cerón
Laura Cerón (born September 28, 1964) is an Alma Award-winning Mexican-born American actress. Her most recognizable role is that of Nurse Chuny Marquez on the television series '' ER''.
Early life
Cerón was born in Mexico City, Mexico. She ...
as Nurse Chuny Marquez
*Angel Laketa Moore as Nurse Dawn Archer
*
Nasim Pedrad as Nurse Suri
Staff
*
Troy Evans as Desk Clerk
Frank Martin
*
Abraham Benrubi as Desk Clerk
Jerry Markovic
''ER'' is an American medical drama television series created by novelist and physician Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 19, 1994, to April 2, 2009, with a total of 331 episodes spanning 15 seasons. It was produced by Constant ...
*
Sam Jones III
Samuel L. Jones III (born April 29, 1983) is an American actor. He is best known for playing Pete Ross on the first three seasons of the Superman television series ''Smallville'', Willie Worsley in the 2006 film ''Glory Road'', Craig Shilo on '' ...
as Chaz Pratt
Paramedics
*Loui Liberti as Paramedic Bardelli
*Monte Russell as Paramedic Zadro White
*Emily Wagner as Paramedic Doris Pickman
*Brian Lester as Paramedic Brian Dumar
*Lyn Alicia Henderson as Paramedic Pamela Olbes
*Demitrius Navarro as Paramedic Morales
*Michele C. Bonilla as Paramedic Harms
*Brendan Patrick Connor as Paramedic Reidy
Critical reception
In his review in the then-''
St. Petersburg Times
The ''Tampa Bay Times'', previously named the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It has won fourteen Pulitzer Prizes since 1964, and in 2009, won two in a single ...
'', Eric Deggans called the final episode "a welcome reminder of why the show has lasted 15 years on network television — and proof of why it's now time for the show to go." He continued, "Thanks to cameo appearances by most key actors whose characters remain alive... the episode had the feel of a friendly class reunion... Once upon a time, the cases that filled Thursday's episode would have felt groundbreaking and fresh... But on Thursday, these contrivances felt like shadows echoing other, better episodes long past... Wells echoed the series most consistent theme by showing old and new doctors uniting to handle yet another emergency at the finale's end. But Thursday's episode also proved that NBC's ''ER'' called it quits at just the right time, because TV series — unlike medical institutions — should never go on forever."
Ken Tucker of ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
'' said he "liked the fact that the surprises were small but effective," while Alan Sepinwall of the ''
Star-Ledger'' stated, "It wasn't an all-time great finale, but it did what it set out to do." In ''
The Baltimore Sun
''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries.
Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by Tr ...
'',
David Zurawik
David Lee Zurawik (born October 26, 1949) is an American journalist, author, and professor.
He has been the TV and media critic at ''The Baltimore Sun'' since 1989 and is an assistant professor of communications and media studies at Goucher Colleg ...
said, "I especially liked the final scene with the ER team suiting up and standing ready to respond in the courtyard to the arriving fleet of emergency vehicles loaded with victims of an industrial explosion. Perhaps, it was one last tweak at the critics who said the pilot looked more like a feature film and would never make it as a TV series — because it was definitely a movie ending." The episode received an A− from ''
The A.V. Club
''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...
''.
In 2010, ''
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, to ...
'' magazine ranked the episode as #10 on its list of the most anticipated TV finales.
TV ratings
According to
Nielsen ratings
Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
, the finale gave NBC "its best ratings on the night in a long time." The first hour received a
9.6 rating and a 15 share, numbers which improved to an 11.1 rating and 19 share in the final hour.
Overall the finale attracted an average of 16.2 million viewers.
The series finale of ''ER'' scored the highest 18-49 rating for a drama
series finale
A series finale is the final installment of an episodic entertainment series, most often a television series. It may also refer to a final theatrical sequel, the last part of a television miniseries, the last installment of a literary series, or ...
since ''
The X-Files
''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation ...
'' wrapped with a 6.3 on May 19, 2002. In total viewers, ''ER'' assembled the biggest overall audience for a drama series finale since ''
Murder, She Wrote
''Murder, She Wrote'' is an American crime drama television series, created by Peter S. Fischer, Richard Levinson and William Link, starring Angela Lansbury, and produced and distributed by Universal Television for the CBS network. The series f ...
'' concluded with 16.5 million on May 19, 1996.
In
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
, the finale fared even better on a percentage basis with 2.768 million viewers. With ten times less the population, this equates to roughly 27.68 million American viewers.
Awards
At the
2009 Primetime Emmy Awards Rod Holcomb won the Emmy for
Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series
The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series is presented to the best directing of a television drama series, usually for a particular episode.Though this category is the dominant one in which dramatic directing has been ...
for his work on this episode, while
Ernest Borgnine was nominated for the Emmy for
Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:And In The End...
ER (TV series) episodes
American television series finales
2009 American television episodes
Emmy Award-winning episodes