Episode Report Card Couch Baron: B- | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Well, I Guess It Would Be Nice...
By Couch Baron | Season 1 | Episode 1 | Aired on 01.30.2008
...and when he comes back to himself, he's standing on the edge of his balcony. His eyes go wide, but we cut out before we learn if any below passersby experience any unexpected precipitation.
Eli and Taylor are in Nathan's office, and Nathan soberly tells Eli that the incident the night before was similar to stuff that happened with their dad. Taylor doesn't get the implication, so Nathan tells her that he used to assume that their dad's "episodes" were alcohol-related, but he no longer thinks that, the unstated reason being that Eli's similar incident makes a genetic explanation likely. He goes on that he took Eli's MRI to his neurology chief, who found something -- a brain aneurysm, so small that they wouldn't have seen it unless they were looking for it. He tells Eli that these aneurysms can be hereditary, and can affect the same area of the brain in parent and child. In Eli's case, the afflicted area is the right cerebral artery, and disruption of blood flow there would account for his delusions and hallucinations. The really bad news is that the depth of the placement of the aneurysm means that surgical intervention isn't viable. Eli is stunned, and Nathan struggles to contain his emotions as he says that the aneurysm might never burst, and Eli could live a long, normal life. He tells Eli he's sorry, and leaves him and Taylor to talk, but not before tenderly kissing the top of Eli's head. That's an awfully sweet brotherly gesture, even if kissing the boo-boo to make it better seems a little medically unsophisticated for a doctor. Eli smiles through his tears that they should move the wedding up, but Taylor can't laugh at the moment, and tells Eli she's not sure she can do this -- she could deal with the visions and the odd behavior, but the idea of losing him at any moment might be too much. Eli slowly asks if she's dumping him. "'Cause I was just diagnosed with a brain aneurysm, and that would be really bad timing on your part." Aw. Taylor sadly says she's just trying to process the news, whereupon Eli leaves her, as he's late for court. Her feelings are perfectly understandable, but perhaps she could have managed a "there there, Eli" before suggesting she might be kicking him and his defective brain to the curb. Best scene of the episode, though.
In court, Eli recalls Allan Cook, the Beutel guy, to the stand. He asks Cook what his child's name is, and gets Matt's objection overruled by pointing out that Cook opened the door to this topic himself. Eli wants to know if "Jenna" ever received a flu vaccine, and upon hearing an affirmative, asks if it was manufactured by Beutel. Matt and Jordan tie each other in the race to object, and I'm disappointed that neither of them subsequently calls jinx, but I suppose that would be counterproductive for their case. No-Nonsense Judge: "Hell, no. Now we're getting somewhere." My sentiments exactly. Cook tries to sidestep by saying that the choice was Jenna's pediatrician's decision, but Eli's anticipated this angle and has the pediatrician lined up to testify, so Cook admits that Jenna never received a Beutel vaccine at his own request. Jordan looks deflated...
...but later, he manages a fake-cheery smile as he offers a $360,000 settlement with no admission of liability. Beth, at least according to the words she utters, says that's no good -- she wants Mercuritol taken out of the vaccines, and she wants Beutel to set up a fund for kids they made autistic. Eli, in a semi-panic, asks Jordan and Cook to give them a minute, and the defense team steps out as we see Ben drawing away in a notebook. I'm sorry, I know it's just TV and I should probably shut up and get on with it, but I just cannot believe that we're expected to buy the premise that this bunch of lawyers, who probably learned the term "conflict of interest" before they learned their own names, is representing both sides of this case. Anyway, when they're gone, Eli warns Beth that despite the stunt he just pulled, their chances are slim to none with summations coming up, and if she doesn't take the money, she won't get anything. She tells him that they're going to lose, but not on the merits -- they're going to lose because the jury is going to look in his eyes and see that he doesn't believe. You guys, this may be impolitic to say about the mother of a child with autism who's handicapped in the acting department, but I think I hate her. Even worse, she tells him she feels sorrier for him than she does for herself, which...I don't even know where to start. She didn't want him to take the case out of sympathy, but she's plagued by self-pity? She feels sorry for him for rendering an honest (and surely accurate) legal opinion? Not indulging her pipe dreams makes him pathetic? She tells Ben they're going, and they head for the door, but autistic Ben breaks his routine and looks back at Eli, an anvilicious touch. Apparently when I said the second half won me over, I wasn't thinking of this scene.