In a hurry? Read the recaplet for a nutshell description! Finished? Click here to close. We start with Eli having a dream about undergoing the surgery and pulling a Colin Hart. Then a man with probable terminal cancer comes to Eli for help, as his wife wants to take away his right to make his own decision not to have chemotherapy and to simply die. He says that God told him his time is up, and of course this has particular significance for Eli, as he's on a parallel path. And speaking of resonance, Nate berates Eli for signing a DNR, but Eli tells him he wants him to be his healthcare proxy. Nate's not thrilled, as his track record isn't so hot in that department, but Eli prevails on him, saying he trusts him to make the right decision. We then seem to flash forward to Nate waiting nervously in the hospital. Maggie comes to Eli and offers her services as second chair, partially out of guilt and thanks for last week, and soon we're learning that Cancer Guy's wife is a rabbi, and she's not thrilled about him abandoning his kids. Jordan's been reinstated as managing partner, and tells Eli that he used to be an ass -- and then leads him into a party for his promotion to junior partner, pro bono division. Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww! But it turns out this isn't quite real, as we cut ahead again to Jordan standing by Eli's bed, despondently urging him to wake up. Back in what turns out to be Eli's mind, he asks Cancer Guy about his vision of God, and Cancer Guy tells Eli that he simply experienced a moment of clarity, of peace, that convinced him of the rightness of his path. Taylor comes to Eli and tells him that she's the most important person in her life, and then we flash forward to Taylor at his bedside, and we learn that the aneurysm is gone, but Eli hemorrhaged and went into cardiac arrest, and now he's a vegetable, just as he feared. But of course, what's happened so far makes it clear that Eli's mind is still active in a way the machines can't detect. Back in his mind, he's telling Chen about his promotion and his new client, and Chen tells him how he spent years looking for God, but he didn't find him until Eli came to him -- and then Chen is waking up, apparently having had some sort of mental connection with the comatose Eli. He goes to Nate and tries to convince him not to take Eli off the machines, but Nate won't listen until Chen shows him the picture of him and his dad from so many years ago. Nate agrees to wait two more days. Back in Eli's brain, Cancer Guy's wife comes to Eli and tries to get him to urge Cancer Guy to fight for his life, and Eli tries, but Cancer Guy tells him that before he got sick, he was just an entitled workaholic, and he likes his life now so much better since that moment of divine intervention. In the present, Jordan consoles an emotional Taylor -- and we learn that Jordan actually is planning to promote Eli if he survives. In Eli's mind, he wins the case, and then we flash forward to Cancer Guy dying at St. Vincent's. Talking to Chen, Eli finally realizes that all the stuff that's been happening is in his own mind, and that he had the surgery and it went bad, and Dreamwalk Chen tells him he could give up, but if he wants it, he has more to do, and Eli chooses to go back -- but not before Dream George Michael, Dream Jordan, and Dream Sassy Patti all sing to him. After a montage that I'll give a pass, because that's just what this show does to me, Eli wakes up. Let me just close with this: Jonny Lee Miller. Emmy nomination. Want more? The full recap starts right below!
Wow, this is really the end of the season! I really have to hand it to the people involved with the show, because it really felt like it was in the high weeds around the third and fourth episodes, and somehow it managed to pull things together and involve everyone in Eli's poignant journey. I really hope it gets another season, because it's not that often a show succeeds in getting me invested in just about every character. Except with Berlanti shows, of course, where it happens EVERY SINGLE TIME. Seriously, though, ABC, don't cancel Jonny Lee Miller. He's too cute!
Okay. We open on Eli already under the knife, so I guess any further complaints about this decision being overly reckless are going to fall on anesthetized ears. The doctor says they're just about done when machines start beeping and a nurse says Eli's pulse is dropping. No one actually refers to Eli as "Colin," which is admirable, given that if you played the dialogue from this scene and from Colin Hart's surgery, I have the feeling you might get some stereo action. The doc says that the aneurysm ruptured, and everyone frantically works away...
...and then, after a flash, Eli jolts awake in bed. He takes some deep recovery breaths, as you do when you imagine something horrible happening to you that you completely signed up for.
In the lobby of the WPK building, Matt rushes for the elevator that Eli's holding open for him. Once on, Matt gives Eli an uncertain glance, and then looks at his shoes as he notes that Eli's got that "thing" this week. Eli acknowledges that said "thing" is happening Friday, and Matt responds, "If anyone deserves to...not...die, or be brain-damaged, it's you." Aw. Matt's been hiding his sensitive side all along! "And if you do end up a vegetable, two words: Sponge. Bath." And there he is, doing it again! Eli tells Matt that that sentiment is comforting. Hee.
We see workmen doing earthquake-cleanup, and then when the elevator arrives, Keith is waiting for them. Matt thinks he's waiting to discuss a case with him, but Keith says that he actually wants to talk to Eli. Matt's just as happy to go scam on some chicks to get the awful taste of caring out of his mouth, leaving Keith to make small talk about Mosley. There's a nice little blink-and-you'll-miss-it touch, though, where Eli looks at the men working and remarks, "I thought they fixed that already!" Nice one, writers. Anyway, Eli divines that Keith is offering to talk about the surgery, and says that isn't necessary, but Keith tells Eli he's there for him, and even if he just wants to go out and get hammered, drinks are on him. I only hope that the upcoming surgery will fix Eli's remarkable lack of enthusiasm for this offer. Keith gives Sassy Patti a little conspiratorial look as he leaves, prompting Eli to ask her why everyone's treating him as though he's made of glass. Patti plays dumb, but Eli tells her gently that she doesn't have to threaten everyone to be nice to him. She points out that people don't get brain surgery every day, but Eli tells her he wants her to be herself -- in fact, he demands that she be even meaner to him than normal. "Where's the Mayor of Sasstown when I need her?" Aw! I'm heartened to hear that Eli likes the sassiness -- it makes her behavior toward him a lot easier to take in retrospect. If only she'd get the memo that not everyone on the show is a sass-loving masochist, we might actually be able to come to an understanding. Anyway, Patti, making a valiant effort not to cry, tells Eli, as we see a man standing behind him, that his ten o'clock is there. Eli responds that he didn't realize he had a ten o'clock, prompting Patti to seethe that he doesn't listen. Eli's like, "There's my sassy girl!" Anyway, the bald client steps forward, and Patti introduces him to Eli as "Mr. Green." Eli asks him to remind him what his case is about. Mr. Green: "I need you to help me die." So this isn't going to be one of those Berlanti season finales where everyone ends up jumping in the pool, huh?
In his office, Eli is telling Green that assisted suicide is illegal in California, but Green informs him that that's not what he's after -- his wife wants him declared incompetent to make his own medical decisions. You see, he's dying of cancer, and he's already been through two rounds of chemo, both of which were temporarily successful. His wife wants him to have chemo again, but he's refusing, because, as he puts it, "God told me to be at peace." Eli is of course both intrigued and scared by this declaration, and Green goes on that he prayed, and the answer came to him in not a voice, but a feeling. Eli continues to struggle with his emotions as he asks what would happen without the chemo, and Green of course tells him that he would head off to that Great Clue Board In The Sky. He adds that God wants him to put himself in His hands, and I didn't watch The West Wing so this is the first I've really seen of Richard Schiff, but his quiet happiness in having made this decision is just killing me here. He asks if Eli will help him stop his wife, and Eli gives a mirthless smile.
At St. Vincent's, Nate can't believe that Eli wants to sign a DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) order right before his high-risk surgery -- he's young and in good health otherwise, so he might come out with a horrible prognosis and be totally fine six weeks later. Couldn't the DNR be amended to give him a reasonable time to recover, then? Anyway, Eli wants Nate to be his healthcare proxy, meaning that he'll have to make the decision whether to keep Eli alive should he end up in a coma. I'm not sure I get this -- Eli first tells Matt that he wants his living will to be absolutely devoid of emotion, and then he puts the responsibility for the decision in his own brother's hands? But this is all so Nate can point out that when it comes to life-and-death decisions, he's kind of had the yips lately. Eli, however, doesn't care: "What matters most is that I believe that you'll do the right thing. And since we're family, your decision won't automatically be accompanied by a lawsuit." Some of that may have been unstated, but you know both of them were thinking it.
Suddenly, we flash to Nate, wearing a suit and looking nervous. A nurse appears behind him and tells him that the surgeon wants to see him. "It's about your brother." Nate visibly gulps, and we're left to chew on that into the title card.
After some stock footage that carefully contains the Bay Bridge, not the Golden Gate, Maggie comes in to see Eli, telling him with a smile that she heard about his case, and she's got some free time, so she can second chair. He quickly susses out the fact that she doesn't even know what the case is about, which, given that she seems about as likely to help a guy who wants to die as Cameron on House would be, doesn't really show off his prognosticative abilities to their fullest. Maggie thinks, however, that she owes him, for saving Scott and everything else, and she's actually being pretty tolerable here, but I still feel that I must point out that you might want to repay him in a currency that's worth more than your suspect legal skills. Eli tells Maggie she's afraid he's going to die, which Maggie denies. "In fact, I would really, really prefer it if you didn't." Aw. She goes on to point out that the operation is really dangerous, and maybe she is a little scared. "Aren't you?" He tells her that living or dying are both just fine, but "it's the something in-between that scares me." He then lightens the mood by saying that dying isn't on his agenda, and tells Maggie that she can second chair, as long as there's no sniffling. Maggie smiles excitedly, and this is the first scene of hers in a long while that's been more pleasant than chewing tinfoil. Progress!
In the first meeting, Green is telling his wife, her lawyer, and Maggie and Eli that he just wants to die on his own terms. His wife responds, "But we choose life, David. That's what we do." Katherine Hamnett would be so proud. Green, however, informs his attorneys that those were Moses's last words to the Israelites, and he strokes his wife's hair as he goes on that she called the sentiment "the Eleventh Commandment" in one of her sermons -- you see, she's a rabbi. Maggie thinks that explains the whole "talking to God" deal, but "Rebecca" snaps that Green doesn't even believe in God. He denies that, pointing out that people often find faith in times of crisis, and this is of course interesting theologically, but I've got a lot of work and damning of Berlanti to get through, so let's just say that Rebecca thinks he's abandoning his children with this decision, and Green thinks he's following the word from above by dying with dignity. "And if that's God's plan, I can't imagine a greater lesson to teach my children." Eli looks down, no doubt thinking, "All this talk about family is making me want to call my mom. Too bad SHE'S NOT EVEN IN THE EPISODE IN WHICH I HAVE BRAIN SURGERY, HELLO."
Eli comes back to the office to receive a heaping helping of extra-strength sass, and Patti's barrage about him not answering his cell is so thorough that he doesn't even catch the snap until she pauses and adds, "And your mama dresses you funny." Hee. And I guess his mom was in the episode after all! How touching! Anyway, Eli finally smiles as he figures out that all the sass is for his benefit, but Patti refuses to break sassy character as she shoos him off to a meeting with Jordan. "Probably some new stupid thing you did -- now get out of here! I can't stand lookin' in your face." The sass is funny this episode, but I'm still going to have to opine that she didn't really sell that last. Anyway, Jordan appears and pulls Eli into a pedeconference, and after Eli characteristically babbles at him for a bit, Jordan tells him that when he hired him, he saw "a greedy, self-righteous little sycophant. An ass." Eli thanks him, which is always funnier than it has any right to be. Jordan goes on, however, that as he got to know Eli, he realized he was driven and competitive, "and when I found out you were dating my daughter, going to be my son-in-law, I couldn't have been happier." I'll save the "aw" for what's to come here. Jordan goes on that he saw Eli as his successor, someone who could take WPK to the "prestigious heights" he always dreamed of, and he was on the fast track for partner. Eli knows that the aneurysm is the ensuing "...but," and asks if the conversation is about how much he's disappointed Jordan. Eli, I know a lot's on your mind, but surely you haven't forgotten, oh, THE LAST FOUR EPISODES? Jordan breathes, "Sometimes, you are still. An ass." Hee. He leads Eli into the conference room...
...wherein everyone is waiting for a surprise gathering. Eli asks what's going on, and by way of answering, Jordan tells the room, "I present to you the junior partner in charge of pro bono initiatives, Mr. Eli Stone." There it is: Awwwwwwwww. We get a bunch of shots of the show's principals congratulating him, with Matt even hugging him and everyone being waaaaaaay too enthusiastic, which was, along with the kind-of-creepy closeups as they talked to him, the first substantive clue to me that this wasn't real. Eli looks at the cake on the table and tells Jordan that while being partner means the world to him, if Jordan's doing this just because he thinks he's going to die, you know, that's okay. More Creepy Close-Up Cam as Jordan tells him that he made Eli partner because Eli's compassion changed Jordan...
...and then we flash forward again, as an emotional Jordan is begging Eli to wake up. Eli's unconscious in his hospital bed and looking kind of like a Conehead, though, so that might not be happening for a few more acts.
On the stand, Rebecca tells the court that David was born Jewish but never believed in God, and when he first told her about God speaking to him, she thought he was joking, but now she's of the mind that it was a symptom of the severe depression he fell into after the last round of chemo didn't work. Her lawyer points out that David claims to have found new faith and hope, but she counters that if that were the case, he wouldn't be giving up, but fighting to stay with his kids as long as he can. "That's what God wants." I automatically distrust anyone who says with that much certainty what God wants, even a woman of the cloth. But we gays tend to be a touchy lot, which is probably why Leviticus hated us so much. When Eli stands, he allows Rebecca (oh, she was totally Hannah's mom on Everwood, I just realized) to go on a lengthy discourse about how Judaism teaches that God gave people the gift of learning in order to expand their horizons, and one way in which they do that is to create treatments for disease, which, no matter how brutal, help prolong life. Glad this chick wasn't around in the era of leeches and skull-drilling. Then again, I suppose we at least know where she stands on stem-cell research. She concludes by saying that God intended for Green to have a chance to survive, and she only wants him to take that chance.
Back at WPK, Green ruefully notes that the qualities Rebecca showed on the stand are indicative of why he married her. Eli agrees that she's very convincing, and Green, noting Eli's obvious emotional investment, quietly asks if he's having second thoughts about helping him. Eli, in a small voice, asks what exactly God said to Green, or if he saw anyone or heard a song. These two are absolutely killing me with their scenes here, and leave it to Berlanti to make me tear up with interactions that AREN'T REAL EVEN ON THE SHOW. Green says he just had a moment of clarity, where he felt calm, and had peace. Eli's eyes go misty as he tells Green that never happened to him, one implication possibly being that if it had, he wouldn't be having the surgery. We pull back for a master shot of the conference room...
...and then Taylor is in asking Eli if he'd like his office back now that he's a partner. Speaking of which, as a sidebar, doesn't it seem weird that no one ever seems to have any need for this library? I mean, this is coming from someone who only picks up a book when his computer and/or Blackberry isn't functional, but these are lawyers we're talking about here. Anyway, after a little banter, she tells him that she couldn't be more proud of him, and he responds that that means a lot, "especially since you're one of the people I trampled on in my ruthless climb to the top." Aw, listen to Eli make it sound like he's capable of trampling anything larger than a guinea pig. Their smiles fade, and Taylor seriously says she's been wanting to tell him something -- he's the most important person in her life. He tries to deflect this with a joke, but she won't play, and after a few moments to gather her thoughts, she goes on that he taught her about love, "and not just the romantic kind, but the all-encompassing lifetime kind." In deference to the moment, I'll skip the Golden Girls joke. Eli tells Taylor that he's going to do his "darndest" not to die, but we start to hear the beeping of a hospital monitor, so we already know where this is going. Taylor urgently tells him that he's not dead...
...and then we flash forward, as Taylor is holding Eli's hand and repeating the words she just uttered in the dream/vision. She cries a little as she tells him that she promised she'd be there for him no matter what, and she meant it. Nate enters, and he and Taylor hug. She asks if he's hanging in there, and Nate sorrowfully smiles that "they" were almost done with the surgery when there was a hemorrhage, and then another, and the artery walls were weakened due to pressure from the aneurysm, which caused Eli to have a heart attack that cut off the blood flow to his brain. Taylor asks about the aneurysm, and Nate tells her it's gone, for all the good that will do. Taylor raggedly notes that in an alternate universe, she and Eli could be married, and she'd be the one having to make the decision about Eli's life. This probably isn't the most opportune moment to observe this, but I wouldn't have pegged Taylor for a sci-fi geek. Nate thinks that the decision has been made, as Eli didn't want to live this way, but Taylor, a lawyer through and through, points out that that's an easy thing to say as a hypothetical, but now that the worst has actually happened, just because Eli asked Nate to let him go doesn't mean he has to. I'd say that if that's true, Matt Dowd isn't the crack lawyer we all thought, but Nate seems to agree by disagreeing as he says he has to honor Eli. "I've already let him down, and I can't do it again. I can't." We flash back...
...and Eli is telling Chen about his promotion, the party for which there was even, apparently, a red velvet cake. Dude, way to bury the headline! Chen takes Eli's apparent ambivalence about the position as worry that he'll fall back into his soulless existence, although if he knew about the pro bono part he'd realize that that's not the case. Eli goes on, anyway, to tell him about Green and how he heard from God, and how he feels that this great weight has been lifted from his shoulders, which is obviously not a state of mind God has seen fit to grant to Eli. He wonders if God's treatment of him is some kind of "spiritual corporal punishment," causing Chen to go silent and regard him thoughtfully. Eli asks what's up, so Chen tells him that in the commune on which he grew up, he never felt close to God, so when he went out on his own, he immersed himself in the study of all religions so he could find him. "Funny thing is, all those years of seeking him out, he goes and finds me, when he sends a smug, stubborn, pain-in-the-rear lawyer right up to my door." Eli must be thinking that Jordan and Chen would just get along swimmingly. Chen goes on that Eli has lifted his burdens, and Eli snaps that now he's doing it, and why is everyone talking to him like he's gonna...
...and Chen wakes up. If I hadn't seen the previews, I would never have guessed this development, and even still it took me by surprise for a moment, so that was a very nice touch. Chen takes a moment to process...
...and then he's showing up at Nate's place. Nate asks if he can help him, but Chen responds, "Actually, I'm here to help you...help Eli." Nate's like, "He's not only a nut, he's stuck on Jerry Maguire references. Faaaabulous."
Chen, apparently not for the first time, is explaining that the dream he had about Eli makes him think part of him is still alive and trying to get a message out. Nate laughs incredulously, but Chen points out that it makes sense for the vision to have come to him, given his belief in divine occurrences -- if it happened to Nate, he'd think it was just a dream. Nate: "It happened to you and I still think it. No offense." It'd be nice if people sometimes used that expression when they actually didn't intend any offense. Like, "Nate, you're adorable and you need to be in every single episode! No offense!" Speaking of missing people, by the way, I realize she hasn't been on the show much but if she's still dating Nate, I don't know why Beth isn't around at all. Anyway, Chen tells Nate that Eli doesn't know the surgery happened yet, but he's close. Nate sighs that two weeks ago, he would have called Chen a quack and sent him away, but he can't do that now. Chen surmises that it's because Eli told him things that he couldn't have known were it not for his visions, and Nate bitterly adds that after that, Eli put him in charge of his DNR. "Even comatose, he's a tool." It's not quite as endearing if Eli isn't around to hear it -- he does love the abuse, as we've learned in this episode. Chen regards Nate intently, and Nate goes on that today, he's supposed to end Eli's life. Chen: "And I think I'm supposed to convince you otherwise."
Matt Letscher does a great job here as he tells Chen he wants to believe him, and to believe that if he waits long enough, Eli will wake up, but he can't, because medical science says that won't happen, and besides, Eli was very clear about what he wanted. "If I start to substitute my needs for his, then I'm...it's like I'm betraying him." Clear explanation of a sentiment that's difficult to verbalize; I have to give it up for the writing in this scene. Nate looks down hopelessly, but Chen, probably having anticipated the need for some proof here, holds out the picture of him and Mr. Stone that he showed Eli several episodes ago. This is almost too much for Nate as he holds the answer to his prayers in his hand, and it's almost too much for me as I try to blame the tears in my eyes on the onions my roommate is currently chopping in the kitchen. As Nate struggles to collect himself, Chen tells him that years ago, Mr. Stone foresaw that he'd help Eli, and he now thinks that this is his chance to do so. He begs Nate to give him more time, and Nate grants forty-eight hours. Chen says that Eli will wake up before then, and Nate smiles through his tears: "I'll do my best to believe in that too."
Back in Eli's mind, he's asking why Green wouldn't want to live longer and wondering if he's depressed, as his wife thinks. Green tells him that in some ways, he's happier than he's ever been, and it's his choice to make. The other lawyer, after establishing that Green didn't actually hear a voice, makes the point that Green was elated after the first time the chemo worked, and, given everything he's been through, maybe what seems like divine serenity is actually nothing more than "the latest peak on the ride that your overloaded brain created." Green counters that there's a scientific explanation for the burning bush, but that still doesn't prove it wasn't a divine occurrence. He addresses his wife directly: "Let me enjoy my last few moments on this earth with you and the children." Rebecca looks at him...
...and then she's telling Eli, "I'm going to lose." At least she's seen TV before. They're in Eli's office, and Eli uncomfortably tells her that she shouldn't be there, as he could get sanctioned just for talking to her. Rebecca tells him she won't blab, and goes on that she knows she can't get a judge to substitute her judgment for Green's. Eli wonders why she's going through with the exercise at all, then, so Rebecca duhs that she's making an effort to get Green to see the value of fighting for his life, and she'd like Eli's help in that endeavor. She goes on that she knows all about Eli -- he's sick and fighting for his life, just like Green should be, and she knows about the earthquake. "Mostly, I know you are more than just a lawyer." She goes on that she thinks Green chose him for a reason, and that reason was to show him that difficulties can be overcome. She tells him that Jewish tradition teaches that to save a life is to save the entire world, and he has the power to do so now. "I beg of you: Use it." But hey, you know, no pressure!
In his office, Eli tells Green that he thinks they can win the case, but Rebecca came to see him, and he thinks she might be right -- Green should want to live, not for anyone else, but for himself. Green wonders if Eli isn't supposed to be on his side, but Eli tells him he is -- he believes that God spoke to him. "I just think that you heard him wrong." He says that he thinks God wants him to fight for his life, but Green tells him he is -- for the life he has now. He says that before he got sick, he had a great job and a great car, but he never saw his family -- he was always at work. In fact, the reason he never saw Rebecca's services wasn't so much that he was a non-believer, but that he got home too late on Friday nights and was too exhausted to get out of bed on Saturday mornings. Hey, you don't need a demanding job in order to do that. He admits he was a skeptic, but it's not surprising, as the life he was living had no meaning. Eli smiles that that sounds familiar, and Green tells him he was sleepwalking. "If I never got sick, I'd still be asleep." Richard Schiff is selling the hell out of this, but he's stepping on his own point a little here, making it sound like he's afraid he'll go back to how he was before if he has the chemo, when it's just that he wants to spend time with his family, something he didn't do before he got sick and something with which the chemo would interfere. Anyway, he says the moment with God gave him a purpose, and I don't really think he's clearly articulating what he means but I suppose it's enough that he believes it.
In court, the opposing counsel argues that Green is incompetent. Eli then gets up and points out that there's no way to prove the conversation with God one way or another, but that's where faith comes in. He goes on that a few months ago, he started hearing things that proved the presence of God in his life, and Green gives him a side-eye like, "Let's not drag George Michael into this, huh?" Eli goes on that he tried to do what he thought God wanted, and he paid the price, but looking back, it's been the best time of his life, and if these divine experiences can help people change their lives for the better, what's the problem? He wraps up by saying that Green wants to live his life in a way that brings him closer to God. Eli: "It's not our choice to make. It's his." Flash forward...
...to Jordan coming into his daughter's office to find her in tears. He doesn't react to that, simply saying they should get going, but when she asks for a second, he notes, "You're crying." Anyone else I might feel obligated to make at least a mildly sarcastic comment, but Victor Garber just made me giggle. Taylor apologizes, saying she knows he hates crying, a statement he denies. Then: "Okay, I hate it." Hee, again. He admits, though, that it's a difficult time, and says he understands. Taylor tells him things haven't gone as she'd hoped when she started working for him, and he sits and asks if she regrets that decision. She reflexively denies that, but then takes a moment and offers that it hasn't been easy. He takes most of the blame for that, and then adds, "I take it from your silence you agree with me." Heh. Taylor tells him it's okay, and that he was just being him. "Mr. Difficult." Jordan tells her he's trying not to be himself anymore, although if that means he's going to stop frequenting George Michael chatrooms I'd have to opine that that's a mistake. He goes on, though, that if Eli were there, he was going to make him a partner, and he's starting a pro bono practice. Interesting -- this means Eli's having visions of what's in people's hearts and minds, not of anything that actually occurred. Taylor beams as Jordan goes on that he and the firm are changing, and he wants her to be an integral part of that process. "Please, honey. Stick with me. I need you here." Taylor: "How could I not?" Well, honestly. Just show this little speech to the ABC network execs and Season Two will be a foregone conclusion.
The judge (who's clearly Jewish, by the way, which is interesting in context) issues his ruling -- given that there's no assurance the chemo will save his life, in the eyes of the law, Green's decision not to undergo it is completely rational, and the motion to have him declared incompetent is denied. Again, though, we're hearing beeping, and as husband and wife look at each other fondly, the beeping turns to flatlining. We flash forward...
...and then, in the hospital, Green has just passed on. Nate comes running in and tells the nurse with him to get the crash cart, but Rebecca belays that order. "This is what he wanted." We pan around to see that Green was sharing a room with Eli, which on the one hand is a powerful development, as it seems Eli might have somehow touched Green in a way that allowed them to experience this journey together, or at least overheard enough to incorporate Green's story into his coma vision. Against that: Dying rich guys can't afford a private room at St. Vincent's? Are the bedpans made of gold? Anyway, Rebecca wishes her love goodbye, and we get a closeup of Eli before heading into the last commercial break.
As Starsailor's "Rise Up" plays, all the principals gather by Eli's bedside and exchange warm greetings, and Jordan even rubs Sassy Patti's shoulders, which is nice. Chen is the last to arrive, and Nate shakes his hand. I assume, by the way, that they're all here because they know of the time limit Nate has given to Eli, especially given Jordan's comment to Taylor about how they needed to get going. They all stand for their vigil, and then we flash back...
...and Eli is telling Chen that something isn't right -- he's been wearing the same shirt and tie for days, and he doesn't remember going home or even how he's been getting from place to place. I'd imagine he hasn't had to go to the bathroom much either, although if that's not the case I bet he really wishes he could figure out a way to change his clothes. Eli haltingly adds up all the clues -- people being so nice to him, the case being about life and death, the gaps in his memory -- and guesses that he already had the surgery, and it went bad. Dream Chen: "Sorry, bro." Eli asks if he's dead, and when Dream Chen equivocates, yells that he doesn't want to be. When Chen tells him not to, then, Eli grouses about him being enigmatic. Chen: "I don't know what to tell you. I'm not really here." Heh. He says Eli could let go -- no one blames him, and -- Eli starts to cry -- the world will go on without him, unless...Eli's expression turns hopeful, and he asks, "I have more to do?" You'd better, or some ABC high-ups are going to be joining you in the beyond. Eli asserts that he does have more to do, and Chen beams that he thinks so too. Eli asks how he gets out of there, and Chen beckons him to the table: "How about riding the needle?" Aw. Just like Berlanti to come full circle. Eli lies down and gets the tap...
...and then he's standing alone in a room -- until there's a flash of light behind him, and he turns to see George Michael, speaking of coming full circle. Eli asks if he's God, and George smiles. "Some men have said so." We know -- he works for one. Eli says he doesn't know how to get back, but, somewhat reminiscent of The Wizard Of Oz, George tells him he's known how the whole time. He then breaks into song -- according to fuzzybutt in the forums, it's a sixties number called "Feeling Good" by Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse -- and soon it's a full-blown performance, featuring Jordan, Patti, and George. As the song goes on, we get a quick montage of scenes from the season, and ordinarily I'd object but I'm kind of psyched that they took any excuse to keep the awesome Michael/Devine vocals going. Back wherever Eli is, all the rest of the principals show up and happily dance around Eli in a circle, and after they hit the last note, Eli grits his teeth and closes his eyes...
...and in the hospital, he wakes up. We pull back a little as he looks around, takes a deep breath, and smiles, and that's it for Season One. Except this, as always: Damn you, Berlanti!
By the way, I'm not currently planning to go anywhere, but I'm also moving soon and you never know how things will change, and I'd regret not saying anything if this turns out to be my last recap. So: Six years so far, and it's been inexpressibly fun. Thanks a lot for reading, and drop me a line any time.
John Ramos is a writer and film producer about to move to Los Angeles. You can reach him at couchbaron@msn.com.