Some middle-aged man is talking to Dr. Ben Gideon (and it's going to be really hard for me not to call him Frank Pembleton, but I'm working on it) in his office. Middle-Aged Man (whose name is Kirk, and who is played by total Hey, It's That Guy Bruce McGill) says that he was out golfing and he thought he had a charley horse. We learn that Middle-Aged Man is a venture capitalist. Dr. Gideon reveals that his own wife invested in a tech fund years ago, and Kirk says she's a smart wife. Ben just smiles and asks about Kirk's wife, whom Kirk calls "a certified idiot. If there was any rationality in the world, she'd be spayed." Okay, then! Clearly, Kirk is not a sympathetic character. Ben doesn't comment on Kirk's assessment of his wife, instead talking about how ill Kirk is, and how treatment might just make him worse. Okay, I confess, my VCR cut off the first few seconds of the episode, so I don't know what's wrong with Kirk. But let's just pretend it's a plot development, shall we? Cool. It might be. You don't know. Unless you watched the episode.
Anyway, Kirk is all, "Save it!" and saying that he's "the world's leading expert on who's got who by the balls" and he "knows [he's] a bad investment." Ben tells him that "knowing it and accepting it are two different things." Kirk's cousin says that Ben is a wizard, and Kirk needs a wizard. Ben says that it's nearly impossible to treat "carcinoma." Ah, the diagnosis mystery is resolved. Kirk offers to make a donation since Ben is "the head of experimental medicine," but Ben is insulted by that, and says that Kirk doesn't "fit the guidelines for any established medical protocol." Kirk stands up and yells, "I won't take no for an answer." Ben looks at him like, "That might work in the negotiating room, buddy, but it ain't gonna work here." Ben sits back down and says that he's fifty years old, and he's "not ready to pack it in and die." Ben stares at him for a while, and then picks up his folders and other assorted paperwork and dumps it. He gets out a fresh legal pad and pen, and says that doctors sometimes hide behind "the new technology." File folders are technology? Ben wants to hear Kirk's story, from the beginning. Kirk starts talking about Ben -- that his kids go to a school where they know "about Harriet Tubman, but not Harry S Truman," and the Ben gives a dollar to bums on the street blah blah blah lazy character development-cakes. Show, don't tell, people! It's like the first rule of writing. Unless you're writing recaps. Then, it's tell, tell, tell, joke, tell, tell, tell, tangent. Kirk gives a long monologue about how Ben doesn't have to love him, or even like him -- he just has to want to win against the cancer. Ben smiles and says this was supposed to be Kirk's story. Kirk says Ben is the end of his story -- his "last hope." And...credits.
Overhead shot of a huge foyer with many people crossing it. Ben and some other doctor walk through, as Ben discusses Kirk's cancer which is in multiple sites. Other Doctor asks about the primary tumor, and Ben says that it's twelve centimeters in diameter and located in the right kidney. As Ben and Other Doctor continue walking through the hospital, many younger doctors try to catch up with them, so they must be leading rounds or something. See, I have learned something from ER. Ben shows Other Doctor an X-ray and says the main tumor has been removed, but "they had to leave the mets." No, not the baseball team. The smaller tumors. Other Doctor (who we see, for the first time, and who looks a little like a nutty professor type) makes a big analogy about how some cancer is like "the Avon lady" but kidney cancer is like "the Iliad." He's saying that kidney cancer is bad news, because I'm sure that you all thought it was a walk in the park. Ben and Other Doctor banter about how cancer is a predator, and what type of predator. It's interesting to watch, but would be dull as hell to read. So, they banter. Other Doctor suggests treating Kirk with morphine and holy water. Ben says he's thinking about treating this person, because he has a hunch. Other Doctor doesn't believe in hunches. Ben finally addresses one of the students, Sid, asking what he would do. Oh, God! I am totally suffering from the Party of Five curse. Standing to Sid is Holly! And Daphne is going to be on Freakylinks week. What , is Jeremy London going to show up on Smackdown? Actually, considering his career trajectory, I wouldn't be surprised. Anyway, Sid freezes, and is unable to answer.
Some hapless intern wakes up some guy sleeping in a spare room. Could this be more of a clichéd hospital show scene? Anyway, Hapless Intern is looking for the chief resident, Dr. Boies. Sleeping Guy (who is now Awake Guy) says he was "just sleeping off some malt liquor." See, it's a joke, because he's black. And sassy. Hapless Intern has a patient who's having trouble breathing, and Awake Guy questions whether this is, in fact, an emergency. Hapless Intern gets indignant, and says it's only his second day on the job. We might as well just call him Carter until we find out his actual name. Awake Guy makes a Who Wants To Be A Millionaire joke. That's so last season. Carter is still looking for the chief resident, and Awake Guy continues to give him guff about not bothering the chief resident, and yet that the chief resident is always available to answer questions. Carter sighs and turns away. Haplessly.
Rounds continue. Sid is obsessing to Holly (who, we learn, is actually named Ollie, in a strange twist of fate), over the fact that he froze, and wants to know how long the freeze lasted. Ollie jokes that the roots on "that blonde intern" grew out while Sid froze. The group doing rounds arrives at a stopping point, and Ben looks around and asks, "Where's Dr. Cherry?"
Cut to Dr. Cherry, sitting in a lounge talking to an older, wealthy lady. Dr. Cherry says that "intuition and good listening" are what make a good doctor, which is funny because he is totally not listening to Wealthy Lady, who is going on tearfully about how "he doesn't eat" and "he's depressed" and "urinating on the rugs." Everyone in the free world understood that she was talking about the dog in her lap like ten minutes ago, but Dr. Cherry tells Mrs. Champion (Wealthy Lady) that they're going to take good care of her husband. Mrs. Champion is all, "My husband is dead!" and Dr. Cherry is all, "Well, don't count him out yet!" How could someone so stupid actually make it through medical school? Dr. Cherry finally figures out that they're talking about Nero, the dog, and asks if she's brought him to the vet. Mrs. Champion gets all offended that he would even suggest such a thing. Dr. Cherry covers, and Mrs. Champion says, "Promise me you'll save my baby?"
Ben walks into an examination room, where he is treating Dr. Max Cabranez. Ben and Max exchange some banter (a recurring theme on this show) about how Max lives an unhealthy lifestyle. Ben asks when he last had a vacation and Max says this hospital can't run without him. So, now we know that Max is the head of the hospital. Then, Max gives Ben some guff about using hospital resources to treat Kirk. Ben says he hasn't decided whether to treat him or not. Max tells him he could say no. Ben's all, "I'm his last hope." Max says to make sure Ben knows why he's doing it. Ben apparently knows what Max means, but we, the viewers, have no clue.
Sid is laughing at Dr. Cherry for admitting a dog. Cherry proceeds to explain how the hospital is like a medieval kingdom. Sid assures Cherry that Gideon's "bark is worse than his bite." See what they did there? Because they're talking about how he admitted a dog...forget it. Sid asks what room the dog is in, and then says he thought Mr. Bettenoy was in that room, but Cherry reveals that Bettenoy died. Cherry wants to kill himself. Sid asks, "What happens when you kill that dog?" and walks away. Cherry yells after him, "I did not kill Mr. Bettenoy!" Then he sees Ben walk by, still on rounds I guess, and tries to hide. After the group passes, Cherry looks up and calls out to the blonde intern. I'm guessing this is the one whose roots grew out when Sid froze. In fact, her roots are fairly grown out. Cherry commands Blondie to follow him, and she does.
Ollie walks down the hall and Chip from Kate and Allie walks by her and does the "imaginary tip the cap" thing. Two seconds later, he collapses to the ground and has a seizure. Ollie rushes back to help him. Many nurses are holding him down.
Ben arrives at Kirk's palatial home. The two men sit down to discuss Kirk's illness. Ben gets all microbiology, but Kirk doesn't care, and neither do I. Kirk says that "at Brown, [he] majored in beer." Maybe that's a reference to the actor being in Animal House? Anyway, Ben says this will be tough to beat, and Kirk says that he believes in "good Bales protoplasm." Because all it takes to beat cancer is good genes. Ben continues to try to impress upon Kirk the futility of this course of treatment. Kirk is all, "Are we doing this or not? I want to go to bed." Ben gets offended and says that he is taking this case personally, and if Kirk dies, that goes against Ben's reputation, and when Kirk suffers, it goes on Ben's conscience. Ben continues that everything he knows is telling him to give Kirk "palliative care only," like pump him full of morphine and wait for him to die, but he's willing to treat Kirk anyway, and yet Kirk continues to "give [him] guff." Kirk says that must mean he has a chance. Ben says Kirk needs to understand what he's getting them both into. Then they make some investment banker metaphors, and suddenly all is well again. They both sit back down and discuss drug treatments. Have I mentioned that Andre Braugher is brilliant? He turned what could have been another boring monologue into something that was both interesting and enlightening in terms of character.
Cut to Ben lecturing to a group of students. It looks suspiciously like the same classroom where Frank Pembleton was lecturing at the beginning of the Homicide TV movie. Anyway, Ben is talking about how doctors have to realize that everything they say will be examined and repeated by the family of the patient, so doctors can't show emotions when they are treating patients. While Ben talks, we see Kirk arriving at the hospital with his wife for treatment, and then being hooked up to an I.V. while lying in a hospital bed.
Ben is talking to his children, while serving them breakfast. There's more banter. The kids are cute. Some woman walks in, apologizing for being late, and she makes a Bostonian reference to "the Big Dig." Ben's beeper goes off just as his daughter spills her chocolate milk. As Ben is reaching for it, we see that he is wearing a wedding ring, but where is his wife? I wonder.
Ben and Ollie race down the hallway as Ollie talks about Kirk's status. Ben reveals that curing one of Kirk's problems (fluid in the lungs) would only exacerbate his other problem (low blood pressure). Kirk is looking pretty damn shitty. He's gray and shivering in the hospital bed. Ben asks Ollie about the dosage on some Lasix, and Mrs. Bales looks up from her knitting to give them a sharp look and question that. Ben tells her it's a teaching hospital. Ollie guesses too high a dose, and Ben corrects her. Ben asks about the Bales' children, and Mrs. Bales says that having the children there would only depress Kirk, as if it were a deathwatch. Ben looks up sharply and asks to see Mrs. Bales outside.
Out in the hall, Ben wants to make sure that Mrs. Bales understands "the gravity of Kirk's situation." Mrs. Bales feels she is aware, but she doesn't want to disrupt the children. Ben tells her that Kirk could die today, and wonders if this is some way for Mrs. Bales to "express latent hostility towards [Kirk]." Mrs. Bales tells him that's not the case, and that she will keep the children posted by phone. Ben asks about the "reading of the will." Mrs. Bale looks up sharply and whispers, "Don't presume on this sudden friendship with my husband," then walks away. I'm sure I didn't convey it, but that was a well-acted scene.
Dr. Cherry walks into an alcove to avoid Ben. Then, Cherry and Blondie are in an exam room with Nero, the dog. Blondie reads from a textbook to help with the diagnosis, while Cherry gripes about how long the lab is taking with the bloodwork. We find out the Blondie is named Stiles. Cherry says that the lab guys are all dogs, and she should "show them a little skin" to get their bloodwork back more quickly. Ew! I hate Cherry! Stiles looks like she agrees with me, and continues reading from the text. It's an especially disgusting passage about the anal glands, and all of the kinds of discharge therein.
Sid prepares Chip for an MRI. Chip wonders where Ollie is, as he scratches his arm. Sid takes a closer look, and asks about the red spots on there.
Cut to Sid and Ollie (hey!) in a cafeteria. Sid is saying that Chip has turned into a case with "no known explanation" and that he's going to present it to the chairman of medicine. Ollie points out that he's technically her patient. Now, they're sitting down and Sid asks how she can claim the patient, since they're roommates. Ollie denigrates him some more, and then asks if he thinks she's going to sleep with him now. Cherry walks up and Sid tells him to buy them dessert, which he does. Sid relays what he told Gideon about the case, which is that he made up a stupid metaphor about the disease being a criminal and the doctors being detectives. Then he continues eating his French fries with a fork. Ollie tells him he can have the case. Cherry walks up and gripes about their wages. Sid and Ollie ignore him and continue bantering about whether Ollie thinks Sid can handle the case. Cherry posits that you "can't make a living anymore as a doctor, unless you're Dr. Dre." Hee! Stiles (a.k.a. Blondie) comes rushing in and informs Cherry that Nero has diabetes.
Ben walks into Kirk's room and there's more "investment banking as health care" talk. Kirk still looks terrible, but he wants more of the drugs. Ben tells him he can't have any more, and Kirk asks about Ben's kids, if they're home with his "smart wife." Ben pauses and reveals that his wife died a year ago of ovarian cancer. Kirk tells him he hasn't accepted it, and taunts him about his wife some more, like could this character be any more unlikable. Kirk goes silent, thank God, and Ben notices some blood on the bed. Kirk is bleeding out, and Ben calls more personnel in. Then we get a gross shot of the blood dripping off the gurney and onto the floor.
Ben is jogging at night, and Max drives up in his car. Ben reveals that Kirk is bleeding out, and that Ben never should have treated him, because it's not about him. Max protests that Kirk wanted to fight, and Ben says, "She didn't." Turns out that Ben's wife decided she would rather spend her final months with her children instead of getting treatments, she and Ben fought bitterly about that, and now Ben is feeling guilty. Max offers to drive him home, but Ben continues running down the darkened streets. This is where there would be a commercial break, if there were any freaking commercials on this show.
Hapless Intern/Carter is treating an old guy whose knee is numb. They banter over the definition of numb. I should program "banter" into a macro with the amount of times I've used it in this recap. Carter's beeper goes off because the kid who was having trouble breathing before is back. Carter says that the kid has asthma. The patient's mother asks who Carter is (and I, for one, would like to know his real name), and protests that Carter "ain't his doctor" and that she wants "a real doctor, not this dumb-ass." Carter says the kid wouldn't be in there if she gave him his medicine. Awake Guy from earlier overhears and comes over, asking if Carter is accusing the mother of neglect. Mom says, "You tell him, my nigga." See, they're both black. Normally, I don't mention racial makeup of characters because, well, does it matter? But in this case, it does. Awake Guy looks up sharply. After "banter," that's probably the most-used phrase of this recap -- "looks up sharply." Awake Guy says he is the "chief resident of Metropolitan General Hospital." Which most of us had guessed based on that first scene, but I didn't want to spoil the surprise, such as it was. So Awake Guy is officially Dr. Boies. Carter tries to give some instructions, but Boies says that it's an allergic reaction, not asthma. Oops. Boies orders the mom out of there, and instructs Carter to "trach him." Carter is all hapless about it.
Post-tracheotomy, Boies and Carter wash their hands. Boies compliments Carter's procedure. Carter is worried that the mom isn't giving the kid his medicine. Boies says that the mom has many problems, including that "she can't even put her pantyhose on straight." Well, that would be a problem. Carter wants to help some more, but Boies says he can't be "a social worker" or "turn a bad mother into a good mother" with a pill. This relationship between "jaded, experience doctor" and "naïve, rose-colored-glasses doctor" is so hackneyed. Why didn't they just name Boies "Benton" and get it over with? Carter points out that the mom listened to Boies, and Boies doesn't want to get involved, because doctors kill many people every year, especially doctors who believe that their "high-minded ideals can substitute for technical excellence." Oh, just go father a baby with Carla, already, Boies/Benton. Ooh, but we got a name for Carter! It's Wyatt. Boies leaves, and Ollie walks in and makes a joke about him. Ollie asks how long Wyatt has been married, and he replies, "Since high school." High school? Wow, now I really want the backstory on this character. Ollie removes his wedding band for him, and puts it on a chain around his neck because "betadine stains the gold." There maybe, might have been some sexual tension there. Time will tell.
Ben looks out his office window at the rain. His appointment book reveals a 10 AM appointment with Kirk Bales. We see Kirk sitting in the back seat of a car, being driven to said appointment, I guess. He watches someone load their kids into a van, and asks his wife if he came to the hospital when the kids were born. His wife says that he was out of town for both births. He just nods.
Kirk stands in his hospital gown, talking to Ben about how his wife had to "go off to fart and adjust her girdle." What? That was a strange thing to say for many reasons. Ben says that people cope in different ways. Kirk says that he could have "scalped her a ticket" to watch Ben torture him. So are they trying to say that these two don't get along? Ben explains that they are waiting for radiology -- presumably to find out if the tumors are still there. Then there's some more investment banking metaphor. Kirk pulls out a newspaper and reveals that he uses the non-fiction bestseller list to find his newest investments, and that the newspaper is "his favorite thing in life." Meanwhile, they must have put a microphone inside the newspaper for all the rattling we're hearing. Ben says that he's glad he met Kirk, no matter how things turn out today. Kirk says he's glad it was Ben who saw him in "his moment of weakness," since Ben will never run into his friends socially. I'm not sure if that was a racial joke or what, but Ben laughs and says, "You're welcome." Kirk gets loaded into the MRI machine as New Age-y music plays in the background, and Ben watches.
Ollie is asking how well Boies knows "him." Boies is all, "Who?" and Ollie is all, "Who are we talking about?" Well, thanks for not telling us. Ollie says that "he" selected Boies to be chief resident, and when "he" was a resident, "he" was the chief. I'm going to go out on a limb here, and say they're talking about Ben. Boies confirms that Ollie is asking if "Dr. Gideon is taking [him] under his wing," and then jokes about it some more before saying that Ollie's not being left out -- Boies has been there seven years and never had a personal conversation with Ben. Ollie says Ben "doesn't seem as cold as that," but Boies says that no one knows what's Ben's really like. Ollie asks about his wife, and Boies says that he "carefully avoided" being in on her treatments. Ollie jokes that Boies is the cold one, and Boies says that's what he wants people to think, and that he remembers that Ben was different around his wife. Like, we get that the key to understanding who Ben Gideon is has to do with his wife's death -- so just quit dancing around and tell us the deal! Or not. I guess it's a mark of a good show that they reveal things slowly. I'm just impatient.
Sid is treating Chip of the mystery illness, and can't find a pen. He looks in the bedside drawer and finds a syringe and some bloody gauze. I'm such an idiot, I thought it meant Chip was on heroin or something. Sid takes an alcohol swab and wipes the "bruise" right off Chip's arm. The jig is up! Sid is pissed off that Chip was faking the whole thing. Chip is more concerned about how realistic his "performance" was than anything else. Sid is pissed, as Chip demonstrates how good he is at faking other illnesses.
Sid paces on the roof and worries that he's going to have to go back to working in his uncle's video store. Ollie, Cherry, and Stiles ask him about Chip, and how much all of the tests cost the hospital. Sid says the hospital won't find out about Chip's pretend illnesses. More banter. Cherry says the only way out of the medical profession is to write a book about it, and starts talking about all the "medical experts" who have written successful books about how you can do whatever you want, because it's good for you. He says his book would be, "Prevent Prostate Cancer: The Secret of Masturbation." Sid looks at him thoughtfully. Did I mention they are all smoking cigarettes? That's probably supposed to be ironic or something. Cherry says after he finishes his residency, "Gideon can kiss [his] dot-com." That doesn't even make sense.
Boies is looking at some charts, and a nurse puts a tooth and note on the counter, telling him that it's from the kid who got the tracheotomy earlier. She jokingly asks if he wants to be the tooth fairy. Boies looks at the note, which says, "Dear Tooth Fairy: Will you take me with you please? Jordan."
Kirk and his wife sit in Ben's office, and Mrs. Bales complains about how long Ben is taking. Ben enters and looks at the test results -- the tumors have shrunk in half. Ben says, "It's a miracle!" and Ben and Kirk get their picture taken by the admin while Mrs. Bales breathes a sigh of relief. See, she has layers.
Ben is talking to Other Doctor from the first scene. Other Doctor wonders if it bothers Ben, the fact that Kirk's recovery has no scientific basis. Ben discusses a possible explanation, but Other Doctor wants "a serious answer." Ben thinks that "Kirk did this."
Back at Chez Bales, Kirk is watching a videotape of his grandson playing soccer. Mrs. Bales seems excited to see it, but Kirk thinks his grandson is a "little fatty." Nice. Kirk bitterly suggests that his son sent the tape to prevent the "little fatty" from seeing his grandfather, so that they don't have to explain death. But very bitterly. Did I mention the bitterness? Mrs. Bales says that she "abandoned [Kirk] for a few days" to visit her mother and now he's punishing her. Kirk says that the subject of the video is not his "mouth-breathing" grandson, but rather Kirk's son, proving what a good father he is, unlike Kirk. Mrs. Bales says that the son is reaching out. Kirk says Mrs. Bales played the part of "a dutiful wife" and accuses his wife of telling the children not to come to his bedside. He says (bitterly, still) that she "can't even take care of appearances." Mrs. Bales says that she begged them to come, and Kirk walks out. Now, who's afraid of Virginia Woolf? Mrs. Bales opens a cabinet and finds all of Kirk's newspapers, unwrapped. Remember? Newspapers are the most important things in his life.
Cherry walks by Ben's office, and Ben chases after him, yelling his name. Cherry tries to pretend that he wasn't running away. Ben asks about Mrs. Champion (the dog owner), who is "a good friend and a good friend of the hospital." Cherry says he's actually treating "a relation of hers," and Ben didn't get the case because of "a language barrier." Ben wants to be kept posted. Cherry knows he's in trouble.
Trach Boy from earlier is getting out of the car while being yelled at by his mom because "they called [her] at work." Trach Boy coughs and protests that he told them not to, but his mom says that when he has an attack, he should just go in the bathroom until it passes. She draws up short when she sees that Boies is sitting on the stoop.
Inside the house, Trach Mom is angry that Boies got involved, as she lights up a cigarette. Boies tells her to put it out, saying, "You're his mother." Trach Mom replies, "An eight-year sentence for a one-night mistake. They don't give you that for armed robbery." Ouch. Boies stares her down and she puts it out. Trach Mom asks what kind of "black man" he is, and he says sarcastically that he's there to "look down" on her. Boies tells her she'll have to get the carpets taken up, due to "dust mites." Trach Mom protests that it's expensive to refinish the floors, and Boies tells her she can do it herself cheaply. Trach Mom replies sarcastically, "Oh, happy day. The Negroes got their own Bob Vila." Boies asks why the kid doesn't take his medicine and Trach Mom sarcastically (again) reels off a list of stereotypical reasons why poor moms don't give their kids medicine. Boies says he doesn't feel sorry for her, he feels sorry for the kid, and the only lesson she is teaching him is that the world is against you. Trach Mom reveals that the medicine makes him jumpy, and that she doesn't want him to be labeled "a discipline problem" at school, because once you have that label, "you've got no chance." Boies offers to get her into an experimental trial for a new drug.
Cherry is treating Nero while Mrs. Champion watches. Cherry's so involved in the dog that he doesn't hear Mrs. Champion complaining about her "splitting headache." Of course, Mrs. Champion collapses, and Cherry barely even notices.
Ben's admin (Mary) tells him that Mrs. Bales is on the phone. Suddenly, Ben's examining Kirk, and getting sarcastic rejoinders to all of his questions about exercise and diet. Kirk says he's not depressed, if that's what Ben's getting at. Ben asks about the newspapers. Kirk says it seems kind of pointless, since "the game" of investment doesn't matter anymore. Nothing matters. Ben says that people can change. Kirk says that Ben fights disease and takes care of people. Ben replies, "Please don't sentimentalize me." That right there is what sets this show apart from ER, I think. You'd never see that line on ER. Kirk says that his whole life was a game -- pushing his wife, keeping his kids on a leash, how much money he could make without ever producing a single thing of value, beating the cancer. Ben points out that he beat it. Kirk says he didn't do it. Ben says it wasn't him, either. Kirk thinks it was "a gift, a little bit of extra life." Kirk feels he has just enough life left to have time to realize how shitty his life has really been, and that it's his own fault. Ben says Kirk is a fighter and he should fight this. Kirk replies, "What am I supposed to do with a miracle?" Ben just stares.
Cherry and Sid are sitting in the morgue, smoking. Sid doesn't know what to do about Chip, because he "can't keep admitting him," but if he lets him go he'll just do the same thing at another hospital. Cherry talks about how he used to fake being sick as a kid, to get attention from his mom, and once he ate a whole box of laxatives. He recalls, "Those were happy times." Hee! Sid opines that Chip needs someone to love him faithfully. They hear a strange noise from inside one of the morgue drawers. Cherry opens a drawer, and pulls out the gurney to reveal Nero sitting on Mrs. Champion's corpse. Cherry says, "Talk about faithful." Okay, come on. That was a little too David E. Kelley for me.
scene is Chip walking out of the hospital with Nero on a leash. Cherry is giving him instructions on taking care of Nero's diabetes, and Chip says he "won't let him down." Man and dog take off happily as Sid comments, "Another day, another narrow escape."
Ben is complaining to Max about Kirk having "the courage to fight kidney cancer," and then being "scared to pick up the phone and talk to his own son." Max tries to say that it's Kirk's life, and that Ben treated him and now he has to let him go. Ben says the whole "it's his life" thing is tedious, and that nobody's that free of connections. Max brings up the wife, and that she "abandoned [Ben]." Ben says that they "all abandon [him]" and that all he asks of his patients is that they "stick with [him]." Max says that Ben has many people who belong to him, but who does he belong to, and that Ben hasn't looked Max in the eye in a year. Ben says he's there for Max, but Max retorts that he's there for Ben, too. Ben pauses and says tearfully that this should have been his wife. Max says, "Be angry with God. Pick on someone your own size." Ooh, burn!
Ben arrives home to hear his daughter singing "Over the Rainbow" while coloring. Ben watches her and smiles.
Cut to another lecture scene. Ben is saying that life without disease is now possible, but illness is what gives life meaning, because it induces a "day of reckoning." That point is where doctors intersect with people. While Ben speaks, we see Kirk going out golfing. Ben continues, saying that caring about a patient is like "losing control," and a doctor is "always in control. Except when he's not." Okay, Grasshopper. Kirk hits a golf ball and then clutches his back in pain as Ben's daughter sings.
week: some woman refuses treatment from Ben. Ben tells Ollie not to lose her fire. Wow, I'll be there! Well, I have to be there, but those previews were lame.