Recap / ERS 1 E 11 The Gift

Season 1, Episode 11:

The Gift

Have yourself a Merry Little Christmas...

It's Christmas Eve, and the ER staff are busy taking care of patients who are in the festive spirit.

Carter rouses a sleeping mall Santa, who realizes he's late for his shift and hastily runs out, despite attempts to take his pressure. Mark is trying to figure out what to buy Jennifer for Christmas, having waited until the last minute to go shopping, and Susan offers to cover for him, while Benton sutures a patient's hand. As goes to walk out of the ER, he is met by a distraught father carrying his son, Murray, into the hospital, begging for help. The man says his son is dying due to falling in frigid water, and Mark, Doug, Susan and others work together to help raise the boy's body temperature as his father recites a prayer and begs for God to save him.

Benton and Carter head to the roof and meet a helicopter, which is carrying a comatose patient named Mr. Powell who sufffered severe head injuries after crashing his snowmobile. Benton uses the opportunity to assess Carter's knowledge of Powell's injuries, and Carter passes with flying colors, correctly diagnosing it as hematoma and describing the correct procedure to use. "Spoken like a true surgeon," Benton tells the budding doctor.

Doug and Mark manage to stabilize Murray's condition by using heated IV bags. Afterwards, Mark brings up Carol's engagement party to Tag, and asks if Doug is going. Doug tells him he wasn't invited, and will be spending time with Linda and her parents. Despite his attempt to brush off the mention, he's still conflicted over his feelings towards Carol...

Benton approaches Dr. Hicks and tells her about Mr. Powell's condition, mentioning that he wishes the hospital's neural department would take on the patient, and comments that it doesn't look like he'll make it. Hicks tells him that the patient is still under his care for the time being due to overcrowding, and that if Powell dies, they will need to get consent to harvest his organs. Benton mentions he already has consent, citing the signature on the back of Powell's license saying as much, but Hicks tells him to contact Powell's family first before she leaves. Carol also gets to see again how Doug works with kids, staring at him as he greets Murray, who wakes up from surgery.

While Nurse Connie and Susan treat a father who injured himself putting up too many Christmas lights (and caused his wife to leave due to the accident), Mark finds his efforts to leave the hospital and go shopping thwarted by a number of patients and Susan calling him back to provide support).

As noon arrives, Mark once again attempts to leave for lunch, but is called back when a stabbing victim is wheeled in. Soon after, he and Carol help stitch up a headwound suffered by Patrick, who tells them that he lost his helmet. Malik manages to find a spare hockey helmet from a storage unit in another part of the hospital and gives it Patrick, who doesn't want to wear it until he finds his original helmet. Carol invites him to stay at the hospital's reception area, as she is unable to contact his parents.

The day continues with more patients arriving, including a Ms. Stormburg, who is wheeled in after complaining about a possible swollen appendix, but is amazed to discover that she will be having a baby after Susan performs an ultrasound. Elsewhere, Carter diagnoses a child who swalled part of a poinsettia and spits part of it onto him, while Benton runs a search for matching donors that could take the organs from Mr. Powell's body. Powell's wife arrives, but despite Benton telling her that her husband is braindead and he's hooked up to machines to keep his organs intact, she asks for a second opinion from another doctor, thwarting his initial plans to harvest the organs. Afterwards, Hicks calls him out for not getting consent from Powell's wife before offering to send organs to new donors, and tells him to fix the situation.

When it looks as though Mark will be stuck for hours and won't be able to shop for Jennifer, Linda arrives, greeting Doug and offering to handle the shopping in his stead, just before she and Doug leave for her parents' place. Elsewhere in the lobby, Carter is surprised to see... Mary Cavanaugh, who is once again singing in the hallway. When Carter asks if she's okay, she hands him her belongings and tells him she wants "a hotel room with a view". Carter is left at a loss for how to respond...

While Benton asks Mark for help convincing Powell's wife to sign off on the consent for the organ transplant, the mall Santa from earlier is wheeled back in to the hospital, completely unresponsive. Despite Susan's efforts, "Santa"'s heart gives out and he dies, with no one having any way to identify the body. Soon after, Mark learns from Powell's wife that she separated from him five months prior and never got to see him again, despite him offering her a chance to be with him at Christmas. She gives her consent, and soon after, Benton, Hicks and the trauma team recover several organs from Mr. Powell's body.

As evening sets in, Susan tries to page Dr. Cvetic once again, having not seen him in several days. Malik tells her he thought Cvetic quit, a fact Susan confirms when she calls the hospital's personnel line. Carter overhears this and asks her if everything is alright, prompting her to ask for a lift. Together, they drive to Cvetic's apartment, only to find that he has moved out in a hurry, leaving a mess of empty boxes behind. Carter drives back to her apartment, and she thanks him for his help. They share a moment and Almost Kiss... but Susan pulls away at the last moment, suggesting that it's not the best time in light of what's happened. Carter smiles and understands, and they bid each other goodnight. Inside the apartment, Chloe gives Susan a present (a bulb with her name on it), then drops a bombshell — she's pregnant, and wants to name the baby after Susan...

In the staff locker room, Doug is getting dressed in a tuxedo to head to Linda's parents' house, while Mark is on a break. Carol comes in and wishes them both Merry Christmas, but shares a long look with Doug before leaving for the engagement party. Mark asks Doug if everything's alright after she leaves, prompting him to confess that he thinks about Carol all the time. Mark asks why Doug never told her, and he explains that he was too scared at the time. Mark tells him that she's not married yet.

Doug takes a taxi to a nearby cafe where she's supposed to rendezvous with Linda, but just before stepping inside, he has a change of heart. Realizing that the taxi rode off without him, Doug is forced to run several blocks to the engagement party. Inside, he finds Carol and brings her out to the street, where he tells her how much he loves her... only for her to throw it in his face, telling him he's only in love with "an idea" of her. Their conversation escalates, prompting Tag to come outside and tell Doug to leave. When Doug protests that she's "coming home with him," Tag slugs him in the face before Carol tells him to stay out of her life. As they go back inside, Doug is left dejected and wandering the streets.

The day ends with Mary Cavanaugh singing in the halls of the ER and Murray recovering, much to the relief of his father, while staff members go home, including Mark (with Jennifer's present), Malik, Haleh and Benton, who successfully completes the organ harvest procedure from Mr. Powell and delivers his heart to a helicopter bound for Cincinatti.

As the helicopter leaves, he pauses to look up at the night sky and contemplates...

Tropes:

• Anguished Declaration of Love: Doug attempts this... in the middle of Carol and Tag's engagement party. It... doesn't end well.
• An Ass-Kicking Christmas: Briefly, as Tag punches Doug during the former's engagement party with Carol.
• Armor-Piercing Response:
  Carol: (to Doug) You're in love with an idea of me... stay out of my life.
• Black Comedy: In the midst of a bleak scene where a patient dies from not being diagnosed in time, the audience gets this gem:
  Carter: Oh God, I killed Santa!
• Blatant Lies: Carol insists that she doesn't love Doug, and that he's only in love with "an idea" of her. As the events of this episode (and the rest of the season, and two more) will prove, she's not being honest with him.
• Breather Episode: After the Wham Episode that was "Blizzard", "The Gift" has a decidedly more relaxed plotline, being set during a holiday and focusing on a handful of characters. That said, the episode does have some dark moments, such as the mall Santa who dies after refusing to be checked earlier in the day, and Doug's failed Anguished Declaration of Love to Carol.
• Brick Joke: Ms. Cavanaugh, who has been wandering around the hospital in confusion, comes across Team Mascot Patrick, who has been singing to himself in several scenes — and together, they perform an on-key duet in front of the boy who swallowed part of a poinsettia.
• Brutal Honesty: Benton, in a moment of teaching, asks Carter to assess Mr. Powell while they're wheeling him down to the ER.
  Benton: Carter, diagnosis.
  Carter: Uh... hematoma on the right side of the brain, same side as the blown pupil.
  Benton: Uh-huh... prognosis?
  Carter: ...poor.
  Benton: I'd say he's doing about as good as a rock.
• Chekhov's Gunman: As in the previous episode, Linda proves to be a decisive help at a critical point, helping Mark obtain a gift for Jennifer (pricey lingerie) when he isn't able to get away from his duties.
• Christmas Light Chaos: Mentioned as having happened off-screen by a patient Susan and Nurse Connie treat, who shows off a picture of a ridiculously-overlit house and tells them how he suffered electrical burns after trying to tap into a street-side fusebox.
• Continuity Nod:
  • Mary Cavanaugh, who last appeared in "Going Home", reappears and acts as an impromptu guest at the hospital during Christmas Eve.
  • Susan finally learns that Cvetic has quit the hospital, after going through a period of mania at the end of "ER Confidential".
  • Doug mentions how he was "too scared" to admit how he really felt towards Carol in the past, referencing their encounter at the end of "Day One".
• Defector from Decadence: As part of his Character Development, Doug is given the opportunity to spend Christmas with Linda Farrell, her high-society parents and a subsequent party with 200 other guests (donning a tuxedo she even bought for him in the process)... only to back out of it at the last minute, running to find Carol to tell her he loves her.
• Didn't Think This Through: Doug races across the city on Christmas Eve, with the intent of telling Carol how he really feels — only to end up called out by her, punched in the face by Tag and left to wander the streets alone.
• Due to the Dead: The methodology and process behind organ donation is explored, with Benton having to get consent from Mr. Powell's wife and giving her an explanation of the circumstances behind the procedure. She eventually agrees after realizing he will help save other deserving donors in other cities, and Benton pauses and reflects on this fact at the end of the episode.
• Extremely Short Timespan: The episode covers Christmas Eve, specifically beginning at 10 a.m. and ending around 6 p.m.
• Hypocrite: Carol calls out Doug for being in love with "an idea" of her... when she's spent a good part of the episode eying him longingly behind his back.
• Idiot Ball:
  • Benton doesn't bother to get consent from Mr. Powell's wife before he calls in trauma teams to start the organ recovery process, prompting a pseudo-Race Against Time to convince her before they arrive. She agrees to the organ donation once Mark talks to her.
  • Doug, buoyed by a patient who told him about My Greatest Failure regarding a lost love, comes to realize he needs to tell Carol how he really feels. This ends with her telling him to stay out of her life, getting clocked in the face by Tag in front of other party guests and left to wander the streets alone on Christmas Eve...
• Innocently Insensitive:
  • Mark mentions that for Christmas the year before, he got Jennifer... a Dust Buster. Susan helpfully suggests that this year, she might appreciate a broom instead.
  • Linda also has shades of this, mentioning that Doug is fond of "budget" items (and once again criticizing his salary) in front of Mark and the reception staff.
• Innocuously Important Episode:
  • Despite being a Breather Episode, the climactic point of the episode (Carol telling Doug off after his Anguished Declaration of Love) sets up a major focus of the next two-and-a-half seasons, as Doug and Carol will have Swapped Roles — he will give up on Carol and start seeing other women regularly, while Carol will find herself increasingly drawn back towards him.
  • This episode also reveals that Chloe (Susan's sister) is pregnant, setting up a plotline that will continue until early in Season 3.
• Insecure Love Interest: Both Carol and Doug still seem to harbor feelings about each other, to the point of longingly staring at each other behind each other's back, but this is (seemingly) dashed by the end of the episode, as she orders him to "stay out of her life"...
• It's All My Fault: Carter believes his inaction caused the death of the mall Santa, prompting the Black Comedy moment above, until he's reassured that the man didn't want treatment and there was nothing they could have done.
• Just Friends: Despite an Almost Kiss, Susan tells Carter that they can stay as that before she goes into her apartment for the night.
• Love Confessor: Doug finally admits to Mark how he really feels about Carol, prompting the latter to express surprise (and hope) that they could get together. It won't be the last time Doug confesses his feelings about Carol to Mark, either.
• Love Epiphany: Doug realizes that he truly loves Carol, and decides to Race for Your Love by interceding during the engagement party... only to get called out for it before Tag clocks him in the face, and he's forced to flee in shame.
• Married to the Job: Like in previous episodes, Mark and Benton are shown to stay long hours, being unable to get away for personal tasks, and Benton is the last of the main characters to leave the hospital on Christmas Eve, pausing to reflect on his work at the end of the episode.
• Match Cut: Susan gifts the patient who electrocuted himself putting up Christmas decorations with a set of antique lights as a belated Christmas gifts. The patient thanks her profusely and asks where she got them... only to cut to the front desk, where Jerry is searching the counter and realizes the lights are missing, before complaining to Bob about it.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Mr. Powell's (Teddy's) wife tells Mark that he wanted to spend Christmas with her after they separated earlier in the year, only for her to reject his offer. She is then left distraught when she discovers he was left braindead as a result of his snowmobile accident, and that she never got a chance to say goodbye.
• My Greatest Failure: Doug meets a patient, possibly suffering from depression, who tells him that during Christmas 40 years earlier, she rejected a proposal from another man who loved her — and considered it to be the worst mistake she ever made. She then tells Doug that she tried to contact her former lover, only to learn he had died three years beforehand, and his son answered the line.
• Over The Top Christmas Decorations: Via the patient who electrocuted himself attempted to access a street-side fusebox after he put up too many Christmas lights, which he shows off in a picture to Susan and Nurse Connie.
• P.O.V. Cam: From the mall Santa in the opening, as Carter rouses him from his sleep.
• Race for Your Love: Doug ditches his Christmas plans with Linda to run across town to Carol's engagement party and tell her he loves her.
• Retargeted Lust: When confronting Carol, Doug dares her to deny that she thinks about him while she's with Tag. Needless to say, this is the last straw for Tag, who punches him.
• Ship Tease: Carter and Susan get this when exchanging gifts.
• Suspiciously Specific Denial: When Jerry asks Bob who took the Christmas lights off the entry partition, she tells him, "No, it's not true... and whoever says that is a liar."
• "Well Done, Son" Guy: Benton congratulates Carter as having "the makings of a real surgeon" after the latter expertly diagnoses Mr. Powell's condition and treatment options, making it the first time in the series where he's gone out of his way to praise his student.
• What the Hell, Hero?:
  • Dr. Hicks rails at Benton for presuming that Powell's signature on the back of his license meant he'd received consent for organ removal, and organized teams and new donors before he got consent from Powell's wife — who subsequently denied consent until she receives a second opinion.
  • Carol calls out Doug for racing to her and dropping an Anguished Declaration of Love at her engagement party, in the midst of a number of close friends and family, no less.

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