Spoiler: ER - "You're our hero"

Thursday's ER episode was heartfelt and moving without being too sentimental. There was a return to character-based storylines, something that had been put on the back burner during the last few episodes.

There were three main storylines during the episode. One was based on Tony, another on Morris and the third on Brenner.

1) At the beginning of the episode, Brenner announces that Banfield will not be working that day (she hasn't been on the show in a few weeks) but that everyone's mission is to get their patient satisfactory levels up, especially Tony. So Tony is sent to work on some elderly people and told to keep them happy. He works with this one man in particular who does not like doctors because he watched his wife die after receiving care. The old man is dying and surgery could help extend his life, but he is 78 years old and says he would rather just let life take its course. The man has family who care for him and at first Tony tried to scare him into agreeing to treatment, but Neela tells him that they have to stand by his wishes. As the episode comes to an end, Tony shows the man compassion and tries to make him realize that there is still a lot to live for. It is only then, after Tony proves he is a caring guy, that the old man agrees to have treatment so that he can live long enough to see his granddaughter graduate from college.

2) We see a little more of the Morris/police officer relationship bloom in this episode. Morris thinks he is in for a romantic date, but is instead blindsided when he shows up at the address she gave him and finds himself at her nephew's birthday party surrounded by her entire family. He obviously does not fit in and this becomes all the more obvious when he is asked to dress up in a superhero costume as the party's entertainment. By the end of the party one of the kids gets hurt and Morris has to take a trip to the ER in the costume, hence the quote that is this posts' title is uttered.

3) The episode starts with the happy couple - Simon and Neela. Neela gets a call for an interview at Duke and we see that Brenner really does not want Neela to leave. He obviously has strong feelings for her. Once at the hospital, a truck slams into an ambulance in the docking area of the hospital and inside is a mother and daughter. They become the central storyline of the night. We find out that they are alone and it is just the two of them. The mother has a brother but she does not want him called. Brenner calls him anyway because the daughter needs someone to stay with while the mother is in the hospital for about a month. When the brother shows up we find out (SHOCKER) that he is actually the daughter's father. No he did not have a child with his sister, but he did have a child and when she was 3 years old leave her with his sister while he ran away in the middle of the night. She then raised the girl as if she were her own daughter. Brenner tries to talk to the father and get him to agree to care for the daughter for a few weeks and at first it seems as if he might. He even fills out the paperwork, but the episode ends with Brenner and the little girl waiting outside for the father who they both know is not coming back.

One of the best scenes I have seen on the show in a while also happened within this storyline: The mother goes into v-tack and they have to use the defibrillator on her. The young daughter is in the room while this is happening and she is crying and freaking out. The entire time this is happening the viewers are sitting at home yelling at the TV "why is she still in the room?" Then Brenner saves the day. He stops working on the mother long enough to swoop the girl out of the room and carry her down the hall. It was a very emotional scene.

So what did you think about this week's episode? Are you as excited as I am for the return of Noah Wyle as John Carter for five episodes? The preview said it starts this week. I can't wait.