ER 5.17, Sticks and Stones: Sweet-Faced, Do-Gooder Baby Doc Is Carter’s Wrestling Name

February 25, 2020

ER 5.17, Sticks and Stones: Sweet-Faced, Do-Gooder Baby Doc Is Carter’s Wrestling Name

I think Weaver might have developed a little crush on Kornberg

Summary: Now that George Clooney has left the show to be a movie star Doug has run away to the West Coast, Carol is living alone. Sad music tells us how to feel when she wakes up alone in the middle of the night. Carter is having a much better night, loving his shift on a paramedic ride-along. He tells Doyle and Jerry that they’ve brought in a crazy woman. If a woman in a large birdcage, dressed as a bird and making bird noises is crazy, then he’s right. She pecks at Jerry’s hand and stares at him. Yosh, who appears to know a lot about birds, tells Jerry that his gaze is threatening her.

Carol mopes on her coach, watching a home-shopping channel. At County, Malik brings Weaver to a patient he thinks Jerry will want to meet. His name is Kornberg, and he injured his knee wrestling. Malik questions the reality of pro wrestling and calls Kornberg a fake. Kornberg picks him up and swings him around a few times before slamming him on a gurney. Weaver yells for security, concerned until Malik and Kornberg reveal that they were just playing around to mess with her. She’s not amused (I know, shocking).

Lucy’s patient of the week is Mrs. Fong, an elderly woman who had a seizure. She’s agitated, and her son explains to Lucy that she doesn’t remember him telling her he and his wife were leaving. Lucy asks the younger Fongs to stick around since Mrs. Fong only speaks Mandarin, and there’s no translator. The younger Mrs. Fong wants to give her mother-in-law some herbs for her upset stomach, but Lucy thinks they should wait until her tests come back.

Carter goes back out for his ride-along, taking some ER supplies with him while telling Weaver to her face that he’s not stealing. Weaver chastises Malik for making Kornberg do something physical while he has a knee injury. Malik says Kornberg is used to it. Jerry’s taking pictures with him now, so Weaver tells everyone to leave the patient alone.

She apologizes to Kornberg for all the attention and starts to treat his injury. Kornberg has had multiple injuries and says putting on a show every night is harder than dealing with the pain. Weaver notes that pro wrestling is a job for show-offs, but Kornberg doesn’t seem to like the fame. He says he just gives the fans what they want. She asks what he would rather be doing. Kornberg admits that he’d like to grow sugar beets on a farm in Montana. He knows it sounds crazy, but Weaver promises she’s not laughing at him.

Lucy shows Mrs. Fong’s scans to Doyle, who offers to give the family the diagnosis Lucy has made. The Fongs’ daughter, Emily, has joined them and is there to hear that her grandmother has cancer. Mr. Fong reveals that they’ve known about his mother’s cancer for a year. Emily didn’t know, since she was away at school. She’s upset about the secret, and even more upset when her parents say they won’t be telling Mrs. Fong about her illness. They think it’ll depress her and she’ll die faster. They forbid Lucy from saying anything.

Lucy goes outside for some fresh air and runs into Emily. She says her parents can get traditional, and there’s no reasoning with them. Lucy tells her that her grandmother probably only has a few months to live. Emily wishes she’d known earlier so she could spend more time with her. There are available treatments, but Lucy doesn’t see how they could treat Mrs. Fong without telling her what they’re treating her for. Emily disagrees with her parents’ decision and thinks her grandmother would want to fight the cancer if she knew about it.

A patient comes in with food poisoning and recognizes Kornberg. Jerry has offered to take Kornberg to radiology instead of calling for transport, so they can chat more. Weaver gets annoyed on Kornberg’s behalf about all the attention he’s getting, while Kornberg just takes it in stride. Lucy asks Mrs. Fong, with Emily translating, who she wants to make decisions about her health. Mrs. Fong wants her son to make decisions, and for communication to go through him. A year ago, he told her she had TB. Lucy murmurs that he must have thought that was a better diagnosis than cancer. Guess what English word Mrs. Fong happens to know? That’s right – cancer!

Carter and the EMTs he’s riding with come to the scene of a brawl between a landlord and some angry tenants. The landlord, Leonelli, has shut off the heat for people who haven’t paid their rent. The tenants have considered calling the police but don’t think that will lead to anything good. The brawl starts up again and people start throwing beer bottles. Poor Zadro takes some glass to the face. The EMTs load Leonelli into the ambulance, but one paramedic, Lars, stays outside to try to get the crowd to back off.

Mrs. Fong has another seizure, and Mr. Fong blames Lucy since she told her about her diagnosis. On the street, Zadro calls for police backup as the crowd starts rocking the ambulance. Zadro has some blood in his eye from his injury, and Lars is still stuck outside, so Carter’s left to drive. The crowd is heavy and right up next to the ambulance, making it hard to move anywhere. Carter starts it up anyway and heads down the street, accidentally driving over someone lying on the ground. Carter wants to stop and pick him up, but Zadro tells him to keep going, knowing the crowd will try to attack Leonelli again if they don’t get away.

It’s morning now, and Carol and Mark run into each other at the Roach Coach. She’s had a headache for a few days, and Mark wants her to have a neurological exam and head CT. Carol says they both know the headaches are from stress. She and Doug haven’t spoken in a while, which probably isn’t helping. Mark says it’s okay to miss him; he misses Doug, too. Carol claims she likes living alone.

Carter hands Leonelli off to Weaver in the ER, then calls to check on the ETA of the ambulance that picked up the guy he ran over. He lectures Leonelli a little about how he handles his tenants. Leonelli complains that they make a mess and don’t pay their rent. Carter says turning off their heat isn’t the solution. Weaver kicks Carter out of the trauma room and tells him to stay away from Leonelli.

Mrs. Fong may not wake up from her seizure, which could have been accompanied by a stroke. Mr. Fong asks Doyle for a more senior doctor; he’s not happy with his mother’s care. Doyle tells him that Lucy did everything right. Kornberg’s still in the ER, politely listening as the food-poisoned fan goes on about one of his old matches. Jerry brings in some boxes addressed to Doug, and Carol offers to put them away.

Weaver fills Mark in on Carter’s mishap as Carter gets ready to take care of the guy he ran over: “Ambulance vs. pedestrian, and we were the ambulance.” Maybe he should go to a different hospital? Though I guess if the same person who hurt the guy also saves him, that might stave off a lawsuit. Carol takes the boxes to the now-empty pediatric ER, a new location for her to mope in.

Carter’s victim is 17-year-old Avery, and his pelvis is crushed. Doris chastises Carter for driving the ambulance when he wasn’t supposed to. Lars explains that he was trapped outside, and Carter says Zadro couldn’t drive, so he had no other choice. Lydia asks why they didn’t wait for police backup. Carter could really do without the comments from the peanut gallery, thank you.

Jeanie’s back at work and reacting well to the medication she’s taking for the hepatitis. She’s going to take it easy and just do triage paperwork. Weaver tells her that Al called looking for her after Jeanie left him a message about her diagnosis. Jeanie doesn’t see any reason to talk to him, since they’ve already discussed everything in their lives to death. Getting hepatitis C from him is the last straw for her. Weaver invites her to get lunch together, but Jeanie says she has plans with a friend.

Carter helps stabilize Avery, who needs surgery. His father wants to talk to a doctor, and Carter volunteers, wanting to take full responsibility for what he did. Mark tells him to stick to a discussion of Avery’s medical condition. (In other words, “don’t say anything that could get us sued.”) Mark wants a report of everything that happened so he can defend Carter’s actions. Carter tells Avery’s father about his injuries and treatment, skipping over the details about how he wound up in this condition. Avery’s father is ready to find out more and make someone pay.

Jeanie works with Baker, who’s misplaced his prescription pad. Isn’t that like a cop misplacing his gun? Mark checks on Carol, who tells him to stop treating her like she has a brain tumor. (Viewers who know what’s in Mark’s future: *cringe*.) He recognizes Kornberg but can’t place him. Jerry tells him who he is, but Mark thinks he’s a former football player. Baker wants to go out with Jeanie, but she awkwardly tells him she’s seeing someone else. Be happy for her, Baker! He’s a great guy!

Weaver, Jerry, and Lydia get an alarm from a bathroom and realize the patient Weaver sent in there must be having a medical emergency. The door’s locked, but that’s no problem for Kornberg. He uses his head to make a hole in the door, then blacks out. As Jerry gets ready to end his shift, he brags to Randi about the cool stuff he experienced and shows off a picture he took with Kornberg.

Mobalage is brought in from the county jail, dehydrated from a hunger strike. Carol tells Randi to get Mark. Carter apologizes to Leonelli for taking out his anger on him. Leonelli says he’s been through worse and will never let “some sweet-faced, do-gooder baby doc” get under his skin. Now he has a scar to show off to the judge when he takes his tenants to court. So I guess someone didn’t learn his lesson. In better news, Avery’s going to be okay.

Weaver chats with Kornberg as she treats his new injuries. He tells her that feats of strength like his recent stunt are expected when you’re as big as he is. He likes to keep people happy, even when it means meeting everyone’s expectations and giving up what he wants to do. He’s always helping people move and agreeing to play Santa. Carol takes Mark to Mobalage, who hasn’t spoken since he was arrested for stabbing Kobe. When Mark talks to him, he comes across as catatonic. Mark tells him that Kobe’s in a coma, but there’s a good chance that she’ll wake up. He thinks Mobalage’s response to her news about being raped was out of his control.

Emily tells Lucy that Mrs. Fong is awake but confused. Mr. Fong wants another doctor, but Lucy stands up for herself. It helps that Lucy is now willing to go along with the family’s plan not to tell Mrs. Fong that she has cancer. This means lying that she has epilepsy, which I can’t imagine is ethical. Reggie comes by and says hi to Jeanie as she takes a phone call from a pharmacy. A prescription she wrote (since Baker couldn’t find his pad) was supposed to be for four tablets of Vicodin, but the pharmacy’s version says it’s for 40.

Elizabeth tells Mark that Kobe is close to coming out of her coma. The two of them talk to Carol about her headaches, brainstorming what could be causing them – maybe carbon-monoxide poisoning? Carol rolls her eyes and walks away. Weaver catches an older man talking to Kornberg and asks him to leave the wrestler alone. The older man is also Kornberg – he’s the wrestler’s father. He’s grateful for Weaver’s treatment and proud of his son’s heroics. But he also wants to turn them into a publicity opportunity and have Kornberg visit the children’s ward. Weaver tries to put a stop to that.

Mark, Elizabeth, and Carol tend to a 12-year-old girl who fell off a balcony. Mark has trouble intubating her because there’s too much blood to see what he’s doing. Carol remembers all the pediatric supplies that just arrived and gets a kit that will do the trick. She notes that Doug saved another kid. Mark thinks Carol should take the credit.

Jeanie asks Reggie to arrest her patient, Debbie, for forging a prescription by changing 4 to 40. Reggie tells her she’ll have to spend a lot of time on the case, which will just get thrown out because it’s probably Debbie’s first offense. Jeanie still wants the arrest. Reggie suggests that she write a new prescription for five pills; Debbie won’t be able to change it to 50. Then Jeanie can go to dinner with him. She says she can’t – she’s seeing someone else. JEANIE, NO!

Zadro calls in to say that he’s bringing in a gunshot victim: Lars. Kobe is now awake and wants to know where Mobalage is. Mark says that he doesn’t think Mobalage meant to hurt her; he had a PTSD episode. Kobe reveals that Mobalage didn’t stab her – she stabbed herself. Lars is rushed into the ER, and Benton and Mark take over his treatment. Zadro tells them that the shooters were waiting for them when they got to the neighborhood. Carter guesses that, since Lars was driving the ambulance, the shooters thought he was Carter. They were gunning for him.

Kornberg thanks Weaver for her kindness, even though she wasn’t able to get him out of the visit to the children’s ward. It wasn’t all bad, though – he got to make some kids happy, he made his father proud, and a boy gave him a balloon. Lars is taken to surgery, and Carter promises Zadro that he’ll be in the OR the whole time. Benton thinks that’s a bad idea, so Anspaugh tells Carter to observe from the gallery.

Mark tells Mobalage that Kobe woke up and explained what really happened. Mobalage had a PTSD episode when the paramedics and police showed up the night of the stabbing, so he ran away. He didn’t tell them what really happened because he blamed himself for Kobe’s rape. He left her alone, and the men came after her because of him. Because Mobalage didn’t know how to respond when Kobe told him about her rape, she must have felt alone again, which made her want to die. Mark tells him that Kobe needs him now.

Benton and Anspaugh operate on Lars while Carter watches impatiently and tries to offer help. Benton’s like, “I just spent two weeks in a hot, racist, backwoods town, and you are being more annoying than anything I experienced there.” Kobe gives her statement to the police, so the DA drops the charges against Mobalage. Unfortunately, he came into the U.S. on a forged visa, so he’s going to be deported to Nigeria.

Carter reads Lars’ scans and relays the information to Anspaugh and Benton. Neurology arrives, having been summoned by Carter, but they’re not needed yet. Carter watches helplessly as Lars’ heart starts to give out. Jeanie tells Weaver that Al doesn’t have hepatitis C, so she must have contracted it from a patient. While she was worrying about giving HIV to a patient, she didn’t think about a patient making her sick instead. Weaver invites her to get coffee and chat, but Jeanie still wants to be alone. Maybe Carol and Jeanie should form a support group.

Speaking of Carol, Elizabeth finds her still putting away boxes in the pediatric ER. Mark finally convinced her to have some bloodwork done, and her carbon-monoxide levels are fine. But Carol has put her headaches together with a late period and come up with a diagnosis herself: She’s pregnant. Benton and Anspaugh are unable to save Lars, and Carter spends a few moments with the body of the man who was most likely killed in his place. Zadro is waiting in the hallway, and Carter goes to give him the news about his partner.

Thoughts: It’s clearer than ever in this episode that Weaver is a very good person to have in your corner.

Kornberg, I would absolutely move to Montana and grow sugar beets with you. You seem awesome. I wouldn’t have to actually eat the beets, though, right?

40 Vicodin? Nice try, Debbie. Should have gone with 14. Uh, not that I’m advocating this.

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