Emily Owens: Playing a Character

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Where will this show end? Knowing that only four episodes remain, I both want Will to ask out Emily and for her to start dating Micah, as I think he's a better fit for her. Of course, it also doesn't help that Will is demonstrating himself to be more and more closed-minded with each passing episode. Sadly, that's the only real drama that we might even begin to see wrapped up, and that makes me wonder if this series ever had a chance... WHY don't we have any other drama going on aside from the perpetuating Emily-Cassandra competition? A medical drama without the drama is missing a key component. And I really thought that this show took a turn for the worst when Cassandra and Tyra agree that Emily needs a one-night stand. Can't she be a good girl? Grrrr.

Emily Owens, M.D. "Emily and... The Love of Larping" (S01E09): Tyra thinks that Emily should have sex, and Cassandra agrees, even setting up a blind date for her nemesis. Emily isn't planning to actually go, but once she learns how predictable Will finds her, she decides to give it a try, with Tyra's help on an outfit, of course! [the whole "more hoochie than debutante" was awkward.] She meets Scott, a science teacher, on a double-date with Cassandra and Will.

Photo: Liane Hentscher/ The CW

They drink and dance, but when she kisses him, he has an allergic reaction from the peanuts on her breath! [these things could only happen to Emily, LoL.] After some time getting checked out at the hospital, he invites her back to his place, but she says they're better off as friends. He points out that they don't have much in common and would make bad friends. [ouch!] Micah, who has decided to break up with Kelly, ends up explaining how he's being sued (more on that later), and as Emily leaves the hospital, Will acts a little jealous. The whole experience forces Emily to decide it's time for a change, so she lets Tyra pick through her closet for things to donate to Goodwill. [I can't imagine letting someone else decide what goes! maybe I'm just too picky with my wardrobe?]

Oh, and also on the dramatic front, Gina's husband tells her that she's never available. [yikes.]

Patient 1: The patient won't stop working long enough for rounds, and even after learning she has a heart condition she still wants to work. [reminded me a bit of Phoebe in the "alternate universe" episodes of Friends.] She plans to fly to New York to see her own doctor (against medical advice), but a heart attack changes those plans and she requires a bypass. The audience has the pain of knowing that her husband is planning to leave her ASAP, and may not even wait 4-6 weeks for her to recover! [that sucks.]

Patient 2: An elderly woman comes in with stomach pain but turns out to have ovarian cancer. She needs a hysterectomy and is very concerned about having a wig made by the time her hair falls out in a month. [the woman's obsession with her appearance was a bit much, especially after the model last episode.] After the surgery, the patient is upset that her daughter forgot to pack lipstick, and she goes into cardiac arrest and passes away while the daughter was out for a walk. The daughter wants to sue Micah for malpractice, freaking him out, but changes her mind by the end of the episode. [of course. one chance for some drama and the show decides not to go through with it.]

Patient 3: Emily and Will take on an ER patient who is playing a character. He has cut his arm and loses his sight, and Will thinks the guy is having a psychotic episode, though Emily believes it's just role-play. After an inconclusive MRI, Emily finds a pocket of fluid on his leg. It seems that the guy has clots, and an ultrasound confirms it. [not gonna lie, clots causing temporary blindness kinda freak me out!] He'll be on medication and goes into a hyperbaric chamber, confessing to Emily that he feels powerful when he plays a character and that he has feelings for a coworker with whom he LARPs. [flashback to the second chapter of my thesis where I look at how people who take part in Rocky Horror events use it as a form of escapism and empowerment.] The woman shares those sentiments, and surgery (a clot moved into his lungs), she tells him, too. [happily ever after, I guess.]