SPOILER ALERT!!!


































































Multiple insiders connected to the show confirm that there will be an explosion in the May 15 season finale, and someone we have known and loved on ER for quite some time will leave the series. For good. In a body bag.

A rep at NBC says they cannot discuss upcoming storylines.

Who is it? Well, you won't find out until the fall's season 15 premiere, titled "Life After Death." (I know, the wait will kill us, right?!) But I can tell you that it is one of the regulars pictured in the photo above. And as of the May 15 season finale, the pool of contenders will be narrowed to two.

So who do you think is leaving? Linda Cardellini, Scott Grimes, Parminder Nagra, Mekhi Phifer, Maura Tierney?

[Note that I did not name John Stamos as one of the options, 'cause they wouldn't have renewed the series for its 15th season without his signing on...Would they? Yes, I am a big fan and a smidge biased, but still, from where I'm sitting he's been a shining beacon for the past two seasons.]

Wow...this is going to be really good. My money is on Mekhi Phifer. I like Dr. Pratt a lot, but he has been there for a long time and I think he's pretty much run his course. ER does the best character exits I've ever seen on TV, and hopefully this one will be no different.

Nope--it's gotta be Luka. The last scene with him and Abby down by the river (n. of Millennium Park) has him wearing a blue denim or chambray shirt. I was on the official NBC website, and in one of the "Final Season Preview" teaser montages, they briefly show a male (check the Adam's apple) from the neck down--you can see a brief glimpse of black hair--barechested, blue denim or chambray shirt open, being defibrillated. Neither Pratt nor Sam got into the ambulance: Pratt, Abby, Gates, Morris and Sam are clearly in the scenes, very much alive and looking worried, and Abby looks like she has some burns or abrasions as she exclaims her horror at what she sees coming in. Vishnic was leaving the show after the first episode, as was Phifer--but there's no doubt in my mind that it was Luka killed, as a bystander, after he and Abby kissed and walked back separately to the hospital.

In a typical bit of fractured geography, they have the ambulance blow up at the plaza just NE of Michigan and Wacker (across the river from where Luka and Abby were kissing); seconds before, they show Abby walking past Grant Park (a good half-mile south of that and about a mile from the explosion site). And the Loop CTA "L" train stop they have the characters board is--at the foot of the stairs--N. Randolph & Wabash, yet the platforms they show are Chicago Ave. at Orleans or Armitage at Sheffield. Often they show them eating (not Doc's or the Roach Coach) at a converted rail car which is in reality at the corner of Congress Parkway and S. Franklin--clear at the opposite corner of the Loop, easily a mile apart. But hey, isn't it picturesque?

The "hospital" itself? First season, they used to use the ambulance bay under the L tracks at the U of I Hospital (where my husband trained 30 yrs ago), a good three or four miles W of downtown. But ever since, the "hospital," ambulance bay, fake L tracks rolling past and Doc's/Roach Coach are all on the Warner's lot in Burbank. (CA, not IL).

Nope--it's gotta be Luka. The last scene with him and Abby down by the river (n. of Millennium Park) has him wearing a blue denim or chambray shirt. I was on the official NBC website, and in one of the "Final Season Preview" teaser montages, they briefly show a male (check the Adam's apple) from the neck down--you can see a brief glimpse of black hair--barechested, blue denim or chambray shirt open, being defibrillated. Neither Pratt nor Sam got into the ambulance: Pratt, Abby, Gates, Morris and Sam are clearly in the scenes, very much alive and looking worried, and Abby looks like she has some burns or abrasions as she exclaims her horror at what she sees coming in. Vishnic was leaving the show after the first episode, as was Phifer--but there's no doubt in my mind that it was Luka killed, as a bystander, after he and Abby kissed and walked back separately to the hospital.
My money is still on Pratt being carried out in a body bag. It's definitely NOT Luka. Maura and Goran said their upcoming ending on the show is a happy one. I think what you might have seen was indeed Luka, but not Luka being hurt and killed, but him helping Abby and the others at the site of the explosion. Maybe he gets injured doing so, but I doubt he dies. The brand new season 15 cast photo doesn't have Abby, Luka, or Pratt in it - but Sam is (so at least we know she's going to be ok). It's a tough one, but I'm sticking with my guess that Pratt will be killed off by the end of the season premiere.

My prediction was right! And knowing that Pratt was going to be the one to die for a while now, I thought it wouldn't be that bad when watching the actual episode, but boy was I wrong. That just ripped my heart out and stomped on it!

The writers and actors did an excellent job in sending this character off. It was truly heartbreaking when Greg realized how serious he had been hurt - the tears falling down his face said it all. It was also appropriate that mention was made of Luka being at the funeral, Kerry sending a fruit basket and Carter’s gift from Africa. The best scene of the night was when the staff was pushing the gurney, camera in slow motion the whole time, holding the reactions of the poeple that have all been at County the longest - Haleh, Chuny, Malik, and Frank. And then Frank went and pushed the elevator button for them! What a memorable scene. And what a great exit for such an important character. An all around well done season premiere.

My prediction was right! And knowing that Pratt was going to be the one to die for a while now, I thought it wouldn't be that bad when watching the actual episode, but boy was I wrong. That just ripped my heart out and stomped on it!

The writers and actors did an excellent job in sending this character off. It was truly heartbreaking when Greg realized how serious he had been hurt - the tears falling down his face said it all. It was also appropriate that mention was made of Luka being at the funeral, Kerry sending a fruit basket and Carter’s gift from Africa. The best scene of the night was when the staff was pushing the gurney, camera in slow motion the whole time, holding the reactions of the poeple that have all been at County the longest - Haleh, Chuny, Malik, and Frank. And then Frank went and pushed the elevator button for them! What a memorable scene. And what a great exit for such an important character. An all around well done season premiere.

You are spot on! What a heartbreaking episode.

You are spot on! What a heartbreaking episode.
:wave:

It really was. Abby is the next one to go - and she better have a happy ending!!! I can't imagine the ER without her. I have a feeling this last season is going to be a very emotional ride from beginning to end. Brace yourself fans!