ER
LOVE IS A BATTLEFIELD
01-22-2009 10:01PM

LOVE IS COMPLICATED—COURTNEY B. VANCE (“LAW AND ORDER, CRIMINAL INTENT”) GUEST STARS—Morris (Scott Grimes) treats a complicated case involving a young girl that was hit while riding her bike. Gates (John Stamos) can’t seem to shake his feelings for Sam (Linda Cardellini). Meanwhile, Neela (Parminder Nagra) gets flustered when Dr. Brenner (David Lyons) returns from Australia. Angela Bassett also stars.

Show Cast: Linda Cardellini, John Stamos, Scott Grimes, David Lyons, Angela Bassett, Parminder Nagra

Ohh, they're milking it, the whole Reela dynamic. Who will Neela fall for in the end Ray or Brenner? I've been a Reela fan, but the writers are making me doubt...

mmmm....this might get interesting. Brenner has grown on me, but I'll NEVER change Ray!
And what about Gates, ehh? This time it must be love...
I can't wait for January 8!!

That is the writers job to make us guess what is going to happen up until the very end of the show.

I have to say that Brenner has grown on me this season but in the end, it is Ray I want to see her with.

Me, too. The writers have turned Brenner into a real human being and have created some chemistry between him and Neela. I'm still routing for Ray, and it would seem that Brenner really has some issues that he needs to deal with before he could be happy in a relationship with a woman. Ray has matured a lot since his accident, but he is still fragile, especially around Neela, so you can see how the writers could go either way. Either Neela realizes that Ray is the one for her, or she and Ray could become true friends, having found love with other people. Of course, there are other possibilities (no resolution whatsoever, for example), but I think the writers will go with (or have gone with) one of those scenarios. How close to broadcast are episodes filmed generally, anway?

The only thing the writers have managed to do is Neela lose fans and start receiving hatred of fans around the world...
Brenner grew, but too fast and forced. I'm still not like the character. He had been abused as a child, did not change anything for me. It does not erase the first images of him in ER He is a disgusting adult. And none of what he has done good from now on will change the way I feel about him.
It'll be really ridiculous if Neela after having grown so much and matured so much to me this season, Neela has become a drastic relapse and stay with Brenner, because suddenly the Australian miraculously became an angel savior of abused children and with great kindness to answer all HIS patients .

If so, the return of Ray Barnett only served to sweeten us in the mouth before they deliver the poisoned GIFT Brenner /Neela, and keep us Roomies fans watching the TV show.
Ray was also immature, but not changed suddenly and magically as Brenner. Ray grew over the years and with life and has been slowly revealing a responsible adult!

The ironic thing is that while Brenner miraculously becomes in few episodes someone decided and responsible ( it's bizarre and ridiculous) . Neela has not succeeded in 4 years to find herself and She continues without knowing what really want in her life.

If ER producers and writers really wanted Neela chose Brenner, it was better to have told us that since the beginning, because I hate being distorted.. .and make me lose so much time on ER, see a TV show that I loved, but unfortunately that was a disappointment since the season 13 ...

I hope I'm wrong...and Neela chose Ray...because Ray is only the best man, the best friend, the best lover for her...because Ray is a true and great person...THE BEST CHOICE!

I have to admit, I didn't see much of last season, so though I got the message that Brenner was a cad, I didn't see the extent of it. What exactly did he do? I'm not routing for Neela and Brenner and would be disappointed by that development, so I hope we're still headed for a Reela party at the end!

Me too, but I start to get terribly upset and scared.
It is very disturbing not see Neela shun Brenner and accept his advances.
I cannot believe we've been waiting for an Roomie Happy Ending as long as we have been.We are real and suffering Roomies fans, I dont know how we handle it. It is frightening to think that this can not happen.
It would be a World disappointment, I can assure this!

I have a feeling why Neela is happy to see Brenner when he comes back is because she feels disappointed that Ray is seeing someone and he didn't tell her. Now if this is true or not we don't know hopefully we'll find out. I have a feeling that Ray just did this because he doesn't want Neela to see him alone in his own environment.Even though he is standing on his own I know that he stills need some help and he knows with Neela being there she will just wait on him and not let him do anything for himself. I also think that Ray did this because he doesn't want to push things too fast with Neela because he's afraid that it won't work out between them because of what happened before. Even though it feels like the both of them had moved on I feel it is still an issue for them. But in the end I feel that Ray is going to be Neela .
I would hate it if Neela ended up with Brenner. I also agree that Brenner has grown on me but I don't see him with Neela in the end. I also agree that they developed his character way too fast too. I see Neela and him being friends in the end. I think that Neela is going to finally tell Brenner to she's not interested in him and she might take some time off or hopefully Ray is going to visit her again. I think that she is going to end up with Ray.To me Ray is the best guy for Neela to be with. Ray is a great friend and the both of them have been through a lot and you can tell that there is definately something there that is more than friendship and that is why it is going to be Ray and not Brenner in the end.

i think neela will do what she has always done that is ruin her life and mess with brenner b/c once again she thinks she's lost her ray and blames herself.but you see ray is smart i think he made her think he had a gf after all remember when she told archie this he was shocked and after all he's ray's best friend as well so if ray had a gf archie his bud would have known.i think ray when he comes back will not onlly take back his girl but also straighten her out as well.i mean she's an absolute idiotic childish trampish mess without ray.heather

Has no one seen this from Michael Ausiello in August???

Question: While I appreciate all of the "Reela" scoop of late, the little bomb you dropped last week about a Ray-Neela-Brenner triangle left me in a bit of a funk. Got anything to cheer me up? -- Doris

Ausiello: Triangle, shmiangle. If it's not already obvious that Ray and Neela are destined to walk off into the sunset together next February, wait until you see the final scene (or at least I think it'll be the final scene) of the Oct. 30 episode. You "Reela" fans are going to soil yourselves.

Come on! We all know they will end up together. It isn't easy to wait, but February is next month already now!

Yeah, I think all Roomies fans saw it

Ausiello has been great with us Roomie's fans. He has been very, very sweet to us. But he got it wrong sometimes too. Perhaps because the ER scripts were changed among other things at the last minute during the filming..I dont know..but I remember he got it wrong once or twice (during the season 13)... And with these small changes in thinking ... I even trying to be positive, but the insistent Brenner advances every episode and Neela's indecision begin to discourage me

I don't get to understand the producing of ER, in the first moment it seems that they want to do us happy with Ray back and they give us the hope in his union with Neela. Suddenly they change the history and they want to do of Brenner a good boy, a responsible man, of the night for the day and a suggestion exists for Neela to be with Brenner (terrible).
It is difficult to know that they want, if the producers only want to leave us nervous and anxious with a possible turn of Ray to be forever with Neela, or if Ray won't return more and Neela will be with Brenner, and I say that I will hate, a lot of hate, if Neela to be with Brenner, I will feel a great betrayal by ER. Because we asked for the turn of Ray so much and for the sincere love of Reela.
I hope Neela stops being undecided and see the love for Ray, because Neela is " more lost than I blind in shooting " in other words she never knows what feels and what wants do of the life.

But we will have to wait to see what will happen.

Kat

I also can't wait to see more of the angst that is going on between Gates and Sam. Will they be able to stay apart in the long run, particulary if Sarah and Alex have a say in it? Alex was too young to say anything when his mother broke up with Luka so I'm curious as to how their kids respond to the breakup as well.

Morris seems to excel when he is treating a patient that brings out his compassionate side. So it will be curious to see how his story in this episodes affects him also.

I don't think Neela is a tramp when she is without Ray. I just think she is very confused about everything and Brenner's advances are making her even more so. Brenner's is there, Ray is not and has seemed to move on with someone else. So it will be interesting to see how it all plays out in the final six episodes for these three characters.

My only fear is...
I just hope not to see Neela to fail or to become weak and back to having sex with Brenner again. It's time for her to show that she is a woman with enough force to resist and discard the impulses of Australian. Neela already made enough mistakes and sex is no excuse.
I hope to see Neela grow even more and give enough on Brenner advances. She needs to tell Brenner with great conviction that he is only a friend. For the love of God, Neela need to show that she is a strong woman! Because only then she makes sense to stay with Ray. I want to see Neela surely assume that loves Ray But I dont want to see Neela take this love, after to go back to having sex with Brenner again. That would be outrageous.
I want Ray & Neela Happy Ending ...But a Happy Ending without being haunted...an Happy Ending that make sense...

Since season 13 the writers have just shown us a weak and powerless Neela...we need a strong and smart Neela like she was when she lived with Ray Her perfect Roomie and Best friend!
I want to hear Neela to say for Ray that She loves him! I want hear "I love you Ray" from Neela's mouth
She must have attitude and travel to Baton Rouge or where Ray is...

WHAT ???????
I hope is not true!
Are the scriptwriters joke with us???? It's make me sick!
Cause if Neela fall in love for Brenner or will make sex with Brenner again, this show FINISHED FOR ME!
If it's true: what a waste of time see that joke!
When I talk to my daughter about it she will die of grief!

Definatley hoping for a Ray and Neela reunion again, esspecially with Ray saying "see ya soon" before he leaves in haunted. But I would like some reference to gallant since they are pulling everyone else out of the woodwork.

I agree. She seems to have forgotten him. Having just watched the episode yesterday on TNT where Gallant dies, maybe she would re-watch the part of the video where he tells her that he wants her to marry again and have a baby. Maybe that would help her realize how much she loves Ray and that he is that someone.

Exactly! I just watched that episode too. Especially with Ray saying he's working with the VA and Gates befriending the war vet and everything, maybe he needs miner surgery or something so that way she would have contact with someone else who was in the war. I mean if they;re trying to at least play at the idea of brenner and neela then you would think at some point the fact she was married could be brought up.

It is unrealistic, I think that Neela never brings up Gallant's name. You'd think it would just come up from time to time. When you think of it though,Neela hasn't really had any good drama lately, just brief episodes with other characters, no other close friendships (abbey's gone).

neela doesn't talk about gallant b/c she never loved him ever she loved ray and married gallant for security but she loved ray yet put out for any other man that came in her path b/c she is a coward b/c ray is a former punk band lead singer and her parents don't like those.but neela needs to grow the f up and be with ray.heather

Actually Neela did mention Gallant's name in this season, the very first episode of this season, the little celebration of pratt's life in ike's, neela mentions how greg got neela through michael's death.

I'm concerned about this line in the TV Guide description of this episode..

Neela's nerves take over when she learns Brenner has returned from Australia.

WHY? Why would her nerves take over????

If Neela reacts that way because she had sex with Brenner again (I'm already sick only for think about it) , then she will only prove that completely missed the brain and is mentally weak. And also will lost the majority of fans support.
She made mistakes after mistakes and Neela not learned from any of them. Sex is no excuse for everything!
But Neela has done so much of these stupid things on the last 3 seasons ...
It's time to be smart.
Forgive me for what I have to say: But I think many times that the ER scriptwriters must live with great sex problems or marital problems. And they are unable to create anything decent about the relationship of men and women.
I hope ER scriptwriters make Neela deserves Ray.It's time for Neela to show that She is a dignified, respected and smart woman, it's time for her to wake up and stop her abominable relationship with Brenner...
I have tried like Brenner, but his forced goodness and his painful past not convinced me, nor erase the ugly and disgusting man that he was at the beginning.
Confess that has been very hard not to give up on Neela. Because She has disappointed us greatly.
Please ER producers and Scriptwriters dont make us hate Neela!
The show is already unattractive, do not lose more ER ratings.

Quick question!!! Dianakeys, have you ever been a member on this board in the past under a different name? You sound very familiar.

Anyway, I'm really excited about the episode this Thursday, "Dream Runner". It seems to be a lot about Neela. I have no idea what's going to happen, but if we look back at Neela's past, we may be able to figure it out. Usually, when Neela dreams, it has something sexual to do about it. I don't think she will ever sleep with Brenner again, but it is possible that she dreams about it. Perhaps, that is why she gets nervous and flustered when Brenner returns in this episode. Maybe it is a similar situation she had with Gates in season 13. I don't know for sure. I'm just taking a wild guess here.

I'm am interested in the Neela and Brenner story. I like these mixed relationships. Its pretty fun. Neela needs to be with someone. Ray is gone. And Gates is trying to get back with Sam and the only guy that is hanging around her is Brenner that like her. Unless we see Morris taking her to dinner.. I'm not going there yet. Don't get mad at the last remark...

No. I'm on this board since I think november 2008.


I'm 49 years old, I'm married and mother of 2 children, a girl with 19 years old and a boy 13 years old.
Call me old-fashioned, but I did not appreciate the exchange of partners gradually, or the involvement inconsistent and irrational. I have a daughter and wish her much to know to be mature enough about it. Well let me explain better. I know very well that Neeal wanted to find the right man (She found him (Ray).. If you like someone and make sex with another person. Once you can forgive, but two times in a row, for someone as smart as Neela is unforgivable.

we live in a time that alert enough to prevent sexual transmitted diseases. And one of them is to avoid "mixed relationships." All doctors know that. But ER since the first season that stimulates the "mixed relationships" ..and for someone who is a mother like me it scares me. For me it's not fun!

Mostly because Brenner seems that only see women as a sexual object.
Women who are left to involve for men like Brenner are weak. Because we know what comes after it. I think that most women of these days can understand it from afar or Unless they like to suffer.


As for Ray and maybe you dont know, RAY is going back again in another episode. His 2nd return this season!

when ray comes home he needs to tell her if you love me then you have one of two choices come home to baton rouge with me or i have had it and we are done over finito .lets see if mature neela comes back out [the neela that actually was worthy of ray]or the trampy s..ty neela stays .i vote for the "real" neela reamerging to run back in her ray's arms.heather

I love Ray and Neela as much as the next person, but i feel like we as fans fail to remember that these characters are written as human. Ray has never been one to issue ultimatums and Neela has never been one to take the more difficult path when it came to men. But who could blame her? Especially when Ray left during haunted and also told her that he had a girlfriend. So Neela turns to a heated friendship with Brenner. And then Ray sends her a random text message saying that he is 'thinking' about her. We as fans get super excited as i'm sure Neela does. But imagine how confusing that must be?
Have any of you ever gone through a breakup and tried your hardest to move on for the sake of sanity? I think that's what Neela's doing. She's trying to stay sane, trying not to hang on every little word of hope.
I'm sure that we all know by now that Neela and Ray are going to be together in the end. It's just going to be a really rocky path, most probably dotted with another Neela/Brenner encounter (which i personally believe does not warrant any loss of respect for her. The last time i checked, sleeping with someone when you're both single is not wrong.)

Thank you, I couldn't have said it better myself. As much as we all hate it, Ray and Neela are not a couple, yet and if Ray can have a girlfriend and got to Georgia with her for Thanksgiving, why shouldn't Neela have an encounter with someone else? It's an example of the double standard where men can sleep around all they want and it's okay but if a woman does it, she a tramp.

wow!! you got a good point there!

When I saw the previews for this episode, the undercover cop that Morris treated last week is back. Like many of you, I've grown to like Morris and hope that something works out for him in the romance dept.

Did anyone else see her?

Yep! I saw her. I was just telling a co-worker about that. Maybe everyone will end up in love by the end of the series!

the difference here is i think neela assumed her ray had a gf after all remember his other best friend archie had no clue .and another note how was ray supoossed to feel when he came home during haunted and she seemed to wanna be with him even asking him to stay and then breener showed up .she's the one at major fault here and she needs to grow up and fix things.heather

I'm just curious.....more than once someone has mentioned Morris being such good friends with Ray. Why do you think that?? I don't see them as any better of friends than Ray would be with Abby or Sam. What did I miss along the way to indicate that they are such good friends??? I really don't think he knows anything about what Ray is doing. Can someone explain this to me???

i can't wait for this episode but I'm nervous too. I hope Neela is "good" around Brenner and may just be on nerves coz she slept with him in his dreams. I mean I figured it out to be a dream coz they were so platonic before he left and then they are hooking up in a hotel within a few hours of re-meeting each other.
I also like Archie and that cop girl. They had really strong chemistry, especially for one episode and she's a good actress. I kinda wanted him with the Asian ex-call girl well coz I'm Asian so Im bias and I have a crush on him too but anyway I definitely want Morris to have his happy ending.
It seems like Morris is friends with Ray just the way they interact with each other in Haunted but I don't know if they are best friends; that is Neela's department. Morris anyway is a supporter of Reela coz he watched them over the years and he's always been the kinda not mind your business, interfere kinda guy and I truly believe he wants Ray and Neela together...

It wasn't neela's fault that Breener showed up in haunted. He just did. And when he met ray he tried to come on to neela which she was clearly uncombfortable about which is when ray interjected. Also I think that people think ray and morris are such good friends because he is really the only one ray interacted with left. I mean yeah sam and dubenko are there but they didn't really have stories together since they dubenko was basically there for neela and sam had her own drama going on.

Maybe that dream that Neela had got to her pretty bad. Gates loves Sam, I hope that they get back together. It was one mistake. Sam needs to move on...

ray /morris are such good friends b/c they have suported each other in work /realationship issues plus moris stood by ray during the neela crazyness and after his accident.heather

I understand that that may have been the case when they worked together, but there has been nothing since Ray's accident to indicate to me that they are such good friends. Wouldn't a good friend have visited Ray and have known more about what he was up to??? I will say though that I think Morris will be a factor in Neela coming to her senses. I think he will have a come to Jesus talk with her yet at some point.

I agree that Morris could be the one to talk some sense into Neela, I just hope she doesn't really sleep with Brenner and that the two of them aren't end game. I, personally, will be one very angry ER fan.

I just realized that this storyline is Gates and Neela part 2, just with Brenner instead. The writers of this show can't even be original with their storylines, they have to recycle ones that aren't even two years old.

You guys do realize this is Gates and Neela from season 13 all over again.

In Heart of the Matter, she had that sex dream about Gates that Ray interrupted when he knocked on her front door to fix her cable. Then in the next episode, Jigsaw, Neela and Gates made out in the conference room, then the one after, Reason To Believe, they almost kissed, before actually having sex during Scoop and Run, the Thanksgiving episode of that year, when Meg and Sarah walked in on them afterwards. In the next one, Tell Me No Secrets, she was done with Gates and the only thing that pushed her back to him was her argument with Ray over him seeing Katey. So it seems like this storyline is just a recycled version of Season 13. Let's hope she uses better judgment than she did then.

Now less than 2 years later, we have the same scenario going on although this time it is Brenner, instead of Gates.

Good God! That was disappointing. I don't care who they bring back this season, it has been a really crap season. Seriously. Nothing compelling going on. All we have is the hope that Ray and Neela end up together. Guess we can give up on that hope. Thanks a lot ER! The only redeeming thing tonight was Morris. Absolutely terrible episode. Hated it!

That was the dumbest ending I have ever seen in my whole life. She goes from hating him to telling him she wants to be with him in the space of ten episodes. I'm to the point of being done with this show.

Now that's what I call flustered!!! So much for the theory that Neela hates Brenner!!!

I have a new theory for Parminder's pregnancy after this episode...what if she decides to carry a child for the Banfields?

The episode was boring. The only bright spot as usual was Scott Grimes. He made it somewhat interesting and I do like the chemistry between him and the cop. I think I like it better than the chemistry he had with Hope.

ETA: That is what I was thinking too. That would be a way to write in Parminder Nagra's pregnancy and give Banfield the baby she wants so badly.

I was almost expecting Neela to blurt out - "I'm pregnant". It looks like that is coming down the pike too. See the last page of the Parminder thread. As for Neela's comments and kiss at the end - my only remaining hope is the writers are giving Neela the ultimate test to see if she can break the cycle of bad male relationships she has been in since Gallant's death. We'll see - but of course this whole Neela/Brenner thing is so unfair with Ray hundreds of miles away. But that's life isn't it.

I actually thought this was one of the better episodes in weeks..Frank was wonderful, and Morris is really coming of age. I liked seeing Garry Marshall, enjoyed the scenes with the owner of the Jumbo Mart, and it was nice to see the shrink reappear as well. It'll be nice to see just who the mystery man turns out to be too.