There was a strange start to this episode. As Iain started to make a speech in the church at Sams funeral (interrupted by Duffys phone ringing), Dylan stood up and told him his speech was drivel, that Sams death was Iains fault and that hes suspended and about to face a tribunal. It was such an odd thing to happen that I was sure the next thing we would see would be Iain waking up in a hot sweat and it was all a dream.
But it was real. Dylan really disrupted Sams funeral by having a go at Iain and stomping off. Gem and Jacob told Iain that Dylan was an idiot and was taking his own pain out on him. Later on, Iain went to the department and found Dylan sitting in the Casualty garden, being sympathetic to a man called Neil whose wife had just had a miscarriage. Dylan was advising Neil to go back and talk to his wife, because people need to be there for each other. His people skills dont stretch as far as Iain, though. Rather than realise that everyone is hurting about Sam and they all need to support each other, Dylan reverted to his usual sarcastic self. If I apologise, will that release you from anguish? he asked Iain, and told him he was an animal and Sam deserved far better. So Iain punched him, because thats Iains way of dealing with strong emotions.
The idea of men not dealing with their feelings very well was a theme throughout the episode. As well as the aforementioned Neil, who ended up having a heart attack (not brought on by witnessing a punch-up between a doctor and a paramedic in the hospital garden, but it cant have helped), the other patient o the week was a little boy called Leo. Hed arrived at the ED when his mum was hit by a car but Alicia, with her new interest in paediatric cases, soon spotted that something Wasnt Quite Right with young Leo. When his big, macho dad arrived and Leo was found to have bruises on his back, Alicia was beginning to suspect abuse. Ethan, who is very protective of Alicia these days, wanted to call social services. He didnt want Leos dad kicking off and putting Alicia in danger. Alicia assured him she was fine dealing with it her way.
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The situation turned out to be more complicated than it looked. Leos dad had himself been bullied as a child, and was determined that Leo wouldnt go through that himself. Unfortunately his way of doing that was to make Leo too scared to admit any weakness. His dads healthy lunches, designed to make Leo big and strong, had ended up in the tummy of a friendly dog on the way to school, and Leo had bulimia and was malnourished which is why he bruised easily.
At one point Leo ran away and was found in the ambulance station by Iain, who brought him back to resus when he started having a seizure. This is because Iain is a good paramedic, a fact he had to remind himself of when it was time for his tribunal. He gave an excellent speech about the agonising decisions that paramedics have to make every single day. He said that sacking him would be a waste of all his training and experience. He admitted lying about Mia and said her death and Sams will haunt him for the rest of his life, but after all – Im a good paramedic. Luckily the tribunal agreed, and Iain gets to keep his job. He made it quite clear to Ruby that he doesnt consider her anywhere near a worthy replacement for Sam, though.
The episode ended with everyone at the pub, raising a glass to Sam. Jacob gave a little speech which wasnt interrupted by Dylan (because hed gone off somewhere with Ciara) and raised a glass to Sams rare beauty.
In other news, Louise didnt shout at anyone at all this week, which is possibly because she has her eyes on the prize of a promotion. She needs the money to help pay off all her parking fines.
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And Alicia gave Ethan a tiny little kiss, because hes lovely and he cares about her.
Sue Haasler is the author of the official Holby City book, which you can read about here. She also writes novels and theres more about her latest here.
MORE: 10 Casualty spoilers: Alicia returns to work, crash horror and Dylans agony
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