I disagree about its being a dramatic misdirection. Instead, I feel it was an accurate portrayal of how an accident happens. The doctors were arguing about who rides in the helicopter; the chopper pilot is distracted by the orbiting news helicopter; the chopper’s ground man is distracted while on the radio arranging ground transportation for one of the patients; Lewis is tending to a patient’s poor attitude; Romano is distracted by the argument and the blowing paperwork. All-in-all, no one is paying attention to what is really important: the idling helicopter. As a result, Romano bumps into the tail rotor.
The audience was misdirected to the same extent as the characters. I felt it was an effectively played scene.
I don’t agree. I saw a spoiler for this episode weeks ago and knew that it was going to happen. So did my husband and my mom, who called me while she watched for the first time while I watched my TiVoed episode for the second time. We were all as taken by the awful reality of it, which couldn’t be described in the mere words “Romano has his arm taken off by a helicopter rotor.”
Not going to happen. Laura Innes nixed the idea, probably because of her own recent fertility battles. I don’t blame her. That would be altogether too far-fetched.
I don’t know about the second part of that prediction, but the first half is accurate, and confirmed by the actor himself. He said “Think Season One, and the character my character was meant to replace in the viewers’ minds.” Oh oh.