Eli Stone: Fanning the Flames

Well, the worst has happened.  ABC has gone and fired Eli Stone.  After its 13 episodes are up, critically-acclaimed (I’m not just talking about me here), thoughtful, witty, controversy-stirring Eli Stone will go off the air.  But in this week’s episode, Eli was busy saving his clients from their own engulfing flames.

The last episode ignited some controversy when Eli represented Jim Cooper, a man who wanted to start a medical drug trial to see if marijuana could help cure his son’s disease, MS.  Eli’s visions warned him not to mess around with Jim and one vision even stuck him in a fire-engulfed building with a mysterious someone stuck inside, but Eli represented Jim anyway and won.  But what Eli didn’t anticipate was that Jim’s son, JJ, didn’t want to be a part of the trial.  He felt so trapped by his father that he asked Eli to represent him as he attempted to divorce his father and become an emancipated minor.

This week, Eli was not only representing young JJ, but was dealing with some father issues of his own.  It was Eli’s cutie, doctor brother Nate’s birthday so they were playing some golf when Eli had a vision.  He became his father (the great Tom Cavanagh) – passed out on the floor – during one of Nate’s childhood birthdays.  Once Eli recovered from his vision hangover, it was off to meet with opposing council in JJ’s case.  Little did he and his partner, Taylor, expect opposing council to be their love interests, Matt Dowd and Maggie Dekker.  Taylor was especially perturbed as she hadn’t told Matt that he’s the father of her child.  There were daddy issues starting fires all over the place.

Court didn’t prove much kinder to Eli, Taylor, and JJ.  Matt and Maggie were burning them in court by showing that JJ’s illness meant he couldn’t take care of himself, and Eli was having trouble locating a doctor who wasn’t paid into silence by JJ’s dad.  But then Eli had another drunk daddy vision.  This time Eli/Eli’s dad was writing in his journal – the same one Eli tossed into a fire two episodes ago – but young vision Nate snatched the journal away before Eli could read it.  So Eli went to his guru Dr. Chen to see if he knew what he should do.  Together they deduced that he needed Nate’s help.

Nate agreed to go to court to testify to JJ’s ability to care for himself – which got Nate in no small bit of trouble at his Jim Cooper-funded hospital.  Dr. Chen, however, came to Nate after and told him he had to go back to court the next day.  Back in court things were looking up for JJ, until Maggie had Jim Cooper cross examine his son.  Jim verbally attacked his son and brought up a past suicide attempt that sent JJ shaking.  Nate was alarmed at the shaking – an early sign of MS.  He did a CAT scan on JJ and realized that JJ’s MS had progressed significantly.  His previous records had been faked to make it look like he had no symptoms.  This way he could be a part of the drug trial Eli fought so hard for last week.  Too bad that kind of medical record altering is illegal.

Eli, Taylor, and Nate confronted Jim and the head of Nate’s hospital on altering the records for their personal and financial gain.  Faced with some jail time if they went public, Jim agreed to let his son go and Nate’s boss agreed to resign.  Meanwhile, Matt Dowd confronted Taylor for not disclosing her pregnancy (Taylor’s dad, Jordan, accidentally spilled the beans).  Despite past emotional floundering, the two admitted their own feelings, decided to take their relationship seriously and make a real commitment.  Matt even proposed, though Taylor never answered.  They did, however, get mushy and make out.

Relieved to have fanned all the threatening flames, Eli returned to Dr. Chen for a rehash when he realized that his visions didn’t really pan out.  He’d won both cases, but there had been no burning buildings.  That’s when Eli realized he wasn’t supposed to mess around with Jim – but what if it wasn’t Jim Cooper, what if it was Jim Junior?  Dr. Chen did his acupuncture trick and sent Eli back to his old vision in the burning building.  The mystery someone turned out to be JJ.

Eli rushed to Cooper Biotech just in time for the building to explode and for Eli to pull young JJ out of the wreckage.  Lawyer prophet to the rescue!  JJ was then taken to the hospital where he made up with his father.

Still troubled by Eli’s visions of their father, Nate went to Dr. Chen to find out how he knew he was supposed to be in that court.  Chen admitted he made a copy of their father’s journal before Eli burned it (how convenient!).  Nate wanted to know the truth about his own future, so Chen gave him a page addressed to him.  In the note, the elder Mr. Stone told Nate that while Eli had the gift of visions, Nate was special too and that Eli needed him to achieve all he is destined to achieve.  They will do great things together.  And, of course, he’s so proud of his strong, brave boys.  Geez, grab the Kleenex!

So on Eli Stone, fires were quelled but the show is burning out just when it was lighting up.  Shame on you ABC for cancelling it.  Just like another of my favorite thoughtful prophet shows, Joan of Arcadia, Eli is getting burned at the stake in its second season.  So if you love Eli and smart TV that’s about something other than sex in the on-call room and crime scene investigation, get fired up and try to keep the Eli flame alive.

Tune in, tune in, tune in!

Season 2, Episode 6: Happy Birthday Nate (originally aired December 2, 2008)

For another take on this episode, check out Cameron Cubbison‘s review here.

For more on Eli Stone, click here.

Tuesdays at 10/9C on ABC

Photographs courtesy of ABC