(S05E08) "Here I am. After. Surrounded by booze and dead assholes." – Tommy

This is the episode we're all been waiting for. After Tommy had a drink with Genevieve two weeks ago, it was only a matter of time before this happened – fortunately, we didn't have to wait for it.

Tommy's struggle with 9/11 and his place in history on that day has long been one of the the driving forces behind Rescue Me, but the focus on that has drifted in and out over time. Most everyone has applauded that plot's return this season, but one key element has still been lacking – Tommy's ghosts.

(S05E08) "Yeah, thanks anyway Plato." - Sawyer

I think the best way to describe this episode was safe. Nothing crazy or out of place happened and you knew how it was going to end the second it began. Think of it this way - when we first started watching Lost, it was like dumping a giant puzzle onto the floor. At this point, the entire puzzle is assembled, and for the most part, we can almost see the big picture, save for a bunch of pieces that are still missing. "LaFleur" was one of those pieces.

(S05E08) "It's too bad - she was really talented." - Shepherd

Snap! Well that didn't take long. Thirty seconds into the episode and Shonda Rhimes made it very clear how she feels about Brooke Smith's departure from the show. Even though I didn't like the whole Callie/Hahn romance and even though I thought Hahn's exit actually made a bit of sense (it was written well), I still don't see why it was necessary to fire Smith. There had to have been a better way to fix the story without removing her. Regardless, no sense in whining. She's gone and Seattle Grace Hospital now has two new faces for everyone to gossip about.

(S05E08) "Listen, when we dock, I'm gettin' a tattoo of an anaconda that's coming outta my groin region!" - Shake

Every episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force should be this good. Hands down, the best and funniest installment of the current season. This is definitely not a show that I would ever expect to have even the slightest bit of relevant social commentary, but what do I know?

(S05E08) "A lie ain't a side of a story. It's just a lie." - Terry Hanning

Rest in peace Omar Little. Wow. Honestly, that's all I really want to talk about. So let's get everything else out of the way first. I'll come back to Omar. Where to start then? How about my weekly rant on Scott Templeton? When I first saw that quote at the head of the episode, I was wondering who the hell Terry Hanning was. I figured he must hold some weight if his quote was the one selected to grace the episode though. Then we saw him. The military vet that Scott "interviewed" under the bridge the day he went slumming with the homeless. I've been waiting all season for a moment like this.
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(S05E08) "Your promises are sh*t, Matt." - Sean

They really are, aren't they? Matt is pretty much full of it, most of the time. Granted he escaped death here, but when you consider his track record (white supremacists, transvestites, Scientology, foreskin removal), it's pretty safe to assume that he'll get wrapped up in something else before too long. That's why I found it so amusing when Sean apologized and Matt said he just really needed to grow up and stop being Sean's "child." Why? So he can graduate to more adult scheming? He's there already! Last I checked, you don't see too many eleven year olds cooking meth and raising a child with a former porn star. Matt has always led a screwed up life, so it's not as if any of this comes as a surprise. Fortunately, the rest of this Christmas themed episode took the torch from previous Nip/Tuck holiday installments and the results were hilarious.

(S05E08) After last week's episode, I read a decent chunk of comments about how viewers weren't too excited about Boa Vista and all the screen time she's been getting as the newest member of the team. As one commenter put it, "It seems the producers are trying to get us to like the Boa Vista character by making her the center of Season 5."

Well, I don't think most people realized it (unless they read it somewhere beforehand as I did), but this episode was based partly on a true story. Eva LaRue, who plays Natalia, went through a similar ordeal in real life with her sister Nikka. So I think in this case we can cut Boa Vista some slack.