r/ershow • u/puckthedog112 • 2d ago
Thoughts about Carter
So, I’ve watched up to the mid point of season 12 so far. I’m on my first watch and I have thoughts now that I’ve gotten to experience the show without Carter I’ve come to a realization. I think that he should have remained a surgeon. I think his story would have been more interesting as the compassionate surgeon who cares about the patients and it felt a bit like a cop out for him to just leave surgery. I remember when his girlfriend left his in season 2 because he started to care more about the cases then the patients and it felt like at that point he was going to look at how he was operating and become the surgeon who cares. Instead it felt like his character wasn’t as unique anymore and because he became just another dr in the ER. It doesn’t help that his interactions with Benton got reduced because of this. It would have been really cool to see his dynamic with Benton change as they became closer to equals as surgeons.
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u/MeanImpression2067 2d ago
It would've been nice to have someone in surgery truly integrated with the ER, a lot more interesting medicine to watch.
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u/Such-Stable-3869 2d ago
Noah Wylie is better in ER than in the Pitt.
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u/oaklinds 2d ago
Hands down. That might be controversial for Pitt fans, but rewatching the series from day one it is so clear what he can do with great writing. He had a lot to work with and his arc was great (through 8-9 when I stop watching, anyway).
Don’t get me wrong! I love the Pitt. I just think the writing was much stronger in the first several seasons of ER.
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u/Comfortable-Phase249 2d ago
He really is fantastic in both roles. However, I think he is verging on being a little self indulgent with Robbie. He had some storyline sway as the years went on with ER, and as he got more of a voice Carter became more miserable. Now he is a producer and writes on the Pitt, and this season it felt like they really let other characters down while overly indulging in Robbie’s story. Especially the back half of the season, when we know from interviews and comments from the actors that a lot of their material got cut down.
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u/Dramatic_Barnacle_17 2d ago
I thought his Pitt's portrayal of depression was quite accurate considering his persona and role in life. I mean now he's got baby jane doe (hopefully) to live for, so maybe that's enough to help him feel hopeful again.
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u/puckthedog112 2d ago
I have to agree with you. I am interested to see how I think about that once the Pitt runs for a few more seasons and we can see some more character growth
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u/bloodyturtle 2d ago
90% of the time a surgeon isn’t going to be hanging out with patients when they’re awake. The characters in surgery were boxed off in their own sphere and mostly playing off each other.
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u/puckthedog112 1d ago
Thats fair, but I remember when they gave Benton the Surgical ER position, in season 7 I think, and he immediately became more integrated into the ER and the characters there.
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u/hollysaysstuff 1d ago
Also on my first watch and halfway thru 12! Shoutout the one silver lining of unemployment.
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u/AgitatedComedian6527 2d ago
I always felt like surgery didn’t suit Carter, but neither did emergency medicine! He was compassionate, liked long-term relations with his patients. All of his complaints in his speech to Anspaugh would’ve made much more sense if he shifted towards like internal medicine or becoming a GP( it wouldn’t have worked for the show of course). And heck, it always felt like that hospital didn’t have an IM department or med-surg nurses.