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Exodus is the eleventh episode of the second season and the 29th overall episode of Code Black.

Short Summary[]

A code black at Angels Memorial takes a turn for the worse when a city-wide blackout leaves the hospital without power or back-up generators. As Campbell and Leanne divert high-risk patients to a nearby care center, Elliot and Heather are trapped in an elevator with a woman in labor, and Willis and Dr. Nolan try to help a 92-year-old woman who thinks it's 1942.

Full Summary[]

Leanne waits in a serene waiting area at Silverman Center for Cosmetic Surgery. Jesse comes out to see her and she's shocked to see him wearing chartreuse scrubs. He offers her espresso and says it's not just nose jobs. Dr. Silverman does a lot of good work there. Leanne wants him to come back, but Jesse says Campbell fired him. She says she'll talk to him, but Jesse tells her not to. She wants to know why he's being so stubborn and he says that he tried calling Rollie to apologize. Leanne says it'll just take time. Parkinson's is not an easy transition. Jesse asks if he knows he doesn't have to quit medicine. Or if Campbell knows that. Jesse says if she can convince Rollie to come back, he'll come back.

Back at Angels, the ER is buzzing. Noa tells Mario she's seen sixteen patients in two hours. She thinks it's a record, but Mario tells her it's not. They're slammed. She asks how long Malaya's suspended, but he doesn't know. He tells her it's just first-year panic. They hear a man groan. It's Noa's patient, who has a kidney stone. They go see Ken and offer him dilauded because he's in pain. He asks if they can't just take the whole kidney. She tells him they can't, but offers him pamphlets on organ donation. She injects the dilauded and he relaxes.

Mario examines Tina Geller, who said she'd be diagnosed with an ovarian cyst and was supposed to have surgery in a few weeks. However, the pain got worse. Mario orders an ultrasound.

Jesse tells Renne her blood pressure is a little high. She's nervous about her surgery. Jesse says Dr. Silverman is the king of breast reconstruction. She knows that. She chose Uma circa "Dangerous Liaisons." Cancer's taken almost everything from her, so she wants to take one thing back. Dr. Silverman comes in and says it's time to get started.

Angus brings in Blanche, a 92 year old woman who fell down a flight of stairs. She has pain in her left hip. She looks at Ethan and says he's handsome like her George. She doesn't think she lost consciousness during the fall.

Ethan sees Leanne coming in and greets her with a happy Code Black. She says she didn't leave it like that. Ethan asks about Jesse and she tell him Jesse won't come back.

Silverman is operating on Renee. Jesse sees that she's bradycardic and falling. Silverman thinks it's fine, but she has slow cap refill. Just then, she starts to crash. Jesse jumps in quickly to stabilize her and sends another nurse to call 911.

Leanne examines Serena, who is 36 weeks pregnant. Her husband, Richard, thinks it must be too early. She started having contractions earlier that day. She's early, but not "driving-like-a-maniac" early. He sideswiped a city bus on the way to the hospital. Serena groans as another contraction hits. Leanne asks Elliot for his input. He says they should do an ultrasound and she says he should already be doing it and not to wait to be asked.

Angus is examining Blanche, who has an unstable pelvis. She tells them it's fractured. She was an ER nurse before there was such a thing. Plus she heard it.

Ultrasound shows a slightly low fetal heartbeat. They page OB and say they'll monitor until then. Serena's in labor.

Blanche's pelvis is fractured like she said. Ethan asks if there's anyone they can call for her, but she says her George was killed during the war. It's just her.

Jesse brings in Renee. Mario's surprised to see him.

Leanne is also surprised to see Jesse coming into Center Stage. They get Renee into a bed and start treating her.

Serena sends Richard to get the overnight bag out of the car as they get her on an elevator.

In the ER, the lights flash. Ethan jokingly asks who forgot to pay the power bill. After a few more flashes, the lights go out completely.

The elevator Serena, Heather, and Elliot are on stops and goes dark.

An entire section of LA is dark.

The ER has only a few emergency lights. Jesse calls for the nurses to get the flashlights. Leanne tells everyone to stay calm as the generators will kick in any minute. They wait, but the lights stay off.

Ken is up and walking into Center Stage. Noa tries to get him back to bed. He's confused about why he can't see.

Renee is still bradycardic. Jesse tells the nurses to check on the backup batteries on all the monitors because they won't last forever. Ethan tells Jesse this it what happens to Angels without him. Angus welcomes him back, but he tells them he's not back.

They finally get Rene stabilized. Leanne asks someone to call Campbell.

Campbell is having trouble seeing his patient. He asks a nurse if she reached her. The nurse says the phone lines are jammed. The ventilator turns off as the battery dies. Campbell tells the anesthesiologist to disconnect it an manually respirate. She says she can't tell if the anesthesia is delivering and he tells her to turn off the machine and do that manually as well. He tells everyone to check backup batteries.

A nurse holds up a phone saying she got her. Campbell thinks it's Emily, but it's Leanne on the radio. The nurse calling his daughter got her voicemail. Campbell tells her to keep trying and then gets an update from Leanne on the ER. Angus comes and tells her all of LA is out of power. Campbell says the generators are still in repair from the boiler explosion months ago. He tells her they have to divert. She says they don't know how long the power will be out, so they need to get their patients out to other places, starting with the most critical. He suggests calling Cedars and UCLA, but Leanne says they'll be overrun, so she's thinking Peterson, an acute care center eight blocks away. They have power because every hospital has power except them. He tells he to make it happen. She also tells him Jesse's there. He'll be able to help them organize things. Campbell tells her he can't treat any patients.

Amanda meets up with Ethan. She jokes about him operating in complete darkness before. He adds that he was under fire. He takes her to Blanche, whose mental status is altered. Blanche tells them to turn off their flashlights or the enemy will see them. She heard the air raid sirens, actually ambulances. Amanda introduces herself and Blanche doesn't believe she's a doctor. Blanche thinks they're going to be attacked. She thinks she's at Fort Stevens in June 1942. Ethan is called away and Amanda agrees to stay with her.

Leanne tells Ethan they're evacuating everyone except the most unstable to an acute care center. He tells her Blanche can't be moved. She has internal bleeding. Ethan says he'll stay with the remaining patients. It's his ship and he'll go down with it. Leanne says they're not sinking. Angus leaves to go to Peterson. Leanne tells him to look for Dr. Carrie, their director. Leanne tells Ethan he'll only have a skeleton crew and to use Jesse. He knows it'll piss off Campbell.

Mario and Noa lead the low-acuity patients down the street toward Peterson because there aren't enough ambulances to move them all, so some are walking. Ken, still high from dilauded, leads the way, pulling his IV pole.

Renee is still in trouble. Campbell sees a patient coming in and says they shouldn't have brought him in as they're diverted. Jesse says they're in code blackout. Jesse calls for meds and Campbell tells him he can't do that. Risa can't get the dopamine because the dispenser's down. Jesse steps in to get it open and gets the medicine. Richard comes by looking for Serena. He's not in L&D.

Heather's trying to get the elevator to work or get help. She sees Serena's water breaking. They check and see that she's crowning. The baby is coming. Heather tells Serena and Elliot to stay calm.

Angus updates Leanne on the situation at Peterson. Kim Carrie comes and introduces herself to Leanne. They're not really equipped to handle this kind of influx, but she's happy to help. Leanne wants to prioritize Angels patients for imaging, but Kim says they'll prioritize everyone based on acuity.

Campbell gets Emily's voicemail and tries calling again. Jesse asks if his daughter's okay. He's seen enough worried fathers to know. They hear Renee calling out. Jesse tells Renee she's at Angels and there was a complication with her procedure. He tells her she'll be all right, but Silverman didn't finish her surgery.

Amanda asks Ethan how he knew exactly what date Blanche was re-living. He says it was the only attack on a mainland US Military base in WWII. Blanche was there and now she's reliving it. Ethan doesn't think it's dementia. He thinks she's delirious from blood loss. He shows Amanda the ultrasound showing blood, but then the monitor dies. He asks if she's ever operated on anyone. She says she's a psychiatrist, not a surgeon. Blanche tells them not to worry about her and to help the others. Ethan says he can do the surgery, but he needs supplies that are up eight flights of stairs. They have to carry her up there. Amanda says they can do that. They have to go slowly because a bump could make her bleed out.

Leanne asks Kim about one of her patients whose scan was mistakenly given to Leanne. A CT shows an epidural bleed. Leanne says they need to drill a burr hole, but Kim wants to wait for neurosurgery. Leanne doesn't think they have time to wait, but Kim insists.

Angus treats patients around Peterson. Kelly Pruitt says the Angels doctors are making themselves right at home as Moon collapses in her arms. They get her into a chair and do a manual workup because they're out of monitors. Moon's been dizzy for three nights. She's been sleeping a lot, too. She says she eats all organic, drinks tea instead of coffee, and does pilates every day. Angus points out something Kelly missed on her exam, an irregular pulse.

Serena is laboring and the baby gets stuck. Richard bangs on the elevator door. He's been looking for them on every floor. He and Risa try to get the door open. Richard tells her everything important to him in the world is in the elevator. Heather quietly tells Elliot that if she pulls any harder, she'll break the baby's clavicle.

Blanche talks to Ethan and Amanda as they carry her. They put her down for a minute and she passes out. Amanda suggests playing along with Blanche's delusions, to comfort her. Amanda knows he's been under fire and thinks he misses the rush, which is why he goes on so many ride-alongs. He says he does it to help patients who would die otherwise. Amanda says he's always talked about going back. He says he left good people there, but she thinks he believes he left himself there. She asks if that's what he meant when he said he'd been dead once. He tells her he's not her patient. She says she can talk to him anyway. They get up and start moving again and Amanda asks him to try for her. Ethan plays along and talks to Blanche about the war.

A news reporter walks along the parade of Angels patients, talking about what's happening. Mario encourages them to keep moving as they're almost to Peterson.

Ken asks Tina what she's in for and she says it's private. He tells her he had a piranha eating him from the inside. Tina vomits and Ken calls for help, saying Tina has a piranha. Mario and Noa rush to her aid. There's a large pulsatile mass in her abdomen, an aortic aneurysm. They need to get her to Peterson. They get her in a chair and rush with her.

Kim is doing CPR on her patient. Leanne brings a drill and prepares to do burr holes. However, she notices that his pupils are fixed and dilated. It's too late. Kim calls time of death.

Tina is getting worse. She's losing pulse. The aneurysm has ruptured. They don't have time to get her to Peterson. Mario prepares to open her on the sidewalk, but Noa instead calls an ambulance over.

The monitor on Serena dies. Richard get the doors open enough so he can see her. She tells him the baby is stuck. Elliot suggests a c-section, but they don't have the equipment. They have oxygen, lidocaine, and a scalpel. Heather has a different idea. She'll cut the cartilage in the pelvis to widen the birth canal. Serena tells them to do it.

Ethan and Amanda are still carrying Blanche. They put her down again when she passes out. Ethan tells her he needs her to stay awake. Blanche asks him to tell her about their first date, thinking he's George. He says he doesn't remember, so she starts to tell the story. It's very romantic. Their first kiss was a perfect moment.

At Peterson, Moon crashes. Kelly jumps in to help, but Angus says it's low potassium. She's been drinking licorice root tea, which causes excretion of potassium. He gives her potassium and she stabilizes.

Renee tells Jesse her chest hurts. And her pride. Silverman said she could be perfect. She just wanted to be herself again. And a little Uma. Renee has trouble breathing and the monitor dies. Jesse calls Campbell for help. They get the monitor back up and they give her adenosine to reset her heart. It works and she stabilizes. Jesse says she's going to be okay. Campbell gives treatment orders, but Jesse was talking about Emily. She's tough.

Mario and Noa have Tina open. Mario has Noa place the clamp. They need to get her to Peterson immediately.

Noa and Mario bring in Tina. Leanne asks what their indicators were to do a thoracotomy and they defend that it was her only shot. She needs an OR, but Peterson doesn't have one, so they take her to an exam room instead. Kim tells Leanne she's not a surgeon and Leanne says she gets that a lot. They have to do it. Kim says she needs a surgeon, not a cowboy. Leanne says a cowboy is exactly what she needs, so she tells Kim either to put on her spurs or get out of the way.

Heather gets ready to cut the cartilage. Richard starts playing the birthing playlist. Heather makes the cut and Elliot delivers the baby. They hand the baby to Serena.

Kim, Leanne, Mario, and Noa operate on Tina. Kim tells them they're all insane and they're all good at what they do. Leanne says that's true, but they never want to do this again.

Upstairs, Ethan does an ultrasound on Blanche. There's a lot of blood. She must have torn an artery. She won't survive the surgery. Blanche, thinking he's George, tells him she knows he's going to go to Europe to fight. She'd never admit it in front of the girls, but she doesn't want him to go. She asks him to promise her he'll come back. She doesn't want to live without her. She tells him she's scared. Ethan holds her hand and tells her it's all right. She has her close her eyes and count backward from five. He kisses her at three, the way George did on their first date. She smiles and dies. Ethan says she's with George now.

Kelly sees Angus at a vending machine and suggests that he avoid licorice. He tells her their machine is better than the one at Angels. She thanks him for his help. She says she was offered a position at Angels a few years ago, but turned it down. She says being a great doctor is a 24 hour a day job. So she chose being a good doctor and it seems he's on the other path. As she walks away, he stops her and asks if she'd like to have coffee with them. She says she would.

Mario tells Noa he wouldn't have put her in the position he did if he didn't think it was necessary. He tells her about bullying Angus into a dry thoracotomy when they were first-years and knows it was the wrong call. He thinks about it a lot. Noa teases him about being scared. They look at each other and Mario wants to be clear: still not flirting. She says no. He leans in to kiss her, but they hear Ken scream out. He's just passed his kidney stone. Noa goes to check on him.

Ethan tells Amanda Blanche never got over George. The mind is cruel sometimes, but in the end, it got Blanche to the place she wanted to be, with the person who made her feel safe. Ethan says living without that person is the problem. The lights come back on and people clap and cheer. Ethan suggests they get back downstairs.

The elevator doors open and Richard is reunited with Serena and their daughter. Heather tells Elliot he did nice work, calling him Dr. Dixon instead of Sugar Bear.

Leanne sees Jesse and tells him he looked a lot better when the lights were out. He returns by saying that her hair looks like it just mopped Center Stage. She asks if he's leaving already. He says he misses her too, but he doesn't work there. Campbell comes up and says he heard from Emily finally. She's safe. Campbell tells Jesse he was wrong. Jesse also admits fault. Campbell says both he and Rollie deserved the benefit of the doubt. Campbell offers him his job back. Jesse says he wants his mama back. Campbell says he didn't say that. Jesse says he won't come back unless Campbell says it. Campbell says he'll see him tomorrow and as he walks away, he says he wants his mama back. Leanne and Jesse high five.

Cast[]

Main Cast[]

Guest Starring[]

Co-Starring[]

Medical Notes[]

Ken[]

  • Diagnosis:
    • Kidney stone
  • Treatment:
    • Dilauded

Ken was in the hospital with a kidney stone. He was given pain medication to ease his discomfort. Later that evening, he passed the stone.

Tina Geller[]

  • Diagnosis:
    • Ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm
  • Treatment:
    • Thoracotomy

Tina said her OB told her she had an ovarian cyst and she was scheduled to have surgery in a few weeks, but the pain got worse. Mario ordered a pelvic ultrasound to check if the cyst had ruptured or if she had ovarian torsion. Before they could get it, the power went out and she was moved to Peterson. On the way, she vomited and Mario instead suspected an aortic aneurysm. He and Noa got her into an ambulance when it ruptured and they realized they didn't have time to get her to Peterson. They cross-clamped her and got her to Peterson to finish the repair.

Renee[]

  • Diagnosis:
    • SVT
  • Treatment:
    • Adenosine

Renee, 52, was seeing Dr. Silverman for breast reconstruction after cancer. During her surgery, she became bradycardic. She was taken to the hospital where they were able to stabilize her. Later, her pulse started racing. They gave her adenosine to reset her heart.

Blanche[]

  • Diagnosis:
    • Fractured acetabulum
    • Internal bleeding
  • Treatment:

Blanche, 92, fell down a flight of stairs. She had pain in her left hip. She was an ER nurse and knew her pelvis was fractured. Ethan confirmed it. She was mentally altered and believed it was 1942, so Ethan called in Nolan. She also had some internal bleeding. Nolan suspected dementia, but Ethan thought she was instead delirious due to blood loss. He needed to do surgery, but they had to carry her up eight flights of stairs to get to the supplies they needed. When they finally got her upstairs, Ethan did an ultrasound and determined she wouldn't survive the surgery.

Serena[]

  • Diagnosis:
    • Pregnancy
  • Treatment:
    • Symphysiotomy
    • Vaginal delivery

Serena was 36 weeks pregnant and having contractions. An ultrasound showed she was in labor. On her way up to labor and delivery, she was trapped in an elevator and started crowning. They tried to deliver, but the baby got stuck. They didn't have the equipment for a c-section, so Heather suggested a symphysiotomy, cutting the cartilage of her pelvis to widen it so they could get the baby out. It worked and her baby was successfully delivered.

Mr. Rothbart[]

  • Diagnosis:
    • Brain bleed
    • Brain dead
  • Treatment:
    • Manitol

Mr. Rothbart came into acute care. He came in with a head injury. Leanne saw his CT which had a small brain bleed. Carrie paged neurosurgery, but Leanne said he needed an immediate burr hole. Carrie insisted and gave him manitol to lower his ICP while they waited. Later, his brain was herniating, so Leanne prepared to do burr holes as Carrie did CPR. However, Leanne saw that his pupils were fixed and dilated, meaning they were too late. He was pronounced dead at 9:38 PM.

Moon[]

  • Diagnosis:
    • Low potassium
  • Treatment:
    • Potassium

Moon came into the acute care center with dizziness. She said she'd been feeling off and sleeping a lot for a few days as well. Her pulse was irregular. On the monitor, they saw signs of lowered potassium. Angus noticed she was drinking licorice root tea, which lowered her potassium. They gave her potassium and her heart rate stabilized.

Notes and Trivia[]

  • This episode scored 5.98 million viewers.

Gallery[]

Episode Stills[]

Quotes[]

See Also[]

A complete overview of this episode's crew can be found here.

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