Statistically, excluding the maternity ward and A&E, one in three patients that are admitted to hospital will die there.
JD ends up treating the feisty and lively Mrs. Tanner, a seventy-four-year-old lady who is going into renal failure. JD fights hard for her to be put on dialysis, even when it means confronting Dr Kelso, but is surprised when Mrs. Tanner turns the offer down, even though it will mean that she dies. He's then determined to try and get her to change her mind.
After being called out for not even knowing his patients' names, Turk ends up getting close to David, a young guy who is in for a simple hernia surgery. While operating, he discovers a tumor and David is diagnosed with lymphoma. While no-one else is willing to tell someone so young the truth, Turk sits down and gently explains what is actually going on.
Elliot is with a patient that can only speak Spanish and has to request someone who can translate for her. Unfortunately, it's Carla, who is still at odds with Elliot for an argument they had earlier that day. Both Dr Cox and Carla ream Elliot for not knowing Spanish, but she still tries to treat Mrs. Guerrero despite the fact she's only getting worse. Carla warms to Elliot on seeing that she's trying her hardest and even teaches her a little Spanish so she can comfort her patient.
- Abnormal Ammo: Turk plays darts with his patient David by throwing empty syringes at an anatomy diagram on the wall.
- An Aesop: Turk learns that he has to care for his patients as individuals, Eliot learns she's going to have to make very difficult decisions, and JD learns that some of his patients are going to die.
- Armor-Piercing Response: When J.D. tries to convince Mrs. Tanner there is a lot to live for, he tries reciting a list of things he wants to do before he dies. Mrs. Tanner responds that she's done all of them and asks just how many of the items on the list JD has done.
- Bilingual Bonus: The Japanese that Mrs. Tanner speaks translates to; "I lived in Kyoto for about five years."
- Bittersweet Ending: All three patients die. But Mrs. Tanner admits that she had a wonderful life and got to do everything that she wanted, and even imparts some wisdom on JD that he should go out and do the same. And David's father is grateful to Turk that his son had a friend while going through such a difficult time.
- Blatant Lies: JD tries to get Mrs. Tanner to go on dialysis by saying that she could live for another 80 or 90 years.
- Cool Old Lady: Mrs. Tanner. She does appreciate that J.D. cares about her and wants her to live. At the same time, she gently tells him that it's not his choice to make.
- Connect 4 With Death: There's an imagine spot of JD playing Connect 4 with the Grim Reaper. Death wins.JD: Pretty sneaky, Death!
- Dramedy: The first episode of the series to focus more on the Drama than the Comedy.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: Dr. Cox's name badge says Paul Cox.
- Foreshadowing: JD's voiceover statement that a third of all patients admitted to a hospital end up dying there is a pretty big clue that one of the patients the doctors interact with in this episode will die there. The surprise comes from the fact that all three of them die.
- Friendship Moment: After an argument at the beginning of the episode, Carla and Eliot bond over the latter's difficulty with a patient whose life is at risk if she makes the wrong decision.
- Great Escape: JD has an imagine spot of Mrs. Tanner digging her way to freedom underneath a barbed wire fence, zimmerframe and all.
- Long List: The bucket list that JD writes out for Mrs. Tanner that covers several pages of his notebook, though we only get to hear a few of them. Mrs. Tanner reassures him that she's done them all
- Eat a sausage-and-pepper hoagie from Enrico's.
- Go to Asia.
- Learn a foreign language.
- Go to the top of the Eiffel Tower
- Go to the top of the Meiffel Tower.
- The Nicknamer: First time Dr. Cox called Elliot "Barbie".
- Not Afraid to Die: Mrs. Tanner has done it all and has no regrets about dying.
- Rewind Gag: After Carla and Elliot turn on JD after an argument, where he points out that they're being petty and condescending, he has an imagine spot where he's able to rewind time to just before he interrupted. Only to make the exact same mistake.
- Title Drop: "So you're wasting your precious free time talking to an old lady?"
- Took a Level in Kindness: Turk, with a little nudge from JD, connects with his patient and sees him as more than just a body. Even though his patient dies, what he takes away from it is that he has to give that same level of care to all his patients.
- Wham Episode: This is the first episode of the series where the doctors must confront death, despite their best efforts (it's also the first episode where multiple patients die). It makes J.D. ponder his life and his profession.
