That was really, really good. The story was masterfully written, all these guest stars' appearances didn't feel contrived at all, they all felt natural. All of the storylines were beautifully woven together.
Dr. Benton was badass as always - practically the first words he says to his friend the first time he sees him in seven years were "you look ridiculous, Carter"
You could feel the bond between Carter and Benton, though. Benton cared enough sit in on the surgery, and then in typical Benton-fashion, he upstaged the operating surgeon. He was also the first old-school character that Carter has been able to interact with since returning to Chicago, and I got the sense that Carter was more comfortable talking to him about stuff than he was with anyone currently at County. Good that they didn't mess with Benton's personal life either...still with Cleo, no problems with his son, Reese.
Clooney and Margulies were great too. I'm sure everyone's relieved that they were kept together. They painted the ultimate happy picture...still married, still in love, still raising 'the girls'. Their storyline was beautifully interwoven with the Carter storyline and the storyline about the mother at county. Great stuff. I liked Dr. Ross asking Neela and Sam about the older characters - Weaver, Lewis(who herself is supposed to be back for an episode before it's all over), Benton, Anspaugh, and Neela and Sam not knowing who Lewis or Benton were, and then Ross not knowing who Pratt was. Nice job of highlighting multiple eras of the show. A little wink-wink stuff going on at the end, too, with Carol telling Doug that the kidney went to 'some doctor', not knowing that she was talking about Carter, whom both she and Doug knew well.
Susan Sarandon might get an emmy nomination for best guest appearance for this episode. She was masterful in the role of the grandmother having to pull the plug on her grandson with mother nowhere in sight.
Great episode. In fact, this would've been a pretty good final episode.
Looks like Neela's leaving early next week, and Abbey is back? Will Kovac be back? Looking forward to Sherry Stringfield's return(I think she's coming back).