The narrative skips ahead a year with this episode. Sometimes, this causes stilted dialogue with the characters having to explain things to us, that they themselves would already know having lived it during the past year, without any need to repeat it. One scene, with Kitty at Robert's bedside is a perfect instance of this. It should also be noted that Calista Flockhart is basically working solo at the end of Kitty & Robert's storyline (supposedly Robert is in the bed, but we only see his feet as she trims his toenails). Even though Rob Lowe has departed the cast, he appears briefly in flashback from the season four cliffhanger. That means Lowe has appeared in all five seasons of the program. He is uncredited for this flashback scene. Patricia Wettig has very little screen time, appearing in only one scene to show us that Holly is alive, though suffering memory loss. Wettig's husband Ken Olin appears in that scene, and he is listed first in the guest cast credits. Speaking of credits, Sally Field is now a series executive producer. Overall, this first episode of season five has a very somber tone, especially with regards to the Kitty-Robert story. His mercy killing is mercifully done offscreen as is his funeral.
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