Being one of the few people who watch ER (at least online, because the ratings suggest that there are plenty of other people who watch the show along with me) can be frustrating. I take a lot of shit for liking the show and people love to rag on it despite not having watched in years. Needless to say, I don’t talk about the show much but I’ve been watching it for years. I won’t lie and say I’ve watched it continuously throughout all fifteen seasons. I gave up for awhile after Doug left and Carter picked up his stupid drug habit but I’d occasionally sit down and watch and, if I had to name the one reason I added the show back to my regular schedule, it’d be Abby Lockhart.

Hence why I was a weepy mess after last night’s episode in which Abby finally says goodbye to County General after 10 years. And, you know, I’d be worrying about spoiling you on that except every promo for the past few weeks has talked about Abby’s farewell episode. It’s possible the writers meant for her swan song to be just as abrupt for the viewers as it was for the folks at County General but NBC promoted the hell out of it so that wasn’t really possible. Of course, even Abby can’t escape without a little fanfare so I guess her words to the others about spilling the news a little too soon applies to those promos too.

Either way, I thought it was perfect goodbye for this character. The show has certainly done its fair share of send off episodes over the years and they always manage to get to me, even when I don’t particularly like the character that is leaving. This time, though, they kept it simple and still managed to remind us of the Abby we’ve known all these years. Not only did she leave on her very first day as a “real” doctor, she got to save the day the same way she’s saved the day so many times over the years, with knowledge she’s got crammed in her head from all those years as a nurse. Her screwed up life made it possible to bond with the kid who felt responsible for what was happening to his coach and she talked him away from the edge the way she has so many others over the years. She’s never been the type to take anyone’s crap or to keep her opinions quiet both of which were in evidence with how she handled the new chief and stood up to the board for Sam. She called Neela out on liking Lucien and not doing anything about it much like she and Neela have always called each other out on their crap over the years. I may miss their friendship almost as much as I’ll miss Abby herself. I think you get the point. It was the quintessential Abby episode and I can’t think of a better way to spend my last hour with her.

And I need to wrap this up because it’s really quite sad that just typing about the episode has me crying again. I’m character girl. I get overly attached and I know that. I’m excited to see what Maura Tierney does next but I’m going to miss Abby. Probably more than I’ll miss ER itself when it signs off at the end of this season. I have to thank the writers for letting Abby’s exit be the start of a fresh new life for her and for the last shot being a happy one. Abby’s endured a lot over the years. It’s nice to know she’s going to get her shot at happiness now.

And some other videos to help you say goodbye:

• Cast & Crew Talk About Maura’s Last Day
• Abby Scenes Over the Years
• Abby Hide & Seek Video
• Abby Catalyst Video
• Season 8 Gag Reel

And now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go pretend I was crying over some sad news story I saw online and not videos of TV character…

“We’re going to miss you so damn much.”