Oh, I can't believe we haven't talked about this - do we think Joan's been written out of the show? I can't imagine her coming back with her tail between her legs asking for her job back, but I would really hate to lose her as a character.

No way, she's not going anywhere (unless Christina Hendricks wants to leave for some reason). I wonder how they'll handle it, though. Will she ask, or will they ask her to come back. Maybe she'll start working for Duck.

I was kind of confused as to why they thought that he would get chief resident if he was such a bad surgeon. You'd think that he'd know by now.

I was kind of confused as to why they thought that he would get chief resident if he was such a bad surgeon. You'd think that he'd know by now.

I think Joan had no idea until the dinner party (and even then was pretty deliberately kept in the dark), and he was in denial.

I figure someone will see her working somewhere else, and they'll pull her back into the fold that way.

That makes sense. His whole attitude is "I can fix it later"

Theory read on TWOP: office is in such an uproar that they beg her to come back. (Which would rock. But I'm not sure would ever happen.)

I can see it going either way. Losing Joan would be a huge blow to the cast of characters, but this is definitely the kind of show where they wouldn't twist themselves into knots to bring her back.

I have a theory based on the previews for next week's ep.

Me too. I'll whitefont, even though it's pure speculation: We saw a man lying face down on the floor of a bedroom. I think it was Joan's husband. If he dies, I could definitely see Joan being offered a job back at the agency.

The irony is lost on no one, of course, that in the middle of her crisis--leaving a job that she's too proud to tell anyone she now needs because her husband's fingers have no brains--that Joan ends up being the one to step in coolly and literally save a life by putting a tourniquet on Guy's leg

I missed that bit of irony last night, but it's still pretty awesome in retrospect.

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Jon, do you think he commits suicide? I could see it going down that way.

I don't really understand why Joan suddenly has to go back to work because he's not cheif resident. Is the difference in salary between chief resident and regular resident that significant? Or does it mean that if he's not chief resident, he won't get a job and then she'll have to work?