I was thinking of Luka's character and had a couple of thoughts. First off, I sincerely hope they give this guy a nice girlfriend or something soon, especially since Carol is going to be leaving. (Maybe Big Brothers? Something to do with children? He strikes me as a natural volunteer.)

Also, since this is TV land, and since a lot of time things can't be certain in war, it could be possible that TPTB would send in one of his family members, alive. His wife comes back after he has met someone else and is happy, or one of his children did survive after all. Since they don't specifically say that he buried them or identified the bodies, this could happen. What could be more tragic than having to care for his 6 year old daughter or 4 year old son after they had seen the ravages of war, the killing of their mother, etc.

I just sincerely hope they don't pull a "baby Susie" here and let Luka get really close to someone else and then pull them away. Although now that I think about it, that seems to be what they are doing already with Carol and the twins.

Oh well! Any other thoughts? Laura

-- Laura (alulak@earthlink.net), April 18, 2000

Answers

Luka seems to need some time. I really hope his feelings toward Carol are simply a kind of fondness based on memories of his own familes, rather than a desire to hook up with her. And I also hope he's sort of ... conscious of the fact that it's his family, and not her/hers he's longing for. I guess it'll all get sorted out after Carol leaves...if he acts like Carter did when Anna left, I'll be disappointed, but if he confronts how deeply he's still hurting, how much it means to lose your family, and if it's done realistically, then I'll be happy. I love his character so far and would like to see real personality development, maybe in the form of eventually feeling at home at County.

-- nancy (ntc72@mailcity.com), April 18, 2000.

I, too, hope that Luka realizes that it's his own family he longs for, not Carol & hers. Perhaps now that he knows the twins' father is involved to a certain extent he'll begin to think about what REALLY draws him to Carol...and maybe she'll wonder why she really spends so much time with Luka? Their friendship, to me, is simply filling the void of something they've lost. I hope they don't take the soap opera route and have Luka be "heart-broken" when Carol leaves with Doug -- it would be better for him to be happy this family is together and maybe realize he's ready to get into a relationship again, or that he's not. JMHO.

-- Arianne (CarolRossSusanGreene@yahoo.com), April 18, 2000.

I dont think that he is ready for romance yet. :(

-- Erica (Galsoccer7@aol.com), April 18, 2000.

Laura, in an earlier thread I raised the same possibility...that one of Luka's children or his wife could still be alive. There were so many mass graves and so much misinformation during the war in Croatia. I'm hoping they go with this storyline next season.

-- Diana (dilynne@juno.com), April 18, 2000.

I try to watch every episode very carefully but with toddlers, I miss things sometimes. Do we know how long Luka has been in the States. Is it possible that Carol is his first and only FRIEND (not just friendly co-worker)?

I think it's only natural that he feels close to Kate & Tess because of the roll he played in their birth - making sure they were born in the hospital and not on the EL or out in the snow, etc. I don't think that he is trying to substitute them for his lost family. Come on, everybody loves babies!

-- Linda (l.brown@mindspring.com), April 18, 2000.

I don't think Luka is the sort of person who'd even *think* about leaving Croatia until he was absolutely *sure* his family was dead ("You don't break up families.") If they were still alive, I have no doubt he'd still be in Croatia looking for them. Also, according to a story on Goran Visnjic, Luka's family was killed in the massacre at Vukovar (otherwise known as "The Seventh Circle of Hell"). I suspect- but could be totally off-base-that he witnessed the whole horrible thing & has no doubt that they're gone (he sounded pretty darned sure in "Family Matters"). As for Carol...I'm sure hoping that she doesn't just use Luka as some decision-making device & then break his heart. That hardly seems like a good plot point for next season, does it? Oh well. I'm actually hoping he'll realize what's happening & will push her toward Seattle. May 18th is just too far away. Can hardly wait to see her leave.

-- Miesque (miesque@looksmart.com), April 18, 2000.

He told Kerry that he was separated from his family and then they were killed, so I don't think he witnessed their murders based on that.

-- Diana (dilynne@juno.com), April 18, 2000.

Miesque, where did you find that story on Visnjic? I am curious about that story on the massacre. Did the writers decide to give him this specific a background or did he? I don't know if it has been ascertained that Luka actually witnessed the massacre of his family, but it sounds like he was lucky to get himself out alive.

What a horrible mess things are over there.

-- (trelles@ix.netcom.com), April 19, 2000.

Wouldn't it be an amazing storyline if Luka found out his family really isn't dead...like we find out later on that it was assumed they died because it was thought that no one could survive whatever it was that they died in (a massacre or otherwise)? I guess it's a bit dramatic, but I think Luka will be a dramatic character, esp. coming from a country with such a sad history. It's kind of new for ER.

Also, I saw an ad in the TV Guide with Carol and Luka and it says something like 'Doctor and Nurse, are they just friends?...two people with lost families find each other'...that definetly wasn't exactly what it said, but it's the right idea.

-- Elaine (mrsclooney78@hotmail.com), April 19, 2000.

I've only had time to scan it but there's an article about Goran in next week's issue of TV GUIDE. It had a couple of pictures, including one of him carrying Carol to the ER after she collapsed. FYI.

-- Diana (dilynne@juno.com), April 19, 2000.

There are several news stories, photos, & fanfic on Goran Visnjic/Luka Kovac at http://www.dreamwater.com/aziel/index.html

Just look in 'news' and you'll find quite a few stories. Most are repeats of the same info, but the more recent stories are 'fresher' & have more info on the character's upcoming development.

-- Miesque (miesque@looksmart.com), April 19, 2000.

Luka certainly needs someone to be close to right now, to help him get over his past - I think someone returning from Croatia would be the worst thing that could happen to him. It would bring back everything. He needs someone to be with. Not Carol. She needs to sort her own life out and he needs to make some other friends. He's devoting too much time to her and her babies. I think it's the idea of being a father which mostly attracts him to her.

Maybe he'll hook up with Lizzie - she and Mark, I sure, won't stay together much longer; they never tell each other things or confide in each other and Lizzie's good at sorting people out. She helped Benton with Reese and she's keeping Mark from falling apart. I think she and Luka would be good together, but perhaps he's a bit serious for her.

I've heard people talk about Luka and Kerry - I can't imagine that, their characters don't fit at all, though we know so little of Kerry and it's clear from the glimpses we've seen that she is an entirely different person outside work (remember her singing along to jazz in her apartment at 5 am? [when Carter was living with her])

Some people even say Luka and Abby will hook up. That's extremely unlikely; they never even talk to each other. Luka and Jing-Mei? (Is that her name?) More unlikely than Luka and Abby.

However, I don't think anything will happen till Carol leaves; he's too besotted with her. Too bad.

-- Juliet (Vizzn@AOL.com), April 23, 2000.