EPISODIUM
Shawn and Jack's ne'er-do-well father Chet reappears on campus suddenly and, confronted by an angry Shawn, promises that he has come to stay and make amends to his sons for never being there for them. But after treating them to a steak dinner and consuming a piece of Rachel's "killer" chocolate cake, Chet suffers a heart attack. Shawn reveals that his anger at his father is partly fear that his own apparent inability to connect emotionally is inherited, and it appears a reconciliation might taken place -- then Chet has a second attack and dies. This is a powerful and quite touching episode, with a particularly affecting performance from Rider Strong, marred only by the obligatory presence of the entire cast in the emergency ward.