Major Rebecca Gordon was hit with some hard lessons on this week's Combat Hospital and I was thrilled to see it.

Overall, "It's My Party" gave me what I'd been waiting for from this show: drama. It finally made me feel something.

I had to agree with Rebecca. Yes, discharging her firearm in the shower wasn't the smartest idea, but that spider was monstrous. In her shoes, I would have shot it too.

Of course, her comrades made fun of her. If they didn't, she wouldn't be part of the team. Unfortunately, it was hard to tell if Rebecca really understood that.

Who would guess that her day would get so much worse? I saw her horror at being told to stop the surgery before she had tried everything possible, but she came across as rather naive when she simply saw Marks as the enemy. 

I suppose she needed somewhere to direct her anger, but it felt a little childish. If they used their entire blood supply on one patient, how many more people would die that day? It was a horrible situation and no single person's fault.

In hindsight, Rebecca saw the surgery as within her "complete control." Did her anger blind her to reality? Was she just that much of a control freak that she couldn't admit it was going poorly? Could she just be that arrogant of a surgeon? 

Perhaps that's why she saw conspiracies and worst case scenarios when she realized that bullet was NATO issued and not from a sniper. A friendly fire accident never seemed to cross her mind.  Maybe it was easier for her to cope by having someone to blame. It's horrifying to comprehend how little control we have over such circumstances.

Col. Marks was again a standout. Elias Koteas conveyed so much with his quiet delivery. I could feel his distress when he called off that surgery. And lying to that soldier seemed the one small thing he could set right. He could give that boy some solace with a lie instead of destroying him with the truth. 

Simon was also growing more interesting. There's history between him and Jessica, which seemed to have translated into feelings. Was it simply because she's married and he can't have her? Probably.

The last scene was one of the best. I already knew the story of Stone Soup so I understood what Rebecca was doing from the start. What I loved was that Rebecca saw the lesson as one of greed and Pedersen's interpretation was that of teamwork. 

But as Rebecca said, she was in no mood to see the positive. As her depression grew, so did her isolation as she pushed everyone away. As the sounds of her successful party surrounded her, she became swallowed up in her own angst. Pedersen was right. She won't survive long if she can't learn to lean on those around her, at least a little.

This was the first Combat Hospital that made me believe this show could be more than summer fluff. If it continues to balance its lighter moments with some serious drama, consider me a fan.

C. Orlando was a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow her on Twitter.