The Day Joe Got a New (and Cuter) Face

Meet Joe, born a premature bastard son to Doctors Abby Lockhart and Luka Kovac of ER, because of a shootout in the department that resulted in his mother's fall. His birth also came with the mother of all gigantic abruption clots that really needs to be seen to be believed, but that's for another day. Today is all about Joe and his cutie-pie face.

How adorable is that little mug? Picture too small to tell? Let me help:

Howzabout that?

Oh, Joe is too cute! I want to pinch those fat little cheeks! His eyebrows- they quirk! How cute is that?! His purpley pyjamas! His growing-out bowl haircut! His baby chub!

Look at that face. LOOK. AT. THAT. FACE. (Do you know what he just said there? He said "boo." Unscripted. Improv. Genius.)

My point, if it isn't yet clear, is that Joe Kovac is really, really, really cute...in this episode. That's right. ER honchos think fanatics like me won't realise that the tot playing Joe is suddenly much cuter in the season finale, but oh no! I knew it was a different Joe the moment his chubby little mug hit the screen. Why? Because Joe had spent the rest of the season looking like this:

And this:

And this:

Quite clearly the same set of twins or whatever were used for these episodes and quite clearly they were not as cute as season finale Joe. I'm not saying this child is hideous (but I might be. But I might not be.) but they simply can't just spring AdorableJoe on me one episode and then later, revert back to UsualJoe and expect me to just accept that. I can't. Where in the world did they find AdorableJoe and why couldn't he come back? See, in Abby's last episode (and the family's, subsequently), we got a glimpse of Joe sitting in the car and I was sorely disappointed to see that they'd stuck us with UsualJoe one last time, albeit "all growed up" now:

You are no AdorableJoe.

Le sigh. Oh, Joe. I miss your cuter face. ER honchos, you are despicable. This is what AdorableJoe thinks of you for NOT giving him and his face a recurring status on the series:

He even glares at the camera cutely. Sublime acting. Words fail me, AdorableJoe.