This week's Grey's Anatomy is intense, and I blame it all on Wilbur and three other pigs (fake pigs — totally fake) in need of some medical intervention. Why can I watch these doctors cut people open all day, but I get emotional over pigs? That's a good question for Izzie, too, cause that's where she is in this episode. Meanwhile, Owen Hunt is back, Erica gets "sex glasses," and Meredith plays with dolls. To chat about it, read more.

So Meredith's still going through her mom's things, and she finds Anatomy Jane, a horrid-looking doll with removable organs that was her favorite toy as a child. She takes it to work, where Bailey's own Anatomy Jane nostalgia gets Meredith a job on a surgery but sends Richard into a funk because it's a reminder of how much he screwed up Meredith's childhood. Apparently, Mere's young life consisted of running around Seattle Grace with Anatomy Jane . . . and not much else.

Meanwhile, Owen Hunt is back! And not only does he not remember Cristina's name, but he's the instigator of the pig incident. As the new head of trauma surgery, his message is that trauma doctors work quick and dirty to keep their patients alive. OK, fine . . . but stabbing four pigs (even under anesthesia) seems a bit harsh, no? It made me want to vomit, and — I'm not a surgeon, so what do I know? — I generally side with Izzie: If there's technology to practice surgery without hurting living things, why hurt living things? Hunt's point, though, is that without scalpel to flesh, none of it is real, and I get that, too. Cristina's team gets assigned to keep the pigs alive, which means multiple surgeries and even getting a little attached to her porky friends. She's so proud when she tells Hunt how she kept the pigs alive that when he tells her essentially, "That's great, now kill them," it's a slap in the face. Even worse than him not knowing her name. Later, though, he explains that he saw more than a dozen of his friends die in a single day in Iraq. Now, he says, everything is different.

Speaking of different, that's what Erica realizes sex with Callie is. It's like when she got glasses: She didn't even know how things were supposed to look before. Callie, though, thinks it's basically the same as sex with Mark (which, incidentally, she keeps having), and that freaks her out. Eventually, Mark tells her that whatever else she is, she shouldn't be a cheater.

A few other thoughts:

  • One of the best moments in this episode comes when Derek and Mark confront Hunt about his methods and Hunt asks honestly for their medical advice. It not only makes his character more sympathetic, but it also drives Alex to ask Izzie what he can do better relationship-wise.
  • I loved the family of the girl with the tumor — they're intrusive and demanding, but mostly they're just looking out for Tori. It's sweet of Richard to tell them never to stop caring for her like that.
  • Meredith's kiddie nicknames for organs cracked me up: "The twosh was next to the chubble, and that was connected to the slibby . . . "
  • Did anyone else crack up at Mere saying she doesn't reject George? 'Cause, um, she did. In bed.

Who felt squeamish this whole episode (other than me)? If you found a box of your mom's journals, would you read them all? And are you happy with McArmy's return?

Photos copyright 2008 ABC, Inc.

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