On this week's Grey's Anatomy, lots of (mostly metaphorical) ghosts start floating around Seattle Grace. There's the ghost of Izzie's relationship with Denny, possibly preparing to start haunting all of Seattle Grace as well. There's the ghost of Denny himself, not letting Izzie go. There's the ghost of Meredith's mother, still present in those journals. And that's just the beginning, so to talk about it, just read more.

When this episode ended, I felt angry. Not because it hadn't been good, but because that's the way they chose to say goodbye to Brooke Smith's Erica Hahn: by giving her the kind of compelling medical story that she should have had all along. Exploring Izzie's role in Denny's death from the perspective of Hahn and the patient who should have had Denny's heart is a great story, and a necessary one. It always seemed odd that Izzie's suspension was the only punishment. Hahn wants more, and she plans to stir up trouble by reporting the deeds to UNOS. That fight with Callie — with Hahn saying this is a matter with clear right and wrong, and Callie arguing that without being in that room with Denny, there's no way to know — is the last we'll see of Hahn, right when her best story was starting. I wonder how they'll explain her departure, because the Hahn we know would never flee from a little fight like that. She'd embrace it.

Without even knowing how Hahn plans to take her down, Izzie feels haunted all episode, because the person who should have had Denny's heart is in Denny's old room and she keeps seeing Denny just . . . sitting there. It nearly means she can't talk her patient through surgery, and it definitely wreaks havoc with her mind (to Meredith: "When your dead mommy teaches you things, do you see her?"). I was actually getting a little tired of Ghost Denny — until the end, when Izzie tells him to leave, he's replaced in her view by Alex, and then Denny pops up elsewhere, just trying to make sure she's really OK.

Meanwhile, the story that really almost made me lose it was Derek and Bailey operating on the woman with the perfect marriage. Despite what they'd talked about before, the man can't let his Rosie go. And then Bailey can't, either, because that would be like killing the conception she still has of true love. Finally, Derek steps in — he who knows all too well that marriage isn't perfect — to let Rosie die the way she'd wished.

In other news:

  • I love Owen Hunt. I love that we have a character who can say that these interns are immature, rude, too preoccupied with their personal lives, and not prepared to be doctors. I love that Cristina manages to shake up his conceptions of her by revealing the very personal story about her father that led her into medicine. Love!
  • The Chief and the surgery robot is obvious comic relief, but man, did I love that it's George O'Malley who gets the worst of it.
  • Speaking of comic relief, Mark hitting on Cristina Yang? Is there a worse potential pairing in the history of Grey's? So many great lines, including Cristina's shocked giggles and everything related to "single-malt Scotch."
  • The weird underground surgical intern IV practice circle makes me uncomfortable, but so did Lexie stealing the cadavers. It's a good excuse for some speechifying from Bailey, in any case.

Are you on Hahn's side or Callie's? Are you still moved by the appearance of Denny? And can you think of a worse pairing than Mark and Cristina? Discuss!

Photos copyright 2008 ABC

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