The 100th episode of Grey's Anatomy has all the elements of a classic: there's a big tragedy that brings a lot of the doctors together, a few sweeping speeches, and a wedding that makes me cry despite lots of lapses of logic. It's not my favorite Grey's of the season, but if a measure of a good episode is whether I was a weepy mess by the end, then "What a Difference a Day Makes" is certainly good. Ready to talk about it? Just read more.

I'm the first to admit I should have seen the Izzie/Alex wedding twist coming from a mile away. Meredith and Derek don't actually need a wedding, but Izzie does. She planned it to be exactly the wedding she'd want if only she'd live long enough to have a wedding, and Meredith and Derek (and Alex) ensure that she gets it. Sure, if I look too hard, there's a lot that makes no sense (like Meredith's dress fitting Izzie, or the church being full of Meredith and Derek's guests). But I don't really care, because Izzie gets a moment of happiness in an episode that's full of signs of death, and Alex gets to give that speech about becoming a man. We've watched Alex cope with so much tragedy — and watched Justin Chambers grow so much as an actor through those scenes — that his "I become accountable to you" speech rings true. Really, the biggest reason I want Izzie to live is that poor Alex deserves a break.

Meanwhile, the nice, light-hearted plotline we get to go along with Izzie's predeath wedding is . . . a car crash that kills a bunch of college kids on their way to graduation. Oof. I'm still really enjoying the whole George-as-a-trauma-surgeon story, but I think it's going to be a while before George believes he's cut out for it. Not surprising for a guy who started his career branded 007, he takes it personally when patients die. It's going to take a lot of coaching on Owen's part to get George to believe that saving some people sometimes requires losing others. Also, while it was a little too on the nose, the graduation speech — with the kids being zipped up in body bags — also made me cry. Dammit, Grey's.

I'm a little confused about why Arizona thought the middle of a huge trauma that her girlfriend was running would be the best time to confront Callie about the weirdness of their date. Her whole "So I'm not fun? You can get enough of me?" speech made me want to slap her, and I have to imagine that the only reason Callie didn't is that she was too tired from, you know, saving lives. The resolution was fine — Callie's money troubles are out in the open and she and Arizona have happy, pizza-eating naked time — but wow, Arizona was a pest.

Some other thoughts:

  • Denny Duquette's appearance didn't bother me much this time around, mostly because Izzie now knows what it means and can talk about it with people. (Though I keep thinking that maybe if she'd realized that hallucinating her dead ex was a Very Bad Thing from the start, we wouldn't be in this situation.) The moment when she asked Denny to please step aside so she could spend some time with her husband was sweet.
  • Yeah, Katherine Heigl's still pretty bald. (Or, I know, "bald.")
  • You know what was really making me lose it in the episode? The way Bailey kept almost losing it. When Bailey's crying, you know it's bad. Same with Derek basically giving up on Izzie with "She's one of the good ones."
  • Love that Derek's wedding present to Meredith is a solo surgery.
  • Do you think Derek and Meredith will ever actually get married now? I could see them just going to the courthouse — but would it drive you crazy to never see their day or hear their vows?

One more episode till we know better what the Grey's cast will look like next season. What are your hopes for the finale?

Photos copyright 2009 ABC, Inc.

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