I normally hate holiday episodes of shows, and the promos for this week's Halloween-themed Grey's Anatomy [1] had me fearing the worst. But this episode wasn't nearly as cheesy or faux-spooky as I was expecting. In fact, it was pretty great, and not just because one of my pleas was answered. To my thoughts on the episode, just

They hired Dr. Hahn! And I swear I didn't know it when I wrote this! [2] She's the new head of heart surgery at Seattle Grace, which makes perfect sense — and which should also set up some crackling dialogue between her and Cristina, given that within 10 seconds of seeing each other, Hahn managed to accuse Cristina of sleeping her way to the top. Hooray!

Boo for George and Izzie — and not for the usual reasons. What bugged me this time was how little we saw of the aftermath to George's confession. Yes, Callie told the whole resident crew that Izzie slept with George; yes, we got the (awesome!) scene where Izzie yelled at Cristina for having one standard for her and Meredith and another for the rest of the world. But after all that turmoil, I'm surprised they just leaped headlong into a relationship.

Speaking of turmoil and relationships: Ava's back. Now, look, doctors at Seattle Grace have done plenty of stupid things before — but Alex making out with Ava in front of his intern? That was a little bold. Once again, Alex didn't make it back to Ava in time, but she did leave her shirt; she might well be back. (Also, what did she leave the hospital wearing?)

Two characters almost brought me to tears tonight: Bailey and Meredith. Bailey worked so late helping everyone else that she missed her own son's first Halloween; Meredith realized she needed to let go of the damage her own mother caused by being unavailable. Bailey has so much more heart than we ever saw from Ellis, but will she lose that compassion if she keeps choosing work over family? Meanwhile, it was a big moment for Meredith to accept that her mom was happiest at the hospital; washing her ashes down the scrub sink was a way of leaving her to rest where she truly belonged.

A few other thoughts:

• Poor Norman; I'd been getting used to him, but I suppose the Old Intern stuff couldn't have worked for a whole season. He did offer one of the most accurate assessments I've ever heard of Grey's: "You surgeons, you're all just a bunch of little children running around with your scalpels and severed feet and inappropriate sex in inappropriate places."
• The scene with Cristina and Callie giggling over the ridiculousness of their lives was one of my favorites.
• The guy who tried to cut off his own foot freaked me out, but it was a pretty stark representation of what happens when your life no longer feels like your own — especially juxtaposed with the story of the father who could get his life back if he accepted his own daughter's heart.
• I loved Derek and Mark pranking each other. "Daddy?" Hee. Also, how cute was the boy with the ears? I won't even get into how unrealistic that story was, because it was just too adorable.
• "Lookin'. It sounds way dirtier without the 'g.'"
• Why does Derek have to start dating? Last I checked, waiting does not equal dating.

Anyone else cheering over Dr. Hahn? Loving Callie moving into Cristina's apartment? Wondering how long Gizzie can last? Tell me below.

Photos copyright 2007 ABC, Inc. [3]