Ever since the Great Ferry Boat Disaster of 2006, the words "A Grey's Anatomy special event" have struck fear into my heart. I've taken them as a synonym for unrealistic, overblown plot lines and too-sudden, too-tidy resolutions. But I was pleasantly surprised by this week's "special event," if only because none of the main characters died and then came back to life (yet). There were some groaningly predictable moments, but there were also some genuinely strong scenes, so to hear what I thought were the highs and lows, just read more

I assume that two things made this episode worthy of the "special event" tag: the ambulance crash and Seth Green. I'll take the first one first. Grey's has never really established paramedic-doctor relationships, so the stories of the EMTs involved — from the two trapped in the ambulance to the driver who had a seizure to the white supremacist — weren't compelling by themselves. But, as is so often the case on Grey's, it was the doctors' reactions to the patients they were dealt that made the episode interesting.

I recently had a conversation with a coworker about how a show as racially diverse as Grey's doesn't mention race very often, so it was interesting that a white supremacy story cropped up. The plot gave Bailey plenty of chances to be awesome — from "someone will be here soon to save the master race from extinction" to "nobody better ever call me Nazi again" — but it also caused her to miss a date with her husband yet again. Will "rising above" lead to the downfall of her marriage?

Meredith, meanwhile, is clearly going to learn some lesson from helping the paramedics trapped in the ambulance — but what? That she should relish the few chances she has to make a difference? That she should take a stand and not waffle, as she did with Derek and the break-up sex? On a related note, the Chief certainly is acting very fatherly toward Mere these days. It also was interesting to see him moved by the paramedic case, especially during the "I Can See Clearly Now" scene.

Now, as for Seth Green: I thought his story was one of the episode's weak points, and that had nothing to do with Green and everything with how telegraphed it was. Sloan said the artery would blow any minute; Lexie was the only one ever near his room. So naturally, Lexie dealing with the blown artery would be our cliffhanger. A little suspense would have been nice.

As for the rest of the episode:

  • So Ava/Rebecca just waltzes in and makes out with Alex? And then he sneaks her into the gallery and doesn't even instruct her to come up with a good lie, even though some of the surgeons helped with her new face? I'm confused.
  • Cristina's dancing at the beginning of the episode made me happy. Mere's was a little sad.
  • What I know about brain surgery couldn't fill a thimble, but it seems like there should be some kind of backup system set up in case a computer freezes mid-operation.
  • My weekly reason to love Erica Hahn: "I was complimenting your surgical skills here, Dr. Sloan, not looking for a window into your wounded soul."

What were your thoughts? Did the episode live up to its "special event" billing? And what were the folks at ABC thinking by making us wait two weeks for the resolution?

Photos copyright 2007 ABC, Inc.

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