If Grey's Anatomy [1] was going to go out early this season because of the writers' strike [2], at least it went out with a strong episode. "Lay Your Hands On Me" even felt like a finale, with several stories resolved, several mild cliffhangers to keep us guessing, and one emotional plot that brought all the characters together. To read my thoughts and add your own, just .

From the promos for this episode, I knew Bailey's baby would come into the ER hurt; I also assumed the doctors would find a way to save little Tuck. But what made this story different for me than, say, Meredith not dying [3] was how thoroughly it rocked everyone. Ultimately, the entire episode was a story about faith — in yourself, in your marriage, in higher powers, in medicine.

Bailey's marriage has seemed doomed for a while, and so I'm not surprised to see her and Tucker driven apart. What I loved about this story was how clearly it revealed Bailey's code. Things don't just happen; people make priorities; they should be held responsible. If anyone ever doubted Chandra Wilson's acting range, they shouldn't: She was frenzied (frantically replaying her morning to see if she closed the baby gate), hardened (her "poor you" speech to Tucker), hopeful (saying the two of them could get Tuck baptized together now), and resolved (knowing Tucker was gone).

That mother/son story was set against another: George and his mom. At the start, this was one of the episode's lighter story lines, with Izzie accidentally revealing George's indiscretions while his mom was still thinking about baby clothes. But it turned into one of George's finer moments, realizing that he hasn't been making good decisions. I loved him saying he wants to go back to being the person Bailey named her son after; I hope he does.

Weirdly, the other story I loved was the continuation of Izzie's feud with Cristina. I think I say this every time it happens, but I love when Izzie gets to be a competent doctor. It seems odd to me that Izzie's recent flirtation with cardio would come after the episode with the bird man [4], but regardless, I like the truce between Alex and Izzie and the fact that Izzie could put her optimism to good medical use.

Some other thoughts:

• Are we ever going to find out why Alex is so damaged? I think this is the second time in less than a year that some woman has literally said the words "What happened to you?" to him. I'm surprised his voice chakra is the one that's black, given that his sharp tongue has never been lacking.
• Derek and Rose: feeling the spark yet? I can't say I am. It's interesting that Derek used the house plans as a test to see if Meredith would freak out — but of course she was going to freak out! Mere has never wanted the same things Derek does, so I'm not sure why he's had this sudden change of heart about waiting for her.




• Callie made me laugh more than anyone last night, both because of her sudden friendship with Hahn — "anyone who can out-drink me and still kick my ass at the dart board gets to call me Callie" — and because of her assertion that Elvis was at her wedding, but she's not so sure about God.

And, well, that's that — all we've got for now, and maybe all we'll get this season. But even if the season ended now, I'd still consider it an improvement over season three. What about you?

Photos copyright 2007 ABC, Inc. [5]