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Grey's Anatomy Rundown: Episode 23, "Here's to the Future," and Episode 24, "Now or Never"

BuzzSugar — Fri, 15 May 2009 09:30:34 -0700

Grey's Anatomy just wouldn't be the same without an intense season finale. After all, this is the show that had Burke shot, killed Denny, and had Meredith build a house of candles. But even by Grey's standards, Thursday's finale was a doozy. Partially because of the behind-the-scenes drama and partially because of the storylines it set up, we had a lot of questions going into these final two episodes. Were any of them answered? To talk about it, read more.

George might be dying! Izzie might be dying! As the episode fades to black, the two of them are meeting - in an elevator, natch - with Izzie in her pink prom dress and George in his army uniform, while back on earth, their colleagues try furiously to save them. I suppose those of us who wanted answers about whether Katherine Heigl and TR Knight are leaving are out of luck - but wow, what an ending.

Maybe I should have seen it coming, just like last week's wedding. But when George finally managed to sign "007" into Meredith's hand, I screamed. I don't know if it was the twist itself or the the look on Meredith's face, the horror when she sees (and we see) that it's sweet little George there in the bed. George, who's signed up for the army, who saves a total stranger on his way home by throwing himself in front of a bus. He throws himself in front of a bus! And now he's hurt and maybe dying. If he goes out, at least he goes out with an act of kindness - and I'm glad the woman he saved insisted on being with him, because at least he had someone to hold his hand through the pain.

That struggle is the episode's bigger shocker; we knew Izzie's path wouldn't be easy. But I don't think I anticipated how hard it would be for Alex. Should he convince her to have the surgery? Should he let her decide on her own even when she begs for help? And when she comes back, with her long-term memory intact but her short-term recall in pieces, how is he supposed to deal with that? I actually found Izzie's story slow to unravel - until the second half of the second hour, anyway - but several scenes were just heartbreaking, including Alex pushing to get Izzie to remember things. The post-its, the potassium levels - I wanted to shake him, tell him to give her time, but I'm sure he was afraid there wasn't any. It's sad that the only thing she remembers is their fight - but sweet that she remembers anything at all. And yet, just like with Denny, the second you think Izzie's really back, she crashes, and maybe for good.

Speaking for a second of post-its, that's what Meredith and Derek's wedding turns out to be: a little sticky square of paper with vows written and signed. I'm curious to know how the hardcore Mere-Der fans take this, but I thought the whole act was touching (not to mention their actual vows: to love each other even when they hate each other, to never walk out even when they're smelly and senile). Probably they should get around to having an actual legal marriage one of these days, but for now, that post-it is enough for me.

And as for the episode's other great love story: every scene with Cristina and Owen feels so tense I can barely breathe - so I guess I know some semblance of what Cristina's feeling. Talk about hating someone and loving them still: he strangled her, he's horribly damaged, he just told his mom he's back from war, and that's a lot of burden for Cristina - but she still wants Owen. Her tortured "I love you" in the hot vent room is hard to watch, but when she finally marches up and kisses him, it's sweet relief.

So much more to say:

When Bailey cries, I cry, so that scene with her telling the Chief that she's sticking with general surgery because she can't be a single mom starting a new specialty made me lose it. Yes, it might have had more punch if we'd explored her problems with Tucker a bit more this season, but her cry of "we're all scared" is chilling.
Mark has grown up so much! I wish we could have seen more of him with Lexie these past few weeks (I assume Chyler Leigh's pregnancy had something to do with that), but it's good to see him talking about houses and creating his own future.
I hope Arizona's back next season, but I also hope they take her quirk level down just a touch. Wheelie shoes? Fine. Crying in front of authority figures when she's mad? Not fine. But her fight with Callie about George joining the army gave us some insight into her backstory, and I think there's a lot more to do with her.
The story of the patient whose healthy leg gets amputated gets lost in the grand scheme of the two hours, but wow, Zach Gilford is so much less mumbly here than he is on Friday Night Lights.
I'm glad Alex pointed out that Izzie's memory loss is just like that case earlier this season.
How do you imagine the George intervention would have gone down?
Shouldn't Owen and Cristina be meeting someplace without a whapping fan blade?

I could talk about this episode for hours, but I'll turn it over to you now. It's going to be a long Summer with a cliffhanger like that!

Grey's Anatomy Rundown: Episode 19, "Elevator Love Letter"

BuzzSugar — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 09:30:19 -0700

Well, if you think about that title, you might get a basic idea about what goes down on this week's Grey's Anatomy. Derek returns to the hospital to be one link in the giant chain of doctors now trying to save Izzie's life. Meanwhile, Izzie tries adjusting to being a patient instead of a doctor, some disturbing things happen with Owen, and George . . . has a couple of lines. Ready to chat? Just read more.

Let's talk about Derek's Elevator o' Love, wallpapered with brain scans of patients whose lives he and Meredith have saved together. It's his grand gesture, his giant candle house in the woods. And, like the candle house was for Meredith, this is Derek's way of communicating that he's OK. Meredith doesn't have to worry about him wasting his talent on drinking and can batting in the woods; he's going to be fine. And with that, he doesn't need to ask a question; he simply tells her he wants to spend the rest of his life with her. It's not the proposal I was expecting from Derek, but I actually like it better than a room full of roses and candles.

They're engaged, but they're not celebrating - at least not right away - because they both have some work to do helping Owen and Cristina. Speaking of things I wasn't expecting: I knew the writers had been building up to something with Owen's PTSD, but strangling Cristina during a nightmare? That's big. And Cristina wants to pretend it's not. She wants it to be OK, even if that means she's wearing a turtleneck under her scrubs, even if her friends are standing guard to keep Owen away. Owen is terrified he'll really hurt her, but Cristina says again that she'll decide how much she can handle. And later in the episode, she does: After television's longest sex scene (I mean . . . they're good-looking folks, but that was a while), she tells him she's afraid to fall asleep. That's how postengagement Meredith ends up crawling into bed with Cristina; that's why Derek stays at the hospital to get a scan of Owen's brain. It took a while, but Owen finally realizes he needs help.

Meanwhile, Izzie Stevens is still alive - no thanks, as Bailey says, to the friends who didn't bother to visit her. Yeah, Izzie told them to go save lives; sure, she has her knitting. But guys, she's having brain surgery. At least stop by? Bailey won't let Izzie down, though, even quizzing her on surgical skills in between medical procedures - probably the vote of confidence Izzie needed, especially when her new oncologist is so brutally honest (and sometimes downright negative) about the whole endeavor. Callie won't visit because she feels bad about wishing Izzie dead; George won't visit because Izzie didn't tell him first and because he really doesn't want to lose his best friend. But the saddest story of all is Alex's. He's so used to crazy girlfriends that he didn't even contemplate that something could be seriously wrong with Iz. And now he's conceiving lab babies and wondering if he and Izzie have gotten together just in time for her to die. Karev is still Karev, though: His first line post surgery - well, after "I'm here" - is about his cup of "swimmers." Nice.

Some other thoughts:

Now every time I see Owen, I'm looking out for helicopter noises. Was there always that "whap-whap-whap" in the room with the hot vent?
"People are better than no people" is such a classic Grey's line, and I loved the old woman who just wouldn't die.
Also love Karev delivering his cup to the Chief in the middle of lunch. "I'm eating here, Karev." "I washed my hands."
How cute was Bailey wearing Izzie's scarf?

So Izzie's through surgery one, but she's got of fighting left to do. So does Owen, if he wants Cristina back. And do you think we'll see a Mer-Der wedding before the end of the season, or can they stretch that out another year?

TV Tonight: Izzie's the Patient on Grey's Anatomy

BuzzSugar — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 11:30:51 -0700

I still don't forgive Grey's Anatomy for its missteps earlier this season, but there's no denying the show has been working for me lately. And tonight's episode looks like it could be another strong, intense outing, as Izzie starts a new chapter of her life as a Seattle Grace patient instead of a surgeon.

Izzie's case not only gets Derek back in the ER, it also introduces a tough new doctor to the team, an oncologist who can be seen in one of the clips below preparing Izzie for the worst. But Izzie's not the only character in crisis in this episode. Owen and Cristina - especially Owen - also go through some tough times.

There are a few minor spoilers in the clips below - one might or might not involve a r-i-n-g - so watch at your own peril. If you want a taste of what's happening tonight, just read more.

Grey's Anatomy Rundown: Episode 18, "Stand By Me"

BuzzSugar — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 09:30:47 -0700

When something horrible happens to you, do you stare it down? Or do you run away? That's the question on this week's Grey's Anatomy, as Izzie deals with her diagnosis and Derek remains in the woods, unable to face the hospital where his last mistake took a life. I loved the way this episode brings the characters together in botched but earnest efforts to support each other. Ready to talk about it? Just read more.

Oh, Izzie! This week, her decision to confide in Cristina - and only Cristina - starts to backfire. Cristina's just doing what she does best: She collects data and makes calls and suggests treatments. But the thing is, as a surgeon, Izzie knows too much. She knows that surgery is messy, and she knows it fails. She knows the way doctors talk about patients behind their backs. Izzie's seen the worst happen; heck, she's helped cause the worst to happen. So Cristina does the only thing she can do: She tells everyone. Or, more accurately, she tells Alex and Bailey, right before she's about to make the first incision for her first solo surgery; she can't keep the secret and do her job. But then, after the surgery, she takes Izzie's hand and tells her to fight. That final scene with Izzie in the hospital gown, surrounded by her friends, is classic Grey's.

Derek, meanwhile, still isn't sure how to approach his own fight. He's off in the woods, drinking and wallowing. Bailey sends Callie out to swap horror stories and coping strategies with him, but she ends up staring into the exact same pit of despair, finding herself wondering how she does get up in the morning. Then Owen heads out, and he shares his own medical mistakes, but he won't touch his war stories - that's where the real pain is. Finally, the Chief arrives, and he and Derek have it out: Derek says it's ridiculous for him to have sent Meredith out to him expecting a proposal; the Chief says he just wanted Derek to have someone to help him climb out of his hole. And in the end, it is Meredith who saves him - because she arrives not with baggage but with a medical case to solve. Izzie needs Derek, and, just as much right now, Derek needs Izzie. He needs a patient he can fix.

All of that gets paralleled in the story of the patient getting the face transplant. It's a fairly typical Grey's story of heavy-handed metaphors (orchids, lines about being ugly on the outside but beautiful inside because they're fighters, etc.) but there are some nice moments, including Lexie stepping up and giving the guy the talking-to he needs to let his friends into his life. He's so convinced that people will turn away from him that he's chosen to turn away first, and at last, he realizes he needs to open up and let them help, no matter how he looks.

Some other thoughts:

Is there a sadder image in the world than Alex's eyes when he finds out Izzie has cancer?
Meredith and George's plotline with the interns cracked me up, both for the way it mirrored the larger stories (they really didn't want to face the fact that their interns were acting like fools . . . again) and for the fact that maybe, just maybe, they realize this is how ridiculous they looked when they were sex-crazed, angsty interns, too.
Why I Love Cristina Yang, No. 507: When Izzie suggests that the residents and interns will soon be calling her "swiss cheese for brains," Cristina says they won't, because "that's awkward and long."
Love that the writers slipped in a quick Cristina/Owen update: "It's like friends with benefits, except without the benefits."
Also love Bailey's panic over her disappearing surgeons: "I'm half convinced they're on a spit with a one-armed man turning them into shish kabobs."
Did anyone else catch Izzie drinking an Izze soda?

So, that was all pretty emotional by the end, eh? Are you satisfied with the direction these stories are taking? Ready for next week's "episode that defines good television"?

Grey's Anatomy Rundown: Episode 10, "All By Myself"

BuzzSugar — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 09:30:34 -0800

It's solo surgery time on Grey's Anatomy this week, and that feeling of being all alone - often with someone else's life in your hands - runs all through this episode. Life as a surgical resident is lonely, it seems, unless you have the ghost of your dead boyfriend to keep you company. To talk about it, just read more.

Cristina starts the episode with the ultimate reward and the ultimate punishment. She wins the solo surgery, but because she's banned thanks to the whole intern surgery cabal thing, she has to pick which of the residents will perform it in her place. The writers make a brief show of pointing out that there are other doctors at Seattle Grace (who was that blonde girl?), but it's pretty obvious that it's going to be Mere, George, Izzie, or Alex. Watching them plead their cases is hysterical: Mere claims not to want it just cause they're friends; George talks about how much he's grown; Izzie says she doesn't care because she's having great sex (about which more later); Alex hits Cristina where it counts by describing how to do the procedure. That - plus Dr. Dixon's advice that Cristina use a simple system to decide, which seems more Cristina-esque than going with her gut - makes Alex the easy winner.

What happens in the aftermath is even more dramatic: Alex tells Izzie he ("frickin'") loves her! Which would probably mean a lot more had Izzie not been sleeping with Denny at that very moment. Apparently, the new status quo is that Denny hangs around Izzie at the hospital and makes wisecracks, and sometimes she talks to him, and nobody really notices except for George. So anyway, Denny's especially fond of making gagging noises or weird faces when Alex is around, and he definitely does not like Alex telling Izzie he loves her, but Izzie eventually pulls herself together and goes to assist on the surgery. Because, you know, Denny's not real. Cristina, meanwhile, yells at everyone for not taking any responsibility for the intern-surgery disaster and Meredith specifically for making it personal, and then she gets whisked away by Owen Hunt to . . . a vent. That spews air and apparently makes you happy again.

Meanwhile, so much other stuff happens:

Lexie and Mark work on a patient who hasn't spoken in years, and when she finally gets the courage to say "hi," Lexie gets the courage to go to Mark's and take all her clothes off. His restraint lasts until she's at the tank top phase.
The second Meredith's patient yells that she wishes her sister would die, it's pretty obvious where that's going. Don't text and drive, kids.
Sadie and Callie are maybe flirting, but Callie can't really tell, because she doesn't know how flirting with girls works. Also, is ABC really going to let Grey's start up another lesbian relationship right now? Doubtful.
Bailey won the solo surgery of her class - no big shock there - but now that she's bored with her work, she gets all cute and gushy in Mark's surgery.
I liked the throwback to the very first episode with all the residents taking bets on how long Alex would go without making a mistake.
Speaking of which, at one point George points out that he did heart surgery in an elevator, and Alex says that was more than a year ago, and he's 007. Except . . . 007 was longer ago. Bad logic, Alex.

So: Lexie and Mark get sexy, George thinks there's something up with Izzie, Cristina and Hunt are all kissy on the vent, and McDreamy is almost nowhere to be seen. (Now I kind of think he's the one in those blind items.) What did you all make of this one?

Grey's Anatomy Rundown: Episode 9, "In the Midnight Hour"

BuzzSugar — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 09:30:17 -0800

In this week's Grey's Anatomy, things went from bad to craaaa-zy as the two wildest plotlines of the season - the interns' secret surgery center and Izzie's relations with Denny's ghost - got even more out of control. That said, though, I can't remember the last time I was so excited to watch Grey's. I do love a good trainwreck, so maybe that's it, but there are also some good things in this episode in between all the nutso stuff. To chat about it, just read more.

It was clear from the previews that an intern surgery was going to get out of control, and I'm not the least bit surprised Sadie was the "patient." I'm also not surprised that Lexie attempted to back out, because at her heart, she really is that girl who got raised with smiley-face posters on her wall. She's, well, Bambi. But she doesn't want to be, and so when Sadie says Mere thinks she's a priss, she goes ahead with the surgery - not like Sadie left her much choice, what with slicing open her own abdomen. Of course things go wrong, and of course Sadie's fine anyway. That's the Grey's way.

That said, though, that ridiculous twist actually reveals a lot about our doctors: Meredith and Cristina actually have grown up, because they do seek help. All the residents realize they need to step it up as teachers and as disciplinarians, giving the interns essentially the same speech Bailey gave them after Izzie cut the LVAD wire. Bailey misses the time medicine made her giggly and bouncy; an appendectomy is disaster for the interns and a goal for the residents, and for Bailey, it's routine. Cristina learns Mere's not as loyal as she thought because Mere doesn't defend her to the Chief. Sadie maybe realizes she's actually gone too far. It's some good stuff - I just wonder why they needed such an extreme story to get there.

Meanwhile: Izzie and Denny's ghost have sex. Then, Izzie finally tells Denny to his face ("face"?) that he doesn't get to feel bad about dying; she, after all, is the one who convinced him to let her cut the LVAD wire. Denny is sweet and handsome as always, and he keeps saying "I'm here for you," but . . . he's also a ghost. In the end, Izzie does choose Alex, but I'm not convinced that means Denny's gone. (And if he is, that's an awfully anticlimactic ending.) Where do you think this story can go?

Some other thoughts:

The story of the father who sleepwalks and the girl who stays up all night to coax him back to bed is a sweet one, but I couldn't focus on it much, given all the craziness going on elsewhere at Seattle Grace. Same goes for Callie breaking her nose, and I practically forgot about the poop transplant.
Aw, Hunt likes Cristina in his twisted, weird way.
As mad as Cristina gets at Meredith, it seems to me like she must have done a pretty bad job defending herself to get taken out of the running for solo surgery. Did she tell the Chief she only knew the interns were suturing each other? Or did she let him believe she knew about the whole lab?
Also, I know some of you have commented that as med students, you practiced on each other - but did it ever go this far?
Where's George? Other than being told (randomly and unbelievably) that Lexie's kinda in love with him, he's basically missing.

So: What on earth is going on with Izzie and Denny? Are you glad Meredith tells Sadie how irresponsible she was? And could you see any good in between all the crazy?

Grey's Anatomy Rundown: Episode 8, "These Ties That Bind"

BuzzSugar — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 09:30:23 -0800

Ohhh-kay. This week's Grey's Anatomy has left me confused, like I tumbled down the Seattle Grace rabbit hole and came up in a world where nothing made any sense. Whether it was the departure of Hahn, the arrival of Meredith's old backpacking buddy, the trouble everyone had relating to the new heart surgeon, or Izzie's struggles with Denny's memory, there's a lot to try to make sense of. Want to try to puzzle through it with me? Just read more.

Gotta start with Izzie. She's still seeing the ghost of Denny, and not least because she's working on her second heart transplant patient in a row. This one, at least, is a man who knows from ghosts: He's a Native American who believes his body is being haunted by the spirit of his first heart donor. While he kicks Izzie off his case (he's got enough ghosts of his own), he also advises Izzie to get rid of anything she still has of Denny's, which is how Alex comes to burn that maroon sweater in the fireplace. And yet . . . when Izzie retreats to her room, Denny's still there, and when she touches him, he's real. Now, there was a little part of me thinking, "Denny's real! Izzie and Denny! Love forever!" But the much bigger part of me was thinking, "Huh?" Leaving aside the rumors that might have been bandied about and squarely denied - if Izzie can touch Denny, then there's something wrong with Izzie, right? She says so herself in this episode. Is she dead? Dying? Going through some kind of prolonged mental breakdown?

Then, we have our newbies. Starting with Virginia Dixon: I get that these are surgeons, not mental health professionals, but really, nobody recognizes the symptoms of Asperger's? I loved the way she sticks it to Bailey in the end, saying she knows she was manipulated. And I appreciate that Grey's is trying to do a story about a disorder that affects so many people, but I'm afraid this could be one of the things the show thinks it can do better than it actually can. And besides that, if Dixon is a character whose central trait is her inability to connect, will we be able to connect with her?

Then there's Sadie. First of all, Melissa George looks a lot like Katherine Heigl, which the Grey's conspiracy theorist in me couldn't help but focus on. Second, I do want to know what Meredith was like before she became the whiny, lovestruck surgeon we've come to love/loathe, so I'll be curious to learn about the "adventures of Death and Die" (er, I assume ~~Mere~~dith and Sadie). But that whole thing with her taking off her top and slicing open her shoulder? Not sure I'm liking where that's going. Also, does it make any sense that an intern would just show up in the middle of a year?

Some other stuff happened, too:

Hahn's departure is certainly not explained. All we really get is Callie sobbing in the ER because she's been channeling all her psychic pain into reconstructing legs for a man who will never get to use them. I wash my hands of that story.
Owen Hunt continues to be a redeeming factor, but he's also . . . a little scary? Talk about psychic pain. That kiss with Cristina was both incredibly hot and borderline violent.
The sketchy intern surgery clinic is more or less found out, thanks to Lexie's multitude of band-aids that lead people to believe she's "a secret cutter."
Derek's dispatched to tell Sloan not to put "Little Sloan" in "Little Grey," which is best for Mark's response: "OK, that's just creepy. And inaccurate. Big Sloan!"

Lots to discuss, so let's get to it. What's wrong with Izzie? Are Dixon and Sadie good additions? And wouldn't burning Denny's sweater in the fireplace just make the whole house haunted?

Grey's Anatomy Rundown: Episode Seven, "Rise Up"

BuzzSugar — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 09:30:09 -0800

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!

Grey's Anatomy Rundown: Episode Six, "Life During Wartime"

BuzzSugar — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 09:30:56 -0700

This week's Grey's Anatomy is intense, and I blame it all on Wilbur and three other pigs (fake pigs - totally fake) in need of some medical intervention. Why can I watch these doctors cut people open all day, but I get emotional over pigs? That's a good question for Izzie, too, cause that's where she is in this episode. Meanwhile, Owen Hunt is back, Erica gets "sex glasses," and Meredith plays with dolls. To chat about it, read more.

So Meredith's still going through her mom's things, and she finds Anatomy Jane, a horrid-looking doll with removable organs that was her favorite toy as a child. She takes it to work, where Bailey's own Anatomy Jane nostalgia gets Meredith a job on a surgery but sends Richard into a funk because it's a reminder of how much he screwed up Meredith's childhood. Apparently, Mere's young life consisted of running around Seattle Grace with Anatomy Jane . . . and not much else.

Meanwhile, Owen Hunt is back! And not only does he not remember Cristina's name, but he's the instigator of the pig incident. As the new head of trauma surgery, his message is that trauma doctors work quick and dirty to keep their patients alive. OK, fine . . . but stabbing four pigs (even under anesthesia) seems a bit harsh, no? It made me want to vomit, and - I'm not a surgeon, so what do I know? - I generally side with Izzie: If there's technology to practice surgery without hurting living things, why hurt living things? Hunt's point, though, is that without scalpel to flesh, none of it is real, and I get that, too. Cristina's team gets assigned to keep the pigs alive, which means multiple surgeries and even getting a little attached to her porky friends. She's so proud when she tells Hunt how she kept the pigs alive that when he tells her essentially, "That's great, now kill them," it's a slap in the face. Even worse than him not knowing her name. Later, though, he explains that he saw more than a dozen of his friends die in a single day in Iraq. Now, he says, everything is different.

Speaking of different, that's what Erica realizes sex with Callie is. It's like when she got glasses: She didn't even know how things were supposed to look before. Callie, though, thinks it's basically the same as sex with Mark (which, incidentally, she keeps having), and that freaks her out. Eventually, Mark tells her that whatever else she is, she shouldn't be a cheater.

A few other thoughts:

One of the best moments in this episode comes when Derek and Mark confront Hunt about his methods and Hunt asks honestly for their medical advice. It not only makes his character more sympathetic, but it also drives Alex to ask Izzie what he can do better relationship-wise.
I loved the family of the girl with the tumor - they're intrusive and demanding, but mostly they're just looking out for Tori. It's sweet of Richard to tell them never to stop caring for her like that.
Meredith's kiddie nicknames for organs cracked me up: "The twosh was next to the chubble, and that was connected to the slibby . . . "
Did anyone else crack up at Mere saying she doesn't reject George? 'Cause, um, she did. In bed.

Who felt squeamish this whole episode (other than me)? If you found a box of your mom's journals, would you read them all? And are you happy with McArmy's return?

Grey's Anatomy Rundown: Episode 5, "There's No 'I' in Team"

BuzzSugar — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 09:31:03 -0700

Is it too early to say Grey's Anatomy is on a roll? I've said that before and regretted it later, but for the second week in a row, I thought the episode felt like the Grey's I came to know and love. A big ol' dramatic medical story, a whole lot of Bailey being awesome, and a touch too much awkward sex - it's like the olden days! To talk about this episode, just read more.

Growing up, I always hated group projects in school. They just never felt fair. And I think there's a little bit of that feeling going on this week at Seattle Grace: Derek's gotten his face on the cover of a national medical journal for his clinical trial and procedure - "The Shepherd Method" - without even a mention of Meredith, who came up with the whole idea. Sure, I understand the thought that it's just not time for Mere to get credit for something like that yet. But it's also a shame that Derek needs Bailey to tell him that Mere's not just being all emotional about it and at least deserves a "thank you."

Meanwhile, the 12-patient kidney swap is my favorite kind of surgery, because it brings everyone together. Naturally, there's drama with the donors, but that just gives Bailey a chance to be awesome and coerce-without-coercing the reluctant donor to save other lives, even if she doesn't care about her husband's. Alex and Izzie get patients whose story touches a little close to Alex's heart: an estranged son who agrees to give his father a kidney only because he'll get cash for doing it, who finally realizes (with the help of some screaming from Alex) that he should talk to his father before it's too late. And Meredith drops a kidney ("and don't say 'It happens," cause it doesn't"). I mean, I'm guessing this was unrealistic - but Bailey screaming "Five-second rule!" is classic.

Over in subplot-land, Cristina wants a man, decides to seek out an intern, and then realizes (after a cattle-call scene in which the residents try to pick which interns to pawn off to George) that none of them are worth her time. Good thing Owen Hunt turns up at the bar, huh? And Callie and Erica have bad sex - well, only bad for Callie - that leads to such an awkward plot (Callie begging Mark for oral sex advice) that I'll just drop it.

Some other thoughts:

I'm glad Alex and Izzie kiss, but I don't expect things to be all fine and dandy for them after this, because Alex still can't talk about his feelings, and Izzie is all about feelings.
Meredith's still reading her mom's diary and feeling inadequate. And yet, it doesn't seem to be getting her down the way it would have a couple of years ago. Progress?
Also, Meredith and Derek drifting off to sleep by the light of a kidney in a jar is hilarious. Kidneys glow?
Lexie (sorta) grows a backbone and tells George she's tired of being ignored. The girl does go over the top (balloons on the locker? Yeah, that's going to get him respect from his new interns), but she so desperately wants George to notice her.
I loved Bailey's snide remark to Izzie: "Well, as someone who stole an organ herself not that long ago, you should know . . . "

Your thoughts? Glad to see McArmy back in the picture, about to start work and raise hell in Seattle? And did anyone else think this episode's soundtrack rocked?