'Grey's Anatomy:' She's an intern

Full disclosure: Despite being a die-hard during the first three seasons of Grey's Anatomy, I have not been a fan this year. But I'm coming around. It feels as though the bad dream of focusing so fully on George and Izzie may be coming to an end -- or at least leveling off to a tolerable place. So it may be premature, but with hope (and all due respect to President Clinton's first inaugural address), I posit that there is nothing wrong with Shonda Rhimes that cannot be cured by what is right with Shonda Rhimes.

Forgive me. Spoilers ahead...

Right off the top, let's tackle the Callie/Izzie/George mess. Loved Callie calling Izzie out to meet at noon in the cafeteria, which of course sent Izzie into a self-involved tailspin far beyond anything Self-Absorbed Meredith dished out in the first couple of seasons. Particularly funny was the fact that no one seemed to stop and consider the complete absurdity of the idea of two grown women slugging it out in their workplace cafeteria. I guess it's handy that they're in a hospital, so they have easy access to stitches, but come on. Leave it to Alex to be the voice of reason after Izzie confesses that she slept with George and asks him to break up the fight ("I'm a terrible person, which is why I'm going to let her get one good punch in. Maybe two; I deserve it. No, one -- and then you pull her off of me."). "I'm embarrassed for you," he tells her, mustering as scathing a look of disgust as he can. Right there with you, Alex.

Again, I ask us all to ponder: The idea of two grown women. Fighting. Over George. I like George and I love what T.R. Knight has done with the character. But really?

Callie's entrance into the cafeteria under the clock striking noon recalled the classic facing-off-against-the bully scenario, my favorite of which was in Three O'Clock High, a not-so-well-known 1987 movie that's not a Patrick Dempsey teen exploitation vehicle, but it's darn good. At any rate, Callie's near whimper as Izzie put up her dukes was soulful and affecting. I'm only an alternate on Team Callie, but in this episode -- shrieking at Excessive Exercise Woman's boyfriend notwithstanding -- she seemed one of the few characters capable of acting with dignity and operating on something other than id. Sara Ramirez's nuanced performance evoked sympathy without pity -- and I totally wanted to see her kick someone's ass.

On to The Other Grey. I like Lexie, and I like that she's got her own Meredith-style self-absorption issues. How odd that it seems to be a family trait -- inherited from their father. The injured football player and overbearing coach father case (Coach Taylor never would have talked to one of his players that way) served as a great way for Christina to get her comeuppance and McDreamy to get a little stern -- and who doesn't love that? Even better was the fact that we seemed to have dodged the McDreamy's-hot-for-the-half-sister scenario situation that I've been dreading

The Chief's 18-year-old niece, Camille (CORRECTION: Camille Winbush), is back and gravely ill. The cancer that began in her ovaries at age 14 and put her through surgery after surgery and radiation is back, and she decides she doesn't want to spend what's left of her young life being treated in a hospital. Which puts the Chief in an impossible position -- caught between loving his niece and wanting her to fight, and being her doctor and understanding that it's her decision, all while under pressure from the wife he's working so hard to get back with. The scenes between Camille and the Chief are heartbreaking.

Finally -- Derek and Meredith. Heaven help me, I love them and love the chemistry between Ellen Pompeo and Patrick Dempsey -- it's all about the way he looks at her. They're not really even fooling themselves that they're not in a relationship, and his patience with her, while not boundless, never ventures into condescension -- which is why it's interesting to watch. And hell, if McDreamy gave me a speech about how he wanted to spend his life with me and die in my arms at age 110 (and by the way, he should feel free to), I'd get a little jittery too. This week had just the right proportion of McDreamy and McTwitchy, and it'd be great to see that balance carry through in the weeks ahead.

Other highlights:

• Some interesting close-ups -- like Camille's tracheotomy and the screwing of the bolts into the football player's head -- showed more of actual procedures than we're used to seeing. There aren't a lot of on-camera scalpel cuts in this show, and the use of them this week brought to mind the ER episode directed by Quentin Tarantino, when Mr. Brown showed a sternal saw doing its thing. Nice stuff.
• I'm always a fan of when layers are revealed in a character -- and it was good to see Alex be a little vulnerable when owning up to the fact that he still carries a torch for Izzie.
• Likewise, I'm always enraged when characters who are supposed to have gained some insight let that self-awareness fly right out the window, like... well, like they're being written by someone different than last week. After her grieving over Denny and her speech when Meredith nearly died, Izzie should have more compassion and understand that actions have consequences. Callie's "Don't you dare come to me for forgiveness' speech was dead on. Also: "Penmanship saves lives"? Even with the Norman mess-up, oh Izzie.
• Whoever casts Edward Herrmann in anything is a friend of mine. No, I can never refer to him as anything other than Richard Gilmore, but I love him. His scenes with Ellen Pompeo were brilliantly paced, and his delivery is never less than spot-on -- from showing too much emotion with patients and adopting "Seriously?" to his completely silly attempts to talk "young" ("'Sup, Lexie?"). Go on with your bad self, Norman.

What did you think? Are you disappointed that no fists flew and no hair was pulled? Would you come to blows over George?

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