A bit too much on 'Grey's Anatomy'
Last time on Grey's Anatomy: Ambulance crash, swastika, Ava, exploding artery, and a bunch of patients I don't remember. This is why you don't do a two-parter in three weeks, ABC. Especially one with such a mind-bogglingly huge number of patients and plotlines. I mean, it wasn't a bad episode--it had many great moments, in fact--but I feel like I spent half my time trying to remember which patient was which, and who was working on what. Too much! (Many, many spoilers ahead...)
The EMT in the Ambulance: Oh, man. Giant needles, potentially heart-exploding guy, frightened Meredith in the ambulance with him, valuable lesson about loneliness...there was a lot going on here. I'm really liking the Chief as he increasingly becomes Meredith's father figure, telling her that she did a great job and talking her through the fear, though I'm wondering if it's just leading up to a big conflict of interest story or something. Anyway, she saves the patient, using a procedure that involves wiggling a huge needle in the dude's torso. It was unpleasant.
The Guy with the Family: Hahn is split about twelve ways in this episode, running back and forth between dying patients. She snaps at Izzie for wanting to update this guy's family rather than running to the next case, which doesn't end well for Izzie's relationship with said family. (Is it possible that Hahn remembers it was Izzie who cost her transplant patient his heart when she cut Denny's wire?) However, as Sloan points out, Hahn is just as hard on herself as she is on everyone else, which is especially apparent when the patient's heart graft blows, and she just keeps repeating to herself that he has a family, and can't die. Hopefully, this will make her a bit more palatable for you Hahn-haters. After her no good, very bad day, she asks Sloan and Callie out for a drink, saying she knows it sounds bizarre. Aww. They go, but Sloan refuses to make any promises regarding his hitting on her. (Callie confirms that he would be unable to fulfill such a promise, ha!) I still love Dr. Hahn, you guys. Perhaps even more so now that she was mean to Izzie. And I don't care if that makes me a bad person.
The EMT with the Swastika: Well, Bailey saved this guy, but not his tattoo, and not her marriage. It was almost heartbreaking, having George running back and forth from the OR delivering messages from a waiting Tucker about the importance of putting marriage first, and from an equally determined Bailey about the importance of saving lives, and the vows she took as a doctor. Tucker kind of sucks, yo. She's saving a life. Is having lunch on time really more important than that? Even a hundred lunches? I loved that Bailey destroyed the tattoo, and I loved even more that George told the EMT once he woke up and tried to defend his "belief system" that he was lucky Bailey was there to save his life, because George thinks that if the EMT were dead, the world would be a better place. Right on, George. Cristina, on the other hand, is furious at Bailey for pulling her from Dr. Hahn's service, and calls her out for doing it just based on the color of Cristina's skin. Aaaand...that's a fair point, much as I love Bailey to death.
Seth Green and his Exploding Artery: Jesus Christ, this plot was like a horror movie! Buckets and buckets of blood, people. Lexie, in a plot that reminded me a bit of when Meredith was holding the bomb, has to hold Seth Green's spurting artery until he can get surgery. Which he can't get properly, because there's no OR available, and the doctors are kind of all over the place with other surgeries. And thus, he doesn't make it. SUCK. Why is it always my favorites who die?! ('Cause that's how Shonda rolls. But still. Suck.) Lexie is rightfully upset at the role that the hospital's unpreparedness played in his death, and Cristina, proving herself a human being with empathy and everything, brings Lexie to Mer's place so that they can drink and have a dance party and not be alone. Right on.
The Probe in the Brain: Well, this plot basically existed to bring Derek, the steady-handed surgeon, together with Rose, the shaky but computer-capable nurse. Sigh. Whatever. Rose fixes the navigation system, Derek gets the probe out successfully, they share a moment. And by "moment," I mean "makeout." She's all giddy, which makes me sad, because Derek is kind of a dog. And of course, right after that, Meredith tells him that she doesn't want him to date other people. She's scared to want him, but thinks the fear means she has something to lose, and doesn't want to lose him. He tries to interrupt her, but she leaves without letting him say anything. Sigh. This isn't going to end well. But hopefully it will end, either with them together or apart. I'm sick of the gray area.
Alex and Ava: After getting Alex suspended for a week by being in the observing room, and after his intense day of saving lives, Ava wants to talk a bit before they get right down to business. Alex? Not so much. He goes off on her for being married, for getting him suspended, and for basically using him as a game of dress-up, pretending to be someone she's not. Oh, and he mentions that he's screwing Lexie. Essentially, he calls her out on being there for sex, not for talking. And it actually works. She shuts up and they proceed with the sex. Um, weird?
Gizzie: Okay, every time I think this thing is over, they find another way to make it over. Is it over for real now? What can we take away from this? They love each other, they aren't going to make it work, the timing was wrong, but the chemistry was right? Fine, whatever. They leave it at "maybe someday," which is resoundingly unsatisfying, much like the rest of this episode. Action is good, but this was just a bit too much for me to absorb.
What did you take away from this jam-packed episode? Have your feelings about Dr. Hahn changed?
For more TV recaps and commentary, visit Liz at Glowy Box.
I disagree about Bailey's destroying the tattoo being a good thing, and it is NOT because I agree with Shane's beliefs AT ALL. I find it as repugnant as anyone else, of course, and the fact that this story--a racist man with his racist beliefs tattooed for all the world to see (***uming he walked around shirtless) in the year 2007--is probably the most realistic thing in the whole episode depresses me to no end.
But as gross and distasteful and pathetic as his beliefs are, they are his beliefs and he has a right to have his politically incorrect and offensive belief system just as Bailey has the right to think he's evil for it. She had no right to destroy the tattoo because she didn't agree with his beliefs, because she believes his beliefs are wrong. I believe his beliefs are wrong too. But they're his beliefs. He has the right to have them--it was not Bailey's place to decide to remove his offensive tattoo for him.
What happened to rising above?
She was not rising above by operating on him in spite of his screwed up beliefs. That's her freaking job. She's a doctor. She has to treat everyone who comes through the door. If a killer comes into the hospital, after being shot at by the police, is she allowed to stand by and not treat him because he's a killer and that's (obviously) wrong? Nope. They have to treat everyone. So her going ahead and operating on Shane anyway meant nothing. That's her job. Rising above would have fixing the tattoo back the way it was, IN SPITE of how wrong--and it's very, very wrong--it was, and in spite of her abhorrence of it and of Shane himself. Purposely screwing it up was wrong.
Hmmm...Meredith "Grey" living in the "gray area"? I think that's the point.
"Don't become so tolerant that you tolerate intolerance." That's all I have to say about the white supremacist.
Regarding Bailey and her husband, it is not about who's right... they have drifted too far apart, and I doubt that's fixable.
Seth Green had to die because they cannot add him to the cast. Ava and Karev... messed up, but definitely realistic. George and Izzie... whatever.
That's a fair point, Kate. I think loved it because it was the mentally healthy thing for her to do--not because the action was right or wrong in and of itself (you're right--it probably wasn't okay). She saved his life--at great personal cost to herself, as George put it--but needed to express her frustration and inner conflict somehow. And the swastika bore the brunt of that.
I just thought it was an understandable, realistic, empowering move on a day where she had so little power over her choices and life, due to the vows she spoke of. And it showed that even Bailey isn't perfect--even she isn't capable of rising COMPLETELY above it all.
I actually thought the Ava/Alex stuff at the end was almost too realistic. The fact is, as much as I like Ava, she's coming back to pretend that she's someone else - and for sex. She's not leaving her husband, she's not even trying to. Alex didn't owe her anything.
I do think that Derek and Mere need to break things off for real and date other people, but does it have to be Rose??? For starters, the show could use a couple non-interhospital relationships, and she's just too anti-Meredith. Too perfectly imperfect, got it all together, just ugh.
Derek is a huge DOG. I want them apart with Meredith with ANYONE but him.
Seriously, when is Shonda Rhimes going to end it with the reheated plots and the bad unneeded characters for shock value? Derek seemed like a absolute jerk tonight and the Rose thing made no sense. Watching her badly act through poorly written scenes make me cringe a bit. I guess Shonda Rhimes stopped caring mid way through last season. Watching anymore is just painful. Kudos to great jobs by Seth Grenn, Chyler Leigh, Sandra Oh and Ellen Pompeo tonight. The rest was lest than great as usual anymore for Grey's. Exactly why the ratings have been slipping since episode on of this season.
I'M CRYING ABOUT GEORGE AND IZZIE! AWFUL! I LOVE THEM TOGETHER!!!!!! Please Shonda, make them a great couple!!! They are perfect for each other!
I just liked how Derek had to take his hands off the probe in order to plug in computer cables. The intern was good enough to hold on to life-critical probes, but not good enough to be sent over to plug in computer cables (which magically unplugged themselves). Only the best nero-surgeon in the hospital could possibly plug in a cable. They just HAD to get Derek next to the new girl, logic be damned.
Did Izzy make it through an episode without sobbing? Could it be??? I sure hope we don't have to endure anymore Izzy/George silliness...I love Seth Green - why, oh why, did they have to give him the illness that made me look away whenever he was on screen???? The Bailey/WS story line - good enough to get people talking....overall, I liked the two parter....