'Grey's Anatomy': Meredith and Izzie return, and the Chief's in trouble

Tonight's "Grey's Anatomy" saw a furious Izzie return with a bit of her past, a hysterical accusation about the Chief, a remarkable new Meredith, and a new cardio attending.

Izzie's return: Izzie's been back home with her mom in Chehalis (though she did get her IL2 treatment at Seattle Presbyterian), and returns with Dr. Singer (Joel Grey), her high school science teacher, who's been diagnosed with dementia and has been falling a lot. She wants to sneak him in to see Derek. Dr. Singer's labs come back normal, but she pushes Charles to give him a spinal tap, spitting that "you're the one who got me fired; you owe me this, you little bitch." Then she threatens to tell Reed how Charles feels about her if he doesn't comply. The claws are out!

Dementia has poor Dr. Singer stuck in the past as he's going through his tests, urging Izzie not to marry the boy who got her pregnant because it'll ruin her chances to be a surgeon. While the spinal tap results are normal, Dr. Singer ends up lucid after the procedure, and they figure out he's got a buildup of spinal fluid in his brain that's causing the problems. Shepherd can put in a shunt and all is well. Dr. Singer can't pay, but Derek says he'll donate his time if the Chief signs off on a bro bono surgery.

Which of course he won't -- at which point Izzie goes to town and reads him a serious riot act, including throwing it in his face that he was all too happy to take the $8 million she donated to build the clinic. She can go to the hospital board or to the press if he doesn't agree to the surgery, she says. I'm not a fan of screechy Izzie (and we see her a bit too often), but man it was good to see her wallop the Chief with that one. She didn't exactly handle it with a lot of dignity, but she's right, and money talks.

But then there's Alex. Meredith's spent the whole day trying to get him to talk to Izzie, and when he finally does, in the gallery during Dr. Singer's operation, he finds that she's got plenty of venom to spew his way as well. She's forgiven him for a lot of things, she says, but when he went to the Chief and told him she wasn't ready to come back to work, he took away the one thing she had. He interfered and she got fired, and she can't forgive him for that.

Now, I understand that Izzie's pissed about the job and that her circumstances are special. But look around -- unemployment in this country is at 10.2%, and at least she's got some applicable skills, which is more than a lot of out-of-work people can say. So she should really give the victimhood a big fat rest.

Alex agrees with me, but for a different reason. She made an assumption, didn't ask, didn't hear him out, and didn't give her husband the benefit of the doubt -- and for that, he can't forgive her. Way to go, Alex!

Cristina's present: After Cristina totally rebuffs Avery (I predict that won't last forever), Owen presents her with a present in the shape of a new cardio attending, Dr. Teddy Altman (Kim Raver). They served together in Iraq, and he assures Cristina that she's the rock star attending she's been looking for.

But Yang is less than convinced, appalled that there are procedures that Altman doesn't know how to do and even more out of joint that she hasn't gone to prestigious schools or published many prestigious papers. Bailey tells her to pipe down when she goes to the Chief and complains.

Yet over lunch, Altman praises Cristina to the other attendings, even as Cristina sits at another table complaining about her. Altman has an amazing pickup on a pediatric case in the ER, diagnosing a kid with cardiac asthma by listening to his breathing and asking his mom a few questions. In the OR, she lets Cristina assist during the complicated procedure, then talks her through fixing it when something goes wrong. Which is exactly what Cristina wanted from an attending, and she walks out on cloud nine. It turns out that Altman's best friend died in Tower 2 on 9/11, which is why she left her attending position at Columbia to join the military. In short, she kicks ass.

But that doesn't mean everything's so happy for her. She guesses about Owen and Cristina and tells him that she'd always thought that she'd be the next one in line after he broke up with his girlfriend. Raver does a lovely job with the scene, and I liked her far more than I thought I would -- she's a great addition. They are, of course, setting up an impossible situation for both her and Cristina and their relationships with Owen and each other. Should be good to watch.

Meredith's return: It's happy, married Meredith, who manages to keep not only a modicum of happiness but is the absolute voice of reason for everyone. She urges Izzie to let Alex know she's OK. She urges Alex to talk to Izzie. She urges Cristina to lighten up about Altman. She keeps a level head in skills lab and after she can't get into any surgeries because she's now competing with 25 residents for the OR. She plays a little kissy face with Derek -- nothing not to love here.

The Chief: Something is seriously off with the Chief -- that's no secret. And clearly the pressure of the merger is weighing on him. But now he's not coming home at night. Which of course sets off Adele's radar, and she comes to the hospital to get to the bottom of things. Bailey intercepts, but eventually Adele catches up to her and lays it out: she thinks Bailey is having an affair with Richard.

Which practically sends Bailey falling to the floor, amazed at the accusation -- though Callie defines the working relationship between Bailey and the Chief as Work Husband and Work Wife (I swear I said it about two minutes before it came out of Callie's mouth). The last time he behaved like this was when he was with Ellis Grey, Adele says, and if it's not Bailey, then it's someone else. This sets off a massive round of speculation around the hospital, and Sloan and Callie are among the most active little gossip scamps (they're Work Husband and Work Wife).

Things come to a head, though, when the Chief makes an error in a surgery, nicking the common bile duct and giving a patient jaundice. Lexie and Reed discover it, but Bailey covers, fixing the problem in an additional surgery and assuring the Chief that nobody knows about it. On one hand, it's interesting how Bailey always goes for the cover-up. On the other hand, she's loyal to a a fault, and solves problems without getting too bogged down in regulation and procedure. She's totally brilliant here, particularly when she essentially tells the Chief to get a grip and take care of himself. He decides to step away from surgery, and hands his OR caseload over to Bailey.

After work, we find out why. He's bellied up at Joe's, drinking "club soda," which turns out to be vodka. Joe takes his keys and calls him a cab as he sits there, with flashbacks running through his head. Meredith, who's getting another drink for poor Alex, sees him leave, notices the glass, and clearly knows what's up.

Some other thoughts:

• Callie, Arizona and Sloan are kind of adorable together -- like a band of lil' rascals.
• This week was pretty light on Mercy West residents. They seem to be easing in more seamlessly.
• At lunch with Meredith and Alex, Cristina complains about Altman, a.k.a. "Private Benjamin." Cristina: "She went to a state school." Alex: "So did I." Cristina: "She's skinny and blonde." Alex: "So is Meredith." Cristina: "She's annoying." Alex: "So are you."
• Bailey, to Callie about the Chief offloading his surgeries: "I've lost my Work Husband and my husband husband." Callie: "I'll be your Work Husband." Bailey: "You have Sloan." Callie: "What about Shepherd?" Bailey: "Are you kidding? All that hair? I can't be looking at that all day."

What did you think? Were you satisfied with Izzie's return? Did you like Kim Raver? Do you think Cristina and Owen will make it, now that this reminder of his past is around? Do you have a Work Husband/Work Wife? How soon before someone discovers that the Chief's drinking again?

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