TVSquad

Somehow, I expected a completely different show this week. I think it was the previews, which seemed to have skipped ahead a week - there was the scene between Cristina's mom and Dr. Burke (something about how Cristina should find a nice man like him)... that wasn't in this week, unless I missed it while telling my son, again, to go to sleep. And the promised thing between Izzie and Alex... it appears for a brief second at the end, but none of the scenes from the previews were there. What, did they show the teaser for the wrong episode?

What was here: plenty of bedridden doctors solving problems real and imaginary. Cristina is trying to diagnose patients despite her fragile physical state and the gap in the back of her nightie that shows her undies (cute). And Dr. Grey (the elder) has now decided that George is, not her husband, but her intern. She keeps showing up for consults and scrubbing in for imaginary surgeries. Poor, poor woman. She's both pathetic and brilliantly imposing, at once.

It wasn't just my imagination; Cristina did lose one fallopian tube. And she will still be able to have children. And it seems as if she, finally, might be just human enough to do so. The scenes where she is trying to stay involved in diagnosing the team's patients are so earnest, so rife with caring. Totally not Cristina's thing.

Her mom is perfect - just cute enough, just nosy and controlling enough, just caring enough. So much so that I wince when Cristina begins her uncontrollable crying jag, and Meredith ushers her out of the room with a "we don't do well with mothers here!" Yeah, Cristina's not supposed to cry, but if she does - this is how it should be done. Ragged, loud, obnoxious, choking crying, as if it's her first time trying out the whole tears thing.

And when Dr. Burke finally gives up his tough act and finds that he's the only one allowed to touch her - it's really a good scene, and everyone is believable in their humanity. And we all hope that this is really going somewhere, this Burke-and-Cristina relationship.

On the contrary, I don't know what to think about Derek. Does he love his wife, does he love his girlfriend, and which of them really love him? Like Dr. Bailey, I'm starting to not care. Will he sign the divorce papers, won't he sign the divorce papers? [yawn] One more time hearing Meredith say that she needs to be loved... oh, my. Come on, writers, you can come up with another line for the poor girl. I loved the two of them together until they started in on the whole back-and-forth love-and-hate each episode. It's like watching a badminton match. Back and forth, back and forth, go the little shuttlecocks of love.

None of the medical cases were that thrilling this episode - how many times is a patient going to be diagnosed with Munchausen's on primetime TV? I've seen it so often I knew that's where they were headed from almost the first meeting with little Ms. Missionary's Daughter. Blue pee, though, that was a new one. Nice.

Finally, Izzie and Alex. The relationship which couldn't looks like it might not, in a very strange and titillating sequence right before the closing credits. Is he being an ass? Is he going to redeem himself? Was his sensitivity all just a facade?

Whatever the answer, the music is great. It almost makes me cry. Not Cristina crying, mind you, but still...