(S03E05) For some reason, this episode of Grey's felt like a palate cleanser, a bit of a throat-clearer to set us up for the rest of the season. We have the Shepherds finally getting a divorce, and Addison finally tellling Derek the truth about Mark. Burke comes back and performs heart surgery... with help. Callie continues to tell George that they're through, almost in a "Hello... McFly..." fashion. Meredith tells Derek that she and Finn are done, but her timing couldn't have been worse. And Izzie has both feet in the hospital.
Oh, and there was the M&M conference about the Denny Debacle. Didn't think they'd show that, did you?
Obviously, the M&M (for people who don't watch Scrubs or ER, it's the Morbidity & Mortality conference, where the staff tries to learn from their mistakes in cases where the patient ends up dead) is the show's way to give the Denny Debacle some closure, and it was an effective way to do it. It was especially effective when Bailey got up to defend herself, not wanting Burke to make excuses or cover for her lack of supervision as Team Intern cut Denny's LVAD line. As soon as she got up and asked if there were any questions, everyone in the audience rose their hand, and we slipped right into the title card. Shonda and company always do a nice job with their opening sequences, and this was no exception.
Imagine Team Intern's sinking feeling when they realized why they were called to the M&M for the first time ever (they were so happy to be invited they brought snacks). George's reaction was the best "I'm going to go to my happy place." Oh, and Izzie was there, too... in the back. She went to clean out her locker and then, she says, cash the (gulp) $8.7 million check that Denny left her. But when she sees her old stethoscope and listens to her heart, the old feelings -- not for Denny... for surgery, silly! -- creep back in, which leads her to sneak into the M&M.
What I'm liking so far this season is that we're back to the pattern of one serious patient and one not-so-serious patient. The serious one is a breast cancer patient who blames her late detection on her kid; Bailey wants to use her maternal instincts here, but is discouraged after a particularly snotty doctor asks her at the M&M if lack of sleep and raging hormones got in the way of her judgement (interesting how Alex shot to her defense there).
Then we had a couple of exes who are, uh, stuck together in an unusual way. Let's just say it involved an IUD and an unusual piercing. That couple was this episode's Superpatients, able to move along three storylines in a single bound: the fact that they kept going round and round with each other made Mer see that she should tell Der about Finn; Addie found out from the wife that she needs to tell Der the truth about her relationship with Mark; and for some reason, the ex-husband has a heart attack during their separation, and Burke has to operate on him (maybe it was the swirl Webber told Meredith to do with the ex-wife).
Make that four storylines: when Cristina bails out Burke by practicing her zip stitch on the guy's heart, word gets back to Izzie, who is amazed. She's so amazed, she decides she still wants to be a surgeon. Webber's story to Izzie, about not letting his mistake as an intern be his final act as a doctor, didn't wash with me; he merely choked when it was time to put in a central line, but Izzie willfully cut her lover's mothereffin' LVAD line! It's so not the same, it's silly. But at this point, I've shut my brain off to this whole Izzie/malpractice/should-be-in-jail thing and decided to enjoy the show. So the check stays uncashed and Izzie's going to be back on a probationary basis. It's as if the last half of season two never happened!
All I have to say, though, is: Put that damn check in a safe-deposit box, Izzie! Don't leave it on the refrigerator like it's a coupon for Pizza Hut! What if the dog eats it, or the house falls down around it or, more likely, one of your roommates forges your signature and cashes it? Thank goodness Alex doesn't live there, or else he'd definitely cash that check and "buy a Bahama," as he said while all the interns contemplated the money at lunch.
Finally, our obligatory Mer/Der segment: She's smiley as she runs into him. "You're everywhere!" she keeps telling him. But her timing couldn't be worse; she tells him about dumping Finn literally seconds after Addison told him about her relationship with Mark. He's pissed, as much that he wasted a year trying to make things with Addison work when he could have been with Meredith (heck, Mark tells him as much, even though we all really kind of didn't need him to spell it out for us). So he just says "OK," and the Grey Scowl comes back. I thought that was gone forever now that Meredith had a clear shot. But Shonda would never let the two of them be in synch; it just wouldn't be fun to her. Why Der is taking this news out on Mer is anybody's guess; but I wonder sometimes if Ellen Pompeo can be heard yelling, "You've got to be fucking kidding me!" from her dressing room as she reads what her character is in for that week.
Other good stuff:
- Alex standing up for Bailey and then saying he should have done more to stop Izzie. He might actually mature.
- Mark and Alex both telling the cancer patient's husband, "Dude... you care" when discussing reconstruction options with them.
- Callie telling Mark the next morning, "You were sexier when you weren't talking."
- Mark sleeping with Addie at the end and saying to her, "Well, at least you don't have to feel guilty now."
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-20-2006 @ 12:25AM
Jen said...
Love it! Love it!! Love it!!! Great recap, Joel. Saying it like it is. FYI - Typo on morbidity.
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10-20-2006 @ 12:42AM
Tony C said...
Chief Webber didn't "forget" to put in the central line -- he was an intern and afraid to do it without supervision from a resident or attending. If he was a braver man, he would have done it anyway, damn the consequences and probably save a life -- he felt his indecision very likely killed the patient.
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10-20-2006 @ 9:38AM
Joel Keller said...
Jen, fixed the typo.
Tony, you're right. I changed the Webber reference in the review.
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10-20-2006 @ 8:52AM
Ria said...
I loved the patient stuff, but this is the first episode of Grey's Anatomy that I felt annoyed instead of entertained. The check thing is killing me. Deposit it already. Even if you end up giving it all away it's irresponsible to tack a 8 million dollar check to the fridge. Callie is turning into a slut and we already have Meredith filling that role. And Mer/Der have become anticlimatic and are tettering on the whogivesadamn scale. Let them date and then find out that maybe it can't work, but this has been going on too long for them to be in the same situation they started in. I loved Bailey and Alex tonight. They both revealed their more sensitive side and it was a nice rounding out of the characters.
BTW did the chief pick his work over his wife? Did I miss that decision?
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10-20-2006 @ 9:58AM
sydney said...
okay, i know they're making McSteamy into a bit of McJerk, but i really like his character...i loved it when he told McDreamy that they're both exactly the same. it was so cool...
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10-20-2006 @ 11:22AM
Mimi said...
I thought this was a great episode...I loved the way guilt works on each one of the them and the different ways they respond to it. Everytime I see Preston, I want to scream....I hate to see his character suffer. He knows he's not fine and it will be interesting to see how he and Christina work through this.
Once again the show uses some truth about human nature, in this instance guilt, and makes it work. I think the twist with Addison was great - I always wondered why McSteamy was so hell-bent on getting her back after just a one night stand. You start to really feel bad for her and then WHAM, they hit you with another revelation.
My only gripe is the CHECK!!! Give it a rest already. We understand that Denny left her money, we understand she is conflicted, we understand that hasn't decided what to do with it yet, but for goodness sakes - get it over with. I hate the way they have made her character into a wacko-meddie. She went from an intelligent, beautiful surgeon to a grief-crazed, lawsuit-waiting-to-happen looney. I mean seriously, I think if she walked into another room and announced to one more person, "I'm a millionaire, ya know" I would have really turned the show off. And I would never consider missing this show!!!!!
I am really curious to see who the chickie is with McDreamy next week, someone from his past or from the hospital? My DVR box finished the recording right after Mer walks into his trailer so I have no idea what is going to happen next week. Anyone have any clues???
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10-20-2006 @ 12:35PM
Salim said...
I just want to point out that what the chief talked about as an interen was a chest tube, not a central line. I am pretty sure that's what he said. And I totally understand what it must have felt like, instead of doing this life saving small procedure, he took the patient to be x-rayed or something. Totally believable, it happens in everyday life.
I love this show, because even though it doesn't always give the true picture of a surgical resident's life, it sometimes succeeds in imitating that life.
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10-20-2006 @ 1:13PM
JDub said...
Mimi - I can tell you who the woman is in McDreamy's bed next week, as long as it's ok to post spoilers here. Anyone know if that's true?
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10-20-2006 @ 4:48PM
Mimi said...
JDub - I don't know the spoiler policy on this page. I think they make you put it under the Spoilers Anonymous page. But if it was revealed in the coming attractions for next week, then it wouldn't really be a spoiler would it? Somebody please let us know what the policy is so I can stop wondering about Mer & McDreamy for a few days and actually get some real work done. :)
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10-20-2006 @ 4:54PM
Joel Keller said...
JDub... send any spoilers you have to our Spoilers Anonymous column. I'll even quote from Keith on how to contribute a spoiler:
"If you have anything to add to the group, feel free to step up and let yourself be heard, either with our tips form or by emailing us at tvsquad@gmail.com or call and leave a message at 917-421-9477 (NY) - your anonymity is guaranteed, if you wish to remain as such."
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10-20-2006 @ 7:02PM
Chris_WebMD said...
Great recap. I like the whole M&M thing... particularly how the interns were so excited about something so morbid. I hope they use this again in future storylines.
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10-21-2006 @ 12:25AM
Nicki said...
"As soon as she got up and asked if there was any questions..."
"Were," not "was." I can't let that go, sorry; it bothers much more than the typo on "morbidity" would have.
And also, you said "fucking." I'm impressed. I will now stop trying to keep my comments relatively clean for no apparent reason.
As far as the show goes, I have nothing to say, but I enjoyed reading the review.
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10-21-2006 @ 10:40AM
Joel Keller said...
Hi, Nicki... feel free to use the "corrections" link if you feel the need to make any grammatical nitpicks.
As far as my usage of the f-word... we use profanity from time to time on here... not often, but when it works for us. So, can't tell you I'm going to stop using it, but I appreciate your concern.
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10-31-2006 @ 1:25PM
Jarod said...
You can watch this and other Grey's Episodes for free at http://greysanatomyondemand.blogspot.com
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12-09-2006 @ 4:58AM
Samms Kinnison said...
Thanks for the great review.
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