(S04E01) "I have five rules. Memorize them. Rule number one. Don't bother sucking up. I already hate you. That's not going to change." - Cristina
It's baaaack. OK, brief moment of excitement gone. Were you as unimpressed by this as I was? Look... it wasn't bad, but for a season premiere, that was pretty weak. It felt awkward and out of place, like no one knew where they were supposed to be. Stylistically, maybe that was the point. But it didn't translate for me. I love Grey's Anatomy. It's the Top Gun of TV shows. Everybody likes it. At this point though, going into the fourth season we all know the potential of this show and what it's capable of. I guess I just expected more and maybe that's my own fault for setting the bar too high. Call me crazy, but the losses of Burke and Addison and the addition of fifteen (George doesn't count) new socially inept interns didn't cut it for me.
So what was there to like about this episode? Well... a lot. Oh, the irony. I'm like my own little focus group applauding and booing all at the same time. It's been a little over two weeks since Burke left Cristina at the altar and visually, how do we represent this? Karev grew a goatee. Nice. But seriously... despite the title of the episode, the "change" hasn't come yet. Again, that seemed to be intended and Meredith even pointed out the clichéd brain dropping of "the more things change the more they stay the same" while she had break-up sex with Derek at the end of the episode.
So... less focus was placed on the change. More on the new day aspect. Speaking of which, did anyone else find it odd that it felt like the first day of school? I got the impression that everyone went away for two weeks. Who ran the hospital while Cristina and Meredith honeymooned? Alex wasn't there. He apparently drove near where Ava/Rebecca lives because he misses her. George wasn't there. He took a vacation. And I got the impression that Izzie did nothing but sit at home and mope. Burke is gone. Addison too. Were Weber and Bailey the only ones who held down the fort?
Doesn't matter I suppose. That's just me over-analyzing. Everyone is back and the new crop of interns are in, ready to be bossed around by the new crop of residents. Of course there are only two that we care about: Lexie and George. Cristina lovingly refers to Lexie as Number Three and Meredith has wisely given George plenty of space to do his thing. He's a sad guy. His dad passed last season, he's in a dead end marriage, and now he's keeping the awkwardness that is Gizzie alive by telling Dr. Stevens that he loves her too. Please... no. Just go home (is home still a hotel room?) to Callie.
Izzie is a wreck too though. Rather than try to wedge her way into a normal case after a string of car crashes fills the ER, she takes her interns out to the parking lot to save the deer that caused the accidents. This turned into the classic Grey's set-up of the case imitating the doctor handling it. Izzie is Bambi! You know what though? She saved that deer and then got some attitude and told her interns to essentially cram it because they're stuck with her. It was a nice touch on her part especially since her underlings think she's nuts. They all heard about some guy named Denny Duquette you know.
Back to the deer briefly? My one thought after she threw down the paddles and it jumped up in the flat-bed of the pick-up truck? "Good for you! Now it can go run off into the parking lot and get hit by another car!" Another thought... wouldn't she have gotten in a ton of trouble for that? She took manpower and equipment out of a packed trauma center to save a half-dead hunk of venison! Doesn't make sense.
For the most part, a lot of the episode just hit us with things we sort of knew were coming anyway. Logical stuff. Weber didn't make Bailey chief resident because he wants to keep her in the OR. Her hands are too skilled to only be filling out schedules and forms. Meredith wants nothing to do with Lexie. Cristina can't believe that Burke would resign. Stuff like that was obvious and I expected it. There were a few other moments that really stood out for me though:
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George delivering that baby and the subsequent pep talk from Lexie. We saw George take the reigns, and even though Lexie is hiding his sophomore secret for him, that's still more initiative than I ever expected from George.
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When Derek defended Meredith to Sloan. It's the first time I think we've ever heard Derek acknowledge why Meredith is so screwed up. He knows it and he accepts it. Plus... he still loves her. Obviously. The second that flame dies, the show goes with it.
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Joey, the man who will eat anything. OK, so he had pica... but still. He was shoving binder clips and cotton balls down his throat! While the case was interesting, what it ultimately highlighted at the end was how Callie is not going to make a good chief resident. She knows it and it's making her miserable. The unfortunate thing for us is that George needs an out for this marriage. If Callie suddenly becomes a miserable human being because of work, he's got one.
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Meredith's moment with the missing arm mom. What'd she say? Something along the lines of being single and successful is better than being in a relationship and feeling like a failure. Sounds like we know her plans. Something tells me that the break-up sex is going to mean far less to her than it will to Derek.
And there we are. From this point on, now we get to see the change that was so hyped. Will Meredith be able to accept her half-sister and realize that she's no longer the only "girl from the bar?" Can Derek even get over Meredith? Even though she'll hide it, can Cristina get over Burke?
Time to sound like a broken record... can Alex get over Ava? Man, I hope so because that still feels like Izzie/Denny all over again even though Ava isn't a patient anymore. And what about Weber? He said he hadn't moved back in with Adele yet. What's the hold up? After her accident last season, they seemed fine again. I would ask if Sloan was going to be OK with Addison gone, but apparently he will be since he really came to Seattle Grace for Derek. Didn't see that one coming. Didn't see a lot of that coming.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
9-28-2007 @ 12:06AM
Oreo said...
"Everybody likes it."
Ummm.... I don't.
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9-28-2007 @ 12:44AM
AngelAngelus said...
I feel this was a set-up episode, tying up loose ends from last season, it can only get better from here. You're right, the second Mer-Der is really dead this show is over. On that note, I have got to give the writers' credit for sticking to their guns with the George-Izzie pairing. The second they start worrying about fans' reactions to plotlines, the show's writing will inevitably suffer. Like Joss Whedon used to say about Buffy, write to what the fans need, not necessarily what they want. Overall, it was strong, but not overwhelming premiere, just like Monday's Heroes episode. I feel that in a couple weeks, both shows will have gotten far enough away from last season to be really interesting again.
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9-28-2007 @ 12:44AM
Ryan S. said...
I fast forwarded through that garbage with the deer (i watched the office live); seriously, that was really, really lame in my opinion.
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9-28-2007 @ 12:44AM
Graham said...
Where is Alex and Ava in that poll?!
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9-28-2007 @ 12:45AM
Jonathan Toomey said...
My bad Graham. I've added it in.
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9-28-2007 @ 12:53AM
radwimp said...
Sometimes I wonder how I ever got caught up in this show. I see Lexie will no doubt be as annoying as her sister (who was in top bitch form tonight). George and Izzie is just...
As always Cristina and Alex are the only characters I find appealing.
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9-28-2007 @ 1:52AM
Jason Elias said...
Meredith's half sister=Cousin Oliver
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9-28-2007 @ 7:28AM
Marggy said...
George and Izzie make me want to turn off this show and never, ever watch it again.
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9-28-2007 @ 7:28AM
Paul said...
I liked Lexie. Sloan was kind of funny. Chief was good. The rest was pretty disappointing, especially the ending(s).
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9-28-2007 @ 7:28AM
Ryan said...
The show was a bit disappointinig, but I'm still keeping my optimism. Things will get worst before they get better, yeah? I don't know everything just felt so negative in this episode. I thought we were suppose to have a fresh start. I guess it wasn't realistic for them to just be happy peppy people. I get it, but seriously the episode was a bit of a downer.
Callie needs to tell everyone to kill themselves and she should get a man worthy of her. I love her so it kills me to see her miserable. Lexie is the one breath of fresh air. Everyone was just dour.
I mean yes, it had its moments, but yeah please get better. Also are we suppose to believe that the interns have heard about Denny, but no one except Lexie knew that George is NOT a first year intern? Come on.
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9-28-2007 @ 7:29AM
nickmagoo said...
WORST. SHOW. EVER. ok, perhaps it's not as bad as, say, manimal...no, no, it is...my stepsis is really into it, and while visiting, i was forced to watch a couple of episodes...one word: EXCRUCIATING. what a batch of whiny, simpering twits. the fakest dialogue ever spewed. idiotic situations...i mean, there's a ferry crash, dozens of injured, it's a horrible scene...and the only thing these dilwads can worry about is whatshername (who should've drowned and spared us the agony of her incessant navel gazing). i despise this show and everything it stands for. but let me tell you how i really feel...
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9-28-2007 @ 9:37AM
FP said...
Greg, are you me? You must be because you sound exactly like me...
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9-28-2007 @ 9:55AM
Greg said...
FP, I don't think I'm you, but I guess anything's possible. Maybe if the world's on the brink of destruction and I'm defusing a nuclear bomb that could save the human race you could interrupt and tell me your a long lost relative. I'd be sure to drop what I would be doing to listen to your critical news.
I also believe my interest in the show came from Bailey's character and the actual medical cases, not necessarily how the medical cases pertained to each character's current problems and certainly not about any of the relationships on the show. For me to care about a relationship on a show I must first care about the characters. What exactly is there to like about any of these characters except Bailey?
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9-28-2007 @ 1:10PM
grumpyoldman said...
My wife makes me watch this every week. I want to gouge my eyeballs out. If the women were attractive, it might be okay...but what a bunch of livestock.
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9-28-2007 @ 1:10PM
Andrea said...
There are so many things that I found odd about the episode but some fall under "suspend disbelief because it's TV". For example:
All of last year's surgical interns stayed. And THEY have their own groups of interns. Convenient for casting but are they going to have that many surgeries? I wonder if some of those interns will be background, never heard from, like survivors on Lost.
Also, that two week vacation, as mentioned in Jonathan's post. Who was running things?
Other thoughts on the episode:
Izzie and the deer? If Izzie was an intern Bailey would give her shit for it. On the other hand, the deer is a living thing. I expected Izzie to tell her interns "Would you rather practice on a cadaver or on a living thing?" I liked Bailey's response, "Not my intern." I heart Miranda.
Liked Izzie's speech about managing expectations. Sometimes - when she's not acting like a mess- she asserts herself, and it's good.
Back to Miranda, I love that her former interns still go to her and respect her. Poor Callie. Is it me or does it seem like Christina is trying to be the new Bailey? (Actually, there may have been a "Nazi" reference in there that I don't remember.)
Joey seemed like filler. The case was boring. I felt like we'd seen it before.
I was hoping that Alex would miss Addison. If Private Practice tanks and she comes back (as the powers that be at Grey's/Weber basically said at the start of the first PP episode, "If the spin-off gets canceled, your job is still here.") I'd like to see them pick up where they left off. Don't they need a neonatal surgeon? But wait, when Weber asked Addison to stay back when she became a series regular, he mentioned something about the position being open because the current neonatal surgeon- whom we'd never met - was mat leave? Wouldn't that woman get her job back? Again, "suspension of disbelief for TV."
Mediocre episode, but the first episodes of a season often are as they dust off, clean up, wrap up and set up. Let's see where this season goes.
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9-28-2007 @ 1:10PM
Jenna said...
Wow, I did not see that coming between George and Izzie! I figured the reason why he was avoiding her was because he didn't love her back and wasn't man enough to tell her. I love them SO MUCH, I didn't think it was possible to love them, but I somehow do! They are my favourite TV couple of all-time!
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9-28-2007 @ 1:10PM
H?ne said...
Best moment? Sloane saying "I came back for you" to Derek (and the awkward moment that follows)
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9-28-2007 @ 1:10PM
Marie said...
george and Izzie are totally amazing, love them!
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9-28-2007 @ 1:11PM
Jimmy said...
I came away with several things while watching this episode:
1.) Meredith is pathetic and a bitch for choosing Derek over Lexie and actually looking happy at hurting her sister when she walked away.
2.) Derek is a loser for actually showing glee at Meredith's choosing him over her sister.
3.) Miranda is a whiny child for actually going out of her way to make like for difficult for Callie.
4.) I now dislike George for choosing Izzie over a woman like Callie.
5.) I feel bad for Callie because it seems like the Chief has set her up to fail and everyone is happy to watch, especially Izzie who is now my least favorite character on the show.
6.) I'm pathetic because I've become so invested in these characters.
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9-28-2007 @ 1:11PM
FP said...
I Tivo'd it and I don't want to see it already. There are many (many many) reasons why, but perhaps I'm still upset over the way they have changed and reduced Bailey's role over the years -- and therefore the overall medicine angle -- and fluffed up the nighttime soap opera.
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