(S06E05) We've finally reached the big merger episode of Grey's Anatomy. The orange doctors of Mercy West have invaded Seattle Grace Hospital. I can't get warmed up to all of the new characters that this show is shoving down my throat in one episode. All of them seem too pushy in a place where they're foreigners. If the show wants me to warm up to these Mercy West characters, they shouldn't act like dumb jocks or pushy girls with low self esteem.
In the end, the only losers are the patients that were being fought over. All of them went through hell because of the competition.
I grew so close to Lexie in the past few weeks that I was automatically on her side when Lexie's doppelganger took over. Billy, the unsuccessful robber, was an interesting choice to parallel to Lexie. I secretly squealed when she broke the new girl. Everyone has those first days, but having to write a mantra is really odd. Wouldn't chanting a mantra be enough to get one mentally ready without having a book? As a patient, I would be upset if my doctor was jotting down notes that wasn't on my chart because of doctor/patient confidentiality not knowing the fact that she was writing about herself.
Christina's breakdown has been forthcoming, and it was great to reinforce the connection between Meredith and Christina. The fact that they really didn't speak after Christina cried showed how the two interact. I was happy that the show even referred to Burke; I thought it was taboo, but with George not being around, it must be okay. That was the only time that Christina shone as a surgeon.
You knew that they set up the whole Chief/Asian HR woman office meeting in the beginning of the episode for something dramatic at the end. I was happy to see that the hospital got sued for laying off a person via email; that was unprofessional. Then we found out the big cut: Izzie. Shame on her for attempting the cancer card. She basically killed two patients in the past two episodes. For an unknown reason (other than the fact that Katherine Heigl is taping a movie) she'll leave Alex for at least five episodes. I could at least imagine for the next few episodes what it would have been like if both Izzie and George died last week. Again, like Lexie, Alex being a squeamish little girl won me over last week, and with him being depressed at the end of the episode, I'm on his side.
Amidst all the merger drama, we get a really heavy storyline involving Callie and her father. Gay situations never get a lot of air time, and I'm very happy with the way that Grey's handled it. I've never supported religious cleansing and never thought it would work, and when Callie's father pummeled her with Bible quotes, I got scared. Luckily Callie had fire and countered by quoting from the Bible about Jesus loving everyone. It's nice to learn a quick background of Arizona's name origin and how she was always gay. Her speech to Callie's father ("Are you still who I raised you to be?") was beautiful and to the point. I loved how he got it in the end; it was a nice warm fuzzy feeling.
Final thoughts: I like how they hid Ellen Pompeo's pregnancy bump with a table most of the episode. I missed the musical ending montage which wasn't as strong as this week's song. Finally, I write notes about this show as I type this review, but hell, I couldn't even keep up with the new names. I know the dumb jock looking one was Charles Percy, the guy who tackled that patient was Jackson, and the girl against Alex was Reed. Will I remember that next week? Only if their doctor's jackets are legible.
Next week, we get the episode based off of Kurosawa's classic film Rashomon. All twelve doctors will have their point of views. How did you guys like the episode? Leave comments below. As always, if you missed any of the action catch full episodes on SlashControl.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
10-16-2009 @ 2:39AM
Katie said...
One of the worst episodes ever. I have no idea what the writers thought they were doing but they thought this was a good idea? It actually really speaks poorly of them that they cannot think of anything else to do with 12 main characters so they have to add more - and do a poor job of it at that.
Oh, and um, where the hell was Mark? I watch the show for him so him not being in it AT ALL made it truly that much more horrible for me.
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10-16-2009 @ 2:57PM
Jess said...
I was thinking the same thing! Where was McSteamy?!?!?! If someone else leaves I'm going to have an ulcer...
10-16-2009 @ 3:05AM
bruce said...
Yeh this episode bugged me. I hated all the new "mercy west" people and hopefully they're not permanent new characters. I don't keep up with every bit of gossip, so is this how Heigl leaves the show, or is it just a temporary absence to film a movie and then she'll come back to her old job once again available after some billionaire donates 100 million dollars to save the hospital and bring back all the fired people (probably because Meredith Grey made some small talk with him and warmed and fluffed his life).
on a random question, can someone remind me what happened to Mary McDonald's rather odd doctor character (the one w/ the speech impediment)? I don't recall what happened to her... I don't remember her quitting/being fired, though I wasn't sure if she was ever permanently hired on in the first place. Was this resolved, or did she just disappear?
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10-16-2009 @ 6:43AM
Jen said...
As the reviewer mentioned, Izzie is taping a movie. So she'll be out for five episodes.
Mary McDonald's character was offered a job at the hospital, which she turned down. She didn't want to be involved with Drama Grace.
Some of the new characters might be permanent. The show's creator has said she wants to work on the longevity of this show (to allow it to be more fluid, like ER was...I guess...I've never watched ER). Bringing in more characters like this (or having an opportunity to do so) would give them a little more breathing room if some of the originals quit. I guess Heigl's and Knight's uncertainty at the end of last year worried the creators.
10-16-2009 @ 3:23AM
Watch the Ratings said...
This is one of THE BEST episodes. Why, you ask? They got rid of Ditzy Izzie, and of course she plays her little victim card like always, which makes people hate her even worse. I don't know how they'll stupidity try and bring her back after being FIRED, unless they make up another fake hospital for her to screw up in. She should have been fired after the FIRST person she killed (Denny), and the Chief should've gone with her. Hopefully the new peeps ARE permanent because then they'll pick up the slack from the horrible actors/actresses on this tanking show.
As long as Heigl isn't on-screen, look for the ratings to go through the roof.
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10-16-2009 @ 8:08AM
laura said...
I was hoping against hope that Izzy would kill herself and leave a note on her chest to give her kidney to the woman she almost killed.
I like the Mercy West people, especially charles, he fills the void that George left.
Alex deserves better than Izzy, not only do they have NO sexual chemistry what so ever, she could care less about him and it shows.
I love when christina cries, she gets the "mom" bubble which in my house means your voice sounds like your mom....or its wierd.
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10-16-2009 @ 9:55AM
pumpkinsmom said...
My favorite part was at the end when Meredith forces Christina to hug Alex. She looks confused about what to do and he steps back and looks terrified that she might actually hug him.
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10-16-2009 @ 10:55AM
Ryan said...
For me, it was hard to truly pick sides. I was a bit annoyed at the Seattle Grace doctors in the beginning because all they did was whine and complain instead of JUST DOING THE JOB which the Mercy West doctors were doing (how DARE they).
Charlie really is the only one that got to my nerves. Everyone knows you don't call someone a bitch until you've grown close with them.
Love the Callie storyline ESPECIALLY her confrontation with her father in the conference room and Arizona's heartfelt speech later in the episode.
SO HAPPY that Izzie is gone. After the liver incident, I was thinking that if they don't fire her ASAP, this hospital is insane even for TV standards. I'm glad they did fire her and I so wished this was a permanent change. Maybe by the time the actress is ready to come back, both her and the show would have a change of heart and just make it permanent? But if she DOES come back, as much as I hate the character, it would be slightly intriguing to see what happens with Alex and her. Poor Alex.
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10-16-2009 @ 11:29AM
Mitch said...
Maybe the worst episode ever. I was bored throughout and if this keeps up will be watching the office in this time slot in the future.
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10-16-2009 @ 12:10PM
scazza said...
This episode did not make any sense re Izzie. She just made a huge deal about how marriage means so much to her, she wants to take it to the next level with their own place, Seattle Grace means so much to her because of George, and she's still on IL2. How does it make ANY sense for her to leave? They should have done a better job setting this up & making sense of this. This was a real blunder.
Meredith/Ellen Pompeo is in bed, but what about the rest of her pregnancy? She's supposed to leave as well? Or a coma? What? So we have Alex, Lexie, & Christina (who sounds like she's leaving too unless MW has a cardio god she doesn't know about) left. We have new characters in tackle guy, Charlie, & mantra girl. Ok I guess I see that they make up for the losses.
One other thing that really bothered me. How white was that emergency room? 2 hospitals merge and everyone who comes in is white? Is this something I didn't know about Seattle? At least the patients need to be half or a third non-white. The non-white characters seem so sprinkled in, not at all realistic or relatable. Yes I know Grey's isn't realistic, but it's just something I would like. Too many white patients! For every ep with a--for instance--black patient, the next one is entirely white, and probably the next one too. How many more white women with narrow faces that all look the same can I take?
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10-16-2009 @ 2:22PM
laura said...
really? you are going to complain about how most of the interns (that you see) arent black, and neither are the patients? when TWO of the main characters in the highest positions are black? Thats unheard of and awesome and I resent you implying that this show doesnt like minorities.
10-18-2009 @ 1:12AM
justelise said...
The show was created by Shonda Rhimes, a black woman. Let's not forget that the show started with three black surgeons and one Asian surgeon, which was unprecedented on TV. Even ER did not start out with that high of a percentage of minorities as main cast members, and it was groundbreaking at the time. You can't really complain about the racial mix right now, because the merger is going to have the cast in flux for a while, and we don't really know what the cast is going to look like even by the midway point in the season.
There are plenty of other shows on TV that are virtually racially homogeneous. Almost every prime-time scripted drama on the major networks could use a better racial balance, but I think your complaint about GA is unwarranted.
10-16-2009 @ 12:25PM
bruce said...
I know there are legitimate reasons to dislike Izzy, but it boggles my mind when people complain about her but NOT meredith grey. Meredith is the WORST, most annoying, empty, meaningless, irritating, whiny, bitchy, mean, selfish, idiotic character on the show (why the show is named for her confuses me even more and implies that out of all the characters, she is the one that definitely won't be going anywhere).
Izzy is a wonderful person compared to meredith grey. Maybe meredith is a better physician, but that's never the reason why people like/dislike the characters on this show.
Why is Izzy hatred so much more common than Meredith hatred? I don't get it. How can someone hate Izzy but NOT hate Meredith Grey?
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10-16-2009 @ 12:29PM
Ryan said...
Well, I hate them both.
10-16-2009 @ 5:32PM
Brian said...
Haha... I'm not sure what it means when I find myself rooting for the people in the "orange" scrubs more than the ones in the "blue" because they seem more interesting and we can finally get new storylines.
Wait, I forgot to make that sound more dramatic by saying the same thing twice: "Because they seem more interesting. Because they seem... more interesting."
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10-16-2009 @ 12:49PM
bruce said...
Ryan: I greatly dislike Izzy, but I hate Meredith far more than any other character on the show. Izzy actually has a few positive personal characteristics (and I'm trying to completely put aside the fact that I find Katherine Heigl far more attractive than Ellen Pompeo, whom I don't find the least bit attractive... though I also hear that Heigl is a whiny spoiled bitch in real life). Izzy stands up for herself, cares for her friends, and for the most part makes some minimal effort at trying to be a good person. I can't say a single positive thing about Meredith Grey. She is one of the most irritating characters on TV as far as I'm concerned, and I'd like the show much more if it were Yang's Anatomy. Hell, if the Grey's in GA referred to Lexie instead of Meredith, I'd like the show a lot more. Maybe they can actually get rid of Meredith and keep the title of the show the same, with it referring to Lexie Grey's Anatomy.
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10-17-2009 @ 12:14PM
R said...
I've NEVER heard of everyone wearing just one color of scrubs. There is always a mixture of patterns and colors. I can't imagine one hospital being entirely ORANGE. That irritated me. The ugly guy Charles (i think) was an uglier version of George. Everyone new looked like everyone old. No one was defined or memorable. I would love to see Burke back. Meredith's character is whiney, ugly and boring. Izzie's character has cancer, they could have taken her off the show for a bit that way. This show has lost it's way. Introduce a one or two characters at a time and make them grow with story telling and good writing. Maybe that's the problem...the writing sucks and I'm not interested anymore. Just like Desperate Housecraps. That show sucks too and I don't even glance at it anymore. OLD OLD OLD...
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10-17-2009 @ 12:19PM
Michael Pascua said...
It's funny you mention that, in both hospitals my mother works for they've recently implemented one solid color for all the workers (one is that really hospital blue, the other is "wine purple" aka maroon). Imagine a full hospital of maroon nurses. I've seen that before.
I believe they are allowed to wear the tops with patterns/flowers/characters, again the pattern actually has to have the color as part of it and the bottom has to be that mandatory solid color.
10-19-2009 @ 7:55PM
Miami fan said...
Izzie is self absorbed and all about her..when she said she had nothing else but her job, paraphrasing, you step back and say...wait, your husband counts, right? you're alive when odds were you'd be dead!
Meredith has always been compassionate, caring and loyal to her friends and patients.
No hard decision to make as to which character I like. Then throw in KH's attitude toward the show vs. EP's quiet demeanor, no decision there either.
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