TVSquad

(S06E10) In the last episode of 2009, Grey's Anatomy combines Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years all in one eventful episode. I'm still not in the holiday mood, but the show got me there, except for the fact that they played Christmas music on New Years. Christmas music should stay between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

What happened to Alex in this episode? This would probably be the hardest time for a husband who doesn't have his wife for their first Christmas together. Wasn't he invited to Christmas Dinner? At least Meredith could have mentioned that he was stuck at work?

Chandra Wilson was at one of her peaks as Bailey this episode. The fact that she had the combined submissiveness of being a daughter with the strong Bailey we know shows depth, maturity, and the fact she can stand up for her beliefs. If Bailey can provide a happy environment for her son, then she succeeded. The divorce vs. lesbianism parallel felt weak, and it didn't seem like Callie's interference was necessary.

Mark's long lost daughter showed up, and while I hope the storyline ends quickly, Sloan had some great one-liners. Mark's grown from his runaway syndrome after dating Lexie. Lexie slicing off her finger was an amazing reaction to the news. Mark would make a good father now, and I do think this storyline is better than Mark having a baby in a basket pop up, Family Guy. There is an interesting parallel of Mark's daughter being pregnant and getting kicked out with Mark walking out on Sloan's mother. This is his opportunity for redemption.

The chief's drinking problem continues to plague him, but now he's dragging Meredith into his black hole. The chief may be a doctor, but he's not a psychiatrist. He should go to Dr. Wyatt (Meredith and Owen's psychiatrist) and find out his real problem. Or if they are going to make it a hard storyline, get Thatcher to confront him. I'm going to be upset if Meredith reverts back to gloomy, depressed Meredith because she gains a drinking problem. It clearly was a cover for the chief to get Derek's forgiveness so Derek wouldn't continue to badger Meredith. Sadly, Meredith didn't listen to her father.

I'm still unsure of Teddy as a character. I love her "go get 'em" attitude, taking one step at a time, and dealing with the situation as it comes. Her relationship with Owen is a dynamic that hasn't been on Grey's before. Clearly, the story about the snow machine and the soldier crying referred to herself. The fact that she confronted Owen is admirable, but she shouldn't expect reciprocation. I will be upset if they get rid of yet another cardio surgeon as I finally warm up to them. It's nice to see Owen passionately in love with Cristina, and I secretly love his extreme emotions.

As for the little things, I hated the skyline shots with the obviously fake snow. I celebrated that Reed didn't show up for the whole episode; it was my Christmas present from the show. I wonder how much money it took to build that smaller tool for the little boy, because in the long run, wouldn't several children with similar problems go to Seattle Grace since they now can specialize in it?

I can see this episode being used for Bailey, Owen, or Teddy during awards season. Their strong gamut of emotions were a good way of ending Grey's for the year. How did you take the episode? Will you be suffering from withdrawal from Grey's until January? Leave comments below.

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