Whilst I don’t think anything will ever compare to the Season 6 finale, which for me is the second best episode of television ever (beaten only by LOST’s final episode), this episode was truly brilliant. “Unaccompanied Minor” brought Grey’s Anatomy back to its roots. You don’t need a crazy gunman shooting everybody in the hospital or the deaths of major cast members to have a good final episode, just fantastic characters, a great storyline and a real emotional drive (the latter 2 things of which were sorely lacking in the recent Desperate Housewives finale sorely).
The central focus of the plane crash carried the level of extremeness we have perhaps come to expect from Grey’s Anatomy finales. Grey’s is very clever in that it uses something from the season premiere for the season finale story. Season 5, for example, opened with a patient with a memory that reset every 30 seconds, much like what happened to Izzie in the Season 5 finale. At the beginning of this season, we saw Miranda with Tucker on the plane from Baltimore. However, rather than focus on the patients and the crash itself, we were left watching how this incident resonated with our characters. Chyler Leigh, who plays Lexi, does an amazing job of saying so much with her eyes, without needing to actually say anything at all. With Ellen Pompeo (Meredith) reported to leave after Season 8, will the show continue with Lexi taking up the mantle of lead ‘Grey’? The plane crash incident brought some couples closer together, like Eli and Bailey, a relationship which I hope is further expanded upon in Season 8 as I have missed Miranda’s presence lately. It also drove some couples apart, like Teddy and Andrew. However, this led the way into the much more interesting relationship between Teddy and Henry. My only hope is that Grey’s does not repeat itself and we do not have another Denny situation if Henry dies. Although perhaps a little cheesy, we were also treated to an emotional storyline with some of the families of the plane crash victims. Elayn J. Taylor put in a wonderful performance as the grieving passenger who stayed to pray for the unaccompanied minor.
The finale did a great job on focussing on our original main characters. Seeing Meredith with the McBaby Zola was really awesome. She was very maternal whilst remaining very true to Meredith’s character. I also had a flutter of fear in my heart as Meredith was searching the empty house, thinking that there may be an intruder in the house who would attack Mer, leaving the season on a real cliffhanger. However, it was done to reflect the loneliness and emptiness of Meredith’s life, as she has alienated both Derek and Alex. It will be interesting to see how those relationships get repaired in Season 8. If the social worker finds out Meredith and Derek are not together, perhaps Zola will be taken away in what would inevitably be a heartbreaking episode. The awesome relationship between Mer and Cristina was also brought to light again with Cristina going to Meredith’s at the end. Is it the end for Cristina and Owen? I’m glad Cristina isn’t keeping the baby as we don’t need 3 babies on the show to keep up with. However, there is still the chance she may keep it. And finally, we see that Alex has reverted back to his angry self, although I hope he doesn’t stay like this as his character has really grown over the years.
The race for Chief Resident was finally resolved, predictably (or perhaps surprisingly to some) going to April Kempner. April has really grown on me this past season; after hoping she would get shot in the Season 6 finale, I’m surprised by how fond of her I’ve become. She’s developed into a much better, more likeable character and I look forward to seeing how she takes on the role of Chief Resident. Avery is the only person yet to grow on me and feel like they’re a deserving cast member, but I liked the move he pulled so the chief might get an award. I much prefer Lexi being with Mark, but it will be interesting to see where that triangle leads in Season 8.
In summary, “Unaccompanied Minor” reminded us of what’s so great about Grey’s Anatomy: the wonderful characters and their relationships and emotionally driven storylines. With so much open and ready for Season 8, I can’t wait for it to return.
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~ Joshua
SpoilerTV Writer & Forum Moderator
