Spoiler Alert: I don’t normally refer to future episodes in my reviews; usually let them stand on their own without reference to spoilers. This week I’ve made an exception. So out of courtesy please take this as a warning that the article below contains information relating to a future episode. This is an exception, don’t get used to it!
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Ahhhhhh. Do you hear that? THAT is the sound of an enormous sigh of relief. Yes. Grey’s is business as usual, normal service has resumed and no one is more pleased than I. How satisfying that Shonda and her team deliver an excellent episode to take us through the mini hiatus. I call it vintage Grey’s, where every piece of what makes this show brilliant and every reason there should be a season 9, was in place. Who needs February sweeps, alternative universes, babies? All they need to do is write strong interwoven, character driven stories, consistently well and fabulously acted. This was “Hope for the Hopeless”.
(Okay, babies help)
Meredith needs to choose her specialty, except she’s burdened by parental brilliance and dwarfed by the size of expectation standing over her. And EVERYONE’S got an opinion on it (somehow when I wrote that last sentence I had Bailey’s voice in my head saying it - hey ho). This arc is better than the “who will be chief resident” storyline, because it tells us more about Meredith as a doctor in herself, rather than compared to the others. Lexie has bagsed Derek as a mentor in neuro – and what an inspired partnership that’s turning out to be. And clearly cardio will never be allowed to feature. So the current favourite is general, her mother’s specialty. The strength of this story lies in the consistency of writing the complex relationship Meredith had with her mother, because it’s really written as if she is still alive and hovering over her shoulder. Wherever Meredith is we know her mother is in the room with her. She’s scared she’s like her mother. She’s not. Webber knows it. With so much information available for the forthcoming AU episode it’s easy to see the build up of storyline in “Hope for the Hopeless” to take us into what we are led to believe is a dream sequence in “If/Then”. Ellis is with Richard, she’s chief of surgery, ruling the ship with an iron fist, and as a consequence Meredith, is a very different individual. We know the influence her mother has on her as a dead woman, we will get to explore the influence she would have had, had she lived.
Of course the AU episode will also offer us the opportunity of respite from the emotional turmoil that erupted when the enormous elephant, that’s been cowering in the corner for half a season, started stomping around in the room, in the form of the marriage secrets of Owen and Cristina. Regular readers of this blog will know I am no fan of Owen. But this week we saw something of the pain this man is carrying around with him, and the ignorance of his wife to that pain. It is one thing when your wife aborts your child, but it is surely driving the knife further in if she is oblivious to your feelings about it. And unfortunately here, Cristina is guilty. I love the direct confrontation with the use of such a violent word as “killed” in the context of a baby followed by a shot of Zola. The acting was outstanding. And the editing - interwoven with every other doctor, the close up of Zola - was inspired.
Did anyone else notice the parallel in this story to Derek and Cristina in Season 7. We all know Grey’s has it’s patterns, and as a huge fan of that story arc I love how Cristina’s relationship with Teddy has become so beautifully protective, just like Derek became of Cristina. One question though? Where is Arizona? I thought she was good friends with Teddy? Shouldn’t she be providing copious quantities of widow casserole? Whilst I’ve always liked that these two characters have been close, the execution of this friendship is consistently very weak.
Now, before I move onto other things, one word about Owen...
For those who think I’m changing my mind about Owen, you should be aware of two things a. three and a half seasons of suspect behaviour, (in my opinion only, no flamers please), cannot be explained by an abortion in the current season and b. reasons are not excuses.
Speaking of Lexie (well I was earlier), the usual dose of patient heartbreak was layered on thick as she was tested to the limit of patient and parent confidentiality. If there’s one thing that Grey’s does well, it chooses cute kids, and him with the deadly tumour on his spine certainly is a heartbreaker in more ways than. I like Lexie working with Derek. It is uncomplicated with very natural chemistry, where Meredith working with Derek is almost incestuously complicated.
Even more pain arrived the moment Adele arrived at the hospital and started singing My Funny Valentine with Richard. What a beautiful scene. Loretta Devine. Just brilliant. Every time she appears. (Click to read about her award winning performance). Adele appearing forced Richard to put his 10,000th surgery into perspective and Meredith being there to help complete a lovely moment between the three of them in the OR.
As is usual of the very best episodes, there were important moments with the other characters moving things along. One which gives much satisfaction is the interaction between Arizona, Callie and Mark. If you ignore the schoolgirl giggling, the layer beneath tells us a lot. Firstly yay! Season 6 Calzona is back, flirtatious, happy, stable, enjoying themselves. Secondly yay! Season 5 & 6 Mark is back too. The mature Mark, who wants a family in his future. Then we’ve got other things going on...
A recognition, notably from Arizona, that Mark’s getting a taste of his own medicine...
A recognition by Mark, that his track record of working at light speed speaks for itself.
A recognition by Callie that Lexie still lurks in Mark. Honey, that ship hasn’t sailed!
Elsewhere, Meredith’s lodgers are getting itchy feet, (some might say, not before time!), as Jackson, April and Alex make steps to move out. Surely they’d be better buying Meredith’s house...or maybe Meredith will give it to Lexie? Who knows, this MerDer house is taking a while to build. Still, one mystery is looking clearer by the episode – April sure does want in Alex’s pants (sorry, too crude?).
For me, this episode was so much better than the season 7 finale or the mid season 8 hiatus finale. This was Grey’s. Great writing, acting, directing and editing. Humour. Happiness. Heartbreak. All wrapped up together.
Highlights and questions!
Meredith is the only 5th year who doesn’t know her specialism – what about April?
I'm usually not one to comment on the actors personally but this is just screaming to be mentioned: Eric Dane is looking mighty fine - really healthy after his adventures last year. Great to see.
Hands up if you’re secretly hoping things work out between Mark and Julia?
The writing was soooooo good this week:
Doesn’t Sara Ramirez have great comic timing and expressions.
“That ship has sailed...and sank"
Arizona - love the fact that she has a sense of humour!
“funny, coming from you!"
Cristina seems to always get the great lines. Sandra Oh must love getting her script:
“Teddy’s boundless grief is...one of the best things that’s ever happened to me”
“Yes, cardio’s mine”
“...said the lame mediocre grandson of harper avery..."
“Her husband’s dead, she’s taking it out on you, you just gotta deal with it”
“You have no idea what’s going on here do you?....You let me operate on her husband and now he’s dead. She gets whatever she wants. Do you understand? Anything she wants from me. Ever"
And finally...the elephant in the room - Owen and Cristina.
“We live like you want, how you want, you get whatever you want. All the time... It was not one surgery, do you hear me? This was every choice we’ve made in the last...this was a life that I envisioned for myself. Okay. This is not one surgery.”
“...it’s over. Is it too much to ask if we just forget it?”
“You killed our baby. You don’t ever forget that”
Screen caps are available. I know you like them. I just really need to sleep. Check back tomorrow, I may have added them by then.
