Now I know some of you maybe waiting for episode reviews. Sorry
about that. Trouble is, speculating on who will die is much more fun. And as my
Spoiler boss lets me write whatever I like (barring ‘isms of course) I thought
I’d speculate some more...so indulge me. I will endeavour to get you all up to
date with reviews by Thursday – hopefully.
Last week I wrote up the runners and the riders for our Grey’s death, this
week I narrow the field down. So before I crack on I remind you that this is
just speculation. I don’t know any more about who will die than you all and I
could be completely wrong. I also remind you that this article concerns a
character that we are told will die at the end of the season. It is entirely
possible of course that other characters will leave alive also.
Killing a major, beloved character is a big responsibility
for the owners of the show, especially if the actor is also beloved and on good
terms with the network. It is not something that occurs suddenly without build
up. Because whilst the death itself maybe unexpected it is likely that the
character’s arc through the season will give certain clues. It’s my view that
the actor(s) leaving the show has given the creators plenty of time to prepare
for character end – be that death or just departure.
So then, getting straight to the point – in my opinion we
will see the death of Richard Webber
at season end. I would never stake my life on such a thing but it would take
something dramatic to happen in 823 to change my mind. You’ll remember that I wrote,
"James Pickins Jr has come to the end of his contract.
There seems to be little direction for the character of Richard Webber in
Season 8. His role has been confused and lacking consistency”.
I was wrong. His role has not been confused at all. In fact,
on reflection, looking back over specific particular episodes Shonda has gone
to much effort to plant Richard into the (sub) consciousness of most of the
characters. His character has been given the broadest storylines and delivered
(probably) the most ‘message’ speeches. Without dipping into cast spoilers and
leaving aside rumours from extras or TV pundits, here’s just a selection of
examples from his story of how Shonda has set Richard up for a big farewell and
how he’s been the eyes, ears and heart of the hospital...
Right at the start of the season Richard hands his trial
over to Bailey. He quit as chief, he
quit his trial and he rejoiced in the freedom it gave him professionally and
personally. And he knew that Bailey was the one to benefit, but not without his
guiding hand. In 806 Poker Face he spies on her and her failing trial and
eventually steps in:
ohh help will show up, trust me. Always does. So. You’re gonna go home, get some rest. Work will be here in the morning. Go. Right now. ... (to the mouse) Don’t worry Q...I got your back.
He knows that Bailey and Meredith should be working together, and he has the moral authority
with these two women to bully them into doing so. In 807 Put Me In Coach he usurps
Owen as chief to give this piece of sage advice:
Shut up the both of you, You! You have a lot of nerve rubbing Meredith’s nose in her mistakes when you can’t fix your own. Your trial is failing. Like it or not you need her. And YOU, even your mom, the great Ellis Grey made a mistake, you fixed hers, now fix your own. Get out of those ridiculous pink scrubs and get back to the work you were born to do. Now the two of you are going to figure out a way to work together, but you’re not gonna do it on this field, you’re gonna do it Monday morning in the lab. Is that clear?
Richard has been the surrogate father to Meredith for many
seasons now, even at the start of this season he was seen protecting her, or
more specifically her career. In 812, Hope for the Hopeless he finally steps in
to guide her in her choice of specialty:
Meredith. Look at everything you did today. This party for your daughter, what you did for me in that OR. You don’t have to ever worry about being anything like your mother. I knew her. And you’re nothing like your mother. You have a gift. Don’t waste it.
His adventurous cryptic side showed itself when Cristina was given the task of
babysitting the heart in a box, in 808 Heart Shaped Box. He chose this moment
to inspire Cristina to reach beyond:
W: ... Yang, what’s wrong with you? You’re wasting an opportunity on 300 pages of common procedure.C: She let a starving person loose in a grocery store. She asked what I want. I want everything. What am I supposed to do?W: Get creative...I mean, look at that.C: Okay?W: it’s the key.C: To what?W: ... to the list!... so use it... use the key...unlock your mind.C: What are you talking about?W: ......I’m just talking about a heart in a box. A heart in a box! Hot diggety!
And Richard hasn’t been easy on any of the residents. He’s
worked hard to tease, prod and poke them. Alex
fell victim, learning an important lesson on keeping the edge. In 811 This Magic
Moment Webber steals his surgeries, finding it easier than taking candy from a
baby:
Oh I think I taught you something today. You don’t give up a once in a lifetime surgery, not for any reason, not for anyone, not ever. Watch your back Karev, I may decide to teach you something tomorrow
And in 804 What Is It About Men, with testosterone ruling
the episode Richard takes the young pups Alex and Jackson under his wing and teaches them about finding the joy...oh,
and Mayfield in 22.
You two need to find a way to start feeling the joy again. I mean there’s gonna come a time when you’re gonna be wishing you were 5th year again, just to get back in the OR and get your hands dirty......
W: Sometimes you can’t see the joy for part of your life until it’s over. This is it Karev. It’s right now. You’re in it....A: ....stabilised.W: Feeling the joy yet?A: I’m feeling it sir
And of course my friend Jackson Avery (insert sarcasm font) is
taught that idiot patients are fruitful, when in 818 The Lion Sleeps Tonight
Webber shows off his ‘removed items’ collection:
Each and every one of these items was removed from a patient. ...pretty great right? ...Sometimes we have geniuses on our table and sometimes we have idiots. I, for one, am partial to the idiot. You don’t get a lion’s tooth from a genius.
To complete the Residents schooling, in true teacher style
he breaks up the fight threatening to de-rail April, in 821 Moment Of Truth:
I thought you were here to prove that the considerable amount of money spent training you wasn’t wasted. That the dreams you had of becoming surgeons won’t vanish in a puff of smoke tomorrow. When the examiner asks you a question and you can’t answer it because instead of getting a good nights sleep you were engaging in a bar room brawl.
One
of Webber’s best features is that he maintains his authority well past handing
over the Chief of Surgery baton, and preserves the respect of the subsequent
incumbents – to quote him –
Once you’re the president you’re always MR President
And
possibly the best illustration of this is his dressing down of Mark in 819 Support System, not
arrogantly or disrespectfully, but like an elder statesman passing down wisdom:
You’re a good doctor and you may one day make a great Chief of surgery but you’re a plastic surgeon Chief Sloan, you’re a perfectionist. And you want everything by the rules so it will end up pretty. Well I don’t need pretty and I don’t need perfect. What I need is for this to work. And what’s gonna make it work is for me to take out that tumour and put these healthy organs inside my very sick patient. It won’t be pretty but it will work and it will keep my patient alive. Stand down Chief Sloan. Stand down.
Then
having trusted Owen to follow in his footsteps permanently, in 820 The Girl
With No Name he has wise words of comfort and advice:
I’ll deal with the parents, you call Phil in security and have him double the guard presence. Call Heather in PR and tell her to wrangle the press. You go home, make sure all your suits are clean; you’ll need them for the press conferences. You’ll be okay Hunt.
Indeed, all the cast with the exception of Arizona have been
touched by The Webber Magic in Season 8 but it is left up to Callie to call it,
when in 815 Have You Seen Me Lately she sees his game:
C: So. This is how you’re going to spend your time now. Pulling strings behind the scenes like some kind of puppet master?
 |
| W: I am REALLY good at it! |
Webber has been woven deep into this season, unbound from
his chiefly shackles, uninhibited and free to dip into his colleague’s lives.
The writers have given him both deep sadness with Adele and a passionate affair
with Catherine.
I may be wrong, and probably am ;), but to me this fella is a gonna. Kaput. Dead.
A brief word about some others. There has been twitter
speculation about the death of Arizona (hmm, I may or may not have something to
do with that). Killing Arizona makes absolutely no storyline sense whatsoever.
To me, there is nothing in season 8 that leads us to her death. In my view her
current storyline involving her childhood friend Nick is a build up to season 9
and potential emotional fall out. I will discount Callie on that basis also. Cristina and Bailey continue to feature high on my list of death suspects and the producers may still threaten other deaths with a cliff hanger. But, in the end, for the death at the end of Season 8, I’m going with Webber.
Streaming Options
