“Puttin’ on the Ritz” – Grey’s Anatomy

A thoroughly enjoyable episode from Grey’s this week, but one in which very little of note happened. “Puttin’ on the Ritz” took place on the hospital’s fundraising night. It offered a lot of humor – Yang’s enjoyment of the fundraising competition set by Avery, the personal competition between Derek and Meredith, Arizona and Kepner getting drunk in one of the closets at the hospital – but the humor was the least important bit of it.

Important arcs moving forward will be Yang taking Ross under her wing (he’s a shark), Ross’s potential feeling for Steph, Owen possibly dating Emma Marling (Marguerite Moreau, The OC, Shameless) and, most importantly, Alex finding his dad after 20 years. This story will be two-fold. First and foremost, Alex will have to get to know his father (a heroin junkie). Secondly, he’s going to have to deal with feelings of resentment towards Wilson for telling him when he didn’t want to know.

Our only problem with the episode was one we also had last week – where is Ross’s guilt for killing Brooks? Or is being fearless the way his guilt plays out? Maybe he will become more and more reckless until he puts someone’s life in danger. It’s a possibility. We just wish we were seeing some manifestation of his guilt now. This all feels a bit swept under the rug. – K

Quoteworthy: “That’ll do, Sharky. That’ll do.” – Yang

“Everybody’s Crying Mercy” – Grey’s Anatomy

Another disappointing episode from Grey’s Anatomy, and Season 10 isn’t off to a great start.

The main focus of “Everybody’s Crying Mercy” was Richard’s recovery, and that was something we could be glad of. It meant we didn’t have to focus too much on Callie and Arizona’s bitter separation, Derek and Meredith’s exhaustion or Alex and Wilson’s sex life. Though these were all touched on, it was blessedly sparing. Enough to let us know that certain storylines are continuing. What more do you need?

The real disappointment came in Shane’s arc. Though he had a few nice interactions with Bailey and Meredith, and one fantastic scene (and monologue) with Richard, we felt that this was overlooking the most important takeaway from the double-episode season opener – it is his fault that Brooks is dead. He is wracked with guilt. Why didn’t we see that this week? We saw him, yes, a little more serious than normal, and a little less inclined to crack a smile. But

“Seal One Fate” and “I Want You with Me” – Grey’s Anatomy

This was almost exactly the episode of Grey’s we would have expected after last season’s finale – an upswing in drama and disaster (but nothing the characters couldn’t deal with), relationship issues, emotional revelations, just the right balance of lying and bare-bones honesty. If anything surprised us it was that the writers didn’t really deliver an emotional gut punch. That has been Grey’s Anatomy’s standard operating procedure up ‘til now and not only was it shocking that they didn’t follow through, it was a little disappointing, too.

Twilight detractors (bear with me, I’ve got a point) have always pointed to Stephanie Meyer’s lack of lady balls as one of the saga’s main failings. Her inability to kill off ‘beloved’ characters is without parallel. That’s not something that one could ever say about Grey’s Anatomy, until now. Yes, most of the cast has survived a lot of horrendously tragic season finales, but look at everyone who didn’t survive. George, Sloan, Lexie, Denny… Beloved characters to a one. And now, at this crucial moment, with this one death that could have really mattered, the writers pull their punches.

Yes, folks, you’re reading it right. Webber survived. Who didn’t?

“Perfect Storm” – Grey’s Anatomy

The Grey’s Anatomy finale surprised us, if only because it was actually fantastic. It wasn’t true edge-of-your-seat drama. Come on, let’s be honest. We were all 99 per cent certain that Meredith would survive. But it was still tense enough. There were some fantastic moments – Meredith talking Ross through her own splenic dissection, for one – and some beautiful moments from the characters surrounding her less than easy delivery.

Our biggest disappointment was that they called the kid Bailey. Like, it’s a great name in a ‘James Stewart running down the streets shouting Merry Christmas’ kind of way, but poor Ross is going to be so upset. We know we weren’t the only ones thinking that’s what she meant when she said she knew what she was going to call him. Ross Shepherd has a nice ring to it, too. Bailey Shepherd? It sounds like a drink.

Honestly, though, it was the peripheral stories that most gripped us. Yes we know we were supposed to care about Meredith Grey, but when she’s the central character there’s no need. The characters around her, on the other hand, are relatively dispensable. Which is why our hearts were in our throats for Jackson. His near death scene was predictable, yes – from the moment he started clambering all over that bus crash we knew something was coming – but still got us right where our emotions live. Kepner’s reactions, first to his death and then to his majestic and remarkable reappearance, were perfect and more than enough to make us sure that there’s no way she’d go through with the wedding to Matthew. This is where the first cliffhanger came in, though. As Kepner told Jackson she wants to be with him, and asked him to give her a reason to leave Matthew, the action cuts away. We’re going to have to tune in in the Fall for his response.

The other storyline we loved was, of course

“Readiness is All” – Grey’s Anatomy

Pretty standard fare from this week’s Grey’s, but sufficient to tee us up for a tension-filled and possibly fatal finale. The big stories of the week remained Bailey, Karev and Wilson, and Owen and Ethan. There were no real surprises in any of these, with the exception of the revelation that it was Wilson who almost beat Jason to death, not Karev. Richard got Bailey back into surgery. Owen finally admitted that he wanted to adopt Ethan so, predictably, Yang fixed Ethan’s dad.

The will-she-won’t-she cheating arc came to a head by episode’s end, with Arizona and Lauren wrapped in a steamy embrace in an on-call room. The big surprise of the episode came in the form of Matthew’s flash-mob proposal to Kepner, which she accepted. As the episode closes, each of our characters (with the exception of Alex and Wilson who have finally realized how they feel about each other and are at Alex’s house) is confined to the hospital, with a storm raging outside. The generator is on the fritz. Meredith has gone into labor.

Predictions for the finale:

“Do You Believe in Magic” – Grey’s Anatomy

Overall, we didn’t love this week’s Grey’s. It wasn’t bad. Not exactly. It just felt exactly like every single episode we’ve watched in the last five months. Which is why this review starts with almost exactly the same sentiment as last week’s. We’ve seen all of this before. Jackson and April? Old news. Owen and Ethan? Old news. Case inspires doctor to solve something in their personal life? Old news.

There were a scant few aspects of “Do You Believe in Magic” that rose above the usual to pique our interest. First among these was the episode’s arguable core – Bailey. Throughout the episode, she remained holed up in her lab, ignoring everyone. They all thought she was pissed at them. We saw through that. She was clearly afraid to go back into surgery in case she hurt anyone else. But it took the arrival of husband Ben to get her to admit that, even to herself. This was an interesting side of Bailey for us to get a glimpse of. We’ve seen plenty of her neuroses – most notably, this year, in relation to her wedding – but have never seen her lose confidence about surgery. That was something new.

We also got introduced to a potential affair for Arizona. We can scarcely believe we’re writing those words. She’s always seemed so clean cut and innocent and pure. Like a less annoying Kepner. But the vibes are definitely there. Visiting doctor Lauren Boswell (Hilarie Burton, One Tree Hill, White Collar) is turning the flirting way up. She knows that Arizona is married and she doesn’t care. Arizona seems more than flattered by the attention and, with

“She’s Killing Me” – Grey’s Anatomy

We seem to be thoroughly unenthused about last Thursday’s episodes. Grey’s Anatomy, like Go On, was less than amazing. Best described as ‘fine’, it neither kept us on the edge of our seats nor moved us to tears – the two staples of ‘good’ Grey’s. This was pure filler.

It wasn’t without merit though, and kicked up some interesting storylines for the future. Most notable of these, and now in its second week, is that of the kid (Ethan) whose parents are both on the brink of death, and Owen’s relationship with him. We may be way off base here, but we see this causing problems down the road. We envisage two separate scenarios. In the first, Ethan’s parents both die and his grandma doesn’t want to take him, so Owen adopts him (or tries to). In the second, Owen is just reminded about how much he wants kids, and that causes problems with him and Cristina.

Also of interest for the future development of the show (and likely to feature in the Season 9 cliffhanger, provided that there are no shoot outs in the hospital) is this week’s epidemic strand. Bailey appears to be spreading infections in her patients, and the final scenes of “She’s Killing Me” could be troubling for Bailey fans. It’s unclear what will happen next (though lawyers, depositions and investigations will almost certainly feature) but, potentially, the least we can expect is a job-on-the-line cliffhanger. We may close out the current season unsure whether or not Bailey will be returning in the Fall.

Other smaller storylines

“Can’t Fight This Feeling” – Grey’s Anatomy

A strange offering from Grey’s, this. Enjoyable, certainly. Funny in places, sure. Drama filled? You betcha! But it was also a little disappointing. This episode was being promoted as “a mother’s worst nightmare”, with a healthy dose of lives on line, near misses, and parental solidarity. And, to a certain extent, we got that. But, confusingly, it felt like that wasn’t even the focus of the episode. It felt pushed aside in favor of some extra Kepner and Avery time. And it was missing that emotional core (the one that leaves you sobbing by the episode’s final scene) that makes Grey’s so successful.

From a more pragmatic point of view, we have to wonder about the wisdom of promoting this arc, and highlighting it as a real life story. We imagine the doctors watching the show are shuddering at the thought of the influx of mothers who will now start arriving in ERs with a list of internet-sourced maladies that their children are afflicted with, and refuse to leave because “that mother on Grey’s Anatomy was right, so I must be right, too”.

We may sound overly critical here, but the episode wasn’t a complete wash. Sarah Chalke (Scrubs) as the mother with a ‘feeling’, Casey, was fantastic. Her range here made us realize how criminally underused she was on shows like Scrubs and How I Met Your Mother. This left us hoping that casting directors everywhere sit up and take notice. We’d love to see more of her on our screens.

Aside from her storyline

“Transplant Wasteland” – Grey’s Anatomy

       

This is a prime example of a case where the episode’s title is far more exciting than the episode itself. “Transplant Wasteland” sounds like an epic movie along the lines of Repo! The Genetic Opera but, y’know… not terrible. There’d be a bunch of explosions and a central love story between a dorky teen and a hot girl who’s being hunted for her liver. Michael Bay would probably direct it. That’s not this episode. This episode should probably just have been called “Teething Issues”. That way, we wouldn’t have gotten our hopes up.

It’s not that the episode is bad, per se. It’s just that it doesn’t live up to Grey’s usual standards. It all felt a little like an interim episode. One that they only needed to bridge the gap between one state of being and the next – which is appropriate, given the subject matter of the episode, but takes much of the enjoyment out of it.

The episode centered on Avery’s transition as head of the Board of Directors, everyone’s inability to run the hospital without Owen, who quit early on, Alex and Jo’s continuing sexual tension, and three simultaneous organ transplants. Though the plot should have kept us on the edge of our seat throughout, it was disappointingly predictable from the offset. Of course Avery would be a mess until he stood up to the Board and to his mother, winning over the Board in the process. Of course Owen would come back to the hospital. Of course Jo would start falling for Alex. Of course the organ transplants would go perfectly. It couldn’t have been any other way.

The one bright spark, ironically, was Kepner’s arc. As she dealt with the voluntary death of a friend and former co-worker, we got some of the touching and emotional fare Grey’s is so good at.

And a final touching moment came with (yet another) new name for the hospital, one that was all Avery: The Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. It has a nice to ring to it. – K

Quoteworthy: “I thought she might cut someone to get you that kidney.” – Meredith, to Alex, about Jo

“Bad Blood” – Grey’s Anatomy

Do you ever feel like you just watched a whole episode of a show and have no idea how they made a full 42 minutes out of the material? Yeah. That’s how I feel after watching “Bad Blood”. The staff at SGMW had to deal with the uncertainty of not having a future. Bailey sucked up to the visiting lecturers to save her job, right up until Webber’s non-violent protest. Arizona and Torres argued over the best way to treat other people. The interns were all terrified about getting fired. The hospital had newly installed cameras that were intended to monitor patients. (They were manned by Bob. I like Bob.) Derek and April spent the episode trying to convince other departments to take funding cuts and make sacrifices so the hospital wouldn’t have to close the ER. Cahill assisted Owen on the final trauma surgery to come through SGMW. She closed the ER anyway, because she’s not trying to save the hospital. She’s making it pretty enough to sell. Guess we’re going to have a few months of uncertainty as we wait to see who’s going to buy it. Oh. Wait. Didn’t I already predict that the plane crash survivors would buy it? I’m standing by that. – K

Quoteworthy:

“There’s no talking to that girl. It’s dark in there. Really dark.”

“Karev!”

“I’m serious. That girl turned me into a suicide risk.”

– Karev, Callie