From Mark Wilding, writer of "17 Seconds"

Airdate:  May 14, 2006

Okay.  You obviously saw last night’s episode.  And in a minute or so, I want to talk about it because it looks like Izzie has done a very, very bad thing.  Like a going to hell bad thing.  I want to talk about that bad thing and other bad things that people did in my episode.  I do.  But first…

…There’s a couple things you should know.  First, you should know that I’m okay with the fact this blog will have a very short lifespan.  And I mean short.  Barely 24 hours.  That’s what happens when a two hour finale follows on the heels of your episode.  That finale is tonight.  Not next Sunday night,  TONIGHT.  So cancel your plans to watch “Two and a Half Men.”  Ditch studying for that sociology final.  And forget about going to bed at 10:00 o’clock because you’re tired from staying up late to watch last night’s episode.  Because tonight is when things heat up even more.  I simply set the table for tonight’s feast.  And that feast is going to be… well,  I don’t want to give anything away, so let’s just say it’ll be very, very entertaining.   And Shonda is definitely going to have a few things to say about it in her blog tomorrow.  So really, this is just a pre-blog.  An appetizer you can digest until they bring out the roasted wild boar and thirty pound lobsters and flaming baked Alaskas (or whatever dessert lights on fire).

The second thing you should know is that I have two sisters.  I also have a brother but I’m not talking about him today.  He’s a good guy, he’s just not pertinent to this particular discussion.  Since this particular discussion involves Denny and other things in the show that my brother pretends not to care about.  But mostly it’s about Denny.  One of my sisters lives in Montreal and the other one lives in New York City.  What do they have in common besides the fact they both live back east and they’re both lucky enough to have me as a brother?  Well, they both watch the show and they both LOVE Denny.  They LOVE him.  As does my wife.  Who finally got to visit the set a few weeks ago and, with all the wonderful cast members we have, the one person she REALLY, REALLY, REALLY wanted to meet was Denny, aka Jeffrey Dean Morgan.  She met him and, guess what, he’s also very charming in person.  I mean,  CHARMING.  As in I would understand if my wife left me for him charming.  I wouldn’t like it but I would understand it.  Luckily, that hasn’t happened.  If and when it does, you’ll be the first to know.

Anyway, my New York sister wrote me a letter a couple weeks ago that said if anything bad happened to Denny, she would never watch the show again.  Ever.  So, is what’s happened to him bad?  And more importantly, is Izzie bad for doing it?  Is she tremendously irresponsible?  She cut the LVAD wire for love so does that make her action understandable?  Or just crazy.  I mean,  Denny’s still alive, right?  (Sorry, I can’t even tell you that – tune in tonight!).   And Izzie does have a plan so it’s not like she hasn’t thought this all out.  Or has she?  Is bad, well… relative?  You see, all these questions I just asked -- they’re the things we talk about in the writers’ room.  And we don’t always have the answers.  Because too often those answers aren’t black and white.  They’re grey and they fall into cracks and it’s hard to get a hold of them because they keep just slipping out of reach.  Here’s another one -- if you do a bad thing for a really, really good reason – is it still a bad thing?  Does my sister understand that?  Or has she already stopped watching the show?

As for the other thing that might have caught your attention at the end of the episode – namely Preston Burke lying on the ground with a bullet in him – that was a bad thing.  At least none of our interns did that.  At least, directly.  Indirectly’s another story.  After all, it was Izzie’s misbehavior that led to him rushing back to the hospital.  Of course, he was being bad at the start of the episode -- punishing Cristina for falling asleep during sex by telling her she couldn’t go get the heart.  Still, it’s not like he deserved to get shot.  It’s funny, you write an episode with a theme in mind (in this case, anger management) and after you’ve filmed the thing, you start thinking about other possible themes.  Like, say, “men behaving badly”.  Petey the shooter behaves badly, Neal the bullet ducker behaves badly, Brad the boss behaves badly, Burke behaves badly and Derek is still behaving badly towards Meredith (and Addison for that matter).

As for Mer/Der… that silent scene in the elevator at the end where they have so much pain and they can’t talk to each other – well that scene originally had words.  Many words.  But Patrick Dempsey thought it would play stronger without words and he was right.  The scene started out being about anger – hence the many words -- but if you combine anger with love, you really get pain.  The pain of hating someone while still loving them.  We’re told that to hate someone is bad.  But if you love them at the same time, is it still bad?  I once had a girlfriend who used to throw tantrums in restaurants.  Yes, public tantrums.   Embarrassing, horrible public tantrums directed at me.  It was traumatic and yet it was also a little bit exciting.  The result being I loved her and hated her at the same time.  However, in the end, I just hated her.  I mean, come on, public tantrums?  That’s just bad.  By the way, my wife doesn’t have public tantrums and for that I love her.  Although, I do wish she’d get off this Denny kick. 

Anyway, I can’t talk about Burke or Denny or Meredith and Derek anymore because the more I talk about it, the more I’m tempted to give something away.  Also, these are Shonda’s characters.  “Grey’s Anatomy” is her novel.  We, the other writers, try to get into her head as best we can, but at the end of the day, she’s the one that should have the last word.  And tomorrow, she will.

And that won’t be all bad, will it?

Comments

[Sunburst]

... I don't know what to say. The episode was awesome in so many ways, and when it ended I had my heart in my throat...

... but you destroyed Izzie's character. In this whole Denny storyline, you've taken her from being someone who crawled her way up from nothing to her dream job, sacrificed everything for it - to completely lose her mind.

And the fact that Finn is just a plot device? That just... sucks. It sucks huge. Especially after the way Derek's been acting.

I expected more from this show. This show has such strong women, and yet it seems more and more that the message is to forgive the men who treat us badly.

The guy calls you a whore? Whatever! It's all good! You still love him!

Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe the episodes tomorrow will prove me wrong. Who knows.

[mo]

denny CANNOT die! i WON'T allow it!!

[melanie]

oh my gosh. today's episode in one word: intense. I CANT WAIT UNTIL TOMORROW. ohmygoodness ohmygoodness.

[Christine]

You seriously need to get an earlier timeslot for the show next year. Because I cannot continue lying awake until midnight or one in the morning every Sunday night because I can't stop thinking about Grey's Anatomy. Please, seriously.

[sara]

ahhhh!!!

i couldnt stop crying after the scene with izzie pleading with denny because she loved him.
i absolutely lost it.

I CANT WAIT to see the finale.
im jumping out of my skin.
ahgjsifdkjf

[Nathan]

24 or Grey's...24 or Grey's...this isn't fair!

[Caitlen]

OMG. This is the first Grey's episode I've been able to watch (I have finally been able to tune the TV in my new house to CTV) in around 6-8 weeks, and WHAT AN EPISODE!! I have to admit, I was covering my eyes at the end of it.

Hell, I'm going to cancel the new "historical fighting" class that I was going to take (at Acadamie Duello - looks SO COOL, but hey - I'll just have to go ANOTHER TIME cause I have to watch GREY'S!!!!)

There are all these new things that I have no idea about!! Look at the New and Improved George!! He is so cool! And we hardly got to see any George!!

But I think the *wince* of the episode needs to go to Izzy. I mean, *wince*. And that was SUCh a bad thing. I think I woke up the dog that lives in the apartment beneath our house when the episode ended, cause I let our a very shrill "NO! DON'T DO THAT! THAT'S BAD! NO NO!" And by that point, he'd started barking...

I have no idea what's going on between Meredith and Derek, but for the first time in ever watching Grey's, I actually liked Addison for a bit.

I can't believe I've got to go to work tomorrow and act normally!! I think I'll need to put up a disclaimer sign: I'm sorry - If you see me working distractedly, please see Grey's Anatomy."

[Marshies]

Ah...smart smart writers.
See the last bit about the wife and the public tantrums and the hate? Meredith was the love and hate, and now Addison's just the hate part.

Our beautiful Addie!!!

[Joanna]

WHOA! I'm so glad I only need to wait a day instead of all summer. Thank you for that, though I'm dreading what the summer cliffhanger will be if this isn't it.

I have no idea how I'm going to sleep tonight. Or tomorrow night.

SAVE DENNY AND BURKE!

(Wow, that sounds like a cheap knockoff handbag.)

[Jane]

Oh my god, poor Addison. . .tell me you guys are going to start being nicer to her soon. . .

[Lisa]

What happened to Izzie? She just lost it. She seemed saner, more together than that. I know love and desparation makes you do crazy things, but this affects so many others. I just didn't think Izzie would be that selfish. Somewhere, someone else needed that heart just as badly, someone totally loved - it pained me to see her make that career-killing choice.

But I love the Mer/Der stuff tonight. And Patrick was right - no words were needed. The pain was so palpable, and compelling. And Meredith's last line. Of course she loves the dog. But she wasn't talking about the dog. Really great.

I'm worried now for Burke! I'm glad he has Christina to help pull him through. Wow, that was a shocker. Can't wait for the next 2 hours!

[steph]

wow!
you guys do a good job of making greys fans not sleep!
cant the clock tick any faster?

[shocked]

I was literally screaming at Izzy, "Don't do it!!!!"

This whole episode had me drawn in.

And Burke lying there as Izzy cut the cord. OMG.

Keep up the good work. I can't wait until tomorrow.

[joey]

omg i just stared at the tv at the end of the episode screaming. if burke dies a part of me will die too.

[Nichole]

Mark, I loved the blog and I loved the show. Again, it's the GA roller coaster ride. As I am writing this after watching the show on the West Coast I am watching it again.

I can see why we women love Denny. It's that southern accent and dimples (I have the same thing only in female form). But I must admit Izzie was getting on my nerves. You're right hate and love so closely related that we often forget the minor details -- DNR (do not resuscitate). That's all I could think about watching her.

Bailey was awesome! And the last words from the couple to Cristina. Makes us all think.

I realize you believe tonite's episode was an appetizer but I would say it was like tapas. You can either have them as appetizers or as a full entree.

Great job (which we all say every week). I'm looking forward to Monday's finale.

Now I need to re-watch tonite's episode.

[Kimeleon]

I was CRYING. Tears ewre actually coming out of my eyes at the end of this epi. I love Denny. I love love love him and I love Izzie for loving him like she does. It's always great to have that ONE character that you fall in love with because his/her personality seems so real and you can just feel his/her pain. It's overwhelming. (Prime example: Pacey on Dawson's Creek, I know it's dated but if you've watched it you would know!) I just wish Izzie didn't do what she did. Why didn't George stop her?? Was he awake? And I love George b/c he's just becoming more than a Bambi - doe-eyed puppy. Okay so one other thing...Addison! I am so so proud that she finally saw the light and spoke up. Sure the timin gwas off but can ANYONE really blame her?!?! Okay...I have to calm down now. Until tomorrow night.

[steph]

I did NOT see that coming - HOLY CRAP!! I actually yelled - HOLY CRAP - out loud - and then had to calm my breathing to watch the promo for the season finale. You guys are BRILLIANT!!! Seriously!!

[Nichole]

BTW, good call by Patrick Dempsey.

[delilah]

Add me to the list of people, ok, women begging for Denny to live.

And Izzy mostly sucked for pulling George into her mess. And George sucked for saying, "Call you later?" in response to Callie saying I love you to him.

Why not just say "thank you" and kill her instantly?

@ss.

[kelly]

this episode had me in tears at least 4 times u guys r great writers keep up the good work

[Nathalie]

AMAZINGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!OMG, i'm freaking out!!!! I seriously can't wait for tomm!!!!!

[april]

I'm still in shock. Wow!!!please, please don't kill Denny!!! Those two did such an amazing job tonight! I'll be so sad! Fix Burke! AAAGGGHH is it tomorrow yet?
Oh and Mer/Der was great. I honestly felt so bad for Addison, what an awful moment of truth to have.
I will not be sleeping tonight.

[silvia]

omg! tonight's episode was INTENSE...the only word i can use to describe it. i'm so scared for what comes next but so excited too!

i gotta say that mer/der scene in the elevator...wow. i could feel it. really, i could. i hope these two can be real with each other FINALLY because it was killing me, the pain.

and burke. please let him be okay. i about died when i saw him lying there. he has to be alright, i don't know what i'd do if he wasn't!

[Soft Music]

OMG, I just wanted to tell you guys that you are awsome writers, I love the show and I can't wait for tomorrow I'm halling ass from my evening class to watch tomorrows finishing two hour episode! The shows great!

[GA/VM fan]

Great episode! But I hope Izzie isn't the one to be kicked out of the intern program! That would suck. I loves me some Izzie. Also, Addison is great. About time she told it to Derek! Dump him, girl! McSteamy is so much hotter. And yeah... Callie. SO sweet with George. Neat that she at least tries with Meredith so as to be part of the "family." And double yeah for two more people who have been on "Veronica Mars"! The girlfriend of the coward (Veronica's journalism teacher for a while) and the annoying guy who wouldn't shut up -- Vinnie Van Lowe on VM!! Kudos.