Allan Heinberg on "Testing 1-2-3"

Original airdate: 5-10-07

I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but, sometimes, terrible things happen on GREY’S ANATOMY.  Wonderful things happen, too.  People fall in love.  They have the best sex of their lives.  They have epiphanies about life and love and surgery and so forth.  But mostly on GREY’S ANATOMY people accidentally puncture their surgical gloves with their fingernails during a heart surgery.  Or they sleep with the wrong people -- again and again.  Or they die.  Occasionally they die and come back to life, but for the most part they die, and it’s devastating:  George’s father; Meredith’s mother; Meredith’s step-mother.  It can make for compelling television drama, but it’s not entirely unlike real life, where terrible things happen to us, to our friends, and to the world around us without warning or explanation.  And we’re human beings, most of us, so when terrible things happen, we want to know the reasons why.  We want the suffering to mean something.  And when the meaning isn’t immediately evident, we assign meaning as a way of comprehending, if not controlling, what seem like random acts of terribleness.  When bad things happen, we make sense of them by calling them tests.  Tests we either pass or fail before moving on to the next level of experience, but ones we hopefully learn from either way.

As Season Three hurtles toward its shattering, emotional conclusion, the interns at Seattle Grace face a very real and terrifying test:  a written exam, which will determine whether they become residents next season or whether they’ll be dropped from the surgical program altogether.  The attendings, too, are now just one day away from discovering the results of their season-long test.  Tomorrow they’ll find out whom Richard has recommended to become Chief of Surgery -- the same day Bailey and Callie discover Richard's choice for Chief Resident.

As usual, however, the professional challenges the doctors face are nothing compared to their personal ones.  Cristina and Burke are twenty-four hours from their wedding.  Izzie's bracing herself, about to lose George to Callie and Mercy West.   Alex discovers Ava has been concealing her true identity from him.  Derek feels he's losing Meredith in the wake of Susan's death.  And Meredith feels like she’s already lost everything:  her career, her relationship, and her family.

Meredith’s first test arrives before this episode even begins in that she has to decide whether or not to attend Susan’s funeral.  After the way Susan died, and Thatcher’s physically violent reaction to the news, Meredith would understandably harbor some ambivalence about going.  Especially on the day of the intern exam.  But in a surprising show of strength and resolve, Meredith doesn’t whine or deliberate over her decision.  She simply puts on her black dress and sets off for the funeral.  Even when Cristina gives her the out of asking the Chief to let her take the exam another day, Meredith refuses.  She doesn't need to reschedule the test.  She's ready.

What Meredith isn’t ready for, however, is her father’s showing up drunk and angry at the hospital and publicly humiliating her all over again.  At which point Meredith simply shuts down.  She sinks under the weight of her own life -- and her own perceived failures -- just as she did when she drowned.  Faced with her mother’s dismissing her life as merely “ordinary” -- and her father’s brutal rejection -- Meredith seems to will herself out of existence, failing to complete the intern exam and to communicate with Derek.  That is, until her friends intervene.  Confronted with the prospect of losing one of their own -- a test in and of itself -- the interns set aside their own conflicts and concerns and fight together for Meredith.  In the end, Meredith’s biggest test isn’t whether or not she fails or succeeds as an intern.  It’s whether she can allow herself to be helped -- to be taken care of -- to be loved -- by others.  When her biological family casts her aside, Meredith’s Seattle Grace family is there to support her unconditionally -- and, though it’s obviously painful and difficult, especially where Richard is concerned (“You’re not my father.”), Meredith ultimately lets them.

For Derek, who’s consigned to having to watch Meredith go through all this from the sidelines, it sometimes seems as if his entire relationship with Meredith has been a test.  And what's the right answer at this point?  To take her at her word that she's fine?  That she needs to go to Susan’s funeral by herself?  Or should he worry and hover -- making sure she’s still breathing -- as he’s been doing since she drowned?  In the end, Derek listens to Meredith -- he gives her the space she’s asked for -- but as a result, the distance between them grows wider than ever.  Derek ends up walking away from Meredith as she re-takes the intern exam -- leaving her in the care of her waiting friends -- but does that mean he’s failed her?  After all, he doesn’t succumb to the temptation of accepting the drink from the girl in the bar.  He remains true to Meredith, even if he remains excluded from her experience.  Again.  But for how long?

As for Cristina, the intern test seems to pose little or no challenge for her.  She has Callie’s cards and… she’s Cristina, she’s going to be fine.  And it’s not even her relationship with Burke that’s testing her at the moment.  It’s her relationship to the wedding itself:  the ceremony, the ritual, the vows -- all of which, in Cristina’s mind, have nothing to do with her and Burke.  But the demands of the wedding itself continue to test her patience and resolve.  And her sense of self.  Is she the sort of person who vows to love and cherish and honor till death do us part?  Burke knows she’s not.  Yet, in spite of himself, he’s expecting her to go through with it anyway.  Burke, too, faces the challenge of not judging Cristina's commitment to their marriage by the way she's participating (or not) in their wedding.  But in his mind, aren’t they one and the same?  Does her reticence to commit herself to him in public betray a deeper reluctance to commit to him at all?  According to Burke, it will all come down to the moment he sees her walking toward him down the aisle.  At which time, he’ll know.  He’ll know the answer to the question, “Do you, Preston, take this woman, Cristina, to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

But with some tests, there are no right answers.

Ava lies to Alex, concealing her true identity, and in doing, she fails him.  She betrays his trust.  But it seems she does so for Alex.  She keeps her identity a secret so that she can remain with him at Seattle Grace, rather than return to the marriage she was trying to escape in the first place.  It’s not the right thing to do, certainly, but it is an act of love.  In the end, even Alex can see that.  But how much will he be able to trust someone who lied to him?  Even if she did so out of love?

Addison's test is played largely for comedy in this episode as she struggles to come to terms with her infertility in the face of a seeming army of pregnant women.  And at no time does she ever put her personal struggle above the needs of her patients or her friendship with Callie.  She passes this test several times over, but she does so, it seems, at the risk of her own long-term happiness.

And it’s far too late for Izzie and George to do the “right” thing with regard to each other and Callie.  George and Callie’s marriage has already been compromised.  And no matter how real or deep Izzie and George’s feelings for each other are, their relationship has been compromised, as well.  And up until this point in his life, George has considered himself a highly moral person.  He’s not a man who cheats on his wife.  So what is the right answer for George, at this point?  Does he remain at Seattle Grace and continue to try to deny his feelings for Izzie?  Or should he tell Callie the truth, even if it means hurting her and ending their marriage?  Or does he stay the course by keeping silent, recommitting to the marriage, and sparing Callie’s feelings?  There is no right answer at this point.  George is a highly moral person doing his utmost to be the best doctor -- the best friend -- the best husband he can be.  But people, no matter how well intentioned, make mistakes.  If life is a series of tests, there is no perfect score.  You do the best you can and try to learn from your mistakes, because before you know it, life has another test in store.  And another.  And then one after that.  Not unlike episodes of series television. 

Speaking of which, we have only one episode left of GREY’S ANATOMY this season, and it’s epic.  And we’re already well into our work on Season Four -- talking about how far the characters have come in three seasons and where they seem to want to go next. 

Thanks for reading,
Allan Heinberg

Comments

[Angelique]

Once again you must be face with the question whatare you doing to Derek? What are you doing to Meredith and Derek? You're asking us to leap but into what. You built up this couple into the most beautiful pairing and now you are destroying them with no rhyme or reason. Season 4 is going to be fun? Great it better be fun with Mer/Der together. Because if not I can tell you right now it's going to suck. You're writing Derek completely out of character. Add layers but not to the point where you destroy the character.

[mel]

you can keep your season finale. I don't care to watch it. As far as I am concerned, you have managed to ruin the only thing the show still had going for it. I love how Meredith and Derek claim to love each other, and then he manages to give up on her. The worst part is he does it in a slimy way..."I met someone last night..." although, really, I shouldn't be surprised. After all, isn't that how Meredith and Derek came to be anyways? He gave up and Addison, and instead of dealing with the fallout of that relationship (whatever it may have been) he just moved across the country and slept with the first person he met at a bar. It's funny how I forgot that his character isn't really that desirable, he only appealed to me because I liked who Meredith was with him. To see him give his famous McDreamy "hi" to some other random person at the bar took away everything that I believed the show to be. I should have known when they got back together that it wouldn't last...I mean, how can you achieve the Ross and Racheal without tearing them apart and then making the fans think that they will get back together, by putting little looks, or kisses in the previews so that people will continue to watch and hope.

But I am done now. McDreamy is now McCrappy. Thanks.

[Vanessa]

I want a happy ending for Derek and Meredith this season. They deserve it. They've been through a lot and it's time for them to be ok.Please stop kicking Meredith at least for a while.
Can't wait for the next episode, I expect it to be an amazing season finale!
Night!

[Kaitlin in D.C.]

I don't know how you did it, but you made me feel sympathy for Derek Shepherd. Darn you. I was ready to...well, it's a little too violent and cringe-worthy to describe, so I'll let the imagination work. But it's like he can't win either way. If he follows and she rebuffs, he just has to wait until she's interested/willing, and if he walks away, he's abandoning her.

Here's an idea for backstory, and I don't care if you plagiarize it: Derek, as a ten year old (or some other young, impressionable age), is the one to find his father's body after suicide. Earlier that day, they had just finished up a fishing trip, where Derek saw no indications of the terrible event that would happen. See? It's backstory and explanation and terrible and wonderful all at once, and it explains Derek perfectly! Just like watching her father bleeding out explains Cristina!

Anyway, I liked the episode. I thought there was a lot of movement for the characters, and I almost cried for Meredith (I'm not a crier). I loved the intern interaction; it was so true and honest. I want George and Izzie traumafest to stop though. Izzie is simply intolerable, and even if George is the love of her life (unlikely), I simply don't believe she deserves happiness. I would not mind if she gets hit by a car. I have never wished death for any character in print or on screen as much as Izzie Stevens. Okay, there was one, but seriously, Izzie needs to go.

Cristina getting married...well, I'm doubtful. Plus, Burke is an ass. A handsome, successful, romantic ass, but still an ass. It's test day, her career will be decided...leave her alone.

Will Callie lay down an extremely painful smackdown on Izzie? Will Burke finally realize that he shouldn't have forced Cristina into a big ceremony? Will Meredith finally dump Derek and stop being co-dependent? Will Addison claim her throne and rightfully become Chief thus opening up super interesting plot points? Will Mark mack on Meredith and break Derek's heart (again)? Will this season end in an interesting enough way to keep me around for S4?

Questions I will wonder about all week...

[Jane]

GIZZIE is making me ill more and more and more! Have you people seriously gone mad? I love this show and I live for Thursdays but these days its like watching a scary movie - I do but then I close my eyes! There is literally a pillow infront of my face everytime I see those two on screen! The sex was bad, the elebator kiss was horrid and the promo from next week.....kill me now!

[BB]

Is there a place for joy in the episodes anymore? I'm missing the fun, cleverness, and joyful interplay lost at the expense seemingly contrived overextended drama these past few months.

Can Meredith hook up with Alex? McDreamy is a wussy.

[fabulous FABI]

wow...like...wow. Loved the episode, felt like I had my Grey's back. But why o why! must you keep kicking mer in the gut!! my gosh how much more must she go through!? Please keep Mer/Der relationship alive! I love them!!!

Callie the cagefighter...man her face, when Izzie was talking about George.. was SCARRRRYYYY I love George and Izzie together but I also feel bad for Callie...ohhh the dilemma...

Love, Love, Love Cristina! I swear she's my favorite. Sandra Oh is such a great actress!!! wish I could meet her and the entire cast in person *hint hint*

Alex/Ava... don't know what to say here, but I love Alex's softer side.

Addison=HOT i love her...she's just so great! I love her smile!!

Overall great episode but bring some happiness once in a while...
so sad that the season is ending it felt like yesterday it barely started! It is going to be a very long summer... can't wait for Season 4
I LOVE YOU GUYZZZ!!

[s.cali]

Oh, you can pull Meredith and Derek apart if you want. I don't particularly care.

But if you give Chief Resident to ANYONE but Bailey (I don't want any surprises with that freakishly chipper Resident that keeps trying to one-up Bailey in the clinic sneaking up on us!) I'll be mad.

[Maria]

So...I think that GA is finally getting back to being GA I have always loved. The stories are stronger, but I may die if one more thing goes poorly for Meredith! Good Lord! Basically, I cannot wait until the finally...although that means that there will be several months with no GA. I suppose that will just mean I'll have to bust out my Season 1 & 2 DVDs.

[Star]

Are you kidding me? Let's start with Mer and Der...when Derek couldn't have Meredith he was there for her, in fact he happened to turn the corner whenever she needed him (remember the closet scene when the DNR woman died and Mer said "I don't want my mother to die alone" or in Season 1 when she almost beat the crap out of Alex in the locker room). BUT now that she truly needs him he's not there, he's selfish, doesn't find out what's wrong with her, and now tells her in the promo that she should we worried about the woman he met at the bar? He needs to grab her and make her talk to him--be there for her!!! That's what Derek from season 1 and 2 would have done (and I know he's changed after she drowned) but he wouldn't just abandon her like that especially since he knows how much she's gone through in the last FEW WEEKS!!!! Secondly, I'm not buying the George and Izzie thing, it creeps me out--they look like best friends, not lovers, can't you guys see that???? please bring back SEASON 1 and SEASON 2 during SEASON 4!

[Lizzi]

Why can't any "wonderful" moments happen on GA anymore? I can't remember a truly happy moment in several episodes- it's getting ridiculous. I'm tired of watching characters we've all grown to care about be miserable, week after week, and do stupid/immoral/hurtful things that seem entirely out of character.

I'm worried that you're killing the characters we love, in particular, Derek, Meredith, George, and Izzie. Gizzie, specifically, is so wrong and illfitting I can't even believe it.

Also, why do you insist on killing so many characters this season: Mr. O'Malley, Ellis, Susan, and now possibly Adele? Adele is one of the best characters on the show, although one of the least used, just like Callie and Bailey. Do you hate strong women?

It would be fantastic if you could throw Meredith some kind of bone. No wonder people are starting to get sick of her: you're not giving her anything positive to play with. I still love her, and I hate that you continue to make her the sad voice-over character, rather than the leading lady Ellen Pompeo is.

[Heather]

By far the best blog entry to date. Thanks for all the information.

[HAHA]

ADDISON IS THE GREATEST CHARACTER ON TELEVISION.

I'M NOT STRIPPING FOR YOU.

OH KATE WALSH...YOU SLAY ME.

[SG]

George.. Izzie.. ugh. Did really have to make this into a tragic love-triangle? Couldn't you have them both just feel guilty and that be the end of it? Personally, this "I'm in love with my married best friend" deal isn't very convincing for me. Also, I have to say, having her "fall in love" with George seems a bit insulting to Denny's memory. In fact, it makes her previous "love" for Denny seem.. not so genuine. You make it so easy for Izzie to fall in love with people and.. she's just no longer the wonderful soul we saw in season 1. Now she's tactless and obsessive and selfish and immature and.. it just makes me sad to see how you destroyed such a great character.

However, I am less angry at you than I usually would be because you brought Joe and Walter back. :]

Here's to a hopefully good season finale.

[Depressing GA]

This episode was depression. Great acting by Ellen, but sooooo sad. It's TV. It shouldn't make us want to stop watching.

And also? Derek is a JERK.

I can't stand him anymore. He's the worst boyfriend on the show. He's gone so bad to the point where him being good-looking can't save him anymore. I've been waiting for him to redeem himself since season 2. What happened? What do you guys have against Derek?

[Rachel]

Okay, the best part of the episode: When Izzy is going on about love and Sara Ramirez gives her that LOOK. It actually gave me a chill. That was scary! Amazing acting.

Okay, now for how I feel about the episode as a whole: Disappointed. Where on earth is the Grey's that I know and love?? My husband teases me about watching the show and calls it "Sexcapades" ... and really, it's kinda becoming that. I've always explained my obsession with Grey's by saying how the writing and character development is so real and so multi-layered, but it's losing it. I have always loved Meredith because I could relate to her so much. The screwy family issues, trust issues, all the stuff that makes up real life. But when I watched tonight's episode, I couldn't connect. It seemed so ... melodramatic and corny. Her character has become so flat. WAY too many things are being hurtled at her (that's what makes it so soap opera-y; too much is going on. way too many plot twists, not realistic at all. At least not that many that fast) and there's no time for it to develop and get deep.

I used to cry nearly every time I watched Grey's because the story was so powerful. The last two episodes, along with the whole silly drowning thing, has left me staring at the screen going, "Huh?"

I LOVE Grey's. Make it good again, PLEASE.

[- R.]

I actually enjoyed this episode, and I don't understand why because I've been very frustrated with this show for quite some time now and I was spoiled for most of the events that occurred tonight.

Thank you for giving us the Addison we know and love back though I'm heartbroken that we're not gonna be keeping her. She is one of the few saving graces this show has right now and it's going to be a great loss for GA to not have her there. I'm going to miss her a lot, especially since I won't be watching the spin-off.

And thank you for the Alex scenes. He's become a truly wonderful character, and I adore him. I'm looking forward to finding out more about him next season, and I'm begging to please let him stick with neonatal and not switch over to plastics once Addison is gone. Because Alex and babies is a wonderful wonderful combination.

I'm going to end this right here because if I don't, I'm gonna start begging to please please please not take away my favorite character and keep Addie in Seattle, and I know there's no chance of that happening. So I'm off.

[Kaitlin in D.C.]

Other questions: will this show quickly lose all of its credibility in shaking up the only stable relationship in Bailey as well as giving Chief Resident to someone else? Will this show recover its quirk and wit with some happier moments for the interns? Will someone in this hospital get and stay in a stable relationship on screen? Will this hospital live up to the hype of being the best surgical program in the country with professionalism, cases and surgeons capable of focusing on...hmm...surgery? Will this show go back to S1 and S2 which were so undeniably brilliant that I watch them with alarming frequency? Will this show do something not gimmicky and not predictable and completely stun its devoted viewers in a good way?

These are questions (most of them) that I will consider over the summer.

[Bored in NY]

Bring back the fun! This episode didn't have any of it either. The show used to be balanced, some good, some bad, some happy, some sad. It's all bad & sad now. Dreary is more like it. Perhaps it should be McDreary, not McDreamy.

[Megan]

A year ago I found this fantastic, sexy, funny, touching show.

Where is it? It's been taken over by characters who are: suffering so much and so often I don't have any more emptathy left to give them (Meredith), characters who utterly disgust me (George, Izzie), characters who shouldn't be getting continually crapped on but are (Callie, Addison), and characters who are intruiging but hardly expanded upon...ever (Alex).

I'll watch the season finale and after that just read recaps. I think you guys will find that you're gonna have to work pretty hard to earn back your fan base. The perpetual doom and gloom at Seattle Grace has sent us all running for the hills.

[Miks]

Brilliant episode. Seriously. I felt like shutting down with Meredith. The loss of mother, step-mother, and any connection with her father was unbearable. For me and for her. Also, Addison became my favorite character tonight. I love that she is trying to come to grips with her two remaining eggs. She's fighting. I hope she wins.

[HeyItsMe]

I LOVED this episode!!

First of thank you for that bar scene with Derek, Mark, Burke, and Addison. It was amazing and it lightened up the very dark episode. "I havent". Oh Burke you are awesome.

Please tell me this "friends with benefits" is the writers ways of telling us the Mark/Addison door is NOT closed and will forever be open until she follows her to LA!!! God I love these two.

Cant wait for next week and for Ava/Rebecca/Shannon to go away. Now shes just annoying.

SOOOOOOOOO much better than last week Im loving this new bar girl...PLEASE tell me it's Lexie Grey!

[Compasion]

tap, tap, tap. It this thing on? Can you hear what people on this blog are saying about Mer/Der? Can you hear what the Media is saying about Meredith and Derek? Can you hear what they're saying about the show? It all has a common thread you're destroying the soul. McDreamy doesn't cheat. What happened with Meredith is different and you know it. We understand he's hurt but he's avoiding like her. Please breaking them up is not the answer. You say you're int oS4 and where these characters need to go Mer/Der need to go forward together as a couple.

[Ashley]

Congrats on a great blog and a great episode! Although I really hate Izzie and George, I loved Callie,Addison and Alex tonight.