Shonda Rhimes on Burning Down The House...

Original airdate: 5/17/07

So the third season began with Meredith helping Izzie remove her prom dress and ended with Meredith helping Cristina get out of her wedding gown.  I don’t know if you’ve noticed but…I like a little symmetry.

This season was important to me.  It wasn’t as light as Season Two and for good reason – our characters were in a darker place.  I needed to put Meredith’s mother to rest, Izzie’s grief to rest, and the race for Chief to rest.  George needed to grow up on a monumental level and then come full circle to where he was when we first met him in the pilot.  Meredith had to finally try to face the fact that she’s damaged when it comes to relationships.  I wanted to put Bailey on the path of questioning her standing as The Chosen One.   Both Burke and Derek needed to hit a relationship wall, each in their own ways.  And then there’s Cristina…

Oh, the Cristina of it all.  What this season is about most of all – for all of our women – is  the idea of “having it all” is a myth.  And that was true for Cristina more than anyone.  Slowly, over the course of the season, we’ve watched as hard-nosed Yang sliced off little pieces of herself to accommodate Burke.  From helping Burke hide his tremor to Colin Marlowe telling her she’s not the woman he knew to prepping for the wedding, she slowly morphs from kickass surgeon-girl into a woman we don’t quite recognize in that wedding dress with penciled eyebrows.   I wanted you to have the feeling in the finale that she’s become this painted doll – beautiful, everyone’s fantasy bride, but a painted doll all the same.  No longer our Cristina.  There’s that wonderful moment where she begs Bailey to let her cut because a part of her knows she’s becoming someone she doesn’t recognize.  And then, just as she’s lost almost all of herself standing there in that gown ready to walk down the aisle, Burke is telling her that he can’t marry her.  Because even Burke realizes that this Cristina is not his Cristina.   It’s devastating.  I hope you noticed that in the beginning of the episode Cristina talks about a heart as a purely anatomical thing (“it pumps blood”) and then Burke’s vows are all about the heart as an emotional thing (“I promise to lay my heart in the palm of your hands”) and it’s so sad to realize that they have completely opposing views of the world.   I feel for Burke and you should too because he knows that, in a way, by leading, pushing, cajoling her down this path to being together, he’s done this to her – he’s changed her.  That the only way to save her from disappearing completely is to set her free.  And then in that wonderfully painful moment (how much do we love Sandra Oh and her incredible talent?) in the apartment, Cristina turns to Meredith and says “He’s gone.  I’m free.  Damn it.”  And it’s so nuanced and so layered and so tragic because she’s relieved and terrified and heartbroken and suffocated all at once.  Watching her journey back from this is going to be amazing next season.

George and Izzie and Callie:  you all have your opinions, very strong opinions, on how you feel about this love triangle.  I’m glad – strong opinions mean you care what happens.  In the finale, Izzie’s declaring herself and Callie’s fighting for her rightful territory.  That moment when Callie casually lets Izzie know that she’s not only been named Izzie’s boss but that she and George are trying to have a baby is very interesting.  Callie’s saying “don’t mess with me” in the only way she knows how.  About the baby thing – for the record, I am very strongly against anyone trying to have a baby to save a relationship.  It’s crazy because it never works and I highly recommend you don’t do it.  Plus it goes against every feminist bone in my body.  But it is also human to delude yourself into believing that you’re not having a baby to save your relationship, that instead having a baby is a way of taking your relationship to the next level.  And Callie gives that great speech about her hormones and her body.  I’ve been there and I know that it is real, this sudden baby rush that happens and, if you are firmly into your career, it freaks you out.  Callie’s just being as honest as she knows how to be with George.  Because she can’t bring up Izzie again – not when the last time she brought it up, George called Izzie a supermodel thereby suggesting that Callie was, well…not.

George is interesting is this episode.  Did you notice that after he looks at his test scores, his entire demeanor changes?  How he’s vulnerable in a way that we haven’t seen in a long time?   My favorite moments for him are in that scene with Bailey where he says he can’t repeat his intern year over again.  He just can’t.  And then when that girl in the locker room (Lexie Grey!  Lexie Grey!) asks if he has any advice, he says simply “No.”  I love that.  Because he doesn’t have any answers.  He thought he did and then he fails his intern exam and Izzie has to go and tell him she’s in love with him.  He has no idea what the future holds.  His whole future is one big question.

Alex and Ava.  My heart beats for them.  How amazing was Ava in those scenes?  And Alex…I’ve said before that Alex is Meredith’s mirror and I’m saying it again.  He’s too screwed up to give Ava a reason to stay because he doesn’t think he’s good enough.   And it’s no coincidence that this scene comes right before the MerDer scene where Derek is asking her, all pained and raw, to put him out of his misery and Meredith is WAY too screwed up to give him an answer.  They’re damaged people, Alex and Meredith.

What I love is that for Meredith, Cristina getting married has become this incredibly important thing – this sign – that maybe she and Derek can make it through.  That she can be healthy enough to let herself have this, have him.  She keeps saying to Cristina “you can do this” and she needs it to be true.  She needs it desperately.  Meredith, the girl with no family model for how a relationship works, looks to her best friend. So when Burke shuts the whole thing down, Meredith is almost as devastated as Cristina.  She does that long walk down the aisle, gets up in front of the wedding guests and tells them it’s over.  And she doesn’t just mean the wedding.  She means everything she hoped could be true.  She means the fairy tale.  She means the MerDer of it all.  It’s over.  It’s so over.  Because she no longer believes.

Bailey’s got a lot to contend with next year.  She thought she was going to be Chief Resident – she really believed it.  After all, the Chief spent the season practically anointing her with Chief Resident oil. But he also spent the season warning her.  Because from his own life, he knows what it is to get so caught up in a job that you neglect your family.  And he wouldn’t wish that on anyone.  That is a lesson Bailey’s not ready to learn – the fact that there may be a choice between family and career isn’t something this generation of women has been raised to believe.  It’s not something I’m ready to believe.  But, like I said, what the women start to see this season is that maybe they may not necessarily be able to have it all.  Because maybe having it all has a price.  Is it fair that Bailey has to pay this price?  Absolutely not.  But isn’t it ironic that Bailey’s got the strong family and (in her mind) a shaky career while Callie’s got the solid career and the shaky family life?

The Chief.  Aah, my Chief.  I love his full circle journey this season.  His wife starts out leaving him and now she’s come back.  And Derek hands him back the Chief job.  Which opens all sorts of possibilities.  Because if he’s going to do it all over again, how will he do it differently?  Is it possible for him to have it all?  Will he get Adele back if he chooses to stay Chief?  I love the wonderful moments with his wife, when they’ve lost the baby and he’s there for her.   For me, in the face of the supposed fairy tale playing out with Burke and Cristina, this is what real love is.  After years of mistakes and pain and problems, real love is two people standing together, choosing to be together, despite all that has gone wrong.  It is very grown-up, the Chief and Adele of it all. 

Derek.  Poor Derek.  He’s done his best to pull Meredith forward.  He’s done his best to be in this relationship and help her be in it too.  He has tried to be the best man.  But it wasn’t enough.  He can’t save her.  And so in that last moment, when he’s sitting with the Chief, and he tells the Chief that he can’t take the job, it is about so much more than just the job.  It is about his belief in himself.  I adore the moment in the locker room when he tells Mer that she’s the love of his life.  Mainly because Patrick says things like that better than anyone I’ve ever seen.  But also because he’s desperately trying to get through to her.  And when he says that he can’t leave her, he won’t leave her, because he can’t – it’s sad.  And she looks at him and just sort of…freaks out and and he pleads with that one word “Meredith”…it’s all so…the way he puts his head back as they leave the locker room…He can’t be more of a best man.  Where he’s going next season is going to be interesting to watch.

Last but not least are Addison and Mark.  We don’t see a lot of them in this episode.  And for good reason.  Their stories were done, finished, earlier.  For Addison, there’s a brand new future ahead over at Private Practice (Wednesday nights at 9 pm!).  For Mark, he starts fresh over at Grey’s next year.  Without Addison.  He’ll get to stand on his own and I think you’ll enjoy seeing it.

So that’s it.  That was our season.  I did my level best to burn it all down this season, to burn it to the ground so that we can have a place to build from next season.  Burning it down was hard.  But next season…oh, next season is all about the fun and the pain and the new beginnings.  Because our interns are going to become residents.  Because everyone is single again -- well, there is the little matter of Izzie and George and Callie…but still…

…the future is wide open, people.

Special thanks to Tony Phelan and Joan Rater for writing an excellent finale. And to Shoots With No Script for...well, shooting with a very long script.

Have a good summer.

Comments

[McDark&Twisty]

You know what I wish? If I couldn't change the finale, but could change something else about this TERRIBLE season?

I wish that you had given us ONE episode where Burke and Cristina were happy the whole time. Just one.

I mean, if you were planning this all along, then you could have given us that one thing.

They deserved to be happy. The had come so so far. They deserved to be happy. And if you weren't going to give them what they deserved in the end, you could have given them that for one episode.

But apparently, you don't give that kind of thing. You give "Have a good summer"s. You give us promises of a better, lighter season next time, which you'll probably break. You give us storyline that go to crap because you make them that way. You give us statements that the future is wide open.

We don't want the future to be completely open. That's what the beginning of a show is for.

You didn't have to burn it all of it down.

[Robin]

Why did we not get any Addison goodbyes or closure? Hate. Hate. Hate.
Oh and on that topic I wish you had never even toyed with Addison and Alex. What an absolute heartbreak for it to go down like that. Rebecca? WHAT. THE. HELL?

[Lola]

Simply amazing. That's all I can say. GA always serves up amazing finales. Job well done -- am doing a standing ovation at my keyboard for all -- writers, directors, actors, crew, etc. -- right now. Can't wait for September!!

[Suzanne]

Shonda and company:

Bravo! We got questions answered and new ones to ponder. I am starting nursing school in the Fall so I hope my DVR can hold it all until I go on winter break because I cannot wait to see what happens next.

Thanks for being original and creative :-)

[Vy]

All I ask is:

PLEASE DON'T RUIN MER/DER.

Thanks.

[whatanending!]

Now that was more like the Grey's we fell in love with back in Season 1. I loved this episode! Lexie Grey though? Seriously? Doesn't Mer have enough issues?

[Debbie]

Please don't take George away.....

[GreysFan]

Everyone's single???? How? Why??? Meredith and Derek fought and cried for this relationship, and the fans did too. We cried, and waited, and texted you, and waited. What? Is this going to be every season? Because Meredith has had nothing but pain and suffering, and we as fans watch. And we wait. We watch hoping that Meredith and Derek will be okay. And that everything will go according to plan. The plan of faith in love. Not perfect love, but not the roller coaster you have created. NO ONE has these many struggles. Every finale there is contemplation?? Come on. If losing the show's fans is your goal, then you are a season away from accomplishment.

[Nina]

I really loved this episode, except I don't want MerDer to be over. I'm glad Christina and Burke broke up, and there wasn't that much gross Gizzie so I was very happy!

[Susanne]

Definitely a lot different than the ending of last season. I get that it has to be torn down to rebuild it all again next season. I liked the ending but yes it was dark and I just feel kind of depressed. But I am SURE that it will all be worth it when GA returns next season!

[Michelle]

that episode was increadible...as soon as it ended I checked the blog, and well i cant wait for the podcast tomorrow. But here I am sitting on my couch at 1030 jaw still on the ground wondering what is going to happen next.

[reggie]

Wow. Amazing. Its going to be a very long summer. Thanks for another seriously fabulous season.

[Pamela]

Thank you Shonda for an excellent Finale. I look forward to next season, and hopefully, a reuniting of Meredith and Derek.

[rosalinda]

i was really surprised this episode. disappointed and shocked, actually. burke and cristina were so much to me- i don't think that cristina changing was a bad thing. she let him in. she loved him the only way she knew how and realized that maybe she needed to let him in. i am seriously hoping that this does not mean that isaiah washington is finished on the show. i felt my heart sink as he reached for the door and all i could think was 'oh no- he's leaving...' i really hope that there is still a place for him on grey's anatomy because i for one am a fan. people make mistakes and he is too good an actor to let go. i'm still up in the air about most things, but i wanted to comment on this. i'm all about 'dark and twisty,' but there was so much left unresolved at the end of this episode. please keep us updated through the summer hiatus!

[Kate]

Sanda Oh made me cry. Christina was just amazing tonight.
Please, please, please have George choose Callie! I want him to have a baby and for Izzie to become less selfish and get with Alex!

[Sam]

OMG! Derek can't go for Lexi, he just can't! If he did, that would just be plain CRUEL to Mer, going out with the daughter of the father who left her to be so freaking damaged! Please don't do that to this show, you've already overused the 'MerDer break-up, MerDer back together, MerDer break-up' far too many times. To tell you the truth, it's getting annoying. Please get back to the old, non-Soap Opra-y Grey's that we all used to know and loved-- because this new Grey's leaves is left behind in shambles.

[Mary from West Hollywood]

Ouch Shonda... ouch. Why did Mer fight so hard for Derek last season when you was too damaged to keep him. And now she's gone and made him damaged. And everyone is damamged. And it's painful. I need a summer long break from Mer tragedy. Please bring back some of the fun next season. Please? Seriously.

[Grey'sFan]

I'm disappointed Shonda. I'm very disappointed. That's all I can say.

[Natasha]

Am I the first person? Whoo Hoo! Can I just say that I totally feel where Cristina is at at the end? Terrified but so thrilled to be free of it all. This was a great episode, although I think it's bull that Callie got chief resident. She doesn't even have her own interns. and George absolutely has to stay next year, or else he can't get with Izzie!!! I don't know how you can start over again next season, but I hope it is with meredith and derek getting it together. they NEED to be together shonda. addison's show looked ok...but what was the point of saying it wasn't a spin-off? you know your watchers are smarter than that. I hope you can give taye diggs the show he deserves (and a bigger dog!)Alex is a story I am waiting for next season,along with sloane. have a good summer over there and hurry back!!!!

[Annetz]

Thanks for breaking it down and answerring some of the questions we were left with after the finale!
Seriously, we should be done with the drama because actors' perfect acting is getting deep down in viewers' souls and sometimes it is just as painful for the fans as for the characters!
So, let's move on to the fun Grey's that it was in Season 2. More porn as pain management, more hot dog eating contests, more McDreamy moments in the elevator! One request though, Shonda, please make Meredith less dark and twisty and more shiny or at least a bit happier! The girl has had enough and deserves some great moments in life!
Thank you from Grey's biggest Ukrainian fan(me) for this season! Keep up good work!

[Theresa]

I hope you are right that season four will be fun. I hope you are right that Private Practice is a good idea. Right now, looking at the past and seeing the possibilities in the future, I hope you are as good as we all think you are, because you seem to be in this pretty deep. I hope you can dig yourself out before it is too late.

[NotADuhMe]

KUDOS, Shonda!!! My boyfriend hasn't watched an episode in several weeks and he was glued to tonight's episode. When it was over, he asked me to get the whole season's worth of recordings together so he could watch what he'd missed. He's re-hooked and I never once became unhooked! YAY to season three and bring on season four!!! Have a great summer, to you too!

[Mel]

WOW! I'm on the edge of my seat, shouting at the TV, shouting at my husband that I cannot wait until Season 4! What am I going to do all summer?!

I loved this season! The characters have evolved so much and I cannot wait to see what else you have in store for them!

Thank you so much for creating this show and these characters! I will literally be counting down the days to Season 4!

[FIRST! :)]

Oh my god. That's all I can say for now. Oh my god.

[Sara M.]

For the longest time over this past season, I didn't understand what you were doing. For the first few episodes, the characters were progressing slowly and not much was happening in the way of the characters' lives. But then, after the month hiatus- charaters were hooking up, breaking up, getting engaged, getting married, dying, and so on. It was a tangled web of emotions and personal issues that these characters were working through. I, nor other fans, did not see where you were going with Season Three. We speculated, argued, discussed, and fought over where the writers were taking this season. With this season finale and your explanation, now we know. The symbolism in the episodes and crafting the writing of the episodes forces the audience member to look past what's in the foreground to see what is -really- there. It requires thought, and with this explanation, I now understand why I, as I am sure many others, were so frustrated. We had no idea in the short term why the writers chose to point the characters in the direction that they were going. But, this season finale opens up those doors and makes the entire season make sense when you look back on it. Can't wait for Season 4!