Mark Wilding on "Stairway to Heaven"...

I am going to tell you something about myself that you probably already suspect.  Which is…I don’t know any serial killers.  None.  Not a one.  I grew up in a small university town in Connecticut and our crimes ran more towards shoplifting, speeding and disturbing the peace.  No William Dunn types hanging out at the local Friendly’s ice cream parlor or exchanging warm hello’s at the Coventry Farmers’ Market.  My brushes with any kind of criminal element pretty much extended to what my younger brother, Dave, was up to that day.  Be it shooting out a neighbor’s window with a BB gun or throwing a snowball at the high school principal – the principal for God’s sake! – Dave was the closest thing to an actual criminal that I knew.  (Of course, to this day my brother denies shooting out the window with a BB gun.  But then, that’s what criminals do, right?  They deny.)

Anyway, you get the idea.  Bucolic small town, God-fearing folks, blah blah blah.  Except that now I’m going to tell you something that you don’t know about me.  Which is that even though I don’t know any serial killers, I do know a killer.  That’s right.  Someone who murdered another human being.  The murderer was someone I grew up with.  He was in my grade.  We went to middle school and high school together.  We even went to college together.   I even had the occasional beer with him in college.  And now he’s sitting in a Texas prison for murdering his wife.  To be more precise, for poisoning his wife with arsenic.  Which, from all the accounts I read, was a pretty horrible way to go.  And guess what?  He really was one of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet. 

My point being that even though I know a charming, well-mannered murderer, when Shonda floated the idea that we do our own version of a charming serial killer – someone that we couldn’t help but like -- I wasn’t that on board with the idea.  After all, a killer’s a killer, right?  No amount of charm or politeness can mitigate THAT.  But then we got Eric Stoltz and I started to see the light.  Not all the light, but some of it.  Eric’s a great actor and very charming.  But myself and others in the writers room still weren’t convinced.  We argued back and forth about what kind of killer we should have.  Because if Meredith is going to have compassion for him, shouldn’t he at least be a guy who killed for a reason?  To defend himself?  Or to put some poor soul out of their misery?  Does he have to be someone who just killed people for no good reason?  And Shonda said he DID have to be someone who killed people for no good reason.  But, we countered, wouldn’t that reflect poorly on Meredith?  Being best buds with an utterly irredeemable serial killer??  No it wouldn’t, insisted Shonda.  Compassion is compassion.  And as Jenna Bans pointed out in her wonderful episode last week – it’s a lot easier to have compassion for a sick person than for a serial killer.  Well, as you saw at the end of the episode last night, Shonda was right.  As horrible a human being as he was, when it came down to it, when William Dunn walked into that death chamber and looked at Meredith (and looked and looked) I really didn’t want him to be killed.  And I’m someone who’s not completely against the death penalty.  (I go back and forth.  On the one hand feeling that if you deprive someone of their life, shouldn’t you be deprived of yours?  While on the other hand, not being terribly happy about the fact that sometimes they execute the wrong guy).

The first and most obvious relationship that needs commenting on is Cristina and Meredith’s.  Yes folks, the rift is finally over.  And it ended the way most rifts end.  Not with profound apologies on either side but with the sense that this argument has just gone on too long, that life’s too short to prolong the misery.  How many great friends do you get in your life?  Like real soul mate friends?   And do you want to lose that soul mate friend over something that, a month later, now seems trivial?  Meredith and Cristina are a couple of strong personalities.  I don’t know that we could ever have gotten them to offer up mutual apologies – with both of them shouldering a measure of the blame -- and actually believe it as an audience.  And Derek pretty much spoke for the viewers when he said isn’t it about time to wrap up the fighting -- that Meredith and Cristina need each other.  If only to freak out to each other when something really big happens.  In this case, a possible proposal.  And even though it looked like Derek might be so put off by Meredith’s charitable behavior towards William that he would never propose, we got the nice, lump in the throat, surprise at the end of the episode when Derek shows up outside the prison.  A nice surprise because a couple of seasons ago, he might have been so disgusted with her behavior that he might not have shown up.  I think that gestures shows that their relationship is really maturing.  That’s what happens in relationships.  If you want to keep it going, you forgive things that bother the crap out of you.  If you DON’T want to keep it going, you dump the person.  Or divorce them.  You should not, under any circumstances, poison them with arsenic.  That is bad.

There are two other relationships that I want to comment on.  First, Mark and Lexie.  A couple that I grow more and more fond of every week.  I loved that the humor of him breaking his penis – it really does happen, people, you can look it up – becomes something very moving at the end, when Lexie ignores his request to get out of his room and, instead, crawls into bed with him.  Mark has never been in such pain and she’s going to be there for him, whether he wants it or not.  On paper their relationship looks like it can’t possibly work.  He’s an attending and a man whore.  She’s an intern and all sweetness and light.  But time and again we’ve shown that Lexie’s also a lot stronger than she looks.  If she wants something, she’ll eventually figure out a way to get it.  In this case, that something is Mark.  At this point we’re not sure where this relationship is going but I promise you that this is one of those story lines that we, the writers, really want to get right.  We’re enjoying it too much not to.   

And finally, we get to Izzie and Denny.  Now here’s a story line a lot of folks have had a strong opinion about.  Starting with Denny coming back (WHAT?), Izzie finally breaking the ice and talking to him(REALLY?  REALLY??), Izzie having long conversations with him (NO WAY!), Izzie having imaginary, albeit spectacular, sex with him (OKAY, THIS CHICK IS CRAZY), and Izzie pulling a sort of modern day “Jules and Jim”, balancing the two men in her life (REALLY, HONESTLY, SHE NEEDS TO BE COMMITTED).  Anyway, I’d say that since we started the story line, opinions have run two to one against the whole thing.  Or at least they were before this episode.  Maybe now some of you doubters will be swayed.  I’m not saying EVERYONE will be on board, just maybe a few of you.  We didn’t bring back Jeffrey Dean Morgan just because he’s a super looking guy who can act the hell out of stuff, we brought him back for a reason.  Izzie is sick.  We don’t know how bad it is or whether Denny is some sort of hallucination or weird manifestation of her sickness, but now at least the thing’s on her radar.  Now she can do something about it.  So stick with us.  It’s going to be a fun ride.  After all, if I was able to come around on the whole charming, serial killer thing, you guys might just come around on this.

Comments

[Grace]

George is a legend, give him a story!

[JT]

I have to say, I still completely disagree with Mer's compassion for the serial killer, and it's not because I have no compassion. I do, loads and loads of compassion, but only for people who deserve it. I have compassion for people who work hard but for whatever reason, fail at what they do. I have compassion for regular, non-perfect folks who meet bad things. I have compassion for cute little animals and I even have compassion for ugly insects (I don't kill bugs. I throw them out the window.)

But I don't have compassion for serial killers, even Stolz, because I remember that serial killers get to play with our heartstrings because unlike their victims, they're still alive. The victims don't get to lay in bed and look sad and fearful and make us feel bad because they are DEAD, thanks to the serial killer if I might add. And lets not forget, in all the ways a person's life can be ended prematurely, the way the serial killer went was a LOT more humane than the way his victims went. To have compassion for the serial killer is akin to a slap to the face for the families of the victims. How are the victims' families supposed to feel if they knew people actually pitied the villain who took away their loved one in such a horrible manner? And if the victims could magically pull a "denny", they'd most likely tell you how horrible it was for them and how much they hate their killer (If it's "right" to feel compassionate for serial killers, then why do survivors of war crimes ask for justice?)

There is a reason that society and individuals evolved to feel revulsion for serial killers. That reason is, if we were to pity mass killers and as a result, fail to punish the criminal to the full extent, we would essentially be putting ourselves in danger. Animals evolved to have a sense of self preservation (or the species wouldn't have survived until today)and thats why human society draws a distinction between between different kinds of death. Off the top of my head, I can only think of two socially acceptable situations to end someone's life: 1)In war, but only if soldiers obey the rules of engagement, and 2)capital punishment in the criminal justice system. Whether or not everyone agrees with it, both types of "killing" occur because of the belief that we are protecting ourselves. And this ends my rambling 2 cent on the topic of "compassion for serial killers".

On to happier things:
1) I love that owen was shirtless in Cristina's bed. Gosh darn the man is sexy. And it was very sweet how Cris was watching him. AWWWWWWWWW I really really want their romance to really begin. I am such a huge fan of the whole crisxowen romance.

2) Owen's apologies: Gosh...you have to love this man. And I'm so glad cris is willing to give him a second chance even though he is a man with lots of problems.

3) The choice of the doctors to save the SK:
It's the job of doctors to save lives, not end it. The SK deserves to die, but it's the duty of the justice system to take care of that, not the doctors no matter what.

Things I didn't like:
1) Dead denny: Honestly.....I'm really starting to feel bad for the actor who portrays denny because people really hate dead denny, myself included. And I always suspected Izzie was sick because healthy people simply don't see imaginary people (unless they're very young children). Maybe there IS some credence to the whole "izzie has a brain tumor" idea.

2) Mer's witnessing of the serial killer's death: The serial killer managed to create one more victim by having Mer watch him die. She was obviously greatly affected and that was the SK's way of leaving his mark on Mer. Yes, I get the whole argument that "mer is a good person bc it's harder to have compassion for a serial killer than a regular person". But I ask, what is the point of having compassion for a serial killer? It's also harder to rub Hydrochloric acid on your face instead of lotion but why would anyone want to rub Hydrochloric acid on their face?

[Lori]

The way the relationship with Derek and Meredith is going is great - thank you - do you really think the viewers didn't know that Izzie is sick - I think most of us got the message - it just took way too long to get Izzie there - and how much can Alex take - the guy is finally making great strides in his life and you are going to throw this at him --- why not develop some of the other characters. What happening in Bailey's personal life; the Chief's, let's find out more about Sadie - there are so many storylines here - keep the viewers wanting more - at the moment the only thing I want more of is Meredith and Derek - that's all that is keeping me watching the show.

[AtelierGal]

This episode got me tearing up real bad. Because my mother's mood swing is acting up again and took it out on me. And I'm PMSing so my hormones make me cry even more easily. Most importantly, Mer's compassionate confession to Derek.

I was surprised that Derek was there waiting. What Mer had done was out of line, but thank god for oh-so-understanding McDreamy.

My tears went high-tide when Cristina put their problem aside to console her friend. Her 'person.'

I'm glad their rift is finally over. I would give up anything for a friend like Cristina.

By the way, the creepy beginning of this episode kinda made my hairs stand. No kidding.

Nice job, folks.

[Claire]

Mark...wonderful episode. Can I just convey to all of the writers what a PLEASURE it has been to watch the evolution of Meredith and Derek this season? Their scenes have been amazing. Their growth and ability to work out problems with each other has been so much fun to watch. I want to thank all of you for that and it makes me look forward to EVERY new episode of Grey's coming up. I hope they DO marry, and they DO continue to move forward together. We fans have waited five long seasons for this, but based off of what we have seen this season, the wait has been worth it. Thank you (truly). And one last thing, Ellen Pompeo ROCKED this episode!

[Rachel]

I give this episode a 7 out of 10. It would have gotten higher if you had shown George (he SHOULD be there for Izzie) and if the Mark and Lexie thing didn't happen. You may like them but most of us don't.

[JT]

PS
Forgot to mention earlier. Kudos to the actor who portrays the SK. Great acting on his part.

[Amber]

Want to know something Mark? I don't care what reason you guys brought back Jeffrey Dean Morgan, it's totally unnecessary. You could've written a story where Izzie is sick without giving us MONTHS of this Denny/Izzie crap. It has not been romantic, or sexy, or interesting, or funny, or heartbreaking - it's been absolutely AWFUL and PAINFUL to watch! I'm sure the odds between the people who hate this Dizzie storyline and the ones who liked are a whole lot greater than 2:1. Don't kid yourselves writers. All you have to do is go on different forums/message boards, all the media sources to see how much the show has been slammed. Did you guys really think that Izzie making out and having sex with Denny is what we viewers want to watch???

Another thing, Justin Chambers is an even more super looking guy who can act the hell out of stuff, but you never give him a freakin' chance. What is wrong with you guys that you give JDM more and better material than you do one of your main cast members/characters who's been on this show for all 5 seasons? Maybe if he were to publicly diss the writers on the show, he'd get a big storyline for himself instead of having to prop Katherine Heigl/Izzie all the time.
And here I thought after the way season 4 ended we would see and get to know more about Alex, who's about the most interesting character on the show. Nope. Instead we get Alex in some stupid love triangle with Izzie and Dead Denny but it's really Izzie and her brain problem. Not only that but we get more time of Izzie and Denny making out and having sex than seeing Alex's growth. Wow, that's some great writing there. You guys needs to pat yourselves on the back![/sarcasm]

Yeah, I don't know if I want to stick around for more. I've been sticking around for a long time and things aren't getting any better...

[Jane]

Okay, I just have to say that this was probably the best episode in years on Greys, and I've watched them all. Years!!

I don't care if you've known a serial killer or a murderer or what, that character was fantastic and creepy and I did end up caring about him. Eric Stoltz is such a great actor, I can't believe he also directed Greys, he should get an award for doing both so well.

Shonda Wilson was unbelievably good too, I haven't seen Bailey get a chance to dig that deep in years and she was simply breath-taking. I hope she gets more to do because when she does it, she really does it well too!

Ellen Pompeo and Patrick Dempsey were also great, it seemed like the cast all grew up tonight. I think that's the best I've ever seen Meredeth, she was richly drawn tonight. I wanted her and Christina to renew their friendship and Derek bringing her to her friend was the kindest gesture he's done in forever.

Yes I miss the old George, yes I'm kind of sick of Denny, but none of that bothered me tonight.

Another great thing, there wasn't poppy song after trendy song after poppy song, you seem to take the show seriously and it was SOOOOOO much better like that!! The musical score was perfect.

The whole show was stunning. Like I said, it's like it grew up tonight and reached a peak. Can't wait to see more, and thank you!

[Kelly]

I love the growth in Meredith and the progress Derek and Meredith have made. Internal angst like this is so much better than breakups,cheating and bed hopping. YAY to Meredith and Cristina talking again. I love when the Chief is helping and in scenes with Bailey. I love Lexie. Lexie is definitely stronger than she looks. She's shown that with Meredith,Alex and Thatcher. I loved Lexie taking care of Mark at the end and his shock of being taken care of. Kudos for pairing Mark and Lexie. Chyler and Eric have amazing chemistry. Oh and I like Arizona and more Alex please and Samantha Mathis was a great guest star.

[Maya]

Since you didn't mention Cristina and Owen at all I will because I want to do right by the amazing performance given by Kevin McKidd and Sandra Oh. I love that he was laying naked in her bed. That she let him wake up in her apartment not having to feel embarrassed that she's there. I loved when he found her and apologized to her. Basically saying that he messed up and he knows he messed up. Then Cristina tells him that its ok, kind of like when she walked away from him at Joe's that night he kissed her. Poor Owen you can really see the guy is trying hard, really trying. He can't seem to get it together yet, but he knows that Cristina might be able to help him get there. I think Cristina sees this which is why she's so accepting of Owen. Holes and all. The thing I love about owen is that he is an adult. Owen is that guy. He's the guy that brings you flowers on your first date, even though he showed up drunk but still. But he's also that guy you call when you get your penis broken by having crazy sex with an intern. I like that others also see that in Owen that he's a professional, inspite of his messed up state.

I love that cristina told him it was ok, but it wasn't. Basically acknowledging that he has issues. When Cristina watched Owen as Derek was talking about proposing to meredith, I dont think I fully realized how much true concern she had for Owen. It is interesting to see her being nurturing Owen when we all know that Cristina has had trouble doing that in the past with the exception of Mer.

When Owen went up to Cristina again to tell her about what he had planned for their date it really brought a couple tears to my eyes. You could see that he wanted it to be special, but he couldn't quite get it right. It broke my heart when he asked her for another chance. The thing I love about Cristina is that she will tell it like it is. So by telling Owen he has problems, big problems was such a Cristina thing. So sad when he pleaded with her to let him prove himself, I think I almost lost it at that point. Yet there is something about owen that cristina cant' say no to, and by her saying yes, it is going to be so interesting to see how they develop. You can tell that it is going to be a tough road for them, but knowing how much Cris has changed from when she was with Burke, I have to say that I can see this turnig into a great friendship as well as relationship. Thanks for this couple please give Kevin McKidd more screentime he's truly breathing life back into this show!

[lovesit]

welcome back, greys anatomy.... :) FINALLY.

[Beth]

Wonderful episode; all of it. Couldn't get enough, and am super excited for the crossover episode in two weeks.

However, there are two things I am wondering about. The first is that while I have no idea when this episode is shot, the complete lack of anything George this season is absolutely backed up with this episode. He had all of 2 lines, and no camera time? Bring back a great character, a wonderful actor, and stop making me care more about the actors lives than the story and plot line. Is there any hope for a more central George story in the near future?

The second thing I am wondering about is does anyone else think that maybe Bailey needs a day off? She is losing it and needs a break with little Tuck and her hubby.

Anyway, that was my two cents.

Way to go writers! Keep up the good work.

[Jamie]

Meredith and Derek. There's a reason they ere the fist couple we saw together on screen in S1. There's a reason they are the core couple of Grey's Anatomy. Tonight's episode, is one amongst many, that proves it! Amazing!

[GreyCat]

"She’s an intern and all sweetness and light." Sorry but you can't have Lexie engaged in cutting, stitching and performing unauthorized surgery with fellow interns, stripping while droning "teach me" apparently having completely forgotten how in love she was just the other day with George and then describe her as all sweetness and light. You writers have really made a mess of this charactor and not in an "isn't she interesting " way. More like a " what will they throw against the wall to see if it sticks next time" kind of way. She has no internal logic and therefore no reality.

You're about three episodes too late with finally getting somewhere with the dead Denny story. We've all known you were going for a sick Izzy with this stuff so that's no revelation. In the meantime you've bored and annoyed us to death with the whole thing.

Liked the development of Christina/Owen story in the past two episodes. The Eric Stoltz arc was a return to the kind of story, writing and acting that once made this show so good as was Bailey's story. Mer/Der has been more interesting lately too.

Could the drawn out Dead Denny story be because you were deciding whether to kill Iz off or let her live, since the fans love Iz and Alex and one more tragic girlfriend for Alex would just be silly?

At least Grey's is watchable again. The last two episodes the best in a lo-o-o-ong time.

Too bad you've completely dumped George and all story lines involving him including all the women who were in love with him and it just seems to have slipped all their collecive minds. May as well just get rid of him. And Callie, too. You're doing NOTHING with that great charactor.

Hey,maybe they could get back together and leave. Maybe have their own spin-off. It couldn't be any worse than "Private Practice". Still, thankful for the improvement.

[merderfan]

Ellen Pompeo take a bow. You were once again simply fantastic tonight. Your final scene was absolutely gut-wrenching, and heartbreaking. Bravo!!

Another fantastic episode writer's. Denny and the interns are a complete waste of time and space but for now I will just ignore them.

[Paul]

Stunning episode tonight, but the one thing that was a dark spot on an almost perfect episode, was the absolutely silly Mark and Lexie. Completely cringe worthy in particular for Eric Dane as Mark who deserves so much better than this. No chemistry, silly plotline, and zero interest. The rest of tonight's episode was fantastic though!

[Jody]

Great Episode!

Actually, the last few have been very good.

As far as Denny is concerned, I for one will miss him. I have enjoyed having Denny back....regardless of the story line. I was always curious at where this story line was going. Yes, I thought it was odd that Denny was dead and Izzie was able to have a full relationship with him...but I figured he was there for a reason and not to just hang out. And I loved seeing him again...for however long it was for. If he really is gone, I will miss him. As far as Izzie's illness, it'll be interesting to see where the story goes from here.

Mer/Der...loved the ending tonight. He might not like the choices she makes but he's there for her. And he helped pull her and Christina back together. I loved it.

I'm loving the Sloan and Lexie story line as well.... Although I will like it more if they can bring Derek and Meredith to be ok with it. I would like to see Mark and Derek remain friends.

I don't like and haven't liked Callie pursueing women story line. Yuck. She needs to stick to men. I know it wasn't in tonight's show, but I rarely comment...so I'm saying it here.

Love Owen and Yang....lots to explore here.... They can bring out so much in each other. His stuff from Iraq and Burke leaving her..... Love that she shows a soft side with him we haven't seen, not even with Burke.

Let's work at making Seatle Grace a #1 hospital again....

Again....Loved the show...and after last year....it's good to be loving Grey's again... cause I hated last year.

[LylaReese]

Okay-this episode was great. Loved it! Thanks for finally revealing Denny's purpose, and for all the tremendous relationship growth this episode! Wow. Arizona is growing on me for sure also...looking forward to her meeting Callie??? My only question is (and I keep asking this)WHERE IN THE WORLD DID GEORGE, CALLIE, AND THE CHIEF GO?!?!?!

[CanuckFan]

THANK YOU! That was an amazing episode! It felt like the 'old Grey's' was back. All the emotions I felt thru that episode... wow.
I'm on board with Izzy & Denny... As a huge fan from Day 1, I've learned to just trust you writers and enjoy the ride. And enjoy it I can when JD Morgan is back! :-)
Great blog too Mark!

[dlferriola]

Thank you for a fabulous episode. It was so intense, sad and touching. Mer with the serial killer storyline was great and had the best conclusion. He had to be punished but she was compassionate for him anyway. I was just glad Der was waiting for her and he also got Cris & Mer back together. Lexie & Sloan were adorable together.She showed him she was there for him without it just being for the sex.Cris giving Owen another chance inspite of him having problems was the best. Bailey and the chief admitting they stepped over the boundaries-fabulous.Ending the Denny issue and Izzy finding out something is wrong with her and wanting to fight to stay alive because she picked Alex. Should be interesting to see how this works out. It was the fastest hour of tv tonight and I did not want it to end. Terrific episode and thank you once again. Greys rocks!

[Christine]

Amazing episode.. made me bawl my eyes out. I love Meredith at the end..I love that she cries. I love that she is trying to be more familiar with her emotions. I love that she's willing to be the black sheep and believe in what she wants to believe, and I love that Derek is there for her in the end. Good for them.

Denny thing--still not on board, glad he is gone.

[MM]

Yeah Mark and Lexie don't work on screen either. You can't force chemistry and I'm really sorry, but there's none there. If there was, the audience would be able to look over things like "Teach me" and broken penises. You're not sure where it's going? I hope you figure out that it needs to go away.

And the Dizzie, it still leaves me baffled and not in the good way.

[Hope]

I have to say, there's something that has been bothering me this season. (Besides the obvious Denny issue). Last year after the candle house and the whole and healed Meredith was revealed, I expected some more obvious change in her.

And in the last few episodes alone, I've been really disappointed. Derek confides in her the tragic way his father died, and all she gives is a distracted "guess we all had a tough day" thinking about Cristina? And then this episode she blatantly deceives him. Sigh.

Derek handles the situations in marvelous ways, with dancing and showing up at the prison. But she doesn't really deserve it. She showed compassion for a serial killer, but not her boyfriend. Now I want to have compassion for her, but I'm struggling.

[June]

Overall, I really liked this episode, but it did have some problems.

Let me start with what I liked:

1. Meredith was wonderful and Ellen did Emmy worthy acting tonight. I hope she finally gets some recognition. I just loved every scene she had and I'm enjoying season 5 meredith immensely.

2. I absolutely LOVED, LOVED, LOVED the mer/der interactions. I'm so glad they are finally getting to be a real couple. I am so glad they are finally getting some screen time. There is so much material there to work with. I just want to emphasize that your audience is ready to see Meredith and Derek get married and have a life together. We want to see them as much as possible.

3. I'm glad cris/mer made up, but not more barging into the bedroom. Mer/Der need privacy.

What I HATED

a. Mark/Lexie have NO CHEMISTRY. I'm telling you right now Mark and Shonda - this is a loser storyline. They don't work. They don't.

b. Denny. ENOUGH already. I am so frickin bored by this storyline. Please for the love of god, END IT NOW. No more JDM - Ever, ever ,ever

Thank you