Zoanne Clack on "Stand By Me"...

Original Airdate: 3-19-09

Yes!  Mer takes back the night!  I mean this literally (she’s getting back her man) and figuratively (using the reference of women empowering themselves because as I’m sure you know, March is Women’s History Month – catch the nearest parade in your city).  Derek says, “I love you” and Mer answers, “I know”… anybody remember that from somewhere else?  Come on, let your geek flow.  The writers here at Grey’s Anatomy have no problems letting our geek flow.  We like to think of it as being “geek chic” and we welcome you to join us.  But it’s not just the writers actually, everybody embraces their inner geek here.  The editor of this episode, Susan Vaill, emailed me all excited that we’d put it in and taken this exchange back for the ladies.  Okay, some of you may already know what I’m talking about whilst others of you are completely lost.  Anybody see a little movie called “The Empire Strikes Back”?  Princess Leia says, “I love you” to Han Solo right before he’s about to be frozen in carbonite (another reference we’ve used before… episode 416… season 4 finale… cement boy… ring any bells?) and Han Solo says, “I know.”  And he kind of says it in an “of course you do, look at me” kind of way.  So now, we’ve taken back that exchange and handed it over to the women.  And we’ve made it both feminist and feminine at the same time I’d like to think.  Feminist because Mer’s all “I’m woman, hear me roar” because she’s all that and of course he still loves her; but feminine at the same time because he’s vulnerable, and she’s not taking advantage of that moment, and she loves him, too.  She’s not giving up on him.  She’s not giving up on their love and she’s not giving up on him as a surgeon.  She’s standing by her principles and standing by her man.

And speaking of not giving up, is Cristina a freakin’ sledgehammer or what?  She just keeps pounding Izzie and pounding her until Izzie finally has to lash out and speak the unspeakable.  Not having treatment?  Why would she ever even go there?  She’s a doctor, she’s been through it with many patients and come out the other side, or watch them die… oh, I guess it’s pretty clear why she would consider not going through with treatment.  She has been on the other side.  She has been through it.  And like she says, she knows too much.  And going through the whole day with (the writer clears her throat for this hideous reference to be explained later) “Blowhole” has made it clear to her that the way doctors treat patients when the patients aren’t around, the way she treats patients when they’re not around (and even if she’s not doing it herself, she’s allowing it) – that patient will be her this time. 

And let me tell you, as a doctor myself, I know that we sometimes get caught up in all that.  Referring to patients as “room 12” or “spine guy” or “stinky drunk druggy chick” is a shorthand we’ve all used.  It doesn’t mean we don’t care, it doesn’t mean people aren’t going to get the best care, but it’s rude.  And for the most part unnecessary, but we learn over and over that to distance ourselves helps get us through it – it’s harder to feel the pain of “room 12” dying than to feel the pain of “Mr. Bickham, Kara’s father” dying.  Like Cristina says, it’s one of those things that helps us get through the day.  Which doesn’t make it right, but it is what it is.  I learned my lesson in the ER one night when I was stitching up this “lady” strung out on crack and had been picked up on a corner (who actually had “slippery when wet” written on her inner thigh – eww!) and I made the mistake of saying, “Let’s just get this over with, I don’t care” – or something to that effect.  She proceeded to rip off her sterile dressings and try to sit up with my needle halfway in her scalp and let me know that if I didn’t care, she should just go back out there and die.  I don’t know, something in me just sank at that moment.  Her outburst somehow let me know that she’s a person just like everybody else and deserves healthcare and deserves to be treated like a human being.  Maybe it was the hurt in her eyes or the tone of her voice, but I never forgot that, and even though I promptly went back to saying stuff like “gallbladder guy,” I never say stuff like that to anybody’s face and try to give people the respect they reserve as my patient. 

And hell, I can’t even say it’s just doctors.  I, too, have been on the other side.  I straddle the fence between “doctor world” and “writer world”.  The name “Blowhole” actually came directly from our writers’ room – even before we saw Mr. David Young (the patient)!  While we’re breaking story, before we name the patients, we usually reference them by their malady.  “Face transplant guy,” “the stomach cancer trio,” “cement boy” – you get the general gist.  Well, one of the writers (who shall remain nameless, as Blowhole was faceless) started dubbing him “Blowhole” in the room, and then somehow it landed in the script!  But it actually worked really well in the script because it was a perfect thing for Izzie to react to.  Of course that brings it all home for her.  We always knew she wouldn’t want to feel like the patient, but for her to keep hearing that term (I’m going to stop using it now thank you very much) really brought it home (I mean, even Alex was saying it – that had to hurt since she was taking it personally herself).  It was art imitated life which imitated art… or something like that. 

There were a lot of things we knew going into this episode.  We knew Izzie was sick (duh), we knew we wanted the theme to be “friends” (Cristina and Izzie coming together on that bench was such an incredibly awesome scene I can barely stand it.  The first time I saw it cut together I just sat there with my mouth agape and my eyes filling up.  They are amazing together.), and we knew our face transplant guy would be a recluse because when I was researching face transplants, the doctor who led the team at the Cleveland Clinic where they performed the most extensive and only American face transplant (to date), Dr. Siemionow, said, “it’s hard to face the world without a face.”  I just love that quote.  Anyway, when we were trying to figure out how to show his reclusiveness, the room came up with this orchid idea.  And when I tell you the whole room erupted with glee at this idea, I do not exaggerate.  Yet another example of our geekiness.  Or shall I say, in this instance, their geekiness.  I had no idea what all the fuss was about.  Until I started learning more about orchids.  It’s crazy the things that those freakin’ flowers do!  They actually adapt to look like the insects that pollinate them so that they can continue to exist.  I mean it’s really crazy.  If you get the time, read about them.  I personally am going to have to go back and see the movie “Adaptation” again to really get into all the double entendre of that title and the movie.

But I digress.  The interns.  Ahh, the interns.  Thank god for the interns.  They added so much fun to this episode – gave us a reason to stop and laugh through the tragedy that is our friend Izzie’s life.  In the room we called it our little intern telenovella that goes on in the background while we follow our main residents.  But in the end it turned out that it took on a life of its own and I love how Pierce, Megan and Steve (Joe, Molly and Mark) went for it.  And I love the interrogation of Ryan (Brandon).  I think the lesson to be learned from their story is: check to make sure you don’t hit “reply all” when admitting that you slept with your co-worker’s significant other over email.  Or  maybe the lesson is not to email such important information at all.  This same kind of thing happened during my residency once.  An attending took one of the interns down to the Bahamas while the intern was dating one of the residents.  That intern had actually come to our program because she and the resident had been dating for years – had planned to get married in fact.  Believe me, it was a major scandal.  See?  This kind of stuff does happen in real life. 

The other part of this episode that was real was the stories that Callie and Owen told out in the woods.  I won’t go into them in detail because I think they said enough and I’d rather not live through them again, but suffice it to say that those stories were vignettes from true occurrences.

But I can’t end the blog on such a sour note.  Let’s see, what am I missing from the episode?  Oooh, Derek’s rage.  Wait, that’s still a little sour.  Although fascinating, right?  To see that side of him?  And for that side of him to turn into the vulnerable mess of a man that we see at the end of the Chief’s speech to him at the trailer?  To see him like that just made me want to go and comfort him.  Anybody else have that feeling?

Oh snap, I know how to end this on an upbeat note!  Bailey convincing people to go out into the woooods.  Yes, I meant to put that many o’s, it’s not a typo.  She was so funny every time she said that.  And we realized it’s really the first time she and Owen have ever really talked at all.  Before this episode they had about one interaction with each other that was about a second long.  I vote we put them together more often.  They’re a good team.  Although Bailey makes a good team with just about anybody.  Derek, the Chief, Callie… she strolls in, takes names, and heads out again.  She’s Superfly.  Or maybe I meant Superman.  Or… she’s Bailey.  A superhero in her own right.

And then there’s our own Justice League of superheroes (yes, I realize there are more than 5 of them).  Our 5 musketeers at the end of the episode.  Yes, I realize there are really only three of them, but how else would I get to their motto “all for one and one for all”?  As they all learn of Izzie’s fate, they band together.  And all is right with the world.

Comments

[Mai]

Wha a great epi.... Christina telling bailey and Alex.. the best part I thought. Loved the face transplant guy and his friend who kissed him and told him he was a survivor A blubbery moment there!

[PamelaJaye]

I made 4 comments last week. not one ever showed up. (and since season 2 - that's never happened)

So I'll just say Great, awesome episode. Loved it to death.
Thanks so much.

[Hush]

George and Mer....Good Cop/Bad Cop. Loved every freakin' moment of it. Now, if only she could shake that scrawny little finger at Derek...he needs some tough love. Hell, he might even like it - with the addition of leather, that is. ;)

Excellent follow up to last week. George got to say more than two words, so how could it possibly suck? LOL

[Chloe]

Can't believe you forgot to talk about Mark and Lexie AGAIN!!!!! Loved Lexie shutting the other interns up with her kiss. She deserved to scrub in not because she's sleeping with Mark but because she knew her stuff!

Thanks for the shout out to the haters! "They think that you're taking advantage me, they think that I'm using you,
but they don't know us. They think that we're ugly, but I know that we're beautiful
and we can adapt to a hostile environment."

[Ryan]

I loved every bit of it. =)

[Lilly]

Why must you always write Meredith as so cold towards Derek? I spend every Friday defending her to my entire office (everyone other then me hates her). Not just this episode but she barely reacts. I get why she wouldn't tell him she loved him and told him she wouldn't love him if he wasn't a surgeon. But she couldn't even touch his hand or anything before she left? I love Meredith but I really do see why people view her as so cold with the way she treats Derek. Please write a scene where she tells him she loves him. He has said it often, she only did once way back when.

[Jasmin]

I've always thought of Cristina as the rest of the interns do "a robot"

Tonight she became human and vulnerable and showed she cared. When she reached for Izzie's hand, I forgot a lot of her robotic past.

Thank God Meredith was portrayed as she was. I was dreading the scenes of Meredith taking all Derek said last week and letting an I love you cloud the need to address all that Derek said and the way he said it.

HOPE HOPE HOPE unlike what many viewers speculate about that Meredith is not the one that proposes to Derek...but that he take responsibility for what he said to her last week, and before we are force fed a proposal, he apologizes for his insensitive words.

Mcdreamy needs to come alive during his proposal.

[Nikki]

I loved the episode immensely, while it was hard to see Derek so dark and broken, my incredibly shallow side is going to come out and say that it's incredibly hot. Patrick nailed those scenes. I loved the Derek and Chief scene at the end, and especially the MerDer scene after. You can really feel the love they have for one another. It really makes me fall in love with them all over again. They have grown so much.

I'm with you on Mer "I'm the woman, hear me roar" Ellen is an amazing actress she shines in every scene.

I loved Christina in this episode, she definitely made me proud.

While I'm not a fan of Izzie, the scenes tonight were heartbreaking and I know next week will be even worse. I'll have the tissues ready.

Great episode tonight!

Just a tip from a fan since day one... and I'm sure you know this already.. The More MerDer the better and we'd like some good ol' fashion hot lovin' please.

(MerDer haters please don't comment on this..they ARE THE show.. get over it)

[Camila]

That was an excellent episode. I loved every moment of it. It makes me realize once more, that you have to have friends to get through hard times like these. Keep doing that great stuff...

This episode was a real homage to friendship...thank you for that ;) ;)

[Seriously?]

You guys write such great, clever dialogues for the Fab 5 - especially their lunchroom scenes. Your writing when they were interns that made them the biggest hit on TV. So how can you guys write such idiot interns and stories for the idiot interns and think that is on par w/ the quality we expect from your show? Really? In a hospital to have exposed bloody eyes, hands, snotty nose running around and running down patients who are pre & post surgery who are susceptible to infection. If they did that at a supermarket they would be fired and you would have us believe they could do that as surgeons? Seriously? Seriously that an attendee could French an intern in public at the hospital and give her preferential treatment openly and not get reported, demoted or sued by other doctors who are smart enough to make it through medical school who are going to be smart enough to get rid of an intern sleeping w/ her boss to get to the top - on the backs of her colleagues and impeding their careers while endangering patients b/c she's getting to do things she doesn't yet have the experience to do. Seriously? A man crazy woman who one day wakes up and thinks she's a lesbian out of no where and acts awkward and confused as a lesbian and treats it like trying on a pair of shoes in a world where she was never sexually or socially repressed. Seriously?

Why don't you stick to the Fab 5? You write believable and witty stories for them (except for Gizzy, that was a brain fart, but everyone makes mistakes and you guys tried to rectify it) - why not try that for the rest of the show so you can get back to the top of the TV ratings again? Remember 23M and being number 1?

[Courtney]

GREAT episode!!! Loved the look in Alex's eyes when Christina broke the news before her solo surgery. He's such a great actor! And Derek with the Chief... classic and well done! Bailey is just Bailey! Love her every week. Although, I must say it was a bit wierd that Callie fell for her 'stare down' considering back in Season 2 or 3 she taught Callie that technique to get Derek to do a surgery with her! But love love love Bailey!

Such an emotional episode! I cried!
Now I just hope Derek goes on a ring hunt in the woods... his mom gave him that ring! He best find it!!!

[Kelly]

Cristina has always been my favorite character and I was thrilled to see so much of her tonight. Sandra Oh is amazing!

A bit disappointed that there were ZERO Cristina/Owen scenes tonight.

btw - the title is wrong at the top of the blog - it was Stand by Me wasn't it? Not Stand by You?

[MindyM]

Well, well, well! Another great, fully realized episode back-to-back. What am I to do with this wonderful gift? First, I did cry again this week. That's two weeks in a row. I can't even remember the last time that happened. Honestly, I was truly touched by this episode in so many ways. After such an uneven and wildly inconsistent and sometimes maddening season, I think you writers have finally hit your stride and gotten your mojo back. Yes, I have to say this was billiant work.

I almost don't know where to start. I was so moved by the story of the guy with no face (I refuse to use that other word). When he wouldn't let his internet friends come in and see him, it broke my heart. But I really liked the way Izzie's struggle to let her friends know about her terrible illness was so beautifully interwoven with this man's story. Izzie finally realized that she was doing what the guy with no face was doing - shutting out people who cared about him, who liked him for who he was, not what he looked like. She had that moment when you could see it in her eyes. She understood that it was wrong to keep her friends in the dark.

I also have to give kudos to the incomparable Sandra Oh for her work in this episode. I loved that scene between her and Izzie. I loved that she got so caught up with having to carry the burden of the secret of Izzie's illness, that she forgot about her own patient, her solo surgery. It was real and raw and powerful. Cristina does care, deep down inside she is compassionate and empathetic and a fighter all the way. I honestly did not expect her to spill Izzie's secret to Alex, of all people, and Bailey right before she began her surgery. I think it was just instinctive on her part. How else can you possibly break that kind of news? She also knew that it had to be done, that it was the right thing to do. She couldn't carry the sole burden of this alone. The others had to be a part of it.

I think I will always remember the reactions of the others when they found out about Izzie. I liked the visuals without any dialogue. Words weren't really necessary. The devastation was written on all their faces. Of course they were all there for her. How could it be otherwise? I like to think that this episode brought out the best in everybody.

As for my wonderful Mer, well I am just filled with pride for her! I loved it when she answered Der after he told her he loved her with, I know. That's it! Yes, she took back her power. I am thrilled to see this coming from her. I also loved how Mer made it real for Der when she told him how ill Izzie was and that he was the one with the genius and gift to save her. She really put it all on the line for him, because she doesn't want to see him give up. So now Mer is the one pulling Der back from the brink of despair. It really was beyond moving.

My very favorite scene of all was the last one with the interns all helping Izzie put on that gown and get into bed, because now she's the patient and they will all be there for her every single step of the way. I loved that shot of all of them around her. It's the heart of what has made this show very special for me. Of course, Mer will always be first with me, and Der. But these interns bonded from the beginning. They forged friendships that have weathered all kinds of crises. So it was fitting that they were all there together.

When you guys get it right, I will be the first to say, Bravo, with all my heart. This is why I watch this show. This is why I suffer through the stuff that makes me want to scream until I am hoarse. I do it because when you guys get it right, when you are on your game, when you are firing on all cylinders, you are the best. It's really that simple.

[Shelle]

Very uneven episode. Some good scenes, but.....

I get what you are doing with Mer/Der. I love them and I'm still invested. I would have liked to have seen more from them - more dialogue. But, I still love them.

What i hate: MARK and LEXIE. Hate them. They are ruining the show. End this couple NOW.

[Cathi]

Perfect Writing..perfect episode..THIS is what makes Greys the Best Show on TV!
thank you!

[mamaloa]

I knew Derek would help out Izzy. I loved the ending scene where the 5 original friends where all together helping their friend out. You all did a gold mind with the original 5 cast members, Izzy, Alex, George, Christina, and Meredith. That is the chemistry of this show. I would love to see more interaction with all of them together. As for Lexie/Sloan. No, sorry. MerDer, another no, sorry. Alex and Izzy. I hope they make it, and Owen and Christina. I loved the scene between Izzy and Christina towards the end when Christina told her to fight and the way she held her hand and comforted her. The way Izzy said thank you. OMG, I almost cried at that scene. One of the best scenes, written. I've seen the way Christina and Izzy where always kind of bantering with each other and in competition, and it's good to see them actually caring for each other as friends. It's good to see Christina human. I also loved Callie, and Owen hanging out with Derek in the woods. That was fun to watch. Of course, Bailey is always a rock star. She is superhero always. Last but not least. I have to disagree with you about the interns. I thought they where idiots. The only one I really like is Lexie. Very good show. a second well written show, next to the Cross over, of course. Please do more.

[christina]

love this episode....it made me cry. cant wait to see what happens next. please dont let the operation derick has to do on izzie kill her. i dont think he would be able to handle that. the whole cast was great tonight. keep the awesome shows coming. i love greys and merder, i hope they get married. great job to all the writers

[Melissa Marie]

First off GREAT episode!!
omg i have so many thoughts I dont know where to start...ok so already knowing/hearing that KatherineH and T.RKnight are wanting to leave the show.. i have prepared myself for izzy's death.. but I am just nervous because if she dies on the table It will truely break derek and he will leave SGH..ugh!! i dont want that.. also this situation does give george a chance for more screen time(ive missed him)BUT does it also give T.R a chance to leave the shows?? after all george and izzy are BFF's and if she dies maybe HE will be the one needing to leave SGH and the show...oh man there is just so much that can happen with izzy's sickness..in the end i just hope mer and der get married..Grey's fans NEED this!!

Who cares about the stupid interns? Aren't there enough characters on this show already? I was willing to give Mark/Lexie a chance because they were great in the premiere, but the last few episodes made me want to throw up and it figures that they're the only couple who is allowed to make out in the hospital and have plenty of screen time when the far better couples are lucky if they get 30 seconds together.

[veho]

As usual, Sandra OH was amazing!!!!!!
She's the best. An incredible actress!

[gilligan]

So, that was pretty blah. I don’t know. I kinda liked it, but I’m kinda bummed at the same time. Ugh…

First of all, Grey’s is quickly turning into Izzie’s Anatomy. I like Iz and everything, and I get that her imminent most likely death is very serious business, but please, Show. Scale it back just a bit. All Izzie all the time is way too much for me. That said, I did think the Izzie/Cristina stuff was well done. A really interesting dynamic, and Cristina is exactly the person you want in your corner at a time like this. Loved that she pretty much proved Izzie wrong, that she isn’t a robot. Look at her pulling strings and freaking out. She cares for her friends and fights like hell for them. Also, that enema conversation? Hilarious. We need more of that.

And, um…when Cris told Alex and Bailey. Oh my god, Alex. The poor baby. HIS EYES. Guh. He broke my heart and just about killed me without a single word.

However, in things wrong with this eppy, way too much intern drama. Show, for the billionth time, I don’t care about the interns. And I especially don’t care about their silly little love lives and baby daddy drama. (And no, Bailey. Your batch of interns was never THIS HORRENDOUSLY IMMATURE. Ugh.) Basically the only saving grace about this plotline was Meredith. I love it when she gets to be Doctor Mer. And snapping, irritated, take charge Doctor Mer was adorable. She should pretty much always be scolding the interns whenever they’re onscreen. And she and George should get to be a team some more!! Look at him with his multiple lines and his little faces and comments to soften the blow of Mer’s bitchiness. I’ve missed this George! (Also, ridiculously moody Mer AND Mer telling Cris that this thing with Der [I think that’s what she was complaining about, but I can’t remember] has her feeling like she wants to throw up all the time? Totally works as vague maybe proof for my absolute favorite theory where Mer ends up preggers this season. And yeah, I know it’s most likely nothing, but whatever. I’ll just be sitting over here, giddy at the possibility.)

Also, today was really a day for pretty people. Callie’s hair was especially lovely. This is two weeks in a row where she has been very, very glamorous, and I am pleased. And I thought her scene with Derek was actually really good. We almost never get to see these two interacting, but I’m all for some more Derek and Callie now. I love how she related to him so naturally even though they weren’t friends, and that she just went ahead and shared her war story with him. I was kinda irritated with Bailey for sending her out there though. Actually, I was irritated with Bailey all of tonight. Lately, it seems like they’ve been giving her a bit of a personality transplant, and I miss old Bailey. I get that she’s busy and that being bossy is her thing, but Derek is the man who risked his own life during the Code Black to save her husband. He’s been there for her several times, and she’s done the same for him. They’ve got a bit of a friendship and a special connection going on, and I’ve gotta admit it stings that she couldn’t find an hour or two in her day to visit him herself. And if she couldn’t make the time for him, I don’t think she has the right to boss her coworkers out there to do it for her. If she’d already been herself and thought that Der needed more support, fine! I’d be all for bossy Bailey. But in this instance it made her look like a crappy friend.

Although that’s not to say I didn’t enjoy the scenes that came from her misplaced bossiness. I thought Owen, Derek, and Callie’s gloomy surgeons’ club was fantastic. (Not only that, but I also found Owen hot. Like actually hotttt with many T’s. This is pretty much the first time it’s happened, so…exciting!! Because oh, was he gorgeous sitting there in his jacket, talking about how he doesn’t talk about Iraq. Le freaking sigh. Also, scruffy Derek, don’t be jealous! You were very pretty too in all your emo.) But yeah. The gloomy surgeons’ club. These three should hang out together more. Especially since I can no longer stand Mark. After that unfortunate kiss, I’m hoping that he and Lexie can just ride off into the sunset together never to be seen again, and Owen can take over the job of bromancing Der.

And speaking of that kiss, I know this is Seattle Grace, but it just further proves my point that this current batch of interns is infinitely worse than Bailey’s. At least Mer and friends had a vague sort of respect for the whole professionalism concept. Lexie, you want a slutty make out session with your attending lovah? You do it IN THE ELEVATOR. WHERE THERE’S PRIVACY. Actually, scratch that. You need to stay far, far away from MerDer’s elevator. However, my general point still stands. You do not shove your tongue down your boss’s throat in front of the nurses’ station just to prove a point to your silly little not-friends. And you especially don’t follow it up with yet another cheesy speech about your perfect, sparkly love. (I mean “They see us as ugly, but I think we're beautiful.” Seriously? WHO TALKS LIKE THAT??)

What else… The patients are usually pretty forgettable for me, but I really loved Unfortunate Face Guy (refusing to call him Blowhole. He was way too dear.) and his friends. Even with their very obvious wielding of the heavy hammer of symbolism. They were lovely people. And when the older woman kissed Unfortunate Face Guy’s cheek and told him not to call her beautiful friend ugly. Awww. It made me all melty inside.

Ooh, also, in things I liked! Der yelling at the Chief for his interfering ways. Thank you, Show. That was very therapeutic. Really helped assuage some of my lingering rage. And, you know, pissy Derek is really hot. Plus, it was nice to see him showing some serious remorse about how things played out with Mer. He was cruel to her last week, and since the actual MerDer scene was such a letdown for me, I’m extra grateful for this moment. And then when the Chief followed Der into the trailer to continue their conversation, well…I didn’t hate him quite as much as usual there. He finally said some good things. And just, oh my goodness broken Der with his shouting and hitting the wall and his moping, wounded face. Very, very heartbreaking business, people.

And finally, that MerDer scene. I’d been looking forward to this moment ever since the end of last week’s eppy, but in the end, I was pretty disappointed with what we got. I’m usually the one waving the Team Meredith flag high in the air, but this…

“I love you.”

“I know.”

Drove me up a freaking wall. Show, I am getting very, very impatient with the whole Meredith never says “I love you” thing. I really hope you’re saving her “I love you” up for something freaking epic here because Derek is pretty much at rock bottom at this point. Letting the guy have a simple “I love you” after five seasons doesn’t seem like too much to ask.

And then when the writers decided to follow that exchange with this brilliant (and probably incorrectly paraphrased) bit of dialogue…

“Would you still love me if I wasn’t a surgeon?”

“No.”

Just… lasfkldjfalksdjflkjdfajslkjdlkjk!!! Stupid writers need to write the words better! Because, Meredith… what the hell happened to I’m not bailing and we’re in this together?? I get that he said some very vicious things to her the last time she saw him and that, when she visits him, she’s very close to tears and still reeling from the news that one of her closest friends is dying, but… I HATE the idea that her love for Derek hinges on his career choice. This is the man she supposedly wants to marry. I want her to be able to love him even if he doesn’t have it in him to be a surgeon any more. And honestly, this felt too much like a case of Mer blackmailing Der with her love for me to enjoy it. Very come back to work and save my doomed friend, or you can say goodbye to my love and respect. And just…bleh.

And the thing is, I’m not against the idea of the scene. I think that, given what Mer just found out about Izzie, it makes sense that she’d feel that Derek quitting surgery was a huge, selfish waste of a tremendous gift. I’m fine with that reaction. But, I really think they could’ve gotten the idea across in a way that was just as powerful but didn’t make it sound like Mer’s love for Der is dependent on whether or not he’s got a scalpel in his hand. Separate the love from the respect. Have her tell him that she’ll always love him, but that she can’t respect him if he’s going to just throw away this amazing, rare, incredible ability he has to save lives. That it’s a waste, and she can’t respect him for that. Not when her friend’s dying. I think it still would’ve gotten Derek to pick up those scans, and it would’ve lessened the whole, irritating, “Save Izzie or else” feel of the scene. Ugh… IDK. Am I the only one feeling this way?

All in all, a pretty meh episode after the loveliness of the last two. Here’s hoping next week’s is better.

[AtelierGal]

Another great episode.

You guys always do a smooth job connecting the patients to the then-interns-now-residents.

In this case, having & trusting friends enough to let them in.

Through the patient, Izzie learned that you cannot be alone especially when you are sick.

She told Cristina for a reason, but she's afraid to take the next step because she can't stand the jokes her interns will make.

It's understandable, I would react the same way.

Cristina is the kind of friend everyone needs, well, at least for me.

She may be aloof or arrogant, but when she lets you in her life, she can be the perfect friend.
She's not afraid to make snide remarks because that's what true friends do.
I'm glad that Izzie chose to confide in her first.

It's funny to see the residents tryin to channel Bailey but they, esp. Mer, just couldn't be Nazi-fierce.
Well, at least she tried :)

I'll be looking forward to the next episode.
Derek trying to regain his composure to operate on Izzie.

PS
Brilliant decision to include "A Mirror Without" at the right time :)

[Natalie]

First of all, I loved Derek yelling to the chief, it really felt like I was the one doing the yelling.

Bailey is starting to annoy me though. I didn't understand how she couldn't take an hour to go visit Derek. Although, I enjoyed the Callie/Owen/Derek interactions.

Ugh, the interns should die. But I did love snappy Mer, she should be more like this. And I missed the George/Mer dynamic :')

The Izzie/Cristina scenes were really, really good... very interesting and I really liked how Cristina handled it. OMG Alex :'''''(

The MerDer scene left me feeling weird. I wanted more, I wanted something different but I think that in the end ya'll wanted to show us that she's still there.
And the whole "No" thing was a little extreme, I wanted her to assure him she loved him but that she needed him to do the surgery. I mean, the man is broken, you would think she would have been a little more careful about it!

And OMG I hate Mark&Lexie with passion!! I used to like them a bit but now they are just disgusting. Just pathetic. And Mark is such jerk, after all that Derek has forgiven him for he can't swallow his pride for a second and go visit him? Selfish.

[Zarah]

First of all, thank you writers for giving Sandra Oh the material that she deserves. Thank you for giving her the opportunity to showcase her exceptional acting talent. She is truly an amazing actress. I hope to see more of her (and Kevin McKidd). She totally owned tonight's episode like no other.

It was refreshing to see Owen Hunt outside the hospital. Dude, he is so hot. No offense to McDreamy diehards, but I honestly think that KMK totally overshadows PD when they share the screen. While I think McDreamy is good-looking, to me, Owen Hunt is perfect. Honestly, he is the sole reason I came back to watch this show again. I reckon he is the best thing that ever happened to Grey's Anatomy, and I'm very thankful for bringing him in as an official member of the cast.

I loved the Hunt/Bailey interaction. I hope to see more scenes with the two of them together. It looks like they would make a great team.

I was also glad about the Mer/George team-up. I like them as friends. Loved how George said "That's so Bailey" when Mer yelled at the interns.

I'm not a fan of Izzie/Katherine Heigl, but I kind of appreciated her tonight. I liked her scenes with Cristina. I guess it's Cristina/Sandra Oh's presence in those scenes that made it tolerable for me to watch Izzie/KH in an extended period of time.

Mark and Lexie- very cute! Lexie's making Mark less manwhore-ish. Haha. I loved that Lexie stood up for herself and Mark.

I have always loved Cristina Yang. She has been my favourite character since Day One. Tonight, she was exceptional. I hate it when people see her as a robot, because she's not a robot. Although she doesn't exactly like Izzie, see how she worked her ass off doing research on Izzie's illness. She was really looking out for her friend, arranging appointments with oncologists/specialists and such. She was barely able to focus on her own case because she was pre-occupied with Izzie's dilemma. Also, notice how she hardly said anything when she wasn't chosen to scrub in on that huge surgery. Cristina is definitely not a robot.

The intern drama? I didn't like it. I think it was a waste of screen time. What I was disappointed of the most is that there is no single Owen/Cristina scene in the entire episode! And I was complaining about their less than 2 minutes of screentime together last week, only to get ZERO this week. It doesn't help at all that we're getting chokegate next week. I've been patiently waiting for the day Cristina and Owen will officially become a couple. I also think that we Owen/Cristina fans are immensely deprived of physical interaction between these two. It even revealed in this episode that they've never had sex yet. Of course, I'm all for the hot sex scene, but at the rate they're going, I'll be happy with a kiss. A peck on the forehead, even. I'm just dying to see these two get it on, and I'm sure I'm not the only one who feels this way.

[Jen]

McG needs to rant...

That last scene pissed me off. I love Mer/Der something fierce and I understand Mer is still hurt from Derek yelling at her but damn, would it kill her to just go and give him a hug. I'm all for tough love but that was cold. I didn't have a problem with her not saying ILY but when she said no, she wouldn't love him if he wasn't a surgeon, I cold feel Derek's pain. The look on his face said it all. Now, Derek is going to go back in the OR only because he feels Meredith wouldn't love him unless he's a surgeon again. Oh, and I hated that Meredith blackmailed him into operating on Izzie. That's what Addison did when she wanted him to be god to save his brother, adn now Meredith is doing to same saying he has to do it for her because he's 1 out of 20 people in the world who could do it.

I just need to get this off my chest for now, maybe I'd feel differently after rewatching it later.