Austin Guzman on "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)"...

Original Airdate: 2-10-11

In last week’s Grey Matter, Mark Wilding told you all about the time he tried (and failed) to be an actor.  In high school, I also tried my hand at acting.   There’s a difference between Mark and myself, though.  I didn’t just try.  I freaking succeeded. 

Which was handy because I loved attention. 

As I quickly discovered, if you auditioned for a play and got a part, people would be FORCED to pay attention to you.  And if you got the lead  (as I did on more than one occasion – brag, brag, brag), they’d have to pay attention to you for as many as TWO WHOLE HOURS.   Once, an elderly couple even came up to me at Hometown Buffet to tell me that they had seen and enjoyed my performance as King Arthur in our school’s production of Camelot.  I was a mother-flippin’ star.

But a person gets older.  Maybe wiser.   He leaves behind dreams of celebrity and pursues a career behind the scenes.  (Though still in a capacity where he will be paid his fair share of attention.  Hey, reader!  Thanks for your time!)

Then one day, while casting actors to play Clinical Trial Patients and their family members for an episode of Grey’s Anatomy, a producer suggests that it would be funny if THE WRITER played one of those family members.

Oh hey there, Former Dreams of Super-stardom.  It’s been a while.  Nice to see you again.

So, of course I said, “yes.”  How could I not?  And it’s not like it was going to be super-tough or anything.  The family members in this sequence didn’t have any lines.  I’d just have to sit at a table, pretend to care about the person sitting next to me and NOT look like a big, fat idiot.   I could totally do that.  After all, I was once recognized and praised by my adoring fans while loading up on bread pudding in a buffet line.  

HERE’S THE THING, THOUGH:  There’s a difference between standing onstage in the high school auditorium and being on the set of a television show with a great, big professional TV camera staring you down.  You’re suddenly the most self-conscious you’ve ever been in your entire life.   You can’t stop thinking about the fact that just two days ago you’d gotten the worst haircut a person has ever gotten.  Ever.  You’ve also recently put on ten (but probably more like fifteen) pounds, which will combine with the extra weight the camera adds to make you look like Santa Claus, age 29.  There are bright lights shining in your eyes making it nearly impossible to see, which you can’t really do anyway because you’ve taken off your glasses, knowing that your mom would later complain that she couldn’t see your face if you left them on even though you now realize that ain’t nobody gonna miss your big damned head because of all that extra weight and HOLY HELL WHY WON’T YOUR MOUTH STOP TWITCHING???

This is your moment.  The nation is watching.  You’re sitting across the table from Meredith Grey herself in an honest-to-God consult room at Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital… and you probably look like a big, fat idiot.

The stakes are huge, people.  Which is why I can totally identify with what it must feel like to be a doctor who’s about to perform a heart transplant on a baby who hasn’t been born yet. 

In this week’s episode, Alex and Lucy go head to head over just such a case.  Lucy is so shocked and offended when Alex refers to a brain-dead baby as a “turnip in the cabbage patch” that there is absolutely no way she’s going to let him get near a baby.  It’s a fair position to take if you don’t know Alex Karev.  When you’re just meeting the guy, he comes across as a jerk-ass wrestler with a crappy attitude.  What you don’t know is that once upon a time, Arizona actually gave Alex a speech about the fact that a peds surgeon has to do whatever they can to not picture “tiny coffins” all day, every day.  So you don’t see that what Alex is doing when he calls a baby a “turnip” is distancing himself, playing down the stakes of what he’s about to do, so that he can keep a calm head, not get too emotionally involved, and actually be able to help his patient.  Yeah, it may not be the best tactic.  And even though Arizona was the one who gave Alex the speech way back when, she’s not particularly thrilled with the way he’s chosen to cope, either.   But at least she gets why he’s doing it.  In the end, Alex and Lucy are in the same boat – doing what they think is best for the tiny, tiny patients they’re trying to help. 

Okay, so maybe my situation isn’t really the same as Alex & Lucy’s.  There probably won’t be any tiny coffins involved if I can’t stop my lip from twitching as though I’ve injected it with caffeine.  (At least, I hope not.  That’d be terrible.  And crazily improbable.)

Speaking of caffeine, there’s that whole Callie/Arizona/Mark situation.   While the parent-to-baby ratio is surely going to have some benefits once that baby is born, Callie is quickly realizing that it’s also putting her smack-dab in the middle of a 2 vs. 1 scenario and NOT in the way she might’ve anticipated.  While Arizona and Mark do want what’s best for the baby, they’re kind of forgetting that making the mother miserable isn’t going to help anyone.  Callie’s not being irresponsible or unreasonable in what she’s asking for.  She’s not putting herself or the baby at risk.  SHE JUST WANTS ONE CUP OF COFFEE.  And, in the end, Arizona and Mark know that a little bit of compromise is a small price to pay for a happy home life.   Which is maybe a lesson that Lexie needs to learn, too…

Lexie’s dealing with the P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) referenced in the episode’s title.   This is actually how we writers referred to Thatcher Grey’s twenty-seven-year-old girlfriend, before we dubbed her “Dani.”  Here’s the thing.  I have a little experience dealing with “Dad’s New Girlfriend,” myself.  I was in college when my dad met the woman who has since become my stepmother.  Sure,  my dad had the good sense to choose someone who was age appropriate, but it’s still a strange thing when you’ve grown up seeing your parent a certain way, then are suddenly forced to see him as someone who goes on dates with a lady you’ve only just this moment met at a barbecue.  I think I handled the situation with a little more grace than Lexie is initially able to muster.  I’m pretty sure I’ve never screamed in my stepmom’s face. For one reason, it’s because like Dani, my stepmom’s actually a lovely person.  But also, as Shonda once put it in the writers’ room when we discussed this episode - when it comes to family, you’ve got to get onboard or you’re going to lose them.  It takes a lecture from Meredith and something like fifteen peanut butter cups from Jackson to get Lexie to figure this point out, but she does come around.  She might not love the idea of Dani, but she loves her father and if not losing her relationship with him means being nice to a tattooed lady, then so be it.

And what about Jackson and those peanut butter cups?  It would seem that while Jackson’s at first open to Mark’s offer of trading awesome surgeries for information on Lexie, something changes while he watches her eat that candy and talk and talk and talk… Earlier in the episode, Jackson insists to Mark that he and Lexie aren’t close, but they sure do seem to be a bit closer by the end of the day.  So much so that Jackson is willing to miss out on surgeries that might help him win Chief Resident if it means keeping Lexie’s secrets.  I’ve said it before, but I find Lexie Grey incredibly charming.  And from the look on Jackson’s face at the end of the episode, something tells me he’s starting to as well… 

Meredith, on the other hand, is not as charmed by Lexie today.  And that’s because she’s simply not worried about her dad and his girlfriend.  Dani makes Thatcher happy?  Awesome.  Mazel tov.  If Dani wants to be there to hold Thatcher’s hand while he deals with a kidney stone, then it means that Meredith doesn’t have to do it.  Which is fantastic, because Meredith seriously doesn’t have the time.  Not only is she dealing with all the work that comes with an Alzheimer’s Clinical Trial, but now The Chief’s offering her what could be an even more prestigious Clinical Trial – a Clinical Trial based on Ellis Grey’s research.  

As we put this story together, we always knew that we wanted Meredith to decide to stick with Derek’s Alzheimer’s Trial, but we weren’t always clear on WHY.  We knew it felt right to us, but we weren’t sure what Meredith’s reasons would be.  At a certain point it was pitched that Meredith would decide that the Alzheimer’s trial belonged to her, while the diabetes trial belonged to her mother - Meredith wanted to make a name for herself under her own steam.  And while that may still be partly true, it ultimately didn’t feel completely right.   Further discussion brought us to the real heart of the matter: Richard is offering Meredith the chance to complete Ellis’ work – to ensure her professional legacy.  Derek is offering Meredith the chance to cure her mother’s disease.  Richard suggests that Ellis’s research is Meredith’s birthright.  But what Ellis really left Meredith was first-hand experience of just how terrifying a disease Alzheimer’s can be and the drive to keep others from having to go through that, too.

Okay, so fine.  My problem isn’t really all that high-stakes when compared to curing diseases or whatever.  In fact, my moment has come and gone and chances are you missed it completely.  But, I promise you this: my mom sure didn’t.  And I have a feeling this half-second of screen time is going to follow me around for a while yet. 

Austin’s Mom: “Did you see Austin on Grey’s? No?  Well, here, I have it cued up on my phone…”

Austin’s Mom’s friend: “Which one’s Austin?  The one who looks like Santa Claus, age 29?”

Whatever.  That’s the price you pay when you’re a super-star.

 

Comments

[Kelly]

Lexie is charming and Chyler Leigh is one of the best actresses on the show. I wish we could see Meredith and Lexie bond more onscreen and also have Meredith/Thatcher repair their relationship. Also I adore Jackson and Lexie's friendship. I hope it continues.

Have no interest in anymore Ellis Grey storylines and hate the baby storyline too.

[Ana M.]

Austin,

Funny episode but didn't quite did it for me.

The Calzonark baby is terrible. Terrible. Terrible. This is not a story I want to see. I just feel like smacking these three characters every time they come onscreen. I don't find the point of it. I don't like it. Hate it, is more like it.

The only good thing came when Callie told April to change her voice. Although I'd love if April shut up. Permanently.

Lexie was actually kind of funny. Still hate Thatcher.

Loved loved all the Meredith in this episode. She should be more onscreen. It's always great to see her but the lack of Derek is not cool. Not cool at all. And that last scene? Very cute but very short. Need more of those moments, longer.

I wish I had more positive things to say but frankly, as each episode goes...the less positive I get. The CAM baby torture and the lack of M/D is making this show unbearable.

But thanks, I guess.

[nyla]

"anybody want to argue with my extra-special vagina vote!?" HAHA I love Callie! I'm so on board with her having Mark's baby and how this storyline and the Callie+Arizona/BFF Mark dynamic evolves.

Also, "it's Sophie's Choice!" Cristina Yang wins @ life.

Austin, now I'm going to have to rewatch and look for you. You lucky duck! <3 this show, <3 everyone @ ShondaLand :)

[Sara]

lmao I love Callie's super-special vagina vote!

[MRR]

I absolutely LOVE the way you write April. She was hilarious is 7x07 too which you wrote.

[MRR]

*in

[Cal]

Can someone explain to us Calzona fans why you have completely disregarded the Calzona relationship? why is Mark in every Calzona scene? why is Mark rubbing Callie's feet in front of her girlfriend? why has Callie shown no remorse or affection towards AZ.

We are mystified as to why the character of Arizona has completely been demolished to accommodate this 'modern family' story line. You have turned Callie into an immature, selfish whiner. Where are the girls we fell in love with?
It is pretty sad that you have the only lesbian couple in primetime and have totally ruined it by sticking the man in the middle.
This story is not only full of cliches, it is an insult to lesbians everywhere. Please extract Mark from Calzona because you have totally destroyed it with this unrealistic soap opera of storyline.

[Candace]

Wow!! You're cute Austin. I want Lexie and McSteamy to work it out.

[Always_CO]

Loved, loved the whole 3 to 2 votes. Hellz yeah there is a vagina vote and a baby vote.

Really, loved the Lexie and Jackson thing. They've ALWAYS have had great chemistry - rigth from day one. Let Mark and Lexie go and bring on Jackson and Lexie.

Of course loved the Cristina/ Mer scenes - too funny.

So upset of the lack of CO moments - it's a been a real dry speall, y'all. Bring 'em back please. And maybe more than 1 minute. SO and KMK are magic together.

P.S. - Totally hating on AZ. Really hating on her - bad. Sorry pizza fans but stick a fork in it. It's done. She's a really awful partner and Callie deserves better.

[Lacy]

so happy there's still hope for ML :)

[Jan]

Sorry but that was a really boring episode to be honest. One of the most boring ones of the season so far.

I am not a super hardcore Mer/Der fan but I would really like to see longer scenes with Mer/Der rather than Meredith's interaction with the chief that went on and on and on..

And my biggest problem is how the writers are shoving Mark/Callie/Arizona as a happy family unit down our throats.That last scene with Mark and AZ cooking for Callie was not funny/cute or whatever.. it made me wanna gag because I cant stand the fact that you guys are writing AZ to be completely fine with this and hanging around Mark! Mark and Callie need to know their boundaries w each other but clearly that's not gonna happen since it looks like the writers are expecting fans to be like "AWWW MALLIZONA <3 "

Kill me.

Arizona's one of my favourite characters and I hate seeing her getting crapped on like that. Callie needs to put herself in Arizona's shoes, for once. Arizona didn't have to get caught in this baby mess but she chose to. yet, we don't even see Callie being at least grateful for that, instead, we see her whining and whining bout freaking coffee..

You know what? I think Arizona should run. If Mark is gonna be in Callie's life all the damn time,please just let AZ move on to someone that actually cares for her partner more than her manwhore BFF.
Lexie made a wise decision. Why should she compromise for Mark, who's been treating her like she doesnt exist.

I'm not saying Callie should cut Mark completely out of her life. He is the father afterall and i get that. But, you guys really need to stop placing Mark in every Calzona scene there is. It was bearable at first but now it's just sickening. and I can sense that it is going to get worse because without Lexie, Mark doesn't really have any other storylines. so he's probably gonna be in every CA one. I think fans are not buying this M/C/A thing as much as you would like to think we are.

On a more positive note, I do like Alex and the new OB/GYN. and really starting to like the AZ/Teddy friendship!

[Enforce]

First to the good. 'I need someone who speaks Grey' was brilliant. The episode had an energy that reminded me of the first seasons. Liked Alex's little dilemma and how it was handled. Loved Lexie. And for the first time in a while, I don't hate Jackson. Really, really like the way Ellis Grey's work is being integrated. What I found troublesome: the whole Callie/Arizona/Mark triangle. Callie and Mark are my favorite characters but c'mon! The man is now ever present at their home? Morning and night? And Arizona is ok with it? You guys promised to treat the Callie and Arizona relationship with respect and integrity and instead they have been turned into a joke. The vagina vote? Yuk! Callie asking for a foot rub from Mark? In front of Arizona??? What the heck? When did Mark turn into Callie's gay husband? Just last week Arizona was angry and now she's ok with Mark rubbing Callie? Who writes this stuff? Oh, yeah, you did Austin. The 'delightful' thing is irritating and completely inappropriate concerning a heart. All that being said, with the exception of Lucy's and Callie's rants, I truly enjoyed the show. Glad to have Grey's back...

[Sandy]

Honestly this show.... I don't know if I could sit around and watch my boyfriend give his "friends with benefit" who happens to be having his child a foot rub and be okay with it, I don't know what happened to Arizona in Africa, but this stepford Arizona is just.... I am a C/A fan but lately I enjoy the scenes with Arizona with the other characters other than her scenes Callie & Mark. I have yet to experience the joy of pregnancy so I don't know, but maybe the people who do can help
me out, does being pregnant make you dense, insensitive and all the other irritating things Callie had become? In short the C/A & Mark triangle is disturbing because I don't know what the message is, if it's a modern blended family then please have enough respect for the viewer and write it in a compelling manner and not in a way that makes want to switch channels, some of us are part of the blended family but I don't think my stepfather will be okay with my father giving my mother foot rubs or any kind of rubbing for that matter, at the moment the only thing I am getting from this story line is that someone is uncomfortable with the Callie and Arizona relationship, & Mark is put in the middle to ease that, why else is Mark in everyone of their scenes? Just because Callie is having his baby doesn't mean he owns her body.... So please if the modern family is the angle, just do it right!

I hope Lexie and Jackson are a go, even though it seems like Mexie are going to get back together.

Alex and Lucy, yes please!

I love Teddy and Arizona's friendship at least we get to see the real Az then.

[Pam]

This has to be one of my favorite blog postings ever because I never write in the comments section! Please tell me you have a regular blog somewhere that I can follow.
Good episode made great by this blog entry!

[TVFanIam]

R.I.P. Callie and Arizona. We'll miss you and the glory you once brought to the show.

A season of rebirth, a season where the character's grow up, a season where they will change and come into their own.

Only 8 episodes left, and this episode depicted the regression of Alex - taking all the growth he's made in the last two seasons away, and put him back into season 1.

This episode redefined Bailey who was completely out of character - genuinely miss her.

Finally, as stated in the first notes - Callie and Arizona are dead and destroyed - with this episode nailing the coffin closed. Does anyone in the writing room, including Mr. Guzman think they are a couple, a true genuine couple? You sure don't write them as one, and it appears you never will. They're like Meredith and Derek - NOT! Never have been, and now with the troika, never will be. Such a great waste.

Thank God they moved Bones to Thursday.

Buh-bye Grey's!

[M]

Nice cameo. Love this episode! ;) Salam from Malaysia!

[Jenna]

Good episode, loved Callie :) Missed Christina but loved Lexie and Meredith's story line too. Super glad she's sticking with Alzheimers. It's kinda her thing. Thanks for the great episode and now I will be looking for you in the episode!

[Lisa]

If this episode would only last about 5 minutes, I´d say it was a really good episode. But sadly, it didn`t. And so I was bored to death about 40 minutes. This "Three lunatics and a baby"-show is driving me nuts, too. And if someone mentions the word "coffee" again, I`ll scream!!!!
The 20 seconds of MerDer where great, but unfortunately I blinked, and so I nearly missed them!

[lothiriel]

I want Mark and lexie !!! I don't care if Jackson is falling for Lex !

Where is the "run for hapiness" Shonda talked abt ??? It is torture, we already lived this with Alex & "Sloany" last year !! The same story again, and again !

[joan]

i just want mark and lexie bk. they just got back together,and now,this happens :(

[Kelly]

great episode! I loved the moment when Lexie was eating and talking to Jackson.

[Maria H.]

Sorry M. Guzman to say that but your storyline wasn’t as horrible and/or mediocre as some of my friends said to me but it was a hell of painfully boring episode !

Why ? Here we go :

- about Callie/Arizona :
That was ridiculous. Seriously, on what planet would the previous Arizona Robbins be ok with that foot massage? The woman who didn't want to work with Alex because he slept with her gf 2 years before they even met, is buddy buddy with the guy who knocked up her girlfriend 2 months ago. Are we expected to believe that Mark and Arizona are all one big happy family? Wow. Lucky Callie... she is getting her cake and eating it too. I actually enjoyed Arizona this episode but I am just finding the whole thing so unbelieveable. That she would be ok with Mark practically living with them and rubbing Callie's feet. Tell me, do you plan to make Mark sleeping in Callie/Arizona’s bed too like in season 6 ?
The fact that Callie is getting whatever she wants, and this all feels so artificial, just confirms to me they are gonna be hit SOOOOO freaking hard. And I am still one of those people who wants her to lose the baby, it is the only thing that will save this story and these characters at this point.
Pleaaase, stop treating us like some nuts ! ITA it is sucking the life out of the show.

Sara Ramirez seems to be having a hard time committing to this material which is understandable, but making it even more unbearable for the viewers that we were.

What a waste of previously great characters. I was really looking forward to the post-Malawi stuff, but now I've just given up. At this point, I feel like, if they're really going to go through with this nonsense, then GO THROUGH WITH IT. Arguments about coffee and kale smoothies? If Shonda & Co. are going to force this soapy crap on viewers, they could at least have the decency to commit to their poor decision-making and let the situation really unravel and devolve into insanity. Instead, they pick the most boring story they could possibly tell and make Callie really irritating in order to tell it.
- about the Callie/Arizona/Mark stuff is just so epically stupid on so many levels that there are no word. How about letting them deal with the reality of the situation and hash out their many many issues? No, it's about coffee and Mark and Arizona cooking dinner together...Uhm, okay.

- about Lexie/Avery : although I've found Avery to be a very insignificant drag on the show since his beginnings, I did like that he ultimately chose not to sell out Lexie.
Teddy isn’t so bad either when she's just nodding along to conversations between other people (regardless of how inane those conversations are). For now, maybe I'll ascribe nobler motives of integrity to him.

- about Mark/Avery : I really hated Mark playing that "do this inappropriate personal thing for me if you want me to do any teaching" game, at least he came through with the promise to each in the end. I did respect Jackson for not spilling Lexie's secrets to Mark. He probably just did it to have a better chance of getting into her pants himself, but well…

- about Alex/Lucy : Alex regressed in this episode. He is the jerk we met at the beginning of Grey’s. 6 years ago ! Lucy is more enjoyable to follow than Avery/April and even Teddy and however, she is there for only last week !

On the bright side (the only one I found), I liked the song they played over the VO.

In the hope my comment will be kept, even if it is almost completly negative and long…

[noa]

Well the episode was kind of good I mean at least for the "grey" (Meredith and Lexie) storylines..
The rest was disappointing:
Is Mark really asking why Lexie is upset and why is she crying!!! really!!!
Oh, and this Callie/Mark/Arizona threesome thing is unrealistic, unhealthy, boring and really really annoying!!!
God, give Arizona more guts, and Mark and Callie some boundaries for god sakes: Mark giving a foot rub to callie on Arizona's watch!!!!!WTF!!
Arizona is supposed to be the jealous green eyes monster and Callie is supposed to understand that her behavior with Mark is inappropriate given her history with Izzie/meredith with George !!
Those characters were some of my favorite but not anymore..
I believed that the soap opera kind of writing that we got so far was the worst you can do.. but I realize now I was wrong .. It’s even worst now!!

[soph]

That was okay. Kind of fillerish, nothing too exciting, but nothing too offensive either.

Alex/Lucy: I'm excited about Alex getting any kind of storyline. That said, unfortunately Lucy was in no way original. We've seen her character a 100 times on Grey's, and we've seen that very storyline a couple of times too. Too bad, I had such high hopes.

Calliebaby: Callie used to be one of my favorites, but it's just not working. This time it was actually kind of funny, but way overdone. To caffeine or not to caffeine is simply not the storyline that should dominate a 45 min episode. Oh well, at least she told April to shut it. I still don't buy Arizona's commitment to the baby.

Meredith: Kind of interesting. It needed to be explored more though, to be honest. So much more potential there than in any of the other storylines you've got going on.

Lexie/Jackson: One of the first episodes in a very long time that I liked Lexie. I think even Lexie/Jackson might work for me...well done! (Though in order for it to be actually exciting, you're going to need to write it differently than you've before, no Lexie/Alex rehash, please) Just let them be friends for a while.

Other stuff:
- April got more lines than Derek and Christina unfortunately...this puts the episode automatically in the no-need-to-ever-rewatch-category.
- Callie and Owen work well together...I always enjoy seeing doctors working together in new combinations.
- This was episode 14 of the season, I'm still waiting for something that will make me as enthusiastic and excited as I used to be...it's just been a whole lot of blah, to be honest.

[Margo]

Lexie is charming. Mark is charming. Together they are perfect and the only reason I still watch this show. Please get them back together – I need some joy in my life! Jackson is fine and everything but he's the Alex Karev of this season and nobody wants that story line again!