Grey's Anatomy: Grey Matter

Kip Koenig on "From A Whisper to A Scream"

Original Airdate: 11-23-06

I need one word to describe my feelings after watching tonight’s episode, “From A Whisper to A Scream”: Holy!  Okay no, five words.  I need five words to describe my feelings: Holy crap!  That was intense!

And I have a confession: I'm scared.

Here’s why I'm scared.  I'm blogging.  Blogging for us writers here is a different kind of writing than we’re used to.  It’s like writing a term paper.  I mean, I know I don’t have to compare and contrast tonight’s episode with Lady MacBeth, but hundreds if not thousands of people never read my term papers.  Thank God.

And I'm guessing lots more people than that will watch the show tonight.  And that’s scary.  Because people love their Grey’s Anatomy.  People like you.  People like me.  People like Oprah.  And you, me and Oprah like our Grey’s Anatomy to be Grey’s Anatomy.  And this episode is, well, different than the tried and true.  There’s Cristina’s voice over for starters.  We’ve only had one other episode narrated by someone other than Meredith - that was George after…  you remember the sex with… let’s move on…  Anyway, this episode is different and I'm scared but I'm also really excited because I think it kinda rocks.

Shonda wanted one big episode about betrayal.  And so we have all kinds of betrayal: a patient whose lover betrayed her, another patient whose body betrayed him, Callie feeling betrayed by Meredith about the McSteamy sex, George feeling Izzie betrayed him with his parents, Meredith not telling Derek about Burke’s tremor, George going to the Denny card with Izzie, etc.  And at the wheel, driving this betrayal band wagon is Cristina.  And Burke.  And their frickin crazy ass secret. 

That secret is such a big honking betrayal.  Think back over the course of this season; it makes your head spin how many of our people were betrayed because of it.  Bailey, Richard, Derek, Meredith, George, everyone, take a number and get in line.  And the thing is Cristina and Burke know this.  And it is killing them.  And so it has to end. 

Choice and circumstance got them into this.  They became a team and the team piled up victories in surgery after surgery.  They saved lives, lost none.  But the cost outside surgery kept going up.  The walls started closing in on Cristina.  She may be a part robot but she is also part human (that’s in fact true).  She’s exhausted, scared and trapped.  And it gets worse everyday.  Burke is a man of such integrity, even if he believes he is recovered – and he absolutely does – not being completely forthright with Derek, or Richard, or Bailey, or anyone, is wrong.  He’s betrayed all of them and that eats away at who he really is.  And so it has to end.

Burke is about to tell Derek the truth when Derek presents him with an emergent surgery.  Then Alex interrupts with another emergent case.  Choice and circumstance force them into surgery one more time but in this surgery Burke orders Cristina to the other side of the OR table.  The team is done.  Burke is done.  Cristina is done. 

We don’t know what Cristina says to Richard.  All we know is that she beat Burke to it and that breaks Burke’s heart.  And probably Richard’s as well.  He was going to step down, go back to Adele.  He’d chosen a successor.  This was a huge decision.  He loves Seattle Grace and would only leave it in the hands of someone he trusts completely.  Now what? 

Speaking of “now what,” we now know George’s dad is going to have Erica Hahn perform his surgery.  It kills me to see George so scared; but it’s his dad and I think we can all relate.  And it was nice to see Izzie be there as a friend for him at the end - despite what went on between them during the day. 

Okay, I know I'm not the only one looking for signs that Alex and Addison might go all Grey’s Anatomy on each other.  Maybe if that moment at the end had been in a stairwell or in an on-call room.  I love seeing those two characters together and I love that Addison can see the good in Alex that others – particularly Mark in this episode – don’t see.

Oh, and did anyone notice the McSex version 2.0 at the end there?  Yeah, that was sex on the horizon as the camera panned away from Meredith and Derek.  See, they are a couple – and for much of this day a very happy couple (How great to see, right?).  And couples overcome things.  Even some betrayals.  And sex helps.  Remember that.  Sex helps.

On that note, I’d like to wish everyone a really happy turkey day.  I am going to go eat.  Then I am going to sit down and watch that show that comes on at nine.  Hope you all enjoy and again, Happy Thanksgiving from Kip to you.

From Kip Koenig, writer of "Begin the Begin"

Original Airdate: 1/15/06

Since today was a holiday, I have not been fired. I may be fired tomorrow. Not for writing last night's episode, "Begin the Begin," but for growing a mustache. I have also launched a mustache growing campaign which I believe still includes another writer, Harry Werksman (whose wife Gabrielle first suggested I should be fired for said 'stache) and our writers' assistant Eric. If Patrick Dempsey shows up tonight at the Golden Globes with a mustache, I won't even bother coming back to work.

As you might know, "Begin the Begin" was the first new episode to air in the new year so it seemed appropriate to use that as a theme: new beginnings, fresh starts. All of our medical stories offer that possibility to the patients, whether it's the new heart for Denny (which he doesn't get), Bex learning why she's always felt so different, and Mauer wanting to put his failed novel behind him and start a new one.

For Meredith, it's all about moving on, turning the page from Dr. McDreamy. Easier said than done. She tries, I'll give her that. But her new dog is no Derek Shepherd. And Derek can't help but be Derek, which is why Meredith fell for him in the first place.

Derek meanwhile is embracing everything about his new life in Seattle, with the possible exception of his wife. He's trying, I'll give him that. But he and Addison still aren't on the same page. Evidently, she's not a big fan of trout for breakfast. I noticed last night that Patrick played Derek in a really good mood the whole episode. Like Derek knows something we don't and it's making him happy. Hmmm.

Our cast is so good. Seriously. Watching them act is incredible. The only thing that would make them better is if they all had mustaches. One day I got to read Burke's lines off camera in a scene with Cristina and Bailey. I was like, that's right, Sandra, Chandra and Kip rocking the hell out of this scene. I don't know if anyone else shared that feeling.

There were wild rumors in the office that Mauer Paskowitz was a somewhat autobiographical character. Nonsense! I've never eaten a novel and never will. I may never even write a novel. And I shall never play the cello. However, the amazing director we had for the episode, Jessica Yu, her husband writes books and plays the cello.

Jessica Yu. It was really a pleasure working with her. I love the way she shot the episode and she was great with the actors. With so many characters and story lines to cover, this is a very challenging show to direct. Days can be very long and tiring. Jessica got at least two standing ovations from the cast and crew for finishing on time.

People around the office - mostly female people - were swooning more than usual over dailies (editor's note: "dailies" refers to film shot the previous day on set). It appears they liked Denny.

It was fun to see sparks begin to fly between he and Izzie. It's happening again - the swooning - but you'll have to wait awhile to know what I'm talking about. I named Denny after a man who pulled me and my car out of a dry riverbed in Mexico last year. I'd probably still be there if not for him. And I would probably have a mustache.