Episode Title: "Elevator Love Letter"

Synopsis: While Derek prepares to perform his first surgery since his breakdown, Izzie must undergo one; Owen has another PTSD episode, which injures Cristina, traumatizes both of them, and throws their relationship into question.

Guest Star: Kimberly Elise

Discuss.

Question: Any news on whether T.R. Knight will get a story this season on Grey's Anatomy? -- Craig
Ausiello: Remember me telling you last month about a proposed storyline that would find George developing an interest in Owen's specialty as a military/trauma doc? You know, the one ABC insisted had been scrapped and replaced with something even better? Well, my colleague, Jennifer Armstrong, just spoke to Kevin McKidd, and the new story sounds a lot like the old one. "Hunt [will start to] see something in George that no one else has," McKidd revealed. "There's an event that happens and [Hunt] realizes there's a lot more to him... that he has a set of skills that maybe he isn't even aware of. And Hunt starts to mentor him in a way that gets really interesting." Translation: My initial theory about Shonda Rhimes having George join the military and go off to Iraq as a way of accommodating Knight's departure is so happening. Right?

Those first 3 minutes= AMAZING!

That was the best episode since "From a Whisper to a Scream." I didn't even think this show could be this good again.

Oh has her Emmy tape. I wish Justin Chambers would be taken more seriously by voters because his performance here should get him a nomination (and the fact that TR Knight has been nominated and Chambers hasn't makes me vomit. Knight sucks.). I love that he narrated the episode. Same goes for Kevin McKidd. He was great in this too.

The proposal was a nice touch. I thought they were going to go for something corny after the 1,000 candle house, but I'm glad they didn't.

Alex and Izzie are definitely the couple getting married.

Wonder how the rest of the season will go. Hopefully it's as good as this and last week was, just to wash away the bad taste pretty much this entire season left.

A

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Bazookka Joe,

well, after those first 3 amazing minutes the rest of the episode just fell flat for me.

the episode was just sort of boring and the writing, why bother even discussing. I've learned that with this show I should learn to accept the writing to be the weakest element of any episode.

Chambers was decent in his big scene, but nothing special. He has been better before. The writing let him down and I don't think he sold it.

And they need to give Oh a good episode. Every time I think they are about to give her the spotlight of an episode it turns out to be nothing but the average screen time they give her, which is not enough. This season she has been solid but if anybody deserves a Supporting Actress nomination it would be Heigl. This would make a bad tape for Oh, she really didn't do much. This tape wouldn't even be as good as her tape last year (which wasn't that great either) which sucks cuz she is the best actress on this show and deserves to win an Emmy by now.

Elevator Love Letter: C

I agree that this shouldn't be Oh's tape. Her best options are last week, or the two-parter season premire(which would give her a ton of screentime once edited down). While I think Heigl has worked hard for her nomination this year(and she has an interesting storyline, even when it was bad), I still think Oh is doing the best work of any actor on the show this season. Her and McKidd have so much chemistry.

I thought this episode continued grey's upswing, and it was a strong outing. The break-up and engagement at the end was done really well. I'm not sure I fully buy that Izzie's friends would have been doing other things than being at her side, but it was an interesting way to tell that story. I really liked the case with the old woman. And it was nice to see Sheperd resolve his issues.

Grade: A-

The opening sequence with Cristina and Owen was excellent. It was almost dream-like in its jerky execution, and both Kevin McKidd and Sandra Oh were standouts there. They've turned this into the most interesting pairing on the show this season, and I've become more and more interested in where they're taking these characters than I thought I'd be going in. Owen's PTSD from Iraq is both timely and compelling, and Cristina being too scared to go to sleep after they slept together might have been Sandra Oh's best scene of the episode.

It's sad to see where they're taking the Izzie storyline, especially seeing the hope that the group has for her survival and knowing in the back of your head that it's most likely not going to work out. I almost lost it when Izzie was on the operating table and she said that she made the scarf for Bailey. The history those two characters have had with one another over the years. Justin Chambers did a fine job here with the narration and the on-call room scene with Ellen Pompeo. I initially thought that his sperm donation thread would turn into the comic relief of the episode, but it took a more dramatic turn when Alex was visibly shaken up over this being the way that his relationship with Izzie has to end up. The dying aunt and the jaded relatives almost felt like filler until the aunt said what she did to Alex, which gave him some insight into how to deal with Izzie's crisis. At least they've set it up so Izzie being in surgeries from here on out serves some purpose. Kimberly Elise made a strong first impression here, though it's tough that she has to play such a hard-nosed character right out of the gate. Seeing them finally giving T.R. Knight the material that he's deserved for months now was nice, and Bailey admonishing them all at the end for not attending to Izzie properly was the sting and jolt that the entire storyline needed.

The elevator proposal was a nice touch with the brain scans and the letters, and I generally like the place that Meredith and Derek are in right now. It's too bad that it took a huge crisis like this to get them there, but that's usually how it goes for them. It's nice to see their growth -- this isn't the Meredith that picked Derek up in a bar or tried to drown herself or said "It's over. It's so over." at Cristina and Burke's wedding, and Derek seems to have come through his bout of guilt over his killed patients well (though wouldn't he have had this kind of moral quandry years ago, considering the delicate work that he does and the low potential rate of survival going in). It's not the same thing, but I kept thinking about Natasha Richardson all through this and how these kinds of conditions can turn on a dime so quickly and escape even the best of hands.

This was a strong episode to leave things off in.

Grade for "Elevator Love Letter": A-/B+

GM Blog:
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Stacy McKee on "Elevator Love Letter"
Original Airdate: 3-26-09

Just so you know, I am a sap when it comes to marriage proposal stories. I love them. I love hearing them, I love telling them. I fully enjoy all the cheesy romantic oooey gooey-ness. I LOVE that Derek proposed! I LOVE that Meredith said yes! I can’t help it. I’m just cheesy that way.

But first things first. Entirely too much happened in this episode. TOO MUCH. Owen went all PTSD and choked Cristina in his sleep then she forgave him and they had ridiculously beautiful sex until she realized she had to dump him after all. Alex snooched (yes, you heard me right. Snooched.) into a cup for Izzie so her eggs could be extracted, fertilized, and frozen before her body gets all sick with radiation and chemo. Derek finally came back from the woods looking all Grisly Adams-ish to operate on Izzie’s brain and – and then . . . there’s that elevator. Where Derek proposed to Meredith, and she said YES.

Yup. Too much happened in this episode. I’m overwhelmed. I don’t know what to talk about first.

Let’s start with the unpleasant part. Owen. And the choking. This was a tricky one. Let’s be clear. This is not a guy attacking a woman because he’s a guy who attacks women. We did not set out to tell a story about domestic abuse. This is a story about PTSD.

Owen is completely asleep when he attacks Cristina. Asleep, having a nightmare. Remember the story we did earlier this season about the guy with night terrors? Same thing. Did you see how dead Owen’s eyes look? He has no awareness of what’s happening. And the moment he wakes up, when Callie calls his name and he snaps out of the nightmare – Owen is more discombobulated and confused than anyone else. That’s why Cristina’s line is so important, when she asks Meredith if it would be any more appropriate to abandon Owen right now than it would be to abandon someone who had suffered a stroke or a heart attack. Owen is wounded. He does have war wounds. Which, as a doctor, Cristina recognizes. And she’s not going to let that intimidate her. She knows wounds can be healed.

The point isn’t the choking, it’s where Owen goes from here ... The story we’ve always wanted to tell is one of healing and awareness and treatment for PTSD. That’s part of what you’ll see Owen struggling with in episodes to come. But before we can get there, before Owen can be truly willing to seek out help -– we needed to see him hit rock bottom. We needed him to realize that his symptoms aren’t necessarily within his own control. We needed him to choke Cristina.

And if you felt a little worried when Cristina and Owen started to kiss, if you felt a little twinge of heartbreak for the two of them as they finally, beautifully consummated their relationship . . . that’s what you were supposed to feel. It’s exactly what we see creeping into Cristina’s face, after the sex, when she can’t fall asleep. She’s having a very quiet, but very real panic attack right there in Owen’s arms. I feel like there’s a part of Owen and Cristina that knew -– even as they were finally having sex after all this time –- that this was actually a goodbye.

NOW -– Alex Karev. Can I just say -– the minute I saw the first cut of this episode, I ran into Shonda’s office and declared that Alex should ALWAYS do the voice over because it is just so fantastic! Right from the start, the second you hear Alex’s voice and see him pacing outside of Izzie’s room . . . you know this episode is a little bit different. It has a different energy, a different pace. Did you notice all the quiet, haunting moments? Did you notice there wasn’t a single big, scary medical Act Out? This episode is quiet. It’s still. It needs to sit in its quiet moments, not breeze past them.

I adore Alex, always have. And this was the perfect time to have him narrate the show, since he’s just learned that Izzie is dying. When Alex is venting to Meredith in the on-call room -- Oh man. (I’ll just preface this with the fact that, as I mentioned before, I am a bit of a sap and, yes, sometimes I cry easily) but I’m telling you, we ALL teared up on set when we were shooting Justin in that scene. He’s just tremendous. We don’t get to see Alex Karev be vulnerable very often, so when we finally do . . . It is so worth it. Especially when he says that this wasn’t how he wanted to make a baby with Izzie ... Love him. Couldn’t love him more in that moment.

And I’ve saved the best, of course, for last. The Elevator Proposal.

First of all, you should know that there’s a long standing debate in our writers’ room about what does or does not make for a good marriage proposal. Some of us prefer what Shonda calls the Oooey Gooey Disgusting stuff –- the more traditional proposals, usually involving grand gestures and flowers and rings and romance. But Shonda’s taste is exactly the opposite of any of that. The minute one of us launches into a romantic recounting of one of our own marriage proposals . . . Shonda basically covers her ears as though they might bleed. To her, those oooey gooey romance filled proposals are pretty much akin to . . . well . . . Hell. Which is why she’s Shonda. She’s a little dark and twisty -- in all the best ways. It’s also what makes her a little like Meredith Grey.

So you can imagine just how hard it was to come up with what the perfect marriage proposal might be for Meredith Grey. It couldn’t be oooey and gooey. Couldn’t be a traditional, down on one knee proposal. But it’s also a piece of "Grey’s Anatomy" history, five seasons in the making. It needed to be true to who Meredith and Derek are together -– what their history is, why they love each other, how they understand each other.

And it did have to be romantic. But not predictably romantic. It had to feel magical and fresh and totally, completely perfect for Meredith and Derek.

So what better place than their elevator? And what better way than by revisiting their lives together as doctors? It would be wrong for Derek Shepherd to get down on one knee. Even worse for him to offer up the ring he hit into the woods. Derek needed to give Meredith HER perfect proposal. Which, as it turns out, involved an elevator, light boxes, and a lot of brain scans.

I love that Meredith only says yes when the proposal is right. She stays true to herself; she won’t say yes out of pity or because Derek needs an ego boost. She will only –- can only –- say yes once Izzie is fine. Once Derek is fine. Once the proposal is finally, totally right. And what I love is that what makes the proposal right is that Derek finally gets it. He finally understands and accepts completely who Meredith really is. Sure –- she’s got a dark side. She’s seen more trauma in her life than most people. And, amazingly, she’s just about the only person this entire episode NOT suffering from PTSD. As Derek says, she’s seen worse, she’s survived worse, and she knows the people around her will survive it too.

What I love is that Derek finally puts into words the one thing she really needs to hear from him. That Meredith’s dark side is not a flaw, it’s her strength. It’s what makes her who she is. And that’s why he loves her.

See? Not too cheesy. Not too sappy. Magical proposals CAN be achieved, even without rose petals and rings in champagne glasses! Although, it does help when Grisly Adams finally shaves off his beard!

When I was pitching my episode down to Shonda, back when it was just an idea and nothing more, Shonda stopped me mid-pitch to say this: “Stacy. Just so you’re clear, if you pitch me that the last scene of your entire episode is the proposal, I will vomit.”

Which, given the fact that proposals basically make Shonda break out in hives, I should have been prepared for . . . And though it is entirely possible I maybe might have once upon a time planned on ending the episode with the Elevator Proposal, that is NOT how I pitched it. And that is NOT how I wrote it. Because that would have just been too Oooey and gooey. Too romantic. Too cheesy. Too me. And not enough Meredith Grey.

Plus, I really, really hate vomit.

EW's recap:
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"Grey's Anatomy" Recap: Forward Motion

Cristina and Owen take it to the next level, in more ways than one, Izzie starts her treatment journey, and Derek gets back on the horse and steps up his game with Meredith.

by Jennifer Armstrong

Hey, so this "Grey's Anatomy" episode was kind-of a big deal, huh?

For starters, I was heaving sobs in under three minutes, despite the fact that I was well-prepared for Owen's post-traumatic-stress-disorder-induced sleep-choking of Cristina. Callie heard the commotion and broke it up, otherwise things could've gone much worse. And that's just the point. At the risk of getting all public service announcement here, I truly believe this is a fantastic story line to tackle — the phenomenon of post-war night terrors that can endanger your bed partner is very, very real (my Vietnam-vet dad went through this for years, when I was too young to appreciate the strain on both him and my mom), and few people realize (or really want to think about) what soldiers go through once they get home. It helps, in this case, to have a pair of sublime actors handling this sensitive topic. As good as they've been at amping up the romance crackling between Owen and Cristina, Kevin McKidd and Sandra Oh brought the Emmy consideration tonight from scene 1.

Another sign that "Grey's" has returned to its second-season dramatic glory? A T.R. Knight sighting in under six minutes! (Theory: T.R. Knight sightings are directly proportional to the quality of an episode, whether or not he directly contributes to said quality. Discuss.) He veered ever-closer to his very own emotional arc, too, by asking to be on ex-wife Callie's service. Just one instance of this episode's particular knack for mending previous rifts and acknowledging series history while forging new partnerships — which, by the way, is the definition of a quality soap/drama.

Case in point, Izzie's brain surgery day brought everyone together and tore them apart at the same time, multiple times. We knew from the first second the doctors mentioned harvesting Izzie's eggs to save them from chemo destruction that Alex might have some quick thinking to do about the future. It was only a matter of time before he was contemplating whether to offer up some sperm (apparently the eggs keep better when they're fertilized). He did, with noticeably little deliberation, even if he did have some trouble, um, getting going on that sperm sample at first. (One can understand a guy not being particularly in the mood when his girlfriend is preparing for brain tumor surgery. ''This isn't how Izzie and I were supposed to make a baby,'' he told Meredith.)

And I bristled at Kimberly Elise's introduction as Izzie's no-nonsense oncologist, but that was the good kind of bristling — the invested, conflicted kind. When she mused aloud to Cristina about how she'd have to tell Izzie that they'd have to use some kind of extra-toxic drug on her, Cristina questioned whether it was a good idea to deliver bad news right before surgery. The new doc snapped, ''Today or tomorrow, the news is the same. And right now, I have time.'' A very Cristina answer under normal circumstances. That plus the fact that Cristina was wearing a turtleneck to cover up the bruises from her near-strangulation added up to more vulnerability than perhaps we ever thought we'd see in Seattle Grace's prickliest resident. Even when Burke left she wasn't half as destroyed.

That said — and this might be my personal biases showing here — I loved seeing Cristina at least try to stand by her man. Meredith was quite understandably concerned (bordering on p1ssed) that Owen had endangered Cristina, and so devastatingly at that. But Cristina was built for just this circumstance — she's a tough broad who doesn't scare so easily. If that's not an expression of love of the highest order, I don't know what is. And we all know that's no easy feat (for anyone, but especially for her). Derek tried to step in and be helpful, as he's wont to do, by telling Owen PTSD is a discernable, real condition with treatment options — but Owen lashed out at Derek's own recent psychological troubles and sent him packing. Cristina, however, tracked Owen down in that basement boiler room place with the steam vents that they hang out in now and told him she wasn't about to run away: ''Let me decide what I can handle,'' she said, which has to be the most romantic thing anyone could ever say to another person, even if it's ill-advised.

Another interesting dilemma: the folks waiting for Aunt Joyce to die. The poor old lady's doctors had given her one month to live —- three years ago. So her relatives were pretty much spent on rushing to her bedside and saying goodbyes, only to see her push on through again and again. The whole scene rubbed Alex the wrong way, naturally, but they had a point —- how many times can you put yourself through that before you start to detach emotionally?

Speaking of which, Alex handed over his sperm sample without ever mentioning it to Izzie — or even going to see her. Translation: They were conceiving a child but neither talking about it nor being in the same room that day. Sure, that happens all the time in, say, artificial insemination cases, but not usually when you're dating. And one of you is prepping for brain surgery. Equally disturbing was the fact that Derek was determinedly practicing pre-operation, miming out motions and naming surgical implements aloud. (Hmm, would I be happy to see my surgeon warming up a little, or concerned that he might be a little rusty on equipment names and cutting and stitching techniques?) But I gotta say, when he did his (wonderfully cheesy) trademark surgery-opening line, ''It's a beautiful night to save lives,'' I let loose with the tears for the second time of the night. Everyone else's struggles to deal with Izzie's grave condition only encouraged me. ''I wished Izzie Stevens would die,'' Callie said, wrestling with her own guilt. But she talked George through his anger at Izzie, explaining his own feelings to him: ''Then there's the fact that she's your best friend,'' she said, ''and she might die on you.'' Even the dumb interns were sweetly worried about Izzie's operation. Under the stress of waiting, Meredith prodded Cristina still more about staying with Owen. ''Hands around the neck,'' she reminded her. ''Ring thrown in your face,'' Cristina sniped back. The Chief, however, brought everyone together by voicing the collective mood: ''You're scared. I'm scared too.'' Then, quicker and easier than expected -— with only some minor wavering on Derek's part before he got all badass-surgeon-decisive —- Izzie's operation was over. And successful.

Aunt Joyce, on the other hand, didn't fare so well -— yes, she finally died. Well, for a minute it looked like she might keep ticking, but it turned out that was just her pacemaker. ''Are you sure she's dead, young lady?'' one of her impatient relatives asked Lexie. She was. And finally they were truly sad.

Derek was doing his own brand of moping, despite having just pulled off an absurdly high-pressure operation, and his first one back after killing a patient and going off the deep end. All he could do was whine to the Chief about how Meredith had turned his proposals down twice now, which, while technically true, was a load of crock: He'd asked her first that morning, just after she got back from comforting Cristina and before he jetted off to work; and then he'd asked her again, claiming he couldn't do the surgery unless she said yes. (Gee, McDreamy, way to be romantic. That's exactly the way a girl always dreams her proposal will go: Say yes or I might kill your friend.) I didn't like seeing him shave the depression beard, either — simply because I liked the depression beard — but I could get behind the let's-move-forward sentiment. And move forward he did: Finally, with a proper, perfect proposal. In the "Grey's Anatomy"-trademark elevator! With CT scans covering the walls, representing all of their key moments together! That's right, Tearjerker Moment No. 3 of the night! It felt like the exact right moment for them, too, despite all of our seasons full of waiting: She really has come a long way, he's had his own emotional travails now, and he truly convinced me that he should love our damaged little title character. ''You say you're dark and twisty,'' he said. ''It's not a flaw. It's a strength. It makes you who you are.'' Second most romantic thing a person can say to another, incidentally.

Also in the good news department, Cristina and Owen finally got it on . . . and it. Was. Hot. Exactly as hot as it should've been between them, with all the chemistry and the buildup and the angst and the pheromones that fly every time they're on screen together. Lots of soulful looking into each other's eyes, and just . . . sigh. Mmm. Okay, enjoy that for a few seconds, because here comes the bad news: Cristina broke up with him afterwards. She said exactly what I was thinking, that she was scared as soon as she was lying in his arms. Definitely a downer, but probably a smart move on her part. It's the only way he'd be forced to get help, and she certainly couldn't risk being choked to death. Even for sex that good. Which I assume it was. She sent him off to get a brain scan from Derek, Meredith showed up to comfort Cristina, Alex got into Izzie's hospital bed with her and told her about the sperm . . . basically, everyone was where they should be. At least for the moment.

What did you think, "Grey's Anatomy" fans? Was Derek's proposal everything you'd hoped for? Did Cristina do the right thing? Was there enough T.R. Knight?

I don't really think I have anything new to say, but I agree this episode continues Grey's upswing. I think Oh was great here but I think she has better tapes. Keep it up Greys'!

Grade: A-

Yup, this was absolutely beautiful. I loved all of it. The acting was absolutely outstanding, especially from Pompeo, Chambers, McKidd, and Oh.

I loved that Pompeo is such a rock on this show right now, and she's playing it really well. I even loved her "I Know"s to Alex as he went on his tirade. Wonderful scene.
Beautiful proposal scene as well.

McKidd deserves an Emmy nom, and I'm gonna scream bloody murder with Sandra Oh doesn't finally win her Emmy this season. She's been outstanding in literally every single episode this season. After every episode this season, even though the ups-and-downs, I've always said "Oh was outstanding".
She better freakin win.

A