Episode Title: "Stand By Me"

Synopsis: While Mark attempts a face-transplant surgery, Meredith tries to get Derek to return to work after his fellow surgeons fail in their attempts; Cristina finally gets a solo surgery, but she's more focused on the needs of her friends; Izzie tries her best to keep her medical condition a secret.

Discuss.

This face transplant surgery they're doing is insane. Wow.

HOLY CRAP.. best episode of Grey's in years.

That was amazing. Katherine Heigl wanted her Emmy-worthy material, and that's exactly what they're going to give her.

Huh? Certainly not the best episode of Grey's in years. Apparently you didn't see the 2 episodes that Kate Walsh was a part of this season. That was incredible stuff.

Anyways...like a lot of this season, some stuff here worked insanely well, other parts did not. The intern stuff was just stupid. It took them far too far into being just ridiculous and completely incompetent, and actually nutty.

I also don't like what they are doing with Bailey. I've been thinking that they've really started to stray from who Bailey is and letting "Chandra Wilson" influence the character too much. She's becoming too loose, too passive...and my point was proven even further tonight when there was a line where Bailey said that she is obsessed with daytime television...which Chandra Wilson is. She tapes her soaps every day.

Other than that, the episode was fantastic. The stuff was Derek was great. Dempsey is finally going to deserve his top 10 placement for Best Actor. He's been superb. Good call on the writers having 2 lesser developed characters (Callie and Hunt) go out to talk to Derek. And James Pickens Jr. rocked his scenes at the trailer.

And yeah, the Izzy stuff was fantastic. I'm finally liking Izzy again. She's a character I care about again, and I haven't felt that way since season 3 when she was laying on the bathroom floor. Bravo to Heigl and Oh. They knocked this out of the park. Oh has GOT to win the Emmy this year.
And I'm really hoping this doesn't kill Izzy.

B+

Pompeo was great here as well. Nothing too deep, but she was a lot of fun.

Good episode. The only thing I have to complain about this one is these lame ass piece of sh*t interns. They need to go. Like 6 months ago. At least we got to see Meredith and Izzie lash out at them.

Heigl was really great tonight. It definitely looks like they're killing her off. I just wonder whether or not they'll wait until the end of the season or do it a few episodes before the finale. We still have about 7 or 8 episodes left. Are they really going to have her sit in a bed doing nothing that whole time? Sounds lame.

B+

Great episode but again the greatness was generated by the core cast/'originals'. The face transplant story worked IMO because of the nature of the case and the similarities with Izzie's situation (not because of the whole Mark/Lexi fiasco which apparently we are meant to believe is a Grey/Shepherd, Burke/Yang, Karev/Stevens type romance!). And the stuff in the woods largely worked thanks to the Shepherd and Chief final showdown.

For what it's worth, I realized that I really don't want them to kill off Izzie or write off George. I want Heigl and Knight to stay. For one, they're both great actors. Second, their characters are integral to the show and its success...I just see a different show without them (a much less than show). And finally, I'll take Izzie & George anyday over those dimwit, annoying interns as well as supporting players Lexi, Mark, Callie and whoever the hell Jessica Capshaw is playing!

Combined with last weeks episode, I really think Grey's is on a really good track right now...and like someone else said it is cause they are focusing on the "originals". The only thing I was slightly disappointed about in this episode was I thought it would be more of a showcase for Oh being that she was the only one that knew. I also wish would could have gotten some more better reaction shots from the cast when they found out about Izzie, but I'm sure a lot of reaction stuff is coming next week.

If Heigel can get nominated (and I'm not 100% sure she is loved enough after last year) she is for sure going to have the material to put her right up there for the win. Frankly, I hope they don't kill Izzie off. Despite some misteps (the awful George pairing & the Denny ghost relations) the character adds a softer side to the show, and Heigel can be great when she is given the right stuff (the past two episodes as an example).

GM Blog:
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Zoanne Clack on "Stand By You"
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 Hans 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 Hans 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.

I thought that the face transplant case was endlessly fascinating and grotesque. Whoever team was responsible for that deserves a makeup nomination this year. The support group friends were a nice touch too, and I liked the idea of these strangers coming together through tragedy and the anonymity of the internet to comfort one another. This was a great episode for both Katherine Heigl and Sandra Oh, who don't do enough scene work together. I was skeptical of only Cristina knowing at first too, but they made a strong case for the idea that it was Cristina's technical, no-nonsense science side that was going to bring touchy-feely Izzie out of her denial and face up to what was going on with her. The scene where Cristina robotically announces to Alex and Bailey Izzie's condition before doing her first solo surgery was insanely good, as well as Cristina and Izzie's fight scene. I've never wanted them to kill off Izzie -- it's sad when shows kill off original characters, and usually it's only a ploy to jazz up buzz and ratings late into a show's run. But if Heigl wants to leave, there's not much to be done, and at least she's getting her precious Emmy-worthy material that she wanted last season and didn't get. The last scene with Izzie in the hospital bed and George, Meredith, Alex, and Cristina by her side was excellent.

Patrick Dempsey is finally getting the kind of material that he's been due on the show for years now. I've been watching some of his Emmy-nominated work on "Once & Again", and the guy can be pretty awesome when given the chance to be. I'm glad that Webber is sticking by him as an ally, and Derek's remorse over how he treated Meredith (and drunkenly batting the ring away) was well-played. It was also nice how they used Bailey to bring in Callie and Owen to Derek's storyline like that. Anything to bring Callie out of her lesbian storyline with Arizona and Owen with his PTSD freakouts. I'm wondering how they're going to play out Izzie's cancer battle. Having Derek return to do surgery on her is good, but the chances for her survival are so slim. They could easily have her not survive at his hands, and that pushes him over the edge, or have the surgery miraculously work, or have her put up a fight to the end. They can drag out a recovery to the season finale. They had Denny in bed for weeks in season 2 leading to the whole L-VAD conclusion.

The interns storyline was the only thing that brought the episode down a bit. Having characters we don't know or care about take up time from the regulars is annoying, from the scenes where they're calling the face transplant guy "blowhole", the threesome fighting of characters I don't know the names of, the snickering they did when Sloan and Lexie were operating, and then having Meredith and George trying to get to the bottom of it all. The best scene from that was with Bailey telling them that that's exactly what she had to do when she was babysitting them -- George running off to marry Callie in Las Vegas, Meredith shacking up with an attending, and Izzie cutting the L-VAD wire. That at least stopped their storyline from being completely irrelevant.

Still, a strong episode last night.

Grade for "Stand By Me": A-

EW's recap:
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"Grey's Anatomy" recap: Love and Acceptance

As a patient learns the importance of having a support system, so does Izzie when Cristina goes against her wishes to be a true friend.

by Jennifer Armstrong

A tearjerker for the second week in a row! The "Grey's Anatomy" gods are rewarding us for our time spent in Denny purgatory: There were deep thoughts, poignant moments, Big Emmy Reel Moments With Patrick Dempsey, interns with drama, tons of comedy, and even multiple T.R. Knight sightings. But most of all, there were lines. Great, great lines (thank you, writer Zoanne Clack!). Here, the story of our Seattle Gracers through some of their own wonderful words — and what they all meant:

''That's why we dubbed him 'blowhole.''' — Alex

A guy with no nose and no lips who was hit by a drunk driver 12 years ago came in for, you know, just a little routine face transplant. (You may recall from news coverage that this is a really big deal and unlikely to be happy at our friendly neighborhood No. 12 hospital — and with little media fanfare. But okay. We'll go with it.) Kudos to the makeup staff at "Grey's" on this one: He was genuinely hard to look at. There was no getting around that uncomfortable fact, and that made the story line all the more compelling, especially when his support group — all of whom he'd met on the Internet, but never in person — showed up earlier than scheduled and he refused to let them see his wrecked face. (Also difficult to watch: The procedure where they removed the dead guy's face. Eek.) And is it just me, or was Izzie totally justified when she laid into those interns for making a ''blowhole'' joke in the guy's presence? Sloan took her to task for letting her ''emotional life'' get the better of her, but put me down for Team Izzie on that one.

''Are they supposed to look like that? . . . . They're supposed to be doctors?'' — patient, referring to the bruised, bloodied, crying interns

Meredith and George (yes, George was an agent in this scenario! he did things! sort-of!) faced something worse than the Suckiest Interns in History: the Suckiest Interns in History under the duress of some kind of interpersonal drama. One guy had a black eye; one had a bloodied hand; and the girl with the glasses kept crying. Mer and George decided to stay out of their charges' business. That is, until . . . .

''Do you think for a second that I wanted to get involved in your little intern dramas?. . . . Getting married in Vegas, shacking up with attendings, and cutting LVAD wires? You don't have to like it, but you have to manage it.'' — Bailey, advising Meredith and George

And manage it they did. Well, okay, mostly Meredith did, because we don't want George overexerting himself or anything. She lectured Mr. Bloody Hand (who also now had a bit of a nose bleed) and Ms. Crying Jag to stay away from each other: ''So much as a tear or a glance in each other's direction and it's over.''

''Will it? Hurt?'' — hernia surgery patient to Cristina

An endearingly fluttery Emily Kuroda (that's Mrs. Kim to you "Gilmore Girls" fans) tried to ask Cristina a list of prepared questions about her upcoming procedure — Cristina's first solo, incidentally. But Cristina was so distracted by incoming cell calls about Izzie's possible cancer treatment that she virtually ignored the visibly scared, vulnerably sweet lady in front of her. Great insight into Cristina — blowing off icky displays of emotions to, you know, save a friend's life. And Kuroda, incidentally, nobly infused this tiny part with heartbreaking character. Hey, ABC (and anyone else): Hire her more!

''I'm normally not a panicky person, but I'm a fan of daytime television.'' — Bailey, explaining her fear that something impossibly terrible had befallen Callie on her way to Derek's

Depressed Derek spent the episode chilling at the Airstream in the woods, drinking beer, wearing fleece, and growing ever more facial hair. Bailey first (kinda inexplicably) sent Callie out to try to talk him back to work, but he ended up depressing the crap out of her and then handing her a beer. Then, worried about Callie, Bailey sent Hunt, who told his own devastating story of losing a patient and ended up with a can in his hand, too. ''You get dead inside,'' Derek summed up, ''because if you actually felt it, no way you're going back.'' They weren't. At least not for the day.

Izzie: ''What are they going to call me when I'm a patient? 'Swiss Cheese for Brains'?''
Cristina: ''No, that's awkward and long. 'Blowhole' is pithy.''

Clearly Izzie's earlier breakdown with her interns came from their jokes hitting too close to home for her now that she's sick. And while she'd told Cristina about her cancer last episode because she knew Cristina wouldn't get overly emotional about it, the burden of the secret had started to take its toll. Cristina was nagging Izzie to take advantage of the referrals she'd finagled for her (known as ''getting an enema'' in front of their clueless, mystified friends); Izzie then dropped the bomb that she wasn't sure she wanted treatment. And that made the secret a much heavier weight for Cristina to drag around alone — not to mention the little matter that it went against everything she believed in.

''They didn't look away. You looked away. You didn't trust them.'' — Lexie to the face transplant patient

It was a moment of realization for patient Dave and for Izzie, who was starting to recognize that she'd need her own support system aside from Cristina. He finally let his friends come in, and they sweetly compared his face to his favorite orchid. One of them kissed him square on the cheek (and I teared up for the first time this episode).

''My next move, I believe, is that I'm going to call the police. Because I'm half convinced they're dead. On a spit. With a one-armed man turning them into shish kabobs.'' — Bailey, confessing to the Chief that she's lost two doctors trying to get Derek back

Right around here I realized that I missed Jim the Neurosurgeon this week. Remember him from last week? The second-string Derek? Why wouldn't they just let him do something instead of sending half the staff out to the woods? Jim must really suck. Poor Jim.

''You are going to tell me everything that's going on. Or else every time I have a rectal exam or an infected abscess, it's going to have your name on it.'' — Meredith, coaxing information about the intern drama from another intern

Turned out Megan was dating Pierce, but then they broke up and she slept with Steve. Megan got back together with Pierce. But then Steve accidentally hit ''reply-all'' on an email and referred to his affair with Megan, and the whole thing blew up from there. There was also this text message . . . . Yes. It was that annoying. And amusing. Fun with self-awareness!

''Look, I've destroyed lives before. Several, in fact. And yours is not one of them.'' — the Chief to Derek

Finally the Chief went out to the woods to get everyone back, which ended in a heated Airstream confrontation when Derek blamed him for losing Meredith. There was even some yelling. A bit much, but I felt happy that the boys got to act. They have to spend a lot of time looking pretty and being sensitive on this show, so good for them. I even choked up when the Chief told Derek that if his own marriage survived his affair, ''you can make your way back from anything.''

''Megan, you should go to OB. Because, yes, you are pregnant.'' — Meredith to her interns

Loved take-charge Meredith. Loved the idiot interns for the first time this season. Loved that George whispered to her afterwards, ''That was very Bailey.''

Cristina: ''Sometimes we win, Izzie. And I want you to fight.''
Izzie: ''Thank you.''

Cristina dropped the cancer news on Alex and Bailey — whoa — right before she cut into Mrs. Kim's hernia. Thoughtful and sensitive? No. But effective and, ultimately, right? Turns out, yes. She did Izzie a huge favor — who wants to spend a bunch of time fretting over continuously repeating the worst news of her life? It's great when people tell other people your crap that you don't want to talk about. Finally, everyone could rally around her and start getting her the treatment she needs and wants, whatever she ultimately chooses. Big tears of the night for the montage of everyone getting her into a hospital bed and taking care of her. Which, of course, sets us up for the biggie to come . . . .

Derek: ''Would you still love me if I wasn't a surgeon?''
Meredith: ''No.''

Derek took the Chief's advice and called Meredith, thank goodness. And her answer to this question came as both a wonderful surprise and an insight. Just as I started pondering the deep implications of this (because he wouldn't really be the same Derek she fell in love with if he weren't a surgeon . . . or maybe she's just being painfully honest . . . or maybe this is just her way of tough-loving him back to work . . .) when she revealed her real point. She showed him Izzie's brain scans. Yes, Derek's going to have to save Izzie now. No better way to ease back into surgery than possibly killing your girlfriend/almost-fiancée's close friend. What was that about not letting personal lives get in the way at this hospital?

What did you think, "Grey's" fans? What was your favorite line? Did you love or hate the Great Intern Drama? Will Izzie make it? Would you still love Derek if he weren't a surgeon?

Another in a line of great episodes. So happy to see Grey's back on track. I almost forget how derailed they were earlier in the season.

Oh and Heigl were predictably awesome, but we knew that this material was coming and expected it to be knocked out of the park. So I'm not going to be one of those "I'm surprised to say that I think Heigl is doing a good job," but instead say that she's doing the exceptional work that we figured would happen when this storyline came about.

And any ABC/Grey's Executive who doesn't think that TR Knight is an integral part of this show: during the final montage, it wasn't Bailey tearing up, or Karev unable to look up at Izzie after learning she was ill that made me tear up. It was George running down the hall that made me start balling. It's a crime what they've done to this character and to Knight. I hope to see more of him as Izzie's storyline continues.

And finally, Dempsey and Pickens finally acting was good, though both weren't necessarily too impressive. Pompeo rocked her final scene with Dempsey, and I love that Izzie's surgery is how they'll get Derek back to the OR. One actually smart plot move that these writers have made.

P.S. Yay Mrs. Kim!!!

quote:

Originally posted by sirkevin:
And any ABC/Grey's Executive who doesn't think that TR Knight is an integral part of this show: during the final montage, it wasn't Bailey tearing up, or Karev unable to look up at Izzie after learning she was ill that made me tear up. It was George running down the hall that made me start balling.

You're right. That shot actually gave me goosebumps.

Just caught up with this episode and WOW! All I gotta say is Thank God Grey's Anatomy finally got their groove back!!! This season has been horrible, but I would almost go as far as to say that this week's episode as well as last week's make up for it. I thought this episode was pretty perfect and would make for an excellent Emmy tape. Some people are complaining about the intern drama but I think it was necessary. It allowed us to see our favorite characters yell at the way they use to act and show growth in what they've become. For once this season, I feel like the writers actually THOUGHT about what they were writing and how they were writing it. This was probably the first solid episode they've written all season. Acting was stellar and this could work as the Emmy tape for Patrick Dempsey, Katherine Heigl, or Sandra Oh, all of which were fantastic and brought the waterworks. These last couple episodes of the season are going to be really sad and emotional and who knows...it may be enough for Grey's Anatomy to make it back on the Emmy Radar for Best Drama Series! Ya never know.

Episode Grade: A

Did anybody cry?

Seriously they stepped it up in ways I never thought they could do, in fact I still don't believe it'll be possible, I expect them to screw up soon, but with this Izzie thing, they've really made a huuuge comeback. Absolutely everything in this episode worked, even the interns.

I'm so SO surprised at how well Cancer Izzie is going that I even thought about the possibility of it all being a hoax and that Heigl won't leave the show and Izzie will be ok. Or that she will live and go away because she has to enjoy life or whatever, which would be unlike Izzie, but I'm doubting Izzie being killed off.

I've never seen such results from killing a character, specially one that belongs to an actress that has done the things that Heigl supposedly has done to the Grey's team. They're treating Izzie like royalty, I thought she would get hit by a bus in the season finale.

Great shot at Drama Series with this episode and probably the ones that are coming up next if they keep it up.

Grade: A

quote:

And any ABC/Grey's Executive who doesn't think that TR Knight is an integral part of this show: during the final montage, it wasn't Bailey tearing up, or Karev unable to look up at Izzie after learning she was ill that made me tear up. It was George running down the hall that made me start balling. It's a crime what they've done to this character and to Knight. I hope to see more of him as Izzie's storyline continues.

Yes! I realized that seeing George there and seeing him interact with Meredith is an important part of this show. I can't say exactly what he brings, but it's something that this show needs. Meredith him are really fun together, and I liked that on this episode. He also had the best line of the nigh which was muttered "that was very bailey" to meredith after she told the intern to go to OB.

I really thought this was a great episode. What seemed like a pretty terrible season has worked its way to being a pretty good season. I like what they are doing with Little Grey too, making her more of a mini-izzie than floating around with drama. I think when they focus on things like that it works well. And the callie/hunt/sheperd scenes were perfection.

I didn't like the Bailey soaps thing either, i thought it was odd and un-Bailey.

However, this episode clearly belonged to Sandra Oh, who rocked it from start to finish. Her scene in the locker room with izzie was good, but her scene in the O.R. with the patient and telling everyone about Izzie was stunning. She does so much with her eyes. This would make a very comeptitive tape edited down, and it would show her character in a new more compassionate light. I'm not sure if it's better than the two part season premire though.

Grade: A-