Dissecting Grey's Anatomy: Black is the New McDreamy Edition
Action! Romance! Deceit! All this excitement on a Sunday night can mean only one of two things: Either our Tivo accidentally began playing an episode of Passions (and the likelihood of that happening—um, again—is slim to none) or our favorite Seattle-based show is revving up for the second season home stretch (two night finale is May 14-15, mark your calendars now, boob tubers). If we were betting types, which we are, we'd put our cash on the latter.
Meredith treats us this week to her observations of game playing. How they're about glory and pain, how there's social and mind games to be had, and how life is made more interesting by them. She warns us, though, that some people play a little too much. True dat. Even, dare we say, double true. Oh, Meredith. If only there were a song you could defer to.
So, the episode kicks off with Addison, McDreamy and Meredith suddenly seeming very chummy up in Joe's bar—not that kind of chummy, sicko—and believe it or not, it seems genuine and less forced and awkward than we remember. What a difference two weeks makes. Meredith has taken up the new habit of knitting (actually, she's not knitting. Little does she knowhat Izzie is knitting and switching out pieces of Meredith's mess o' yarn behind her back to let her think that she's actually knitting and thus being productive) in order to help with her vow of celibacy. Keeps her busy so she doesn't drink, which, as we all know, leads her to bed-hop with the nearest available male.
Of course, despite the recent kosher-ness of that happy threesome, the episode is still full of other tension: Meredith-George, George-Izzie, Cristina-George, Cristina-Chief, Alex-Burke, George-Burke...hmmm...we see a pattern emerging here. (Oh, Georgie.) Let's blast through.
George is assigned to help Mrs. McDreamy prep a pregnant patient who's come in with her overprotective yet well-meaning mother lion type mama. Turns out, it's Thatcher's other family, the one he apparently chose over Meredith and her cheating-heart mama. George is distraught over the info that Meredith's father is not only in the building, but so is the sister she never knew she had. He tells Izzie, who tells Cristina, who not-so-deftly tells Meredith.
She hauls off, trying to escape a face-to-face with her dad. As George has also blabbed the sisterly news to Addison, she invites Meredith to prep her half-sis. Nice of her, we must say. So while the preggers gal has no idea who the fair intern is, she starts talking about her family, how her pop is ultra-caring, so proud, great dad, yada yada yada, really laying it on thick. She also drops another nice little bombshell: She has another sister. And older one. Who's in medical school and who Thatcher couldn't have been prouder of. Yowch.
Meredith quickly gets out of dodge, only to cross paths with her papa's new wifey in the hallway. She recognizes her from photos, tells her Thatch thinks about her all the time, but Mama Ellis made it so hard on him.
She continues on her way, taking her aggression out on a few wayward casts, and narrowly jumps into a hallway when she sees her dad coming. He doesn't spot her, but George does, and he provides interception on her behalf. Thatch has just spoken with the Chief and heard about the dire straits his ex-wife is in and wants to know how Meredith is handling everything. George tells Thatch about Meredith, talks her up, says her smile will warm you, that she's not perfect, but around the hospital she's the one to beat. Sigh. The dad seems grateful, Meredith seems grateful, George seems mad that he had to be the bigger person.
Georgie-boy has spent the rest of the episode romancing his new orthopedic surgeon ladylove, Doc Callie, who in turn has spent the episode getting grilled by Izzie over her intentions with George. Izzie makes her concerns known to George in a way that would make Cristina proud, telling him that Callie creeps her out and that she's glad he's finally dumping her. Um, he's not. After more prodding from doctor model, Callie finally bursts, saying nobody seems George that way she does. He's caring and smart and makes her world stop. Izzie finally realizes the allure: That George is Callie's McDreamy. Will wonders never cease.
Izzie spends the rest of the episode flirting up a sexual innuendo-laced storm with Denny. Swoon.
Cristina, meanwhile, enrolls in a seminar that Chief has also signed on to. She makes it her mission to one-up the man, beating him at a series of dexterity games. In the end, though, he beats her with his eyes closed...literally. She doesn't understand—he tells her to get back to basics. Which, coincidentally, helps her out with another problem she's been having.
Back at Burke's apartment, George and the good doc are playing chess, when who should walk completely stark naked out of the boudoir? Cristina. George averts his eyes and claims he saw nothing, but it's not good to Burke—he orders him out ASAP. Back to basics indeed. Georgie calls up his own ladylove, only to find out she's been living at the hospital. He don't mind. She gives him a haircut ('bout time) and he gives her a round or two of tonsil hockey.
McDreamy, meanwhile, enlists Nazi as his intern as Chief has kept her out of the O.R. in lieu of the mommytrack. They perform open brain surgery on a young kid, who they need to keep awake during the operation to track that everything goes according to plan. Nazi keeps the boy talking, or rather spelling, as he's the local spelling bee champ. Halfway through the surgery, things get touch and go, and the boy starts slurring his words. Luckily, McDreamy comes to the rescue, fixes him right up, and leads Nazi to start tearing up. Which leads McDreamy to request the boy spell a couple words of his own choosing: estrogen and delusional.
Burke, in his pre-throwing George out time, teamed with Alex on a patient (Laurie Metcalf!) who was dying of cancer, but not telling her teenage daughter about it. He blows up at her, says obviously she's going to die and she'll likely also leave a child who's gonna hate her the rest of her life for not telling her the truth. Ah, now there's that bedside manner we've been waiting for. Burke pulls him aside, twice, but to no avail. He's a hot-headed heart-broken man and he's not gonna lie to his patients.
Though in fairness to the jerk, it does make his patient tell her daughter the truth.
The episode ends with Meredith sitting in the waiting room of a vet, holding out for a glimpse at her/McDreamy's ailing dog. Instead, she gets a glimpse of her dog's new vet, a very scruffy, very un-Robin-like Chris O'Donnell. And he's apparently in it for the long haul, folks—at least throughout the end of the season. Can you say McDreamy who?
Good luck with that vow of celibacy, Meredith. It was good while it lasted. Or in her words: It's not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game.
What can we say? Game on.
