Grey's Anatomy Episode 6-9 – Review

Shows, Top Story

Episode 10 of Season 6 shows a slight regression into daytime soap territory. The episode, while a fairly strong one, was kind of all over the place, but the pace of the action didn’t seem to suit the scattered style. Let’s gather up the pieces and take a look at them.

The main point of the ep was that Izzie has returned, bitchy attitude still firmly in place, thank you very much. She’s brought along a former mentor who appears to be suffering from Ellis Grey On-Off Alzheimer’s. She’s also still giving an increasingly sympathetic Alex the cold shoulder. I’m unsure as to whether or not we’re meant to support this, but I get the unpleasant feeling that we are: Dr Charles Perci, the other guy she blames for getting her fired (as it is everyone’s fault but hers, apparently) is on hand to help with Dr Singer, Izzie’s mentor. He continues to act in his inexplicably douchey way, most likely so Izzie will look kind and selfless in comparison. It doesn’t work. Even the camera shots in the scene in which she confronts the Chief (observe them combined with her trademark madly blank stare the “I’m going to get Dr Singer the surgery he needs” cuts) are reminiscent of those given to movie baddies. Badass!Izzie isn’t any more endearing than AdorablyScatterbrained!Izzie. The confrontation between her and Alex – when she snapped at him that her job was the ONE THING she had left, did anyone else think, whoa, backtrack a second – what about your husband?? Why does he put up with this bollocks? (Nice haircut, though. I’m trying to grow mine out like that.)

The Chief has a great subplot of his own when Adele accuses Baiely of having an affair with him. The storyline is played out comedically, with a lot of sass and accompanied by some great music (is that The Gossip I hear?). Bailey agrees to help Adele – who somehow looks a lot less like Miss Piggy these days – find out who’s been keeping the Chief busy, playing like a PI to keep an eye on Richard. Even if Bailey did seem to have to be dumbed down a tad for the storyline’s humour to wash (Lexie: “Have you seen the Chief?” Bailey: “STOP SLEEPING WITH HIM NOW!”), it was worth it for the lulz. Sadly, the plug is pulled on the lulz as Bailey reveals that the big guy has made a serious mistake in surgery and risked a patient’s life.

Another enjoyable aspect of the ep is the interaction between Meredith, back at work, and Derek. I never bought their relationship in the early seasons, but since they’ve been married the chemistry is tangible. I just know that the multiple scenes of them grinning like Cheshire cats means that there’s trouble ahead to ruin it, but I’ll let it warm my cynical heart for now. Mer herself pulls through as a character and a good friend these days. Her speech, as far as serious speeches go this season, kicked butt. When Alex, still shellshocked after the reappearance of his wife, asks Meredith to “explain her” to him, she patiently tells him she can’t solve everything: “I lost the better part of my liver trying to solve everything.” I like New Meredith. She’s got a confident bounce in her tone.

Hunt, meanwhile, pulls in a new cardiologist as a ‘present’ for Cristina, an old army doctor friend of his. Unfortunately, Dr Teddy – nicknamed Private Benjamin or Desert Storm Barbie by Cristina – gets up in Yang’s grill because she’s lost touch with modern ORs. Oh, and she’s skinny and blonde and made up to perfection and her hair’s still sleek and perfect after she does her cutesy manic dancing in the rain. As you do. Later, of course, Cristina screws up in surgery while trying to prove that she knows more than Desert Storm Barbie, and hey, what do you know, she proves to be a great mentor to her after all when she talks her round. Teacher’s Pet may be smarter than the other kids but she ain’t a patch on Teacher. Avery now has the hots for Teddy as well; he appears to have a thing for slightly odd-looking women who like playing with dissected hearts.

Arizona, Callie and Mark continue to save every awkward scene. Best contender has to be Arizona’s chipper “I like her” after Teddy pulls the authority card on Cristina, earning herself a look of disgust from Yang.

(And so I’m not the only one who has work husbands and work wives? Only in my case it’s school boyfriends. I miss my school boyfriend…)

And they all troop out to the bar (all hail the triumpant return of Joe the Bartender!), where the episode ends with a twist (of lemon) as we and Meredith – there to help drown Alex’s own sorrows – observe the Chief downing a generous amount of gin at Joe’s bar, and a despondent flashback of his suggests he has been doing this for a while. Hence the botched surgery and the aggressive behaviour. Will Meredith have to play Oprah yet again?

TBC!