I’m sorry. Those are the two words that seem to be on everybody’s lips this episode. Which, it could be said, is a change of pace in comparison to the unapologetic nature of the majority of the characters.
Of course the main story of this episode was the fallout of Derek outing the chief’s drinking to the board. And a massive fallout it is. Like any organisation, change in the hierarchy affects everybody – and it seems to involve a lot of exaggerated rumors, and a lot of speculation. In this case, only a very select few know why Webber is no longer the chief and Sheppard has been put in his place. With this being the case, the hospital staff don’t know that in a way, Sheppard is in fact trying to help an old friend. But to the outsiders who don’t know of Richard’s struggle, it may seem merely opportunistic of Sheppard, and may lead to them not trusting him as a chief on the basis of what he did to get there.
We see Derek address the majority of the hospital staff on the stairs. This is a common gathering place for several major announcements, and makes you wonder a) who is looking after the patients and b) do they not have anywhere else to make long winded speeches? Of course to add to the drama, Webber walks in right as Sheppard is saying how he wants to turn the hospital back to its former glory – implying that Webber has let things slide.
We later see Webber and Sheppard in a meeting with someone who I’m presuming is from the board. They give Webber two options; early retirement with full pension but no medical licence OR having to go to rehab. Sheppard goes as far as saying that he wants Richard to go with the latter, and when he comes back his job will be waiting for him (pending board approval, the third party is quick to point out). Although he has intimated in the past episode he’s merely looking out for the chiefs best interests – it has been an underlying question just what his intentions were. Friendship or promotion. But here it’s made clear that his predominant concern is Richard’s health – even though he does admit to wanting his job. He also adds that while he did want his job, he did not want to end Richard’s career. The tension between the two is very apparent; it’s obvious Webber doesn’t agree with the way that Sheppard ousted him to the board. Of course it was a potentially career ending move, and from Webber’s eyes it’s easy to see why he would feel this way. An old friend that he has personally helped on many occasions essentially stabbed him in the back. But it does raise ethical questions? Did Sheppard have an obligation to tell the board to potentially save patients? We have been shown that Webber had made mistakes in surgery previously due to his drinking. Some of Webber’s anger may be directed at himself.
Derek is angry too, perhaps for the situation he’s been put in. Maybe because most people in the hospital don’t agree with the outcome of the chief. It’s clear that Meredith, his wife, doesn’t even agree with his actions. But again, the action needs to be put in perspective. He did what he felt was right at the risk of a friendship. Although I think the show in someway wants us to side with Webber, when you clearly look at his actions and the endangerment of the patients – it’s not hard to agree with Sheppard. And in a nice moment at the end of the episode, almost in passing, Derek tells the chief he’s sorry.
Both of his protégés try to talk to him. First Meredith, and in typical Meredith fashion, it’s mainly about her seeking approval. He doesn’t even talk to her. But it’s Bailey, I believe, that gets through to him. As I’ve said previously, they dynamic between these two characters has always seemed so believable to me. She clearly looks up to all he has achieved, and it’s also apparent that he has always (rightfully) believed in her ability. He listens to her, and I’m glad he continues to do so when she tells him he should go to rehab to get better.
Meanwhile, Bailey is kept rather busy herself when a patient she is operating with wakes up on the table. She panics, blames the anaesthesiologist and tries to correct everything. That’s the thing with Bailey, she is so confident with her ability, that she does not take blame in anything – and quickly looks to blame those around her. So as Sheppards first say of being the chief, he is facing a law suit.
While it is reasonable for the patient to react both angrily and frightened over the encounter – she does seem to take it a bit far when she won’t let Bailey touch her, even when she is bleeding and needs help. The patient needs surgery again, as she has internal bleeding, and she elects Meredith to perform even though she explains that Bailey has more experience. This seems a bit strange to me, if she’s so scared of going back into surgery, wouldn’t she want the best surgeon operating on her? Her reasoning is Bailey panicked while Meredith remained calm – but Im sure Meredith would have panicked too if she was leading the surgery team as Bailey was.
In the end, it would seem, they avoid a lawsuit. In a continuing trend, Bailey seems to be the one that can talk sense into the chief, even if in this case, it is Sheppard rather than Bailey. She advises him that most law suits can be avoided if you merely apologise for your mistakes. And Sheppard does go to see the patient, perhaps not only because he really doesn’t want a lawsuit hanging over his head, but because he has realised that it’s the right thing to do.
The minor storylines this week involved Alex’s venture into the world of paediatrics. We have seen in the past he does actually have a genuine connection with kids, and that he is a gifted surgeon. Arizona wants to see this for herself, and it looks like she wants to potentially recruit him for her service. During Alex’s time in paediatrics, we see Arizona coaching Alex on what the crux of the job is. Advocating for the kids. We have seen in the past that Alex is good at advocating for people; although he mainly gets his point across by employing bully tactics – which he does again here. However, it gets him what he wants, and usually what the patient needs. When something goes wrong after the childs surgery, however, Alex may take it a bit far as he berates the parents and their original lack of concern about the teens complaints. The father merely believes he is faking to get out of school, but it becomes clear that the teenager is suffering a genuine condition, which the doctors catch just in time. And running with the theme of the week, Arizona makes Alex apologise to the parents, just before she susses out his enjoyment of his time in paediatrics.
The other minor story belonged to Christina. I think although it wasn’t given as much air time as the chiefs dilemma etc, it was probably the most important, as it gave the viewer a real insight to the character. We all know how career focused she is. And when Teddy requests Avery’s service over Christina’s, it does seem to hurt her. And how does she deal with the pain? Having sex with Owen. Perhaps this is her way of getting back at Teddy, as she has the man that Teddy desires. Or perhaps it’s merely used as a release. But when Teddy pages Christina for help on a cardiac surgery, and Christina ignored the page at Owen’s behest it seemed completely out of character. I was glad when they resolved the issue at the end of the episode, and it actually made quite a lot of sense as to why she has trouble letting Owen in.
Through Sloane, Owen finds out that Christina was not only engaged but had actually planned the entire wedding but just failed to get married. He of course didn’t know this, as the couple seems to have too much sex and work too much, to have any time left over for discussion of anything. This hurts him, as he realised that he hardly knows her. However, she explains the relationship she had to Burke, how he took pieces of her gradually, until she didn’t even recognise herself anymore. And how by not answering the pager, Owen had taken a piece of her as well.
This was quite a defining moment for Christina, as it is not often the viewer gets an insight into what she is feeling. And more importantly, she shared her emotion with Owen – something that would mainly be reserved for Meredith. Perhaps the two as a couple are moving forward, however, they do have that delightful love triangle to contend with of course. Or is it doomed, if Christina is genuinely concerned of losing herself to another man?
FURTHER THOUGHTS
- The anaesthesiologist was essential for Bailey’s storyline. And correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe they may be setting this storyline for further use down the track. It has been established that Bailey is lonely, and they was he was gently ribbing her, even after she lashed out, and blamed him for the patient waking up – showed the viewer that he could handle her. I hope we see him again, he seemed like a genuinely likeable character.
- I didn’t talk about the Lexie/Sloane storyline much here, because there wasn’t really much to it. And to be honest, the storyline is sortve annoying. Sloane is so hypocritical that it almost painful to watch
- Interesting to note here that Lexie declared she wants to be a plastic surgeon. I know she’s said this before, but it got me thinking ... will the girls on this show ultimately follow the career of the man they are with. Meredith followed Derek into neuro. Christina followed Burke into cardio. And now Lexie following Sloane into plastics.
- Just a callback to the first season and Alex declaring he was hardcore. Arizona trying to sell paediatrics to him as hardcore made me laugh, as he seems to enjoy being the most ‘hardcore’ surgeon in Seattle Grace. It was the perfect way to get through to him.
- Alex heading towards paediatrics is most likely. Even back in the days where Addison was still with the hospital (and sleeping with Alex) he seemed to have an interest in the care of babies .. so perhaps this was just natural progression
- ‘Them of the week: apology count’. Alex apologised to the parents, Derek apologised to the chief, Derek apologised to the patient, Miranda sortve apologised to the anesthesiologist, Christina apologised to Teddy, Derek apologises to all the staff
QUOTABLE QUOTES
“Drinking feels a little bit like all I have left.” Webber
“You are better than this. I have seen you be better. The way to win, the way to beat them is to stop fighting them. You go get better. You be the man I’ve always known you to be. You be the chief. Be the chief” Bailey
“I don’t expect to win your trust overnight. But I want each of you to know, you have mine. Which is why I felt it was important to come in her and apologise” Derek
“Oh, here’s what we do? We? Did you not hear her? That girl is traumatised. So the only thing that we are doing, is getting sued.” Bailey
“People like to feel heard. They like to feel respected. And they like to hear an apology.” Bailey
“Please don’t cry on my ass.” Christina
“You’ve been trying to screw me into submission.” Christina
“Im trying to love you, and I don’t know how.” Owen
“I lost myself dor a long time, and now I am finally me again, I can’t.” Christina
“You don’t have to get down on your knees and apologise. But I would like something heartfelt. You know, something in the neighbourhood of you were right, I was rash, Im mean. Maybe even throw in, turns out you’re a hell of a doctor.” Anaesthesiologist
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