Greys Anatomy S06E15 'The Time Warp'

There’s not too much to say about this episode of Grey’s. Although I can see the reasoning behind flashback episodes; giving an insight into the characters before they became the people we now know them to be, or maybe showing something that happened to them that still has a major impact on who they are today, I generally don’t like them. Most of the time, they just seem forced.


Although the episode was a little dry, and of course played on peoples emotions by showing the ostracism of both Richard and Alice (Grey), as well as showing the unlikely comeback, medico’s turning their backs on a patient they were afraid to treat, and the underdog (Bailey) having all the answers. But playing on peoples emotions is really what Grey’s does best.


It was interesting to see Bailey’s beginnings though. How quiet and reserved she was now, claiming that she may not have been built to be a shark in this environment. When we look at her character now, it’s hard to believe that they were once the same person. But we did see her stand up for herself in this flashback for the first time, and she’s been doing it since.


We also find out Callie and Alex had sex, not a particularly shocking revelation as almost everyone has slept with everyone at Seattle Grace anyway. I have to admit I did like the callback to the man in the elevator bit, Alex being a typical boastful guy, claims it was all him. This clearly impresses Callie, but in actual fact people that can remember back all those seasons ago know it to be George (her future husband and ex husband) to be the one that didn’t freeze up.


And lastly, it really was a great insight to see what Alice Grey was actually like. She’s almost been a mythical figure since the beginning of this series. Although she has been around, albeit incapacitated due to suffering dementia, it really was probably the best part of the episode. To see the dynamic between Richard and Alice, how they were both somewhat outcast by the other surgeons (even though it could be assumed that they were probably the two best interns there – they were the only one brave enough to help a patients suffering from AIDS when no one else wanted to go near him). There was also a reference to Meredith, and it was clear that Alice may not have been the best mother, but she loved her job, and she loved Richard.


All in all though, not the greatest episode. Grey’s is slipping.

FURTHER THOUGHTS

- The set designers should be commended for the 80’s hospital. It was a stunning visual
- I thought it was also a nice touch having Callie so deathly afraid of public speaking
- Will the revelation of Callie and Alex’s sexual dalliance cause trouble for her and Arizona. I don’t see why it should ... She’s also slept with George, Hahn, Sloane...
- That's the first time (and probably last) weve heard Callie was in the peace corp..

QUOTABLE QUOTES

“Flattery will get you to an on call room in five minutes or less.” Alice Grey
“Were not the lie. Our marriages are the lie. This, us, it’s right.” Alice Grey
“It changes you, this line of work.” Richard
“God made you short. Who made you quiet?” Richard
“I was not raised to be a shark.” ‘Mandy’ (aka Bailey)












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Greys Anatomy S06E14 'Valentines Day Massacre'

Change is inevitable. And in dramas, it’s a constant. I know it’s part of the human condition to be resistant to change, but the characters in Grey’s are so exposed to it - I feel as though they should be used to it. Let’s see .... Sloane is suddenly a dad, and soon to be granddad. And at the shows end it’s almost like he’s neither. Meredith is a hardcore surgeon with no interest in the ‘suits’ that control the hospitals interests. And then she’s a dutiful wife, standing by her husband (the chiefs) side. Derek is a surgeon whose sole purpose is to save peoples lives, and now he’s someone who has to walk away from the chaos of the emergency room to release a statement to the media. Bailey is a single mother who seems to openly object to being anything else, and now she has a date planned with Warren. Change surrounds these people, they just don’t seem to see it.

So one of the more heartfelt stories in this episode was the love triangle between three of the patients. And of course, being Grey’s Anatomy, they end up teaching the surgeons something. In this case, Meredith learns the true meaning of being married. Sacrifice. That it can’t all be about her ambition, at some point, she has to put that aside in order to be Mrs. Derek Sheppard. And she does, even though it’s clear that she was struggling with this earlier on. She didn’t want to leave being a surgeon behind to be at a brunch with the ‘suits’. But she does it for her husband, because her patient conveniently tells her what marriage means.

An interesting aspect of this episode was also getting some insight into Avery’s background. It seems that many people have seemingly not survived the merger (or they just get zero screen time). But if there’s one doctor I’m glad that made the cut, it’s Avery. Although his speech to Lexie is a little boastful, particularly when he harps in about his looks, it becomes clear that his looks are what defines him in his family. He is the pretty one, lost in a family of over achievers. And it’s Avery that gets through to Lexie, that changing her hair isn’t enough, she has to change herself. She has to stand up for herself, and that’s exactly what she does.
And again we see a doctor connecting with a patient, due to a connected plight that seems to haunt them both. Lexie sees a parallel between herself and the dishwasher in the restaurant where the roof collapsed, who was seemingly ‘left behind.’ Lexie feels that she was left behind in her relationship with Mark, suddenly his daughter that he didn’t know he had shows up. And the whole dynamic between himself and Lexie changes – he’s far more focussed on being a dad/granddad than he is on her.
It seems that she is moving on, with Alex of all people. And with her new blonde hair, I have to admit I did find myself asking if Alex was merely replacing Izzie. Perhaps there is no connection, maybe just an insight into how I read too much into things....

The love triangle between Owen, Christina and Teddy seems to be drawing to a close. Thankfully. I’m not sure how well that storyline has really worked, because I never really found myself connecting with Teddy as a character. She feels as though she’s lost her best friend and wants him back, so hopefully she will stop vying for his affections and just let things develop naturally. I’m sure when the writers run out of material, they will throw this storyline back in the mix though.

FURTHER THOUGHTS

- Callie so eagerly jumping in on Mark’s offer to help him raise the baby seemed quite sudden. And if it had worked out, would most likely have caused some major tension between herself and Arizona. It still might. It was shown last week, where there was brief snapshot of the three of them on the bed, that Arizona is a little uncomfortable with the friendship between Mark and Callie.
- Hopefully Avery will become more of a core character now. He’s always been floating around in the background, and he’s the only doctor from Mercy West I can actually remember.
- Alex is not exactly the most compassionate doctor I’ve ever seen. The comment made after the head waiter dies seemed a little heartless...
- Sometimes Arizona’s chirpiness can be a little grating. And her lack of subtlety in trying to set Warren and Bailey up on a date bordered on embarrassing.

QUOTABLE QUOTES

“What’s happening with the giggling, the girl talk, the OMG’s, has to stop. I am busy.” Bailey
“If you want to go out to dinner, fine. I will show up, and try to talk.” Bailey
“So Yang’s with Hunt, Grey’s with Sheppard, Torrez is with Robbins and you were with Sloane until he dumped you. It’s a wonder you guys got any work done.” Avery
“Sometimes change can be good, right?” Lexie
“Is this what marriage turns into? Running out of things to say, and changing who you are” Meredith
“If you don’t feel the losses, if they don’t hurt you, humble you. That’s when you know you’re not cut out for this work.” Sheppard
“It may seem like we have nothing left to talk about, but sometimes it’s nice to not to have to talk. Fifteen years ago I made a choice, and I keep making it every day. That’s what marriage is.” Patient
“Dude waited on tables and watched life happen without him. He’s probably better off.” Alex
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Greys Anatomy S06E13 'State of Love and Trust'

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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Greys Anatomy S06E12 'I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked'

Another week, another pressing question that seems to encompass the lives of every surgeon at Seattle Grace. When it comes down to it, what would they choose, love or surgery? Out of the original interns (obviously minus George) I think it’s glaringly obvious that all bar Izzie would choose surgery over love. Each of them is fiercely ambitious, and even though their busy love lives often complicate matters – there is no way that they would choose the joy of love over the joy of cutting.

The great thing about the patients that come to Seattle Grace, is their life stories often make the surgeons question their own lives – handy, isn’t it?
This week we saw a larger than life character, who sung. His whole life was singing, without giving much regard to his partner. This of course parallels pretty much every relationship we have seen on Grey’s Anatomy thus far – commitment to the job over commitment to the person. Another metaphor, on top of this, is the patient explaining that singing is his release from all he finds bad in the world, more or less. And of course, this is a running theme through the show. We constantly see the surgeons antsy when they haven’t operated for awhile. Surgery is their release. They need it in order to be at peace. With themselves, and the world.

First of all, we see it in Meredith And Derek. Derek has found out that Richard has relapsed, and is in fact drinking again. This is a secret that Meredith has been closely guarding, and as soon as Derek does find out, he starts talking about going to the board to tell the truth. Although this is probably the right thing to do, in light of there are actual lives at risk here, it doesn’t erase the fact that Derek is the most likely candidate to be the next chief. In this case, there is a very fine line between being noble and ambitious. And let’s not forget, that the chief and Derek are supposedly very good friends. There are two ways to go about it, either trying to help him – or giving him up. And it does seem as though one of the options reaps a much greater reward for McDreamy.....
The problem for Der/Mer’s relationship stems from the fact Meredith specifically asks him not to go to the board. The chief has always been a mentor for her, and especially over the last few episodes, has been educating her on the finer points of surgery – and it could be said, giving the least likable character (in my eyes at least) a distinct advantage over her fellow residents.

Another relationship that examines the question is that of Izzie and Alex. She is back, however briefly – giving viewers just enough ingormation to know that this relationship is most certainly doomed. Of course we already know that Alex has attempted to move on, after several episodes of pining for her. He slept with Lexie, or ‘Little Grey’ and literally the next morning, his wife shows up. Now that’s timing. Izzie, the one character who would choose love over her job, is the one that broke her husband’s heart in an uncharacteristically cruel way. She battled cancer, with Alex by her side the entire time, and then .... she just left. So while she would most likely put Alex before her job, she put herself and her needs miles ahead of Alex’s feelings – and in the end, Alex couldn’t handle it. He knew he deserved better than what she put him through, and he’s right. Even though her intentions are of working on the relationship, moving back and being there for her husband – it just seems as though it’s too little too late for this relationship. She has been given a clear bill of health however, and Alex wishes her well, but makes it very clear that it is over. Stating her wants her to go away, and be happy, and to not come back. And off she goes again. Forever running away from her problems, something I suspect she will do for good around say ... the season finale.

Alex is probably the most interesting character on the show. Although not much is known about his childhood, there are some snippets letting us know that is fundamentally pretty dark, which echoes through on his personality today. And while Izzie, on paper at least, is probably the most likable character on the show, I can’t help rooting for Alex.

The other relationship that looked at this paradigm, was Christina and Owen. Her over enthusiastic love of her career is nothing new. In fact, it may be one of her most endearing/annoying qualities. She has made no secret to anyone, from the word go, how important her career is. And she continued to prove this last week, when she finally found a mentor that measured up to her very high expectations. The last person that actually taught her, was Burke. And we all know how long ago that was, so it is understandable that she would want Teddy to stay. But to actually let the words ‘take him’ escape her mouth, is a little strange. In that brief moment, she wanted a mentor so much, that she was willing to trade her boyfriend for it? She made her choice about career over love long ago, and she’s sticking to it.

That’s the crux of this weeks episode. There was some added background issues with Callie coming down with the chicken pox and Arizona lying to her, saying she’s never had them. Although her reasoning was explained as not wanting to lose the ‘sexy part’ of the relationship, the move did seem a little shallow. The return of Mark Sloane also graced our screens, and he went to Callie’s aid. I actually find their friendship one of the greatest part of Grey’s Anatomy, I really think the two characters balance each other out. And of course the return of Mark, brought up the issues between himself and Lexie. He admitted sleeping to Addison, and she admitted to sleeping with Alex. He, however, seems quite hurt by the news, that she would do that to him while his daughter was sick, and he was hurting etc etc. However, if you watched Private Practice last week, it’s not like he only slept with Addison once. He did it several times, and even floated the idea about moving to California to be with her – all the while calling Lexie a child ..... so does he really have any right at all, to be mad?
No, he does not.

FURTHER THOUGHTS

- Bailey was almost mourning the loss of the chief, before he got called up by the board. His sacking, or whatever is in store for him, will certainly affect her greatly, as those two characters seemed to share a special bond on some level. I think the question of a relationship a few weeks back by the chiefs ex wife, Adele, was a tongue in cheek reference to this.
- It’s been made relatively clear that Katherine Heigl is leaving the series, and while I love her as actress – I honestly think that the show is suffering with her reappearances, and continued leaving.
- There was one other doctor we saw tonight that came over from Mercy West – have they sort’ve forgotten this whole merger story??

QUOTABLE QUOTES

“Alex and I have done it before, that was recycling, it was like good for the environment.” Lexie
“I know that I’m good enough not to deserve this. Not to have to feel like this. Not to love you so much, I almost hate you.” Alex

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