Grey’s Anatomy – Fifth year freak out

Nothin’ like the chief of surgery telling you that — if you have ten or more “bad” outcomes — those will make it difficult for the residents to pass their boards (though it works out worse for the patients who die). It puts the fear of God into even the cockiest of docs, like Cristina, who pressed Callie to go for the easier, surer thing with a challenging case, when the riskier option might be better for the patient.

Brash Alex also got cold feet when his senior citizen patient demanded an experimental heart procedure that would not scar his chest; Alex wanted to go the safe route. Even April, who desperately wants everyone to like her, initially was being safer than usual when it came to dealing with her subordinates; she had to be forced into using her authority as chief resident to delegate work to others.

The fifth years’ fears were well played by both Alex and Cristina as they were chastised by Teddy and Callie, respectively, for allowing their concerns about their own records to get in the way of what’s best for the patient in the long term.

Even Derek was initially closed-minded about doing brain surgery on a new mother until Lexie forced him — at Meredith’s behest — to look at the woman’s x-rays, and Meredith talked the new dad into encouraging his wife to have the procedure so she could have a lifetime with her child, not just six months.

Per usual, Meredith was the one who went out on a limb for her patient, secretly meddling with Derek’s neurology work — which they’d agreed she wouldn’t do — in order to save a life. Those go-on-your-permanent-record speeches, they don’t scare Meredith, and neither does Bailey’s misplaced anger. (Bailey, curiously, seems angrier at Meredith than she did at Izzie for the LVAD situation.) In the face of Bailey’s pontificating, Meredith shoved the crucial findings she’d uncovered in Bailey’s diabetes trial into Bailey’s hands, just like Lexie did with Derek. Bailey and Derek’s egos, unlike the fifth years’ fears, were getting in the way of them seeing the whole picture.

A side note: I got whiplash from the Derek and Meredith storyline this week. It felt as though I’d missed some crucial scene. In the previous Grey’s Anatomy episode, they were barely speaking. It took Zola’s precarious surgery to finally get Derek to show a tiny iota of compassion toward his wife who broke down in tears after learning that Zola would be okay. And now Derek is playfully kissing Meredith at the nurses’ station? Lexie is suggesting that Meredith have sex with Derek to cheer him up? When did Derek suddenly become interested in having sex with Meredith again? Some sort of explanatory transition was required because the change in Derek’s behavior was so stark. You don’t just go from hating on and furiously blaming your wife for the loss of your child and doing damage to your career one minute, to being all flirty and lighthearted the next. That scene last week with them holding hands in the elevator was insufficient set-up for this week’s episode.

Now, Cristina and Owen having sex all over the place and wildly sexting like teenagers makes sense. Sure, Owen’s still got unresolved issues regarding Cristina’s decision to have an abortion, but they’re both using sex as a way of avoiding discussing it. Derek and Meredith’s transformation into a breezily content couple, however, seemed forced considering what we’ve seen thus far this season.

I also have a question about Callie, Arizona and Mark: Between the three of them, they have a baby for which to care. Taking care of a baby is exhausting, even when you have three adults around to do it, three adults who don’t get to see the baby all day because they’re all working. So I don’t understand why they suddenly have all this time, in between lengthy surgeries, to whip up gourmet meals (breakfast in bed?!) and go to the butcher and shop for fresh ingredients, all while looking chic and fabulous. Yes, they take Sofia to daycare, which affords them time to work, but once they pick her up, how is it that Arizona and Mark have all this extra time to cook and for the three of them to dine together when there’s a baby in the picture?

Clacked by Meredith O'Brien
on Oct 21, 2011 @ 13:14 EST5EDT