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Ask Matt: Grey’s Anatomy
By AmandaLand | November 3, 2009 | 
Matt Roush over at TV Guide Magazine has been asked a few Grey’s Anatomy questions and we got them here for you all. There is nothing spoiler-ish about the answers so enjoy 
Question: I’ve been enjoying this season of Grey’s Anatomy, but while I’m still not totally on board about the merger plot, at least now I can see some interesting questions being explored. I don’t care much about any of the new characters, but I like the exploration of what it means to be a leader at every level of the hospital. The Chief has been basically hiding and not providing any concrete leadership, a poor way to run a hospital that leaves each person to basically figure out how to navigate the resulting chaos. Particularly in the Oct. 22 “I Saw What I Saw” episode, I liked Derek’s implication that the Chief may be ultimately responsible for the death of the burn patient. I don’t usually expect deep revelations from Grey’s, but I finished that episode thinking about how much the doctors were responsible and how much the chaotic situation was to blame. Should a person be fired for one mistake, even it results in a death (as Dr. House once said, “it is the nature of medicine that you will kill someone”)? Will Derek, who has definitely stepped up to the plate in the wake of the merger, be taking over as Chief? What’s your take on the direction of the show?—Amy
Matt Roush: So far so good this season. I have really enjoyed the focus of the last few episodes on hardcore medical crisis and staff conflict, putting the often ridiculous sexual shenanigans on the back burner at least for the moment, while not ignoring the emotional element, especially Alex’s anguish at Izzie running off (and skipping a treatment). The Chief’s leadership crisis has created some strong drama as well, especially as he continues to clash with miracle worker Derek. I guess I agree as well that the newbies from Mercy West haven’t made much of an impression (and I was sorry that Sarah Drew fell on her sword, although it also made sense to give that part to the strongest actor), but regardless of how the show evolves, our sympathies are going to lie with the core characters for a good long while to come.
Question: I am curious about your thoughts concerning how Grey’s Anatomy is progressing this season. We have had seven [now eight since this was written] episodes so far, all with very little character development of the core SGH staff. I am a huge shipper for Cristina and Owen, but the most screen time they have gotten this season together has been in the premiere. I find this very disappointing as the PSTD storyline was very intriguing last year, and from what I have read, a lot of critics love the Owen/Cristina storyline. Are we supposed to buy that Owen is suddenly clueless to his girlfriend’s professional/educational pressure which everyone else seems to realize? I find this whole lack of them on screen very disenchanting, especially when there is a great actor like Kevin McKidd getting maybe two minutes of screen time. Granted Sandra Oh has still managed to make Cristina shine in spite of everything, but I find Cristina is becoming more of a pillar for the rest of the staff which is all well and good but I want to see her kicking ass back in the OR where she belongs. On top of this is the odd unraveling of certain characters, specifically Lexie, who overnight has turned into an emotionally incompetent doctor. So far she has broken down crying in almost every episode this season, and the more it happens, the less I am liking the character, which is a pity because I think Chyler Leigh is a good actress, I just don’t like how they are writing Lexie. Given the Oct. 22 episode which offered a slightly different form of editing and storytelling, I found little to care about. There were just too many characters and not enough time to invest in any of them. Stylistically it was reminiscent of Memento and Twelve Angry Men, but I found it lacked greatly in content and it was one of the few episodes where I walked away with nothing. It’s obvious that Shonda & Co. are just trying to rush along the integration of the Mercy West characters in order to focus more on the ones we really care about. The Mercy West staff are basically caricatures of the ones we already know, which is even more frustrating. At the same time, I am finding this too tedious to keep watching, and even though I know it’s not for much longer (at least until sweeps) until the reasons we do watch the show are actually getting screen time. Thoughts?—Maya
Matt Roush: As I often feel in cases like these, I’m more concerned with the show getting back on its feet for a pivotal and transitional new season than satisfying all the “shippers” and their various agendas week in and week out. This question came in before the terrific scene of Owen helping Cristina master her new surgical skill, and it was tender and intimate and, as I noted in my Week in Review column, reminiscent of the times when Burke would mentor Cristina. Her story is building slowly but surely to a point where she’s either got to score a big surgical win or have some other sort of breakthrough. I advise patience. They’ll get to that story when it’s time. Can’t really argue with you about Lexie. I enjoy “little Grey” in her scenes with Mark, but from scene to scene, I never know if I’m going to find her annoying or endearing, and it may take a while to forgive the character that diaper speech from last week. But I couldn’t disagree with you more about the Oct. 22 episode, which was really more of a “Rashomon”-style medical mystery told from overlapping points of view. To say it lacked content reveals more about what someone wants the show to be than it does about the episode itself, which was widely regarded by many, including Grey’s skeptics, as one of the best Grey’s episodes in ages. It may not have advanced many personal storylines, but it illuminated the conflict that is driving this part of the season and did it with the sort of dramatic power one tends to associate with the early golden days of ER. One character observation: I am very impressed at the way they’re developing Arizona’s character this season. She’s getting a real backbone and often is acting like one of the few adults in the hospital. Grey’s Anatomy needs that kind of ballast, and I didn’t see it coming from her. As I said in the first Grey’s answer, I’m on board with where the show is going right now, but I would caution the show to not lose sight of its major characters at the expense of introducing these Mercy West interlopers.
(Source)
I for one completely agree with what he is saying. I think we should all keep the faith and trust the writers. We all love the show and we know that it will all come together in the end and it will be an amazing season like usual. I just think we have not seen enough episodes to start freaking out about not enough screen time for couples, too much Mercy West people, etc. Just keep watching and do not worry, it will be all good Comment below on your thoughts about the questions, his answers, my opinion, your opinion, etc.
xox Amandaland
Topics: Arizona Robbins, Blogger: Amandaland, Chyler Leigh, Cristina Yang, Derek Shepherd, James Pickens Jr., Jessica Capshaw, Kevin McKidd, Lexie Grey, Owen Hunt, Patrick Dempsey, Sandra Oh, Season 6, Shonda Rhimes, The Chief | 2 Comments » |
November 3rd, 2009 at 05:53
Exacly, I agree with you and Matt. I trust Shonda, I always do, and I love Grey’s too much to be desapointed, but I miss they Grey’s sex. Miss the relatioship focus, it’s true. Anyway, I’ll love everything they do, so.. I’m not that worried xD
November 3rd, 2009 at 23:48
GET RID OF MWers, PLEASE!