Greys Anatomy Review
A Gabbler’s Babble: A Review of 9.24 by @allie_gg
Friday, May 17th, 2013“I had this badass professor in med school. She seemed invincible. Then one day she needed her gall bladder out. And the surgery killed her. Her platelets stopped clotting. She bled out on the table. Everything that could have gone wrong did go wrong. Surgeons have a name for it. We call it a perfect storm. Funny, never thought it would happen to me.”
As I sit here, a full day after the season 9 finale has aired, I’m still in shock. I’m talking emotionally hangover and straight up physically drained. Shonda wasn’t kidding when she advised viewers to hug a friend! (For me… I chose to hug a bottle of wine, which thinking back could be the reason for the hangover….) Annnnyyyyways…. a lot happened last night. And when I say a lot, I mean a crazy ton of information, dialog, feelings, and storylines were crammed into 42 minutes of television that I’m still not able to fully process, even after watching it 3 times since. As a result, I’m approaching my recap from a different angle this time around and strongly encourage you all to chime in with your thoughts, feelings, and opinions on what went down in the finale. Let’s round-table-discuss this if you will. Bare with me folks…. I’m still in recovery mode from the “drama and thrills” JCap referred to. Speaking of which, anyone else find themselves in the fetal position this morning or was that just me??
At the top of the episode, Owen bids Ethan and Paul farewell as the helicopter arrives to take them to an alternative hospital for safety before the brunt of the storm hits. In the elevator, Cristina calls Owen out by admitting she knows he took an interest in adopting Ethan, prior to Paul coming out of the coma. Cristina sternly reminds Owen that while she knows he wants kids that is something she will never give him. Owen continues to reassure her that he loves her and wants his life to be with her but Cristina points out that although he may love her, he may also end up resenting her for keeping him from having the family they both know he wants.
At the end of last week’s episode we see an excitedly nervous Meredith and Derek get the surprise of a lifetime as Mer’s water broke while they were prepping to wait out the storm at the hospital. It comes as no surprise to Cristina when Meredith goes into labor as the super storm heads their way, but nonetheless, she’s in labor and they have to figure out a plan. Quickly! As the OB assesses Meredith’s condition, she diagnoses the baby with face presentation, a position in which the baby is coming out face first. Due to the risky nature of the birthing process under those conditions, the OB informs Meredith she will be giving birth by Cesarean section. As if that wasn’t enough for Mer and Der to process, the lights suddenly go out and the hospital is out of power. Great. Is there anything else that could go wrong? Wait, forget I asked! Meredith reluctantly agrees to proceed with the C-section and before long; a beautiful McBaby boy arrives into the world. At first, he doesn’t cry, leaving Meredith to believe something was wrong. Alas, he was just a little tuckered from it all and needed a little extra monitoring, just to be on the safe side. Derek leaves with their newborn son while Shane stays behind to close up Meredith but something’s not right. Meredith begins to suffer from internal bleeding from the fall she took earlier but manages to talk Shane through the process of locating the source and controlling the bleeding. (PS…. Can we say rockstar? I mean who else do we know can walk their intern through a surgical procedure that’s being performed on themselves?? Genius writing, Stacy. Epic acting, Ellen!) Shane continues to operate on Meredith, using her as his surgical how-to manual until she loses consciousness from lack of blood. Before she goes under, she gives Shane strict instructions to let her die if she arrests for more than 9 minutes. Um, whoa. Not the easiest of work conditions to perform under, eh Shane? I mean, no pressure, right?!
A Gabblers Babble a Review 9.21 By @allie_gg
Monday, April 29th, 2013Infections are like sleeping monsters. You can’t see them. You can’t feel them. But you must do everything in your power to contain them. Because when the monsters wake up, they’re out of control.”
This episode gave us quite the ‘welcome back’ from a near month-long hiatus, wouldn’t you say?! In fact, some would even say the episode left them feeling downright heartbroken, confused, and even a little frustrated! Shonda wasn’t messing around when she told us to hug a friend!
After sweating it out for what seemed like an eternity, the outcome of Bailey’s CDC investigation confirmed she fell victim to hosting a strain of staph, which ultimately led to the deaths of three patients under her care. Fortunately, her diagnosis was not directly the cause of the deaths but the defective surgical gloves that facilitated the transfer of the infection during her surgeries. Bailey was no longer at fault, was released from further interrogations and told she could return to work as soon as she is treated and cleared of the infection. Finding no real relief from the final verdict, Bailey was still devastated and felt betrayed, judged and alone having gotten hardly any support from her fellow colleagues and friends. To make matters worse, the one person she felt would have her back didn’t: Richard Webber. Richard’s attempt at consoling Bailey took a turn for the worst when she called him out on his betrayal and lack of support. What are your thoughts? Is Bailey right? Does Richard put the well-being of the hospital before that of his friends and loved ones? Should he have done more and stuck by her when no one else did?
An innocent game of tug of war goes horribly wrong at a family reunion and multiple victims arrive at GSMH’s ER…. without their fingers! The race is on to match the severed digits to their rightful owner and amidst the chaos, Callie and Arizona are paired with a patient named Frankie, a young journalist-in-training. While the hospital is trying to keep Bailey’s CDC investigation under wraps, Frankie gets wind of the breaking news and tries pitching to Callie and Arizona the idea of publicly publishing the story. Fortunately for the hospital (and Bailey) there’s no story to tell after Bailey’s case closes and finds her not at fault. Phew! Grey-Sloan: 1 Bad Press: 0.
We see a different side to Alex in this episode and we’re not the only ones that notice. Cristina, being the playful bully she is, pokes fun at Alex and his love for Jo but sets him straight when it comes to getting his girl. “You could punch him and take back your girl!” So it may not be the most sensible way to do it but it is the most effective! What’s more heartwarming is when we see the friendship between these two take a more serious turn. Alex’s brashness and Cristina’s snarkiness fade away and the two meet in the middle forming an amazingly awesome bond. How is it that it’s taken 9 seasons for this friendship to finally come to light?! Regardless, Alex makes an effort to keep the peace for all involved by telling Jo’s man, Jason, that he and Jo are only friends that have bonded over stories of their childhood. Turns out Jason was in the dark about Jo’s past and she had every intention of keeping it that way…. at least until she was ready to fill him in. Having gotten word that Alex divulged in such sacred info, Jo calls him out on it and pretty much puts the kibosh on their friendship. How long do we think that will last?
Speaking of friendship, the Twisted Sisters are back at it again providing some much needed comic relief surrounding Bailey’s staph infection speculations. Meredith tries persuading Cristina to be in the delivery room with her when she gives birth so she can maintain her natural birth plan without Derek’s overly sensitive & supportive ways interfering. In true Cristina-fashion, she makes it pretty clear she’s not a fan of the idea mainly because she doesn’t want to witness her best friend poop on the table, as most birthing mothers apparently do. Um, yeah. Nuff said Cristina! :/
Lets Discuss The Final 4 for Season 9 – Panel of Grey
Thursday, April 25th, 2013
Gabblers- Welcome to Lets Discuss the final 4 for season 9- now beware you could consider this to be a bit spoilerish but these are the opinions and feelings of this grey group of gals that we have chosen. We have our reviewers: @allie_gg who discusses GA every week here at GG, @pamfier who writes GG’s MerDer reviews, @silverscwolf whose name is Amanda and is one half of TSG Podcast who writes GG’s Jolex reviews and our love @sportsfan12921 who gives GG the weekly scoop on Calzona. We also called in some of our grey friends as we want to get you all perspectives possible of what is to come- we have the amazing @kayright who is the other half of TSG Podcast ( she has the hot French accent), Our dear friend that wants to be referred to as “L” but make no mistake Miss “L” knows Greys all too well! And @safeaudme aka Sam who speaks Greys fluently!! We compiled a list of questions and want to know what these gals think is going to happen in the final 4 episodes and what shall Shonda bring at the end of episode 9.24?? Here is what they have to say:
What are your predictions & hopes for the season finale 9.24?
@allie_gg: As with most die-hard fans, you hope for something that will leave your mind at ease while it anxiously and impatiently waits for the show to return in September. Alas, that is not how Shondaland works…. prediction? A cliffhanger that leaves the fate of one of the originals in danger…. Note I say originals, not newbies. I’m not sure fans are truly committed to the interns yet, enough that they would care if something dreadful happened to them anyway… Alex’s storyline has been extremely “quiet” lately. Just sayin.
@kayright: Shonda said that 9.23-9.24 was a 2 parts finale and I want them to be bookends to the outstanding amazingness that were 901 and 902. I feel like this season has done a great job at serving a well-paced season arc and I want the finale to pay homage to the character growth that was done this season. I also want to finale to push the focus on the characters that will be front stage in season 10. Hopefully Alex is one of those characters.
L: Can no one die this season? Please? Seriously. I’m still not over Mark. I hope that we see a Cristina/Owen talk by the end of the season about a family and see them moving forward beyond the ‘in limbo’ relationship they have now. I also hope we see a moment of ‘full circle’ from the premiere with all of the characters in the finale at some point.
@safeaudme: I hope that the major theme of Season 9 (“Reclaiming happiness in spite of loss”) has closure before we set up the new theme of S10. They can do it in a lot of ways, but I hope to see it done in parallel stories of McFetus and GSMH.
@silverscwolf: Meredith will be trapped while in labor. Derek won’t be there. I want Alex to deliver the baby, but I don’t think he will. I hope that Jolex are TOGETHER by now. If not, I hope that they will at least be set up to be a driving force for next season. Crowen will be settled by 9.23 and written light. Same with Calzona. Japril will reunite in the chaos. Jackson will struggle in crisis. Bailey will save the day.
@sportsfan12921: for the finale my prediction is that other than board business, Calzona will be fairly quiet. My hope: Final closure about Mark: they sell both apartments and buy a house with a yard and chickens!
What was your favorite story line of the season?
@allie_gg: Strangely enough, I truly enjoyed Arizona’s storyline as an amputee. Although heartbreaking and cruel at times, her journey throughout the season was beautiful. From first struggling with her painfully upsetting fate, to accepting it and then coping with it, it was all very real and extremely well written and played out. Kudos to JCap for successfully executing such a challenging storyline.
@kayright: Arizona’s amputation storyline was the most satisfying for me. The acting was flawless, the moments were powerful, the pacing was realistic and respectful and it did a good job of including other characters, for instance Bailey and Owen.
A Gabblers Babble- Review 9.19
Thursday, March 28th, 2013S9E19 – Can’t Fight This Feeling- By @allie_GG
“Let’s say you’re standing in an OR staring at an aneurysm that’s embedded deep into a patient’s frontal lobe. There are three things you’ll need to remove it: You’ll need confidence. You’ll need an eleven blade. And some really good instincts.”
First off can we take a moment, set our glasses of wine (or beverage of choice) down, rise from our comfy couch cushions and give Ms. Sarah Chalke a roaring round of applause for her performance in tonight’s episode? I mean, c’mon. As if her storyline as a mother of her son suffering from an unknown, difficult to diagnose disease wasn’t heart-wrenching enough, Sarah herself went through the exact same situation just a few years prior with her own son in real life. If that isn’t art imitating life, I’m not sure what is. The boy was suffering from what’s called Kawasaki Disease and even though the boy’s mom, Casey, was told umpteen times there was nothing wrong with her son, her gut told her different. And Meredith believed her. After numerous tests and labs came back with negative results, Casey’s instincts told her something wasn’t right. After doing some research, Casey herself mentioned the possibility of KD and when Meredith realized his symptoms matched that of the illness it was then that they were able to accurately diagnose the little boy. This proves a point believed by many. When in doubt, trust your gut.
For those of you that aren’t following the Grey’s characters on Twitter (seriously, why aren’t you?!) you’ve missed out on Callie’s constant tweets regarding her excitement for the TED Conference. In this episode, it’s revealed that all of the hype was because SHE was speaking at it! Or, at least that was the plan anyway. Knowing how well Callie is at speaking in front of crowds (flash back to the season 6, episode 15 ‘Club Foot’ speech) Callie was having a little trouble memorizing her flashcards. Leave it to Arizona to lighten the tone with a steamy picture-everyone-in-the-room-naked montage. When Callie is no longer able to make an appearance at the conference due to an unplanned surgical intake, Arizona tried cheering her up with a comment that didn’t come out as smoothly as planned. Needless to say, after Arizona promptly removed her foot from her mouth, she and Richard worked a deal with the folks at the conference and set up a live-feed so Callie could still give her speech! Callie freezes until she gets a reassuring smile and coax from Arizona to ‘just talk’. A little rusty at first, Callie shoves all fears aside and speaks from her heart, reminiscing of her recent hardships over the last year and thinking about what it is that holds things together. With that, she seamlessly transitions into her speech about cartilage, while inside all of the viewers are thinking this woman deserves nothing short of a slow clap!
Also confirmed in this episode: Owen needs to become a father. A.S.A.P. Stat. Like right now. His care and concern for a boy whose parents were critically injured in an accident further proves Owen needs offspring of his own. Ideally, it’d be wonderful if Cristina shared the same opinion, but alas, she does not. What we DO see is the bond between Cristina and Owen becoming stronger with every interaction they have. All on-call room business aside, these two are finally starting to see eye to eye. It’s about time, wouldn’t you say?
April needs to dump Matthew. Anyone agree? I’m not normally one to share such a harsh or blunt statement but I truly think these two are on the outs. Are her and Jackson meant to be? Maybe? I’m guessing we’ll see a lot more of this develop before the season is over. That is, if April can refrain from going to the carnival for a while! 
Bailey’s Genome Mapping trial is the talk of the town with just about every doctor at GSMH. In fact, she’s got people lined up to map out their genes! None of them qualify to her liking until one doctor steps in and genuinely asks to be genetically mapped for the sake of fighting for her child. Following her gut instincts, Meredith asks Bailey to genetically map Zola’s genes as well as her own, knowing there may be a chance she could contain the Alzheimer’s gene that one day may keep her from fighting for her daughter. Instincts. They’re a pretty powerful thing.
Itʼs a MerDer World: Review of 9.18 Idle Hands
Sunday, March 24th, 2013Hey Grey’s Fans!
Allow me to take a moment to introduce myself so that we can all be friends. I’m Pam and I’m the new MerDer reviewer. YAY!
I’m an Army wife and writer that moonlights as an event planner to, ya know, eat, pay bills, and other boring stuff like that.
My hobbies include karaoke, Grey’s Anatomy, roller derby, Grey’s Anatomy, filmmaking, pop culture trivia, and copious amounts of TV watching of shows like…Grey’s Anatomy.
I was introduced to the show by my favorite cousin who has had a crush on Patrick Dempsey since the days of “Can’t Buy Me Love.” We watched Grey’s together every week to root for Meredith, fawn over Shepherd, and nod our heads at everything Bailey said.
My life got in the way and I lost track of the show when it returned for its second season. Then, Hollywood stole Sara Ramirez from us in New York (trust me, it was a big deal to the theatre community at the time) and I was sucked back in.
I ship MerDer (the OG ship) & Calzona, Cristina is my homegirl, Owen is my drinking buddy, Bailey is my Spirit Animal, I believe Mark & Lexie are sitting on the beaches of Heaven eating apples & Reese’s Pieces together, and Shonda Rhimes is God.
Anything else you wanna know? Ask me on Twitter (@PamFier).
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It’s a MerDer World
Review of “Idle Hands” by Pam Fier
“Work keeps our minds active. It keeps us out of trouble. When we’re not working our hands are idle and the devil will find work for idle hands to do. And when you have an idle mind, well, thats the devil’s playground too.”
Seeing a pregnant Meredith and Derek in bed at the end of the day is like a glass of cold lemonade after mowing the lawn on a hot summer afternoon. It’s a relief. It has taken 190 episodes to get to the rather simple opening moment of watching Derek, in super hot dad mode, talking to his unborn child about fly fishing while Meredith is reading a book on baby development. Well, it was a relief until Meredith starts to wonder if the it/he/she-Shepherd baby is going to be born deaf and/or blind with two heads, three arms, and 11 toes. Derek, looking at Meredith like she’s the one with two heads, tells her Helen Keller went to Harvard. Just go to sleep, Meredith. Let us have this moment.
The next morning, we find ourselves at the newly christened Grey-Sloan Memorial Hospital. Derek, Meredith, and Meredith’s belly walk in like they own the joint. Oh, wait! They do. It’s been several weeks since they’ve been running the show. They have a new ER ready to open, fancy GSMH coffee sleeves floating around, and a bright and shiny new decal at their feet, in case they forget where they are, to prove it. Boss.
“Everyone needs some idle time to focus on something other than work. Even if it means focusing on something that’s a little bit scary.”
So Meredith has slept on it and now instead of a deaf and blind baby with extra heads, arms, and toes, she’s now wondering if the baby has a plethora of rare diseases and syndromes that your average bear can’t pronounce, let alone spell. They all sound bad and who goes there with her in the ‘worst baby disease ever’ game? Alex, the brother Meredith never wanted. But don’t fret. Cristina can and will fix anything that could possibly befall baby Shepherd.
Later, Meredith is in the middle of an ultrasound on a patient who notices Jackson and Owen staring over her shoulder like a couple of random creepers. Is the patient in need of a full body scan in their big, fancy machine? Um, no. No, she’s not and they are dismissed like the creepers that they are. In a manner that is vintage Grey’s, we are formally introduced to the patient, Madeline. In less than a minute, we know she’s a schoolteacher who has discovered a love of TV cooking shows after staying home sick for the first time in 28 years. Madeline is immediately endearing and earnest which means I’m already worried about what’s going to happen to her.