So the good news is that this week’s episode of Grey’s Anatomy was an improvement over last week. The bad news is since there was pretty much nowhere to go but up, that’s not saying much. In fairness “Bad Blood” wasn’t really all that bad per se, but it had no spark, let alone fire. For a drama known for mixing business with pleasure, the lack of personal shenanigans this week seemed downright odd and the show’s trademark sense of humor was also largely absent (Miranda Bailey notwithstanding).
Some of the medicine was compelling and I do love it when Drs. Yang and Hunt get to be their badass cardio and trauma surgeon selves, but overall the show felt sluggish. This whole “Will Seattle Grace Survive in the Wake of the Plane Crash Lawsuit” plot has gone on far too long and that in turn is affecting the pacing of the entire show. Memo to the writers: Wrap up and move on…STAT!
“The Patients Don’t Matter!”
Dr. Cahill has been hard at work overhauling procedures and protocols hospital-wide. To that end an expert has been called in to work with the general surgeons (i.e. Richard, Miranda, and Meredith) about a method of streamlining hernia surgeries. The only good to come out of this subplot was Miranda’s pithy lines (e.g. “Tributes, may the odds be ever in your favor,” and “You’re going to choke, Grey. You’ll choke and die, and I will dance and sing!”) and Richard managing to fluster the trainer so thoroughly that he inadvertently revealed that efficiency is valued more than people.
In tangentially-related news, Meredith left the training in a tizzy because she felt a flutter and just knew something was wrong with her pregnancy. Um, Meredith, you’re a doctor, right? That’s your baby kicking, sweetie. Deep breaths. Things are fine.
“Open the pod bay doors, HAL!”
Another innovation has cameras mounted all over the hospital with remote physicians viewing all of the action from afar, which was very convenient when Intern Leah (the weakest and least interesting of the interns) tried to sneak a bag of blood to a patient whose religious convictions absolutely prohibited the reception of blood. In typical intern fashion Leah thought she knew best and couldn’t manage to mind her own business. HAL, I mean Bob, caught her in the act thus Cristina was able to prevent yet another debacle (just what SGMW needs right now is another lawsuit…am I right?). Leah was off Cristina’s service but, alas, not fired. Bummer. And after being MIA last week, Cristina 2.0 resurfaced as she counseled the young doctor that they had to respect the family’s wishes even if they disagreed because THAT’S THE LAW!
Good Cop, Bad Cop
Meanwhile, the Pediatrics and Ortho docs (Arizona, Alex, and Callie) were dealing with a petulant teen who couldn’t get off dead center. At the risk of sounding heartless, I’ll quote my husband who, upon hearing the kid bellyache for about the millionth time, said, “I don’t like this kid and I don’t care if she ever walks again.” Oooh. Harsh, my love. Way harsh. Of course, Arizona finally got through to the girl and she will, indeed, walk again. And in another example of the trials and tribulations of Calzona, Sofia refused to wear tights with her dresses which caused stress because of differing parenting styles. Really? That’s their big issue now? I’d better move on before I say something I’ll regret.
“He’s Alive Because of You”
Finally, a group of surgeons worked diligently to save the ER, each in their own way. Derek and April spent the night together (no, not like that) going over the budget and coming up with a plan to cobble together enough cuts to keep the ER doors open. Owen was craftier. When fate put Cahill in the midst of an emergency surgery Hunt helped to remind her what a thrill and a trust it is to be able to save people’s lives in catastrophic circumstances. Too bad it was all for naught. Turns out a buyer is swooping in to save SGMW and an ER just isn’t part of that plan. Back to the drawing board…and time is running out!
Is the ER shuttered forever? Can SGMW even survive? Can whiny Jo be any more annoying? Will April ever make it through an episode without suffering an anxiety attack? And how adorable was it when Cristina and Owen walked away arm in arm as Meredith intoned that we should “Hold on tight to the things that matter most” while MerDer delighted in feeling their baby kick? Sound off in the comments and vote in our poll.
Grey’s Anatomy returns next week with an all-new episode, “The Face of Change” airing Thursday, February 7 on ABC.
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(Image courtesy of ABC)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
