Kevin McKidd (Owen Hunt) took the helm of tonight’s episode, “I Saw Her Standing There,” directing for the fourth time. As always, his direction was sure and capable as he delivered the lightest episode of the season thus far. The writing, however, was more erratic. Some storylines were golden. Others were a bit of a mess. Let’s review.
WHAT I LOVED
Cristina and Dr. Thomas
Who would have thought that Cristina and Dr. Thomas (William Daniels) would become best buds? Cristina even considers him her Minnesota Meredith and that’s high praise, indeed. I love their dynamic: teasing and fun but with an undercurrent of mutual respect and caring. One of my big frustrations with the show is that Cristina, despite her growth over the years, is often written as an unfeeling person who puts surgery above all else. Nothing could be further from the truth.
When Cristina Yang cares about you, she will go to the ends of the earth for you. And that’s just what she did with Thomas, coming to his aid in hopes that he wouldn’t be forced into retirement. I don’t know how long Cristina will stay at The Clinic (I mean, she’s got to come back to Seattle eventually…right?) but I love the Yang/Thomas relationship. Now if we can just bring him to Seattle, too.
Owen and His Friends
I love a good Bromance (RIP, Mark Sloan) and the Owen/Derek friendship fits the bill. It’s great how they can be completely honest with each other and help guide each other through life with (and without) the Twisted Sisters. I’ve also always loved the Owen/Callie friendship. We don’t see enough of it, but what a delight to have the scene in the bar as they commiserated about their relationships (or lack thereof) with Cristina and Arizona.
Alex Karev
Regular readers of the column know that I love Alex Karev, even when he’s being a jerk. But tonight he wasn’t a jerk. Tonight he was a friend to Callie and a friend to Arizona … a good man underneath all of the swagger and bravado. And his reaction to Huge Testicles Guy (if you didn’t watch, don’t ask)? Priceless. Now we need to get that man a love interest. No, not Jo, the hapless intern. A real love interest. I hear (spoiler alert) that Derek’s sister is joining the cast. Hmmm…
April and Jackson
I think they are absolutely adorable together. There. I said it. Yes, I did.
WHAT I HATED
Cristina and Dr. Parker
What on earth is Cristina thinking? Sex with Parker (Steven Culp)? Seriously? Setting aside that she’s still married to Owen, that’s still all kinds of icky! Yuck! Cristina’s making all sorts of excuses to Meredith, who rightly calls her on the insanity of having a “sex friend”. Cristina doesn’t even like the guy, whom she calls both reptilian and chatty. I would add smarmy and pompous, especially since he’s trying to oust Thomas in a reprehensible way, but, whatever. The sex seems to be pretty empty and meaningless and by the end of the episode, Cristina seems to have literally left Parker behind as she goes to have drinks “with a friend”. Dr. Thomas! Awww…
The New Interns
Ugh. That’s all I have to say about that as I hope they all remain minor, supportive, recurring characters.
Bailey
What the heck is going on? The once-formidable Miranda Bailey is being written so badly! It’s like the writers have no idea what to do with her this season. That’s just wrong.
SPLIT DECISION
Arizona
I get that Arizona’s being through a lot and that she lost her leg. I am not minimizing her loss or her devastation in any way. Having said that, she is alive. Lexie and Mark are not. She has a wife and a daughter and friends and a protegee that care very much for her and meaningful work to return to when she is well. So it’s time to pull it together, AZ! I like it when you said you were trying and when you didn’t banish Callie to Dead Mark’s Apartment (what’s up with that, anyway?). And Jessica Capshaw was terrific again. Well done.
Owen Moving To The Woods
The rational part of my brain totally understands why Owen is moving to Derek’s trailer in the woods. The firehouse (which Cristina bought for him, by the way) is filled with so many memories. He can’t sleep. He sees her everywhere. He’s convinced she’s not coming back (which is why we know she WILL…see how this works?). He needs to clear his head and be someplace else for awhile. But my CO-shipper heart is breaking. How are these two ever going to find their way back to each other. How? And will they ever live in the firehouse together again?
Grey’s Anatomy returns in two weeks with an all-new episode, “Beautiful Doom”, airing Thursday, November 8 on ABC.
(Image courtesy of ABC)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
