Grey’s Anatomy recap: Moving Forward
What a happy funtime Grey’s Anatomy episode! People got recycled lungs from daredevil motorcyclists in whom we were never allowed to emotionally invest so we didn’t care that they died, pretty doctors reconciled with their grandfathers, and lots of sex was had. A good time for all, no Grey’sian angst at all — we can all use a break every once in a while. Clearly Lecture Day had a positive effect on Seattle Grace. And, oh, the lines! We’ll walk through some of the best tonight, with the plotlines that backed them up.
”Your heart lives in your vagina.” — Meredith, to Lexie
I felt like I got my money’s worth tonight with just this line. Lexie protested otherwise, saying she didn’t care a bit about Alex beyond the sex. Anything could happen, of course, but I believe her. I believe Blond Lexie is a changed woman. Sometimes when you leave serious love behind, you can’t sign right back up to get your heart pummeled, but that doesn’t stop a sex drive, folks.
”You’re going to be friends with me.” — Arizona to Teddy
Not a stellar line on its own, but I enjoyed the Arizona fast-talking Teddy into being her friend now, clearly just so we can move forward with her character beyond just moping around in the vicinity of Owen. So even though Cristina gave Owen permission to be friends with her, luckily she now gets her own set of friends. Plus there was to be a ”girls night,” which would also include Bailey and Callie. Somehow I knew it wouldn’t be a shopping-for-shoes, getting mani-pedis, and drinking Cosmos affair.
”Because you slept with my girlfriend and when I look at you I want to hit you with a brick.” — Arizona to Alex
Yep, she picked up on that vibe between Callie and Alex last episode. No more pediatric surgeries for Alex right now. That meant he missed out on her lung transplant patient, whose own lungs had been damaged beyond repair by radiation treatment. Lexie got in on it instead, and suggested the oh-my-god-that’s-so-risky procedure of the week, one in which damaged donor lungs are repaired outside the body and then transplanted into the patient. Naturally, it had only ever been done in Switzerland and Canada. Naturally, we were about to see it happen in Seattle, somehow, some way. Cristina, who was also in on the surgery, was going to make sure of it.
”Screwing drug reps is not going to make you feel better.” — Derek to Mark
Mark was back to his old ways post-Lexie, and out for particular revenge since she hooked up with Alex.
NEXT: The Hotness Monster and his grandpa
”I misdiagnosed Harper Avery. In front of Harper Avery. Do you know what that does to my chances of one day winning a Harper Avery?” — Cristina
Yes, the apparently famous Dr. Harper Avery was in the house, having passed out in a restaurant with abdominal pain. Oh, and he also happened to be Dr. Hotness Monster’s grandpa. (It looked like Jackson was getting initiated into the Grey’s family by having his first random-family-member-stop-by, but I fear we’ll be losing him to study medicine by Grandpa’s side. Sigh.) Everyone was all aflutter that Dr. Avery was there, given that he gives out important research awards and stuff, but Jackson was, of course, embarrassed by his overbearing grandfather, etc. So, to recap his issues — even if he isn’t long for Seattle Grace — his immediate family all underestimated him because he was too pretty, as we learned a few episodes ago, so he became a doctor to prove them wrong, except, oh, oops, Grandpa is a world-famous surgeon, whose help he refuses to take. That is what you call a mess of high-class problems.
And speaking of people who are not long for Seattle Grace, congratulations to Dr. Charles Percy, for getting the random Mercy West transfer doc appearance of the week! He got to help the daredevil motorcyclist who crashed without a helmet, then died before we cared about him. A thankless job, but somebody from Mercy West’s gotta do it. But, hey, he was an organ donor, as several doctors pointed out in dialogue for no apparent reason… except that Lexie and Cristina were on the hunt for lungs for that kid. And so it was that the Really Super Extra Rare Procedure would happen right there at Seattle Grace, wouldn’t you know.
”Was it a student, Webber?… Who were you slipping it to?” — Dr. Harper Avery, to Dr. Richard Webber
Richard was back, and I suppose we’ll now have to call him Richard or Webber instead of the Chief, which probably makes him as sad as it makes me. (Insult to injury: Did we need that actual shot of his urine sample for drug testing?) Anyway, he knew Harper from back in the day, and Harper prodded him repeatedly about why he was no longer the chief of surgery. Nonetheless, Richard diagnosed Harper as having a bowel obstruction. Harper then made a totally senseless request to be awake for his own surgery. He explained it thusly: ”An opportunity like this, to be a student again, to get a new perspective, it’s what we got into this business for in the first place.” Here I thought my doctors wanted to fix me, when all this time they’ve just been waiting for the chance to get cut open while they stay awake and watch. Who knew. Then it turned out he was not only insane but also as jerky as Jackson said he was. Richard got all defiant and said he’d do the awake surgery even though Derek, who is now the Chief, said no. ”That’s the way a chief does things,” Harper said. ”Shepherd, take note.”
”Who are you? You’re like some miracle worker or something.” — daughter of a deaf patient to Mark
A deaf older lady had come in with a ruptured tendon, but it turned out Mark could fix her hearing by moving a bone or somesuch. Didn’t really matter what he was going to do. The main point was that her daughter was super-impressed with him because she was so sick of yelling all the time so her mother could hear her. Apparently they are now stealing plotlines from my own mother and grandmother. I can vouch for the fact that they got the ridiculous frustration exactly right. And it’s a lot funnier on TV than it is at the Christmas dinner table. Incidentally, my mom would also totally make out with Mark Sloan if given the chance.