And so second in my double bill of doctors, comes Grey’s Anatomy. I’ve previously had a whinge about the tendency for the Grey’s writers to overlook and neglect some of their more interesting characters and again, last night they were guilty as charged. As much as I love this show, they need to trim their cast (with Isaiah Washington fired and Kate Walsh given her own spin-off, maybe things will look up), as an hour episode reduces some to mere background players.
Again Sloan was two-dimensional. He got to choose which intern could work with him for the day and opted for Izzie, as she would be “good to look at.” However, unlike her predecessor Alex, Izzie wasn’t prepared to become a lackey for the egotistical plastic surgeon and refused to oblige his orders for coffee. Quite predictably, Izzie’s uncompromising feistiness impressed Sloan and after what has seemed like years on the sidelines observing, Sloan allowed Izzie to scrub in and watch at close range a difficult operation on conjoined twins.
The case involving the separation of the adult male twins Jake and Peter (played by real-life identical twins Jason and Randy Sklar) mirrored the dilemmas and issues troubling the interns and their superiors – that of not being able to choose your family. One twin wanted the operation as he had found love, only for it to be revealed that his girlfriend Elena cared for both of them. When presented with an ultimatum, Elena proceeded to choose the other twin, not the one she had formally been dating. The surgery was a success and hopeful to start a solo life with her chosen beau, Elena was upset and surprised to find that her man wasn’t looking for a re-union with her, but his now separated twin. The two men shared a tender moment, as one was wheeled to lie beside the other, as once they were joined and they held hands.
Family has been a strong theme throughout the past few episodes of GA, especially for George with his father planning to undergo surgery for cancer. I have previously discussed my huge intolerance for the character of George and was pained by his angry shouting and pathetic, ungrateful behaviour last night. Unable to participate in his father’s operation, he planned to view from afar only to find watching too gruesome a reality. With his back turned to the operating table, fellow observer Burke narrated the procedure to calm George and keep him informed. The surgery went well and now I begin to hope for a reduction in George’s screen time. Please!
Burke and Cristina continued to glare meaningfully at each other without actually talking. The aftermath of Cristina having informed the Chief of Burke’s concealed hand tremor had repercussions for everyone. The Chief was angry with Burke for taking away his chance to retire and save his marriage, Burke was angry with McDreamy for messing up his hand in surgery, and Miranda, Alex, George and Izzie were annoyed that there was no punishment for Burke and Cristina for their deception.
Much of this anger was to ebb away, with Burke forgiving McDreamy for his hand and Meredith pleading with her grumpy fellow interns to forgive Cristina her indiscretion. Alex and Izzie conceded but George flounced off in a childish huff. Meredith was herself caught in an unfamiliar family scenario, when her half sister was admitted for premature labour. The new wife of her father invited Meredith into this alternative warm and welcoming family fold, but Meredith remained firm. She might be related to some of these people, but they weren’t her family. And so she remained true to her real family, despite the pain and difficulty – her mother and “her sister” Cristina. Aw bless.
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