Grey's Anatomy 10.08 Review: We Don't Always Recognize When to Stop Ourselves

For all those that have yet to watch tonight’s episode of Grey’s Anatomy, entitled ‘Two Against One’, then now would be your last chance to do so without the threat of spoilers. As always, this is not a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! You’ve been warned.

Can I just say how angry I am with this series? I mean, this is Cristina’s last year on the show, why do they have to go and through her and Mer’s relationship through a loop? Why are they trying to ruin it? From what I can recall of how last season ended, this wasn’t in the works, so why is this absolutely necessary? I can understand the occasional tiff, but all of this?

Other than my issue with that story narrative, this was a decent episode. There was some nice progression with Webber’s character that I quite enjoyed, some honest development to his story. There was also some quality Lorde playing in the background during a scene. I’m just curious to know why Alex thought Meredith couldn’t get the one tumour out. I mean why would she say she could do it just because Cristina said she wasn’t as good a surgeon as her? I’m also curious to know what is going on with Bailey. I thought this whole deal with the glove incident had been resolved last season, but here it is again, rearing its ugly head.

All in all, not a bad episode. There were some good points to it that I enjoyed, as well as some nice drama that is always evident in this series. It’s still quite an enjoyable show, for something in its tenth season, but the fact that a lot of the series regulars from years past are no longer in it, I worry that it won’t stay good for long after they all eventually begin to move on. That starts again this year with Yang, but who will it be next year?

My rating: 7 out of 10.

Best Lines:

“Did you hear Mer just revolutionized the world of cutlery?” – Karev asks Yang.

“He’s a guy in a bathrobe.” Harvey mutters about Webber’s vouching for Shepherd and Avery.

“If you want it faster, page God.” – Edwards tells Ross, regarding the 3D printer.

Okay, I’m off to watch The Crazy Ones now, check back soon for my review of that.

Grey's Anatomy 10.07 Review: The Magic of Halloween

Anyone that has yet to watch Thursday’s episode of Grey’s Anatomy, titled ‘Thriller’, then that is what I suggest you go do before reading ahead. This is not a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! You’ve been warned.

So, not a bad episode, but also not overwhelmingly great. For one thing, I didn’t find that the music fit in a lot of the scenes, despite the Halloween ambiance. And while I did enjoy getting to see a lot of Meredith in scenes, I still felt that this was more of a filler episode than anything, even though there were a few things to happen.

I was happy to see Webber finally apologize to Meredith, he took his damn time doing it but here it was. I don’t think that there was enough of a scene between them, but it was a decent apology. The whole thing with Ben was a little strange. I can see him loving Halloween, but not that he’d drop out of his program after being so gung ho about it. But I am intrigued to learn what is going on with Bailey. Is she still having repercussions from that whole glove incident last season? Or is this something else.

While there were some parts of Shane’s scenes I didn’t like during this episode, I was happy to see him take over that uninsured woman’s medical troubles. I don’t completely understand the rationale behind his guilt, but I do think that it’s making him a better person, and a more interesting person. Plus he looked weirdly good in a sleeveless shirt.

The way Jo worked her problems out with Karev was a progressive step towards them finding happiness again. We all know Karev doesn’t like conveying his vulnerabilities, but I hope with Jo that he is able to eventually get to that point where he can show all of himself to another woman that isn’t named Izzie. I loved that she was able to suck it up and go over to the house and apologize, even if she didn’t completely understand the situation before hand. She owned up to her mistakes, and that’s good on her. Plus, she looked great in the Tinkerbell costume, so that was fun to see.

I’m not really sure what’s going on with Cristina this season. I know this was supposed to be the year of the Yang, due to Sandra Oh leaving at the end of this season, but I’m not feeling that very much yet. Her fighting with Meredith is a little too much, especially since last season they were still very in tuned, but suddenly a second child changes that? I kind of feel like they’re doing this so that Cristina decides it’s time to leave at the end of the season. Sure, I don’t want the character to die, but it feels ludicrous that disassociating her with Meredith will help to lead her character to leave for good.

Alright, I believe I’ve made my peace with this episode. It was definitely a filler, but it was pleasant to watch. I still don’t think this series has much leg in it left, but it’s not the worst thing out there, especially given that it’s in its tenth season. While I know this won’t be its last season, I do hope that eleven caps it off, because there are only so many reasonable things that can happen to these characters to create a sense of drama in their lives.

Oh, and before I forget, I have to mention that of course Grey’s brought in the bath salts case from Florida was it? That I found perfect for this episode. Also, is it actually possible for the body to stop producing adrenaline? That seems a little ridiculous.

My rating: 6.5 out of 10.

Best Lines:

“I’m everywhere.” – Bailey tells the first year Residents about where she came from.

“I’m trying to teach them and you won’t let them learn.” – Webber explains to Bailey.

Okay, now I just have to go review The Vampire Diaries. After that hopefully you’ll be able to catch my reviews of Dracula and Haven. Stick around for more.

Grey's Anatomy 10.06 Review: Making the Pieces Fit

For all those that have yet to watch tonight’s episode of Grey’s Anatomy, entitled ‘Map of You’, I suggest you go and do so now. As always, this is not a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! You’ve been warned.

That was a pretty compelling episode this week. Lots of bits and pieces that all somehow managed to fit together. That’s the Grey’s Anatomy I’ve come to love. While this series has become a little tired, even so the stories and acting is much more captivating than that of The Vampire Diaries, which has only managed half the seasons this series has.

So Cristina and Meredith’s relationship is still on the rocks, even though the former thinks they can go back to the friendship they had, despite the words she’d spoken. I thought it very fitting the way Meredith kind of put her in her place, one of Ellen Pompeo’s best scenes in this episode, although she didn’t have a lot of screen time. Still, we all know they’ll go back to being each other’s person to some extent eventually.

The scenes between Richard and Jo were nice and light and fun to watch. It was enjoyable getting to see her running around and putting pressure on her brain to figure out what was causing the pain in Richard’s shoulder. He’s also looking much better this week, and it was fun to watch him tell his doctor what to do being that he is also her teacher. Still, I hope to eventually see reconciliation with Meredith.

While it was basically predictable to where Alex kept going each night (and for surgeons, boy can these doctors drink), it still provided for an interesting story. My heart broke for him when the picture his father pulled out of his son turned out to be a half-brother he knew nothing about. He thought by some chance his father actually thought of him, but no, it was his latest child that he’d done wrong to. But then, we know how crappy his dad is when he can’t even recognize his own son standing before him. Not until – I think – the man hit him for basically being such a crappy dad all around.

The story between Leah and Arizona was a little much, and I’m not a big fan of Derek medicine heavily focused episodes, but otherwise this was a pretty good episode. No, I don’t constantly get excited about this series like I did in earlier years, but it does provide a compelling enough story each week, and it’s a comfortable kind of thing to watch. Yes, a major soap opera, but still oddly comforting.

My rating: 7 out of 10.

Best Lines:

“You make me sound like a soft drink.” – Meredith says to Callie, who’s going on about being your own brand.

“Air on the side of all of it.” – Cristina tells Shane.

“I hope you’re not thinking I’m pregnant.” – Webber yells after Jo, who’s going to look for an ultrasound machine.

“Also the automatic paper towel thingy won’t recognize me as human.” – Cristina explains to Meredith.

Alright, ladies and gentlemen, I’m off to go watch The Crazy Ones. Then I’ll probably watch a movie or something. Stay tuned.

Grey's Anatomy 10.05 Review: Back to the Beginning

Anyone that has yet to watch last night’s episode of Grey’s Anatomy, titled ‘I Bet It Stung’, then I suggest you either do so now or exit the screen. This is not a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! You’ve been warned.

Decent episode this week, much better than the two hundredth episode of last week, which was lackluster for such a monumental occasion. There was some good progression with a lot of the characters, most notably Meredith, and her friendship with Cristina, as well as Richard, Edwards with Jackson’s mom, and Callie. It was great to see that argument between Meredith and Derek at the end, especially since she had valid reasons. It was also really great to see Callie’s development toward being a happier person with her own life. No, it’s not possible to go backwards in time, but you can try to be the person you were at a happier time in your life.

There were some nice, easy, funny moments to this episode. The first was most the randomly peculiar moment at the beginning of the episode when Meredith kisses Callie goodbye much the same she does with Derek. The other comedic moment was the cliché meeting between Edwards and Jackson’s mom. I knew it was coming, but it was still a light moment to the episode that spiraled into drama. The third one was the whole thing where Arizona couldn’t remember what had happened the night of the gala with Murphy. The whole bit where she gave Arizona coffee but April got nothing was great.

It was nice to see the growth of Meredith’s character come to a head. The constant battle for women to decide what do they give themselves more to: work or kids. I definitely think she made the right decisions, that her kids come first, much better than a lot of the mother’s on this series. Which is why it was such a valid argument between her and Derek at the end. He’d chosen his surgery, something that wasn’t a once in a lifetime experience like Meredith’s, and had the nerve to say it wasn’t his fault that she’d had to give up her’s. I most assuredly look forward to seeing how that comes across next week.

So, there are still a lot of interesting things going on in Grey’s Anatomy, but a lot of it is becoming tired. No, the writing is no where near as bad as The Vampire Diaries, or even this year’s American Horror Story: Coven, but it’s not at all close to how ripe with intrigue and drama from years past. I did think it was a very My Sister’s Keeper moment when we learned the other sister was a donor baby, but I suppose we haven’t seen that on this series yet. I do wish this series had ended a few years ago, though. Still, I think as long as Meredith’s in it a lot and McDreamy’s still there, I’ll stick around.

My rating: 7 out of 10.

Best Lines:

“I named my son after you, you can’t be mad at me.” – Meredith tells Bailey.

“Besides, she’s not going to be alone. She’s going to be with me, who she loves more than her own parents.” – Karev says to Meredith, referring to Zola.

Okay, I’m off to watch The Crazy Ones now. Stay tuned.

Grey's Anatomy 10.04 Review: Ain't No Party Like a Hospital's Party

For any of you that have yet to watch Thursday’s episode of Grey’s Anatomy, titled ‘Puttin’ On the Ritz’, than now would be a good time to exit this screen. This is not a spoiler free blog. THIS REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS! You’ve been warned.

So, this week the Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital threw a party in order to get donations for the hospital in light of the massive storm they’d just gone through. There were definitely a nice amount of throwbacks to the last party the hospital threw, but I do have to say that episode was much better.

I know the series ER went on for a very long time, but I desperately don’t want this series to go that way. When that’s done, there are always actors and actresses circling in and out, and so the characters can’t realistically stay in this one place, thus the writing benefits the actors and not the characters. I mean there’s a reason Karev called it Seattle Grace Mercy Death (when it still had the better hospital name), and incredible amount of characters have died throughout the years, too many characters. It’s disappointing to think it will keep doing that.

There were definitely some nice moments, but there wasn’t an incredible amount of progression in this episode. It was nice to see how Callie has been brought into the friendship group with Meredith and Christina. The last time there was a party thrown at the hospital, Callie was snide and didn’t much care for Meredith, though she did claim the black panties on the bulletin board as her’s.

Christina was a bit of a shining beacon in this episode. She was all so very happy and upbeat in trying to get people to give up their money to the hospital. It’s so unusual from the Christina of years ago, but it’s nice to see her happy. Although, I really do think they’re just dragging their tale around with this whole Christina and Owen story; when they said they were done, they really should have stayed done, this is just dishonest storytelling. When your audience is trusting you with a story, they need to be able to depend that you’ll give everything you can into the writing, and not to do all the back and forth development for characters.

My last note is about Bailey being smart about putting the dying man in with Richard, one man that’s going to die but doesn’t want to and the other man that wants to die but shouldn’t have to. Sure, I saw this bit coming as soon as we learn how much the man wanted to fight the cancer, despite his late age, but it was still a decently done thing.

Overall, this episode is more of the same that I’ve come to expect of the later years of Grey’s Anatomy, but it still has its quaint moments. It’ll be interesting to see how it’ll go with Alex’s dad, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to see the actor as anyone other than Dexter and Deb’s dad over on Dexter. This really does need to be the last year though; this series doesn’t have much in the way of great stories left for it.

My rating: 6.5 out of 10.

Best Lines:

“Bailey’s going to lose her mind, she hates clowns. It’s going to be hilarious.” – Callie remarking on the theme of the party.

“I know you know how to do that.” – Christina says to Meredith, referring to how she met Derek.

“And snacks!” – a drunk April shouts after Leah.

All right, stick around and wait for my weekly update of Best Performances of the Week shortly. Then it’s reviews of Haven followed by Once Upon A Time and Revenge. Sorry for the lateness of this!