Grey’s Anatomy – Recap & Review – Here’s to Future Days/Now or Never

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Grey’s Anatomy
Here’s to Future Days/Now or Never

Original Air Date: May 14, 2009

Thomas Nikl – Associate Staff Writer
thomas@thetwocentscorps.com

Strap yourselves in, readers; it’s time for the two hour finale of Grey’s Anatomy! Will Izzie live or die? Will Meredith and Derek marry? Will Christina and Owen get back together? With so many questions to ask will the Grey’s finale disappoint? Come with me and find out but as a precaution you may want to have your box of Kleenex close by.

THE VET
Owen, George and Callie are treating an Iraq War Veteran who has chronic leg pain when he walks even though most X-Rays don’t seem to show any problems. The vet suggests amputating his leg and giving him a prosthetic so that he can return to his family in Iraq- his Army brethren. Callie really isn’t thrilled at the idea of cutting off a healthy leg. Charlie (the Vet) seems to have struck a nerve with Owen who, all of a sudden, decides he wants to go back to Iraq because he feel like his job isn’t finished there and he feels like he can’t move forward in life until he finishes his job in Iraq. Eventually, Callie reluctantly agrees to remove Charlie’s leg.

Owen actually decides- with some help from Christina- not to return to the Army and instead visits his Mom. Looks like Owen has his first night’s sleep in a long time thanks to visiting his Mom.

But, apparently all those pep talks from Charlie had an effort on GEORGE because he decides to enlist for the Army!??!!? ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?! Ok, I have to admit, I did NOT see that little surprise coming. Holy crap what is George thinking?? Miranda mirrors that sentiment when George tells her he has to report for duty tomorrow! Miranda and Callie seem to be mad at Owen for George enlisting- even though Owen really didn’t have anything to do with it. Miranda plans an intervention to talk him out of it. Richard informs Miranda and Callie that George left earlier that day to spend it with his mother and he is no longer there.

THE MAN WITHOUT A FACE
A man comes in after getting run over by a bus. Apparently, he pushed a young girl out of the way to save her, and he ended up getting hit and dragged. He’s in really bad shape. Callie, Owen, Derek and Mark all work to try and keep him alive- and they do- but he’s really beat up and his face is unrecognizable. The girl he saved is convinced also that this is her prince charming so she stays with him for all the surgeries to keep him company. He keeps trying to write something but it’s illegible. He takes Meredith’s hand and uses his finger to spell out 0-0-7.

HOLY CRAP IT’S GEORGE!?!?! It’s George!!! Meredith runs for the others and they rush George into the OR to try and save him…

MARK & LITTLE GREY
Looks like Mark is really starting to get into Little Grey (Lexi) and the Izzie thing is making him realize maybe he should start settling down a bit. He pitches the idea of getting a condo to Lexi (and he implies that she should move in with him) but she doesn’t seem that into it. He brings it up point blank later and Lexi explains that she would rather wait- TEN YEARS- until she has her own practice started to move in together. That’s a pretty long time to wait. Mark is obviously a little upset by this form of rejection and he has trouble looking Lexi in the eye afterwards.

A patient gives Mark some good advice and says he should buy the house regardless and move on if necessary. Lexi seems like maybe she is having some second thoughts when she sees Mark looking at homes he may buy.

LEO
Richard buys a new crazy operating tool- the Da Vinci S-system (or something like that) which makes Miranda incredibly happy! Apparently, this tool allows surgeons to operate with all kinds of precision and stuff. Soon they’re removing gallbladders through belly buttons and stuff. Soon Miranda is blowing off Arizona to perform surgeries with the new tool- and Arizona is on to Richard’s plan to keep Miranda in his department. Miranda is accepted to the pediatric surgeon fellowship but she doesn’t seem very happy about it. Arizona confronts her about it and she explains that her husband has said if she accepts the new role (and its new hours) that he will divorce her. Miranda really wants the pediatric thing but she still decides to stay in general surgery- but she is also leaving Tucker because she resents the ultimatum he gave her. Miranda actually has a mini-freak out with Richard but man she puts up with a lot.

IZZIE
Derek finally figures out a way to remove Izzie’s tumor but one of the possible risks is memory loss. Izzie is obviously struggling with this decision. One of the doctors proposes a different treatment- some kind of drug- that’s worked in the past on removing patient’s tumors. Derek and Meredith perform a memory test on Izzie. They show were flash cards, then they put a part of her brain to sleep, and see what she can recall. As soon as they put Izzie’s right hemisphere to sleep Izzie has forgotten the cards. And Meredith’s name. And Alex. And in general even her ability to speak. That’s pretty awful. Of course, this test is a worst case scenario with regards to the operation but Meredith definitely doesn’t want Izzie to do the surgery now.

The drug option is looking pretty attractive right now. Up to this point Alex had been pretty supportive about Izzie making her own decision- and she picks the drug treatment- but when Alex finds out she didn’t pick the surgery Alex kind of flips out and demands Izzie do it- mostly because Derek said if it were Meredith, he’d want Meredith to have the surgery. But I am not sure Derek was giving an objective opinion so yeah. Izzie continues to get advice from the other woman who had her tumor removed with the drug treatment- but soon she’s going into cardiac arrest right in front of Izzie. Her friend basically ends up as a vegetable (her words not mine) and this makes Izzie agree to the surgery- but she’s signing a DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) so that if something goes wrong she doesn’t end up a vegetable, also.

Alex is not happy about the DNR and he begs Izzie to rip it up- but she won’t and she explains why she can’t go on living in a vegetative state. We don’t actually see any of the surgery- only her laying in bed afterwards- and she wakes up and Alex seems elated! Derek explains that he got the entire tumor- which is good news- and Izzie seems to have her memory. But then she starts asking the same questions over and over again. I am thinking that her long term memory is intact- but her short term memory is damaged. That’s no good. Alex tries hard (with flash cards) to exercise her short term memory but it doesn’t seem to be going well.

All this really makes Meredith want to tie the knot with Derek so they plan to go to City Hall and get their marriage certificate. But they are both so busy they can’t get away- so they write their vows on a post-it note and sign it. Soon Alex gets pushed to the brink and yells at Izzie and she is kind of upset. But later she tells Christina all about it- which is good news- her memory is back. Alex arrives and apologizes for yelling at her and they hug- and as they hug Izzie crashes. Alex begins CPR and talks Richard and Miranda to ignore the DNR and try to bring her back…

IN THE END
Izzie in her prom dress gets in the elevator. The doors open. There is George in his Army uniform. I guess we can only assume they are both arriving at the Pearly Gates of Heaven.