Grey’s Anatomy – Recap & Review – I Saw Her Standing There

photo: abc

Grey’s Anatomy
I Saw Her Standing There

Original Air Date: Oct 25, 2012

Karen Belgrad – Senior Editor
karenbelgrad@thetwocentscorp.com

This was my favorite type of Grey’s Anatomy hour… it mixed levity, sexiness, and bizarre medical maladies into one hour that brought back something that had been missing… fun. With the specter of amputations, plane crashes, and death this year, there has been a lack of humor so far this season.

All of that changed this hour and all it took was some sass from Cristina and a patient with a really enlarged body part. And of course, lots of sexy time for a whole bunch of our doctors!

Cristina: Cristina is making herself somewhat at home by having a fling with her boss, Dr. Parker. Between Burke, Marlow, and Hunt, this once again just adds to her list of pursuing relationships with authority figures. But unlike the past, Cristina is clearly just scratching an orgasmic itch with Dr. Parker and settling for mediocre sex. Her own relationship that is burgeoning is her admiration of and friendship with Dr. Thomas (Feeney!). Through a casual comment by Parker, Cristina realizes she’s part of a master plan to force Thomas to retire, by showing his inability to use newer techniques makes him a liability. But rather than be the selfish Cristina of times past, she comes to Thomas’s aid, guiding him through a newer technique with great success. In the end, she rebuffs Parker and embraces her friendship with Thomas over a couple of Old-Fashioned cocktails. I like empathetic Cristina!

Meredith/Derek: Meredith isn’t seeming as scary to her interns as she is exciting when Heather (Brooks, Tina Majorino)brings her a rare retro peritoneal tumor. The patient is nervous, but Meredith proves her growth by remaining calm even when uncertain on what steps to take in OR. Where she is unsure is how to share her exciting surgeries with her husband. Rather than share her news, she downplays her day to Derek, who is already looped in by excitable interns. But Owen is the voice of reason to a self-aware (and bubble-wrapped) Derek, by pointing out Derek’s past history of growing a beard and hiding in the woods when personal things get messy. In the end, Derek assures he isn’t going anywhere, revels in her surgical success, and even has a great teaching moment himself. Plus the two had some great sexy time to start there day. I really enjoy well-adjusted and happy Meredith and Derek!

Arizona/Callie: Arizona arrives at the hospital for her first prosthetic fitting with Dr. David Moore (played Ethan Embry of one of my all-time favorite movies, That Thing You Do!). She’s just as bitter as she has been for months, making Callie promise not to tell anyone she’s there and being difficult with Dr. Moore. But Alex accidentally finds out she’s there, and that she doesn’t blame him for the amputation, as she doesn’t even know he did the actual cutting. He pays her a visit, in time to catch her as she falls of the prosthetic due to her stubbornness to accept help. When he compliments the healing wound and tells her she needs to come back, she says she is trying. He replies that Callie is as well. It’s enough to mellow Arizona a bit, where she begins to work with Moore and *finally* gives an inch with her suffering wife. The two watching American Bake Off with a mile between them on the couch isn’t a total reconciliation, but it is enough to presumably keep Callie from spending another night sleeping in her dead best friend’s bed instead of their own.

April/Avery/Catherine/Richard: The wonderful and amazing Debbie Allen and her glow return as Catherine Avery to assist Richard with Brian and his extremely enlarged scrotum. Believe it or not, the enlarged, untreated scrotum is based on a true story. The fun of the story is the secret relationships going on between the four doctors. Richard and Catherine have continued their relationship, to April’s horror she accidentally reveals to Avery that his mother is having the best sex of her life. Meredith , of course, continuously delights in the irony of Richard sleeping with someone else’s mother. Katherine is still buddy-buddy with April, telling her she needs to get L-A-I-D, not realizing that Avery and April keep having sex for the “last time ever.” Becoming aware that their patient is hiding his true feelings for his best friend encourages Richard/Catherine to go public, but April and Avery are still under wraps. In fact, April begs off the scrotum case to avoid Catherine’s scrutiny. But Bailey takes over and delights in making nut and ball jokes while being on a real case. What’s refreshing is that despite April still clinging to her religious values, she is coming into her own as a sexual being and it’s not nearly as whiny as it was last hour.

If Owen seemed sidelined this hour, it’s because Kevin McKidd directed the episode. But what we did see was heartbreaking, as he voiced Derek’s tendency to run from problems, it was clear that he was talking about Cristina. Seemingly resolved that he doesn’t expect her to return home, he took leave from the firehouse to the woods, going to stay at Derek’s abandoned trailer (last seen in the hospital parking lot when Alex was living in it).

The one sore spot for me has continued to be Bailey. Between her booty call nickname, post-it note lounge tactics, and a literal fart joke, the character is sorely being underutilized. I understand it’s a very crowded cast, but nobody gives tears and speeches like Miranda Bailey, so I hope we see more of her soon!

Now you’ve got my TwoCents! Share your TwoCents, comments, and feedback below!