Grey’s Anatomy: Dark Derek

Everyone’s been there. Sometimes it’s hard to face the things that we’re afraid of or even the things that we truly want, but for those of us who can rise above and not run away, we have the opportunity to reap the rewards.

This week Derek couldn’t face returning to the OR after the death of his last patient, but for once, Meredith could confront the idea of a real committed relationship. Izzie faced her bleak prognosis, but couldn’t face Alex. And Alex finally faced his feelings of inadequacy to rise to the top in the OR.

Izzie is still trying to “teach” the interns how to act like real doctors by having them diagnosis patient “X.” We in the audience already know the identity of the mystery patient, so it makes it all the more painful to watch Izzie listen to the interns misdiagnose and make mistakes over and over again. (This may possibly be the worse group of interns ever assembled.) Of course there’s one shining star in the bunch, Lexie, who figures out Izzie’s big problem, a metastatic melanoma with survival set at a mere 5% even with chemo and radiation.

Though I’m still a little put off by where they took Izzie and Denny this season, her acting during this episode is top notch. She’s emotional, morose and still so Izzie, a little erratic and sometimes bipolar. I understand why Shonda chose this path now even if I’m not 100% behind it. It gives Katherine Heigl material that she can work the shit out of, especially when she acts happy for Alex’s success although unable to share her sadness.

Alex, on the other hand, gets the best news of his life when he’s told by Arizona and Owen that he could be the next star surgeon of Seattle Grace. The patients took a big backseat this episode, while Alex took center stage. He stands up to Arizona when a teen is brought in with epileptic seizures. While she’s ready to release her, Alex discovers her severe heart condition. He not only saves her life, but improves it so she can be more like a regular teen.

There’s a moment during surgery where he’s given license to make a big call. If he makes the right choice, he proves to Arizona that he was right all along, but if he makes the wrong choice, a girl could die. This call includes shocking the heart of a girl with paddles which could possibly kill her. Though he doesn’t have to, it’s an incredibly intense seen, but at least he comes out on top in the end.

Elsewhere in the hospital, the Chief and Bailey come to blows. It’s clear the Chief still hasn’t gotten over the fact that Bailey doesn’t want to follow in his footsteps, but he takes it too far when he begins to ignore and disrespect her. Again Chandra Wilson is amazing with her mix of anger, annoyance and sadness, and downright hysterical when Bailey tattles on Richard to his wife.

Praise Adele, who is always fantastic when she’s on screen. The way she stormed into the hospital, shuffling the two bickering doctors into a conference room and ripping them a new one about acting like children. The finally face each other, and Bailey questions whether he’s angry that she chose something else or because he regards pediatrics as soft. In the end, of course the two make up, and the Chief even learns something when Bailey tell him that “maybe he needs a little soft” sometimes.

Owen and Christina butt heads as well. When Christina attempt to rouse him from a nap, he lashes out and ends up pushing her against a shelf and drawing blood. It’s clear he’s disgusted with himself and his PTSD, but he also clearly wants to protect her. We all know Christina is a tough bird though, and she won’t let him get away that easily.

But the doctors hit hardest by the problems they have to face are Meredith and Derek. Derek is not only being sued by the husband left behind last episode, but he’s even more angry at himself. When he stares at the much bigger pile of deaths versus the people he’s saved, it brought me to tears.

Derek ripped a page out of the Meredith book by being depressed, mopey, angry and standoffish. At first it seems like Meredith, knowing what she’d want, won’t support her man, instead choosing to give him he the space he asks for, but the Chief tells her, not only do he and the hospital need Derek, but as the woman Derek is planning to propose to, she can’t leave him alone.

This is echoed in a great patient story this week. Three siblings enter Seattle Grace to have an extremely invasive surgery to remove their stomachs. Basically everyone in their family has died of a specific kind of cancer, and this gives them better chances. However while the sisters choose to get the surgery, the brother wants to live his life enjoying it. Though they fight over the right thing to do and the brother doesn’t get the surgery, in the end the oldest sister and the protector of the family says you don’t leave the ones you love alone, not when it counts.

Although Meredith goes to Derek when she finds out he’s moved back to the motor home, telling him she’s there, and she won’t leave, Derek lashes back by telling her that this is what she’s always wanted. He even throws in her face that she’s broken, bringing up all her flaws instead of facing his own. “There’s no fixing you. You’re a lemon.” She does leave in the end, but not without taking it like a real woman and letting him know that no matter what, she’s there for him always even knowing he was going to propose.

I can’t imagine how the relationship between these two will lead to a proposal, especially after Derek chucked that ring, but since the show is back on track, I’m not to worried. Shonda, I have a little faith again!

P.S. Lexie and Mark are official, and Arizona and Callie plan a date.

Season 5, Episode 17: I Will Follow You Into the Dark (originally aired March 12, 2009)

For another take on this episode, read Tanya Lane’s review, Shepherd AWOL, here.

For more Grey’s Anatomy reviews, click here.

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Photographs courtesy of ABC