Grey’s Anatomy: Cry, Cry, Baby

Grey’s has always been capable of exercising viewers’ tear ducts, but this week they took it to another level. Oh sure, we’ve seen terminal teenagers, fathers, mothers, brothers, daughters – the whole sha-bang. But last week was probably the most heart-wrenching storyline ever.

Arizona and Miranda are attending to a terminal pediatric patient whose father is having difficulty coming to grips with her inevitable death.  He frantically tries to find last-minute solutions to her medical condition, to no avail. Finally he accepts her impending death and resigns himself to spend her final moments comforting her.  Bailey shows she’s more than capable of handling pediatrics by comforting the child in the absence of her father.  She has a soothing touch that comes with parenting, not medical school.

Meanwhile, Izzie’s condition is grave but stable.  She tries to keep her spirits up, but the reality of the situation begins to sink in.

George and Alex have the rare chance to work together, with dire results.  When a car accident victim is admitted, George is concerned that the man may have intentionally harmed himself.  Alex, always trying to one-up his peers, is initially dismissive of George’s warning to keep an eye on the patient.  He reluctantly allows George to order the eval, but when the nurse arrives the patient is gone.  Alex doesn’t seem to grasp the severity of the situation until Major Hunt chews him out about leaving the patient unattended.  In gruesome fashion reminiscent of M. Night Shymalan’s last movie, the patient hurls himself against a glass window repeatedly until he shatters through it, falling to his death.  This one is on Alex, as George tried to get him to show more concern for the patient.

While all this chaos swirls around Seattle Grace, Meredith calmly begins to plan her wedding.  She and Derek have come a long way, and it’s nice to see their evolution.  It was also nice to see O’Malley receive rare kudos.  Both Hunt and Alex acknowledge that he is calm under pressure, an invaluable trait for a doctor.  All is not well with the entire gang though, as Callie and Arizona’s relationship is tested when she discloses it to her father.  He tries to “take her home,” a move that I didn’t quite understand.  She’s a grown woman and ultimately decides to live her life as she sees fit, despite her father’s wishes.  He seems to love Callie but does not accept her lifestyle, and this only serves to bring her and Arizona even closer.

This was a good episode that advanced all of the relevant plots while keeping it interesting with new patient storylines.  Grey’s always keeps me on my toes, so I fully expect a last-minute snafu to potentially derail the McDreamy/Meredith nuptials.  Stay tuned.

Season 5, Episode 20: Sweet Surrender(originally aired April 23, 2009)

For another take on this episode, read Inisia Lewis’s review.

For more Grey’s Anatomy, click here.

Thursdays 9/8c on ABC
Photographs courtesy of ABC