Grey’s Anatomy: Surgery vs. Love

Last week, Cristina made the shocking announcement that she chose surgery over Owen by offering to give him to Teddy. This week, the decision between surgery and love is on many of the doctors’ minds. There was a lot of relationship drama plus the Chief faces a serious consequence for falling off of the wagon.

Throughout the episode, Meredith and Derek fought about the Chief’s drinking problem. Derek wants to report Richard to the board but Meredith questions whether Derek wants to be chief. She also tells him “McDreamy is being a McAss” (my favorite line of the episode)! When she calls “post-it,” he finally agrees to keep the secret. Derek offers to help the Chief who turns him down and instead signs up for a “Whipple surgery.” However, this concerns Derek since Richard hasn’t operated in a long time and it is a complicated seven-hour surgery to which he gave the hardest part to Meredith. Bailey admits to Derek that “the Chief’s judgment is not clear and rational…Richard is gone.” Finally, Derek confronts Meredith and states if he goes to the board about Richard, the first thing he will do as the new chief will be to hire Izzie back. After hearing about Izzie’s positive PET scan results, Meredith tells Derek he can go to the board. In bed that night, Meredith accuses Derek of doing this for the job…in the choice between surgery vs. love, he chose surgery. However, Derek throws it right back at her, she chose surgery too because she wanted to take part in the “Whipple surgery” even though she knew the Chief wasn’t ready.

Izzie’s back and wants to repair her relationship with Alex. During lunch, when faced with the question of surgery vs. love, Izzie responds, “Surgery is just a job. If you lose your job, you get another one, but if you think you’re losing your love, suddenly nothing else matters.” Alex’s cold response, “love comes and goes. Surgery doesn’t.” During her PET scan, Alex confesses that he slept with someone else but Izzie is positive they will get past it. All seems to be going well with Alex and Izzie, especially when she shows him her great scan results and he tells her how much he loves her. However, then Alex thanks her for helping him realize that he is a good man but he deserves someone who will stay. Alex explains “I’m happy you’re okay and I’m happy about your job and I want you to go and be happy and not come back.” Ouch!! Back at Meredith’s house, Izzie is packing while Meredith attempts to convince her to stay. But Izzie says she needs to start over.

Cristina and Teddy talk, with Teddy saying the Chief asked her to finish out her contract and Cristina telling her that she didn’t mean what she said–she’d give up Owen for her. Although Cristina keeps asking everyone what would you choose: surgery or the person you love? During surgery on a patient who is a singer and has a tumor on his lung, Teddy does everything she can to save his lung so he can continue to follow his passion, singing. This proves to Cristina that Teddy understands why she would choose surgery over a guy. Cristina tells her, “I want to be great and I want to learn from you. I choose my gift.” Afterwards, Owen meets Teddy, who’s had a few drinks, at Joe’s and confesses that Cristina would trade him to get her to stay. Owen immediately goes to confront Cristina and says, “You don’t get to toss me aside. I won’t let you.” As she begins to tear up, you can tell she loves him and they kiss.

While making out, Arizona discovers Callie has chickenpox. A contagious Callie is then secluded in a hospital room with Lexie taking care of her. Lexie unsuccessfully tries to distract her from the desire to scratch with work and then confesses she had sex with Alex but regrets it because she is in love with Mark. Mark returns from L.A. and tries to comfort Callie but he must also come clean—he slept with Addison. Towards the end of the episode, we see Arizona (who had lied about not having the chicken pox) crawl into bed with Callie to keep her company. While leaving the hospital, Mark and Lexie run into each other and they both reveal that they had slept with Addison/Alex. Lexie is relieved because she thinks they are even but Mark doesn’t see it that way and is really angry!

My thoughts on this week…I am sort of sick of the Izzie issue of will she stay or leave again. I love her as a character but please make up your mind—either stay or go! Also, if she does stay, I hope she works it out with Alex. To use Meredith’s line, Mark was a major McAss! Both he and Lexie screwed up by sleeping with someone else not just Lexie! I can’t help but wonder if Teddy thought by tattling to Owen, about what Cristina said, they would break up and then she could have him. More Jackson Avery in episodes please! Not only is he nice to look at but I thought he fit in (even though he was a Mercy Wester) during the lunch scene!

In two weeks (2/4): Derek begins his new role. Mark is not speaking to Lexie and Teddy refuses to put Cristina on her service. Alex is tested in pediatrics and Bailey and Meredith deal with a patient who awakens during a surgery.

For more on this episode, check out True Confessions by Tanya Lane.

Season 6, Episodes 12: I Like You So Much Better When You’re Naked (originally aired January 21, 2010)

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Thursdays 9/8c on ABC

Photographs courtesy of ABC and Michael Desmond.