Grey’s Anatomy: Shell-Shocked Owen

The latest episode of Grey’s Anatomy didn’t advance any of the current plotlines in a major way, but it was a very powerful, insightful episode that revealed a great deal about one of the principal characters.  Owen Hunt has always been one of the more mysterious characters on the show.  He sort of appeared out of nowhere and almost instantly became involved with Cristina.  We know he witnessed tragic events in Iraq, but they have only been referenced in passing.  Obviously those issues have not been dealt with adequately; you may recall him experiencing violent night terrors and that he didn’t even tell his own mother that he was home from war.  We finally get to see some of what has shaped Owen in the latest episode.

Teddy has a terminal Cancer patient who wishes to commit medically-assisted suicide.  It’s one thing to have a philosophical or professional difference of opinion, but Owen adamantly opposes the notion.  The patient is resolute in her desire to end her own life, and Owen finally accepts her wishes after ordering more needless and painful testing procedures.  He would rather give the woman’s husband false hope about her condition than accept her right to die.  He becomes emotionally unhinged at the hospital, and shuts down whenever anyone asks him what’s wrong.  This includes Teddy, Cristina, and Derek – who finally sends him home.  Through flashbacks it is revealed that during his last tour of duty, Owen’s vehicle was struck by an I.E.D., killing everyone aboard except him and his Captain, a colleague and close friend.  The Captain is mortally wounded; it appears that his jugular vein has been cut and the only thing stopping the life from flowing out of him is Owen’s hand covering the wound.  He is in excruciating pain and the pair have been waiting for rescue for hours.  Owen refuses to let the man die, despite his protests.  The Captain tells him that help isn’t coming and orders him to mercifully remove his hand.  Eventually Owen obliges, and I know that as soon as he does so that help will arrive. I’ve seen The Mist, and something similar happened.  Sure enough, as the Captain gurgles his last breath, a floodlight appears and a chopper can be heard in the distance.  It’s Teddy, with a worried, relieved smile on her face.  I don’t think Owen ever revealed the details of his ordeal, and he’s carried this enormous burden for a long time.  No wonder he freaked out about Teddy’s patient – it thrust him back into one of the most devastating moments of his life.  Not only do the flashbacks reveal Owen’s pain, they also show the close and unique bond that he shared with Teddy.  I don’t know how Cristina can top that.  Owen and Teddy have literally been through hell together.  It was fascinating to see them together in a life they shared far away from Seattle Grace.

Owen was the focus of last week’s episode, but the other docs had their own issues as well.  Callie and Arizona may not be in it for the long haul if they can’t see eye to eye on whether or not children are in their future.  Callie appreciates the fragility of life more after treating a couple of thrill-seeking patients who have broken some bones jumping from a helicopter.  Their other friend (who wasn’t injured) confesses that he’s not an adrenaline junkie; he only participated to appease his buddies.  Callie spills the beans and the guys realize that none of them are into the whole “X-Games” thing.  Life is too precious to risk it unneccesarily.

Respect and appreciation for life were the themes of the show; but after Owen finally accepts the patient’s wish to die, he sagely narrates: “Living is better than dying. Until it’s not.”  The episode closes with Teddy reaching out to Mark, so it looks as if her and Owen’s connection has been permanently severed.  Can the same be said for Arizona and Callie?  I can’t wait to find out.

For more on this episode, check out Facing Challenges by Allison Toner.

Season 6, Episodes 18: Suicide is Painless (originally aired March 25, 2010)

For more Grey’s Anatomy, click here.

Thursdays 9/8c on ABC

Photographs courtesy of ABC and Ron Tom.