Grey’s Anatomy Review: These Arms of Mine

Just when I thought Grey’s Anatomy could not get better, the writers found a way to make the show more fresh and creative.  There’s not much variation you can get with a scripted TV series (aside from new storylines), but the writers jazzed things up a bit by changing the format.  For this one episode, the show appears as a faux documentary (I don’t want to say mockumentary, because it wasn’t meant to be funny) called “Seattle Medical.”  The documentary is supposed to show how the doctors have recovered after the mass shooting, which became national news when it happened six months ago.  It presents the hospital as a cutting edge facility where groundbreaking procedures are performed, even in the wake of crippling tragedy. 

The format was interesting because it personalized the doctors even more.  I know you’re thinking that the show is already about as personal as it gets, but the fake “reality TV” nature of this episode added a large dose of realism.  For example, it wouldn’t make sense to have a character utter an expletive, because those words aren’t allowed on network TV and it would be impossible.  By making the show into a documentary, it seemed uncensored and the characters could curse in frustration and the expletives were bleeped out. 

We also learned a bit more about some of the characters with this more personal format.  For example, Dr. Avery is still grieving.  This pretty boy acts like he’s got everything under control, but his previous clumsiness in the OR (when Cristina had her meltdown) was the tip of a larger iceberg.  His best friends were killed during the shooting, and although he appears to be doing fine, he is suffering.  We can only assume that he and Percy and Reed were as close as Meredith and Cristina and Alex.  When the hospital’s new security measures malfunction and he can’t adequately help a patient in crisis, he loses it.  I like how the writers make it clear that the shooting has had a lingering negative impact, but they don’t let it overwhelm the characters to the point that it becomes boring or trite.  Much like real life, the pain isn’t as fresh, but it’s still there. 

Meanwhile, Arizona is the recipient of a prestigious grant that would allow her to travel to Africa and provide pediatric care to those who otherwise wouldn’t have it.  This threatens to ruin her and Callie’s burgeoning relationship, but ultimately Callie makes the huge decision to move with her.  Perhaps the saddest storyline of last week’s episode involved Mary, the patient who was scheduled for colostomy reversal surgery on the day of the shooting.  If you’ll recall, she was with Dr. Bailey and Dr. Percy when Percy was shot.  She and Bailey comforted Percy as the life flowed from his body.  Obviously she never had the surgery, but now she has returned to finally get it done.  Normally Bailey is all business, but of course she and Mary share a special bond.  Imagine Bailey’s heartbreak when Mary does not recover from her surgery, which was routine and very minor.  Bailey is stoic in front of the documentarians, but you can tell that she is inwardly overcome with emotion, and she refuses to be interviewed about the situation later.  Mary’s husband makes the agonizing decision to discontinue life support, and their dreams of starting a family end.  Bailey must be devastated.  Mary was a sweet patient, the procedure was basic, and she was young.  It’s just a sad footnote to an already painful memory.

Cristina continues to take baby steps towards returning to surgery, but she is becoming increasingly ineffective.  Conversely, now that he has advanced to resident status, Alex is really finding his groove.  He has always been smart and confident, but specializing in pediatrics has revealed a compassionate side.  He tells the documentarians that he entered pediatrics for the prestige and high level of difficulty, not because he cares about kids.  That’s what he says, but when a young girl needs a new trachea in order to ever speak again, Alex’s mind springs into action.  He recommends that they grow the trachea using the patient’s own cells.  This pleases the Chief greatly, because he’s all about establishing Seattle Grace as a premiere research and teaching facility.  Alex’s suggestion is a success, and it demonstrates creativity and resourcefulness.  He remarks that after being shot and surviving, he thinks that there is always something else that can be done for a patient – because he himself isn’t supposed to be here.  Deep.

I applaud the writers for doing something cool and different.  It didn’t feel like a gimmick, it keeps the show fresh, and it actually fleshed out previously unseen character traits of some characters.  Great episode.

Season 7, Episode 6: These Arms of Mine (originally aired October 28, 2010)

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Thursdays 9/8c on ABC

All photos courtesy of ABC and Adam Taylor

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