Grey’s Anatomy – The superstorm takes its toll

In last year’s finale, Grey’s Anatomy left Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital in all kinds of turmoil. Sure, Meredith gave birth to a healthy boy and Jo and Alex have found their happy place, but the poo was hitting the proverbial fan. The weather was playing havoc with the hospital, Bailey was barely able to walk into the OR, Arizona cheated, Kepner declared unrequited love … and Richard Webber was lying injured in an electrified puddle in the basement. The two-hour season premiere proved that Grey’s Anatomy’s storm was far from over.

Callie and Arizona have one hell of a rocky road in front of them. Callie’s line about her history – while hilarious – was a reminder of all pain she’s faced. George cheated. George died. Sloan died. Now she faces another betrayal … but potentially ending things with Arizona would cause Sofia to lose another parent. If Callie can find a way to live with what happened – even if that means not necessarily forgiving her wife – at least she only has to deal with the betrayal and not the loss. I believe that’s where their story is going, and it isn’t going to be pleasant for either of them (Or their friends, as they played out their personal problems in front of their friends).

I don’t blame Catherine Avery for her opinions – she loves Richard – and her observations about Bailey’s guilt weren’t far from the mark. But she was all kinds of wrong, standing in the observation area screaming at Hunt and Bailey; “don’t make care decisions emotionally?” Pot meet Kettle. I rarely appreciate what the senior Avery brings to Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital, especially since the ownership storyline began. Debbie Allen is a powerhouse – she brought her A-game tonight – but I like her less as a quasi-antagonist than as a companion to Webber.

I have never been a particularly big fan of Cristina and Hunt’s relationship, much to the chagrin of the “CocoNuts” that follow me on the Twitter. But tonight’s episode proved that they are so much more interesting as a couple when they’re not actually a couple. The chemistry and the sexual tension is more apparent when they can’t be together. When they are together, all of that goes away. Considering Sandra Oh is leaving the show this season, I suspect audiences will benefit from more angsty-apartness.

I usually go out of my way not to compare Grey’s Anatomy to ER, but it was difficult not to in this episode. There were many parallels between the Brooks/Webber tonight and Knight/Carter in the standout episode “All in the Family.” I didn’t feel the same sense of urgency in the doctors’ treatment here (at least until Yang and Bailey started going at it). The cut between the pair being found in the basement and being wheeled into the ER was too fast. Grey’s focused on the emotional aftermath of Brooks’ and Webber’s accidents, but ER handled the “emergency” so much better. I felt like we missed out a little.

There was something very “Izzie” about the way Edwards went off on her fellow interns. I’m glad to see the group promoted to series regulars this season, but it’s going to be important to make each of them more “relevant.” Prior to tonight, Edwards hasn’t been much more than a corner in a love triangle with Kepner and Avery and Murphy was given next to nothing to do the entire season. Jo was about the only who felt like more than just window dressing. If there’s going to be more of them, there needs to be more from them … and maybe it shouldn’t be so negative.

It seems as if they’re going out of their way to make Shane Ross as unlikable as possible. Don’t get me wrong, I like Gaius Charles (Clear Eyes, Full Hearts!), but his character here continues to come across as petty and self-serving. His actions tonight pushed things into a whole new level of douchyness. He almost came clean with Derek about sending Brooks into the basement, but didn’t push hard enough. Even his final act, going to the pile to help with the recovery, was an act of selfishness. Spontaneous volunteers at a disaster scene like that cause more problems than they solve, but it was clearly about his guilt than anything else.

Notes & Quotes

• “Oh wait. Did you have sex with Leah in here? And Heather? Oh God, I don’t think I can do this … [looks at a shirtless Alex] Yeah I can.” – Jo
• “I think you should stick to ‘I’m sorry I’m such a slut.’” – Alex
  “Yeah … Good call.” – Arizona
• “Everyone I love either cheats on me or dies.” – Callie
  “Callie…” – Derek
  “Or cheats on me and dies. George did both.” – Callie
  “Arizona’s not going to die.” – Derek
  “Yeah, that doesn’t make me feel any better.” – Callie
• The minute Meredith told the interns the story about George and the Jello, you had to know they’d use that story on their own.
• Tonight marks the beginning of the tenth season, so the mentions Sloan, Izzie and George were nice reminders of the show’s history.
• “We’re a few houses on a side of a mountain … we take care of each other.” – Sharpie woman
• Was it just me, or was the pacing all weird tonight? The cuts and jumps just felt like they didn’t flow (Derek leaving the hospital, Meredith offers the guest room to Callie, but Callie makes it there before Derek does and is half in the bag before he gets there).