Grey's Anatomy, part 2

Grey's Anatomy, Season 4

As promised from my first lens, I have a follow up on my insights of Grey's Anatomy for season 4. First of all, I am very proud of (and happy for) Katherine Heigl for winning an Emmy a few months back...good for her, she totally deserved it. Season 4, however, has started off a little slow for me. Understandably the writers are now splitting their attention between this flagship project and the spin-off, Private Practice...however, my opinion is that it does not pay to have two mediocre shows, when you can have one explosive super-drama that America cannot stop watching. Are you listening writers! (whenever you get back from striking!)

Seasons two and three were so jam-packed with drama and excitement, that it was mesmerizing. When the new shows started this year, they had some back-tracking to do since they lost two main characters, Isaiah Washington and Kate Walsh. Also there was a dilemma, all the interns were now graduated to residents and they had to bring in new interns. This changes the dynamics of all the previous interns' characters and relationships...they are no longer novices, they are now doctors and teachers. The new interns they brought in are not strong characters, I am not impressed with Meredith's sister...I am truly hoping they beef-up that relationship. Meredith hates her...ok we get it. Lacey does not impress me as the kind of person who would go into medicine, its as if her character has no backbone. Yes, she is a cute girl, but she does not have the depth of George, Izzy, Karev or Meredith. C'mon Lacey, butch up a little!

The George, Callie and Izzy triangle was a major cliffhanger over the summer. When the season starts George is spiraling downward quickly...he failed the intern exam and had to start his internship over, he fell in love with Izzy after he already married Callie, plus he is taking a beating from Karev who just won't let the poor guy breathe. Watching George suffer is like watching a puppy being pecked by relentless crows. It was brutally painful to watch the first two shows...until he finally tells Izzy he loves her. His face was priceless when he spoke the words...what an incredible actor! Unfortunately, I did not like how they handled his confession to Callie. He told her he SLEPT with Izzy, he did not tell her he LOVED Izzy...which would have totally changed the dynamic of his marriage break-up. Saying he SLEPT with Izzy made it seem cheap, as if George truly was a cheater, instead of telling the truth that he had feelings for her. I was disappointed in that scripting choice.

The Mer/Der relationship is now lost in the mire. He wants her any way he can have her, and she gives him little bits and pieces...I find myself screaming at her, "what happened when you almost died! Didn't you learn anything?" she seems to be worse now then she ever was. It was something about Christina's non-wedding that destroyed Meredith, and I am still trying to figure that one out. I think it puzzles Christina too, and I loved the scenes where Yang half-heartedly psycho-analyzes Meredith... and then Mer does discuss the enlightenment of her near death experience and wonders why it didn't seem to stick. I am really glad they broached that subject, otherwise that whole drowning thing would have served no purpose. OH! I was also glad that Derek opened up to Meredith and told her he loved her and understood why she was reluctant to get fully involved. This puts him back on the "Prince-of-a-guy" shelf for me.

I don't get why they are dangling the "Eva" character, is she in or is she out? They need to mainstream this storyline a little bit more...I personally would love to see more of Karev. He is an incredible actor and I love to hate him.

Another loose string is McSteamy. He sort of has no place now...since Addison is gone, and all of the nurses are onto him...he really serves no purpose in the show. I am waiting. Since Callie is newly single and they have done the nasty before...I truly think they should hook up again.

Here are some really important questions they should be answering very soon...

Are George and Izzy going to decide they were better off as friends?

Is Meredith going to open up and accept her sister? Perhaps they should get drunk and spill their guts to one another.

Is Eva going to be a regular character, or are they just messing with us?

What will happen to Callie? McSteamy? Haun? Yang? They HAVE to sleep with somebody!!!

Will Karev let down his guard and fall for Lacey, THEN have to choose between her and Eva?

Ahhh, the possibilities...more to come.

**UPDATED January 12, 2008**

Well, I waited patiently for the plots and new characters to unfold, and I was not disappointed.

The long awaited relationship between George and Izzy was exactly as I thought...they are better off beings friends. Yes, of course they love one another, but they are learning there is something more important than sexual attraction in a relationship. They are growing, and perhaps they will learn to grow together.

Mer/Der is as always. Derek holds true love for Meredith in his heart, he even defends her to Sloan...but she remains too damaged to reciprocate the relationship. She wants him to not want anyone else, and yet finds fault with him on every turn, thus he will never ever please her. What will become of Meredith? Can she heal if she opens her eyes to the possibility of a relationship with her sister? Do we (as an audience) WANT Meredith to heal? Is there some sick part of us that loves to see her suffer?

Speaking of Sloan, Dr. McSteamy...it seems the writers are attempting to bring depth to this character. He now finds it to be a challenge to chase a woman who despises him (and obviously despises almost everyone!) He has also tried to rekindle the friendship he once had with Derek Shepherd. Slowly, Derek is allowing him back into his life...I loved the symbolism of Derek taking Sloan to the top of the mountain to show him the breathtaking view of his new dream home. Sloan obviously could not appreciate "the big picture" all he noticed was the mud on his new shoes. So, it remains, Sloan does not get "the big picture".

Karev and Eva...ahhh yes! How about that? She came back...how many of you won the bet? Of course Reader's Digest gave it away...but that's beside the point. So, what is UP with her? Is Karev finally getting the "relationship" he deserves? A woman that comes and goes as she pleases and makes HIM seem like HE'S the one who can't commit? What is going on here? I still can't figure it out, but it sure seems like Eva has some serious mental issues. It's really interesting how the show keeps chiseling away at Karev, and yet we still know so little about him. How about that last episode when the "healing" ladies told him about his throat chakra and why he won't let anyone in...I was so EXCITED when this happened! He was treated terribly as a child, so he has turned into a terrible hateful person as an adult. That's more information than we have gotten about Karev in 4 seasons!

It was unfortunate that Lexie stuck her neck out and slept with Karev, but she is trying so hard to be accepted in a world that does not want to take her in. She battles at home with her drunk father (which Karev seemed to identify with) and she battles at work to be strong and at very least have a working relationship with her sister. Her naiveté is falling away, and her character is developing as she continues to take risks and stand up for herself.

Christina is not so much broken up about being stood up at the alter as she is about losing her footing in cardiotherasic surgery. Now that Hawn is in charge of heart surgeries, Christina is on the outs. She never gives up, she stays in Hawn's face and even tries to squash Izzy in the process. I keep wondering...why doesn't Christina just TELL Hawn that Izzy was the one who cut the L-Vad wire that caused Denny to get the donor heart in Season 2? Hawn would hate her forever if she knew the truth! I still feel that this will come up in a future episode. In the meantime, Yang (and Hawn) are still taking lessons in being a human being. Sometimes she gets it and sometimes she doesn't, but most of the time by the end of the episode...she DOES get it. We have yet to learn why Christina is so bent on cardio and why she tends to be a robot.

I was finally inspired to write my update on Grey's Episode 4 when last week's show aired. It was the episode on faith. This touched me deeply because faith is my whole reason for living right now. Faith keeps me alive and faith helps me teach my children about the future. The writers were brave to write an episode based on faith. Karev and Christina and Meredith need faith, Izzy has faith but doesn't know how to use it, George is also a candidate for faith but doesn't believe in himself enough to be effective.

I leave you with this final thought that helped save Bailey's son.
Bailey: "Faith isn't medicine"
Chief: "yes, but it can't hurt."

My personal note to the writers. Get it together. You make lots of money, show off your talent and enjoy your paycheck.