Episode Report Card Lauren S: D+ | 1 USERS: F YOU GRADE IT My Favorite Mistake
By Lauren S | Season 3 | Episode 19 | Aired on 03.21.2007
Mark and the interns are in with Crush, and he's showing her some computer-generated faces. One is what she probably looked like before the accident and how they can reconstruct her bones, and then there are a couple of different options as well, in case she was looking for a little spruce-up. She's silent, and Mark seems to be upset that she doesn't like the face choices, but I think it's more that she's in the position of having to choose a new face that's the problematic thing. She asks how it works, and Alex hesitates to tell her, but she assures him she can take it, and so he explains that they'll make an incision along her hairline and literally pull her face back to work on the bones. He earns an annoyed glance from Addison for not cushioning it just a little bit, and a tear runs down Crush's cheek. Mark assures her that once she heals, no one will be able to tell she had it done and by way of explanation tells her, "I'm that good." Addison agrees, "He is. It's annoying." She is there because she'll monitor the baby throughout the surgery, which leaves Crush with only one task -- to choose a face for herself in the generous window of a couple of hours.
Bailey leads the pack of interns down the hall like a bunch of hung-over and depressed ducklings, and they run into the Chief. She announces that Crush is getting a new face, which pleases him. He then turns serious and quiet and asks Meredith how she's doing. She cuts him off at Kid Gloves Pass and assures him she's fine and working is the best thing. As he remarks, "Like mother, like daughter, huh?" Mark observes thoughtfully and speaks up, asking Meredith what she knows about "reconstructing the orbital floor." When she answers correctly about using bone from the patient's skull, he announces that she'll be assisting with the surgery.
Callie grabs the remaining interns, saying she needs to talk to them. Izzie freaks out and then babbles on with relief when Callie clarifies that she needs to talk to all of them, and not just the impeccably follicled one, with a classic Callie "You're a freakjob" look on her face. Her patient has a super rare disease, FOP (I'll stick to the initials -- there are far too many syllables to fit into one mere recap) which is a condition that turns tissue into bone. She tells them to try to learn and not stare, giving a second annoyed/perplexed glance to Izzie before leading them in.
Two orderlies lift a woman onto the bed who is frozen as if sitting in a chair. Props to the actress who was able to hold perfectly still in all of her scenes, moving only her lips and eyes. Her daughter (played by Elisabeth Moss, best known as Zoey on The West Wing) is in the room and snottily announces that the interns need to stay back, and that her mother still has movement in her face and fingertips. She exposits for the rest of us that any extra pressure or bump can cause more bone growth. Her mother argues that it's just a stomach bug, but the daughter won't hear it, explaining she was vomiting blood and taking painkillers like she was Anna Nicole Smith. (Too soon for that joke? Oh well.) She snots on about her having new growths as a result of clumsy interns, and Callie and the mom exchange a glance before Callie begins to gently examine her. She orders a CT because the vomiting blood is the pressing issue for now. She then notices the dollhouse occupying a table in the room and asks if they made it. The daughter, Nina, chirpily gives her mother the credit though she denies it, and forges on about how much it helps. "Plus it makes her happy! And relaxed!" This girl is about as relaxed as napalm. Callie manages to fake a smile for her.