Episode Report Card Lauren S: B- | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT The Big Set-Up
By Lauren S | Season 3 | Episode 11 | Aired on 01.10.2007
A young girl comes out of the bathroom hunched over -- at first I thought she was clutching her stomach, but it turns out that's just her posture. She's bent at a 90-degree angle at the waist, and the interns look on somewhat horrified. Once she's sitting down and we see her face, it's revealed to be Ann from Arrested Development, but with a significantly different attitude. Ann, a.k.a. Heather, warns them not to expect her to be all sunshine and light and just tells them to do their routine. With raised eyebrow, Bailey unties Heather's gown to reveal a horribly misshapen, twisty spine. Izzie explains that she has a genetic condition that affects the vertebrae, as well as a few other various internal systems, and Heather snarks at her efforts and about living with the condition. Izzie's taken aback, but Bailey has her continue. She's there to have kidney stones removed, and also to have some ribs removed to take pressure off her lungs. Callie's there because of the whole ribectomy thing and asks if they've ever tried more radical surgery. Heather's heard that one before and informs them that when a rod was put in her spine, the rod just ended up bending. That sounds like an awesome power if only she could harness it, but this isn't Heroes, it's Grey's Anatomy so instead it's just a completely debilitating. Izzie tells her this surgery will improve Heather's quality of life, and Heather asks if it's going to get her laid. Her mom is understandably shocked, but Heather forges ahead that the doctors shouldn't make promises they can't keep.
Gathered around a tiny baby incubator, Mere is giving the rundown on her new niece when her father walks in. He's flustered and explains that he's there since baby's mom and grandmother weren't pertinent to this story... I mean, they have the flu. He asks for an update and then sees Meredith, and blustering, he excuses himself from the room. Mere is so flustered that Cristina jumps in and takes over for her.
Bailey gives each intern their orders: Mere is running tests on O'Malley Sr., Cristina's in the pit, Alex is with Sloane, and Izzie is to prep Heather for surgery. George is taking the rest of the week off, and so she cuts him loose for the rest of the day. He thanks her and then takes a moment to ask her not to sugarcoat any information they have about his father. He wants it all straight, and she agrees to that. Izzie asks if she can scrub in on the surgery as well, but Bailey says absolutely not. She argues that she's ready, but Bailey points out that Psych hasn't cleared her yet. Izzie argues that she's done everything they want... everything, that is, except deposit The Check. Bailey is aghast, as she has not had the pleasure of spilling each and every one of her meals on the pricey slip of paper and therefore assumed it was put in the bank rather than used as a placemat. Izzie argues that it's an unreasonable request, and Bailey points out that "unreasonable" is the amount of interest she's losing each day, and the fact that Izzie is unreasonable is probably Psych's point. She's a wise one, that Bailey.