Episode Report Card Lauren S: B- | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Daddy Dearest
By Lauren S | Season 6 | Episode 4 | Aired on 10.08.2009
When Cristina compliments Izzie on her short, edgy hair, Izzie knows she's freaking out and asks how long it's been since she did a surgery, which is over a week. Hunt comes over to get Izzie for a particular case, which Cristina of course wants. Hunt just chuckles and tells Izzie about the guy, who has an abdominal sarcoma. Izzie leaves to go get him ready for surgery while Cristina complains to her boyfriend that she needs a surgery. Hunt defends his choice, pointing out that everyone seems too scared to work with Izzie, as if she'll break or something, and plus he needs someone with a light touch, who is good with patients. Cristina shoots back, "You want nice? I can be nice to a dying husk." He points out that isn't exactly the light touch he meant and heads off.
Meredith finds Derek and matter-of-factly informs him that her dad is dead. She then admits that she thought he was drinking but that the puking blood and disorientation probably mean end stage liver disease. She guesses he's either dead or needs a transplant, and admits she hopes it's the former because otherwise he'd be in the hospital for months. Alex walks up and says her name, and her face falls because she knows he's about to tell her that Thatcher needs a transplant. When Alex confirms it, Mere whimpers.
Indeed, Bailey tells Thatcher that he has end-stage cirrhosis, and while they can treat the symptoms, the only thing that will save his life is a transplant. When Lexie asks how it happened so fast, Alex snarks, "He bathed it in gin." Lexie is horrified but Thatcher defends him, saying he's right, except that it was scotch. The rub is that one can only get on the transplant list if they have been sober for a year, and Thatcher is only at 90 days. All of the doctors, Richard included, look on hopelessly until Lexie jumps in and says she'll do it. Thatcher is against it but Lexie won't let him argue, explaining that they only take a piece and it will regenerate. When Thatcher says he can't ask her to do it, she says that he's not asking, she's doing it, and if he wants a kidney that's his too. Mere just rolls her eyes.
Arizona and Callie are in the nursery with all the wee babies and Callie is chattering away, clearly for the umpteenth time, telling Arizona to play the Chief and she'll play Callie asking for her job back. Callie's got curly hair again today -- welcome back, curls! I missed you. I hate that somehow it was decreed that what is attractive is a smooth blowout, as I'm someone who loves the look of curly hair (though I don't have it myself -- jealous!) Arizona asks if she's really going to do it today, and Callie doesn't answer but reminds Arizona how humiliating it is to go crawling back to someone she told to screw himself in front of much of the hospital, and that she's sure he won't hire her back after already firing her once. Callie then brightly tries to call being a surgeon overrated, and offers to open a daycare until one of the babies pukes, to her disgust. Arizona tells her that she doesn't want her girlfriend moving to Cleveland to be a surgeon. (Although don't we already know that she could go to Portland?) Callie declares she's going to do it but then gets paged, and runs out promising to come back later. Arizona tells the baby that her girlfriend is moving to Cleveland.