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
Addison, looking spectacular in glasses and high heels -- with her hair up, it's very sexy librarian, and very hot -- pops into Burke's room to see how he's doing. Eventually, she realizes that the gossip about he and Cristina not speaking to each other is in fact truth and asks him why. He asks her if she's ever played Uncle and goes on to explain the pain-inflicting pastime of many a young boy's youth where one's arm is twisted behind his back until he yells uncle. She's extremely unimpressed, asking what the person wins once his prisoner yells uncle. He matter-of-factly tells her, "Then they have all the power." So, she surmises, neither of them is playing uncle. She voices the viewers' opinion, declaring, "That's pathetic." He's unconcerned with his own stupidity and half-smiles, and she goes on to say that if he says something wrong, he should apologize. He very quickly asserts that he didn't do anything wrong, prompting her to ask, "Did she?" Burke answers, "She doesnât seem to think so." That's the kind of boyfriend I want: one with whom I'm repeatedly engaged in power struggles and who considers himself to be a vastly better person than I am even when faced with a colossal mistake that he got himself into. Addison just repeats, "That's pathetic," and leaves.
Callie finds George alone and pacing in the waiting room; his family is eating, which seems to be their preferred way of dealing with stress. He's worried about how long the surgery is taking -- again looking at the bad side of things, like that there could be complications -- while she points out that it could mean they're just being thorough and that he would have been told if something were wrong. She tries to tell him it's okay to be scared, but he denies it unconvincingly, so she puts her staring to work. Unfortunately, this time it comes out a bit more psychotic/crazy-eyes but it makes him giggle a bit, pointing out that now he's just scared of her. He can't believe it when he hears that it worked on Shepherd. At that moment, an exhausted-looking Meredith and Bailey appear at the door and he runs over for an update that we don't hear.
The docs and the O'Malley clan all walk to the room, and George tells the family to prepare themselves, telling them to expect a breathing tube and a large scar. Clearly, the pep talk is as much for himself as everyone else, and when they walk inside, he can only get just inside the door. His father is lying on the bed while they minister to his incision, which runs down his entire torso. His mom welcomes her husband back, and his brothers talk about the cool scar, but Meredith glances at George, who hasn't said a word. He steps outside the room and leans up against the door, where she comes out and quietly tells him, "You need to breathe." Desperately, he grabs on to her arm as if he's hanging from a building and clinging to her for life and just repeats, "He's my dad. He's my dad." He's shaking, and she just lays her head on his shoulder to help him. I'm really glad these two have found their way back to being friends.