Episode Report Card Lauren S: B+ | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT Blame It On the Rain
By Lauren S | Season 5 | Episode 3 | Aired on 10.09.2008
Richard adds, "Personal relationships, personal loyalties and personal favorites will no longer be a factor in our training program." Oh, so they also needed more storylines between characters that wouldn't normally be thrown together, so here's their chance. Attendings are ordered to "spread [their] wealth of knowledge" equally among all the residents," (Derek is highlighted) and everyone is also going to have to step up their patient communication and bedside manner. "For some of us, this means learning the lost art of humanity and compassion," (cut to a confused Alex, frowning at this idea of "humanity"). Richard concludes, "For others this means learning how to treat patients without becoming emotionally involved with them." Guess whose face the camera focuses on this time? Whatever is Izzie going to do with herself if she can't get both uppity and mopey about what is going on with her patients at any given time?
Izzie introduces the patient she's currently too involved with: Shelly, a 30-year-old with stage four colon cancer. They're going to do a liver resection that might cure her, but Shelly, because she's plucky and awesome and therefore probably doomed to some horrific fate, corrects that it will be curative. Her sister Jenn then starts to ask about what will happen if they find more cancer than they expect, but Shelly cuts her off for both thinking negatively and asking questions that she already asked Izzie. She mentions Izzie's awesomeness a number of times and the Chief can't reassign Meredith to this case quickly enough. Shelly and Izzie both look pained. Back in the lecture hall, the Chief reminds them that this is surgery, not psych, and warns everyone not to confuse the two.
Residents are then reminded that they are in charge of their interns' educations, and that if they fail, the residents fail. He might as well have added, "... CRISTINA." His next comment is clearly really for Hahn as he repeats the same thing to attendings regarding their residents. He orders them to "teach with enthusiasm" -- the camera lingers on Bailey, as if we didn't know she's the only teacher worth her salt -- and also orders them to "learn with enthusiasm." Lexie looks so earnest about that comment that it actually makes me uncomfortable. She's Ms. Dreamy in a roomful of people who just want to get out of there and get back to work. Richard concludes, "We're surgeons. We cut out malignancies. Let's start at home, people." The shot lingers on Meredith but by the look on her face, I can't tell if she's absorbing the idea or if she's feeling funny from something she ate earlier. Regardless, it's not the best acting this show has ever seen.