Episode Report Card Lauren S: C+ | 1 USERS: A+ YOU GRADE IT Boxing Day
By Lauren S | Season 5 | Episode 16 | Aired on 02.19.2009
Bailey is reading George's letter and he takes her silence to mean that it's bad, and apologizes. But she just runs up to the Chief and throws the letter in his face, telling him that this is what you call a letter of recommendation. He's appalled to realize that she's implying he take pointers from O'Malley. George just can't get away from being a punching bag no matter what he does, can he? Here was the guy who totally helped the Chief get through a bunch of crap, acting as his intern, and now he's being treated like dirt. Well, not by Bailey, who think he'd be hard pressed to find someone better from whom to take pointers. Richard finally loses it and yells that he's got no time to write a letter just to pump up her ego. He reminds us of all of the bad things that happened this hour to his already #12 hospital and asks if she wants him spending his time writing a letter so she can leave him. She's a little bit taken aback, given that she's applying for a fellowship right there in the hospital, so like a little kid he yells that wasn't what they discussed. She was supposed to be a general surgeon, and then the next Chief. Realization finally in her eyes, she corrects that was what he wanted, and that since she's not his daughter, "You don't get to pin all of your hopes and dreams on me, sir." Bailey, as usual, is awesome, but Richard is acting like a whiny baby, and this storyline started rumbling towards us like a Mack truck 5 seconds into her first scene this morning so it's all just a little bit tiring to watch.
Derek is standing on the walkway, hanging his head, when Mark decides on that moment to walk up and announce that he's seeing Lexie. I'm not quite sure how, in a hospital where gossip spreads like wildfire, he didn't realize this wasn't the time. Mark says that it's more than just sex, and they're happy, so... Derek punches him in the face. My, he looks really kind of inept when he does that. I get the idea Patrick Dempsey hasn't actually done much fighting. Mark concedes that he deserved it but then changes his mind, angrily saying Derek can't tell him who he can sleep with. So Derek punches him again, but this time Mark punches back and knocks little Derek right to the ground. Derek jumps up and grabs him, and they start rolling around, trying to kill each other. I'm sure they tried to make this look fair, but Mark is a much more convincing fighter than Derek. For a moment I thought one of them was going to go over the railing and I'm very relieved to report that didn't happen, since I don't think I could have handled a Very Special Episode about one of their broken necks.