In a hurry? Read the recaplet for a nutshell description! Finished? Click here to close.
We pick things up the morning, and when Izzie wakes up from her surgery, she knows who she and everyone else is, and Derek got the entire tumor. Yay! Except that then she asks again if they got the tumor, they did, yay! But did they get the tumor... you get the very repetitive picture. Alex becomes a drill sergeant of sorts -- he puts notes up around the room with answers to all of the questions she keeps asking and keeps drilling her and drilling her on the answers. Cristina tries to get him to take it easy but he refuses, and finally Izzie tells him to just say what he really wants to since she won't remember it anyway. So he does, and he winds up yelling about how he got suckered into getting married and now he's going to have to be her babysitter and he wants to smother her with a pillow, that kind of charming talk. Good old Alex.
Bailey is offered the pediatric fellowship but doesn't immediately accept and when Arizona tells her how prestigious it is, Bailey finally admits that Tucker gave her an ultimatum -- become an Attending in general surgery or he's going to divorce her. She goes to the Chief to ask if the offer is still open and while I don't think he ever really answers her, she admits the whole ultimatum to him. It turns out she's going to leave him anyway because she wisely thinks a marriage based on an ultimatum is a bad idea but if she's going to be a single parents she thinks she needs to take the job with the more regular hours. So we'll see what exactly happens with that season.
Meredith and Derek try to make it to the courthouse to get married, but between Izzie and a John Doe patient who was hit by a bus it's too busy. Meredith kind of freaks out about it because she knows it will always be too busy but she wants to be married, so she and Derek have a private little ceremony in the locker room where they make up their own vows and write them on a post-it that they both sign. I have to admit, it's pretty sweet. Cristina, meanwhile, admits to Hunt that she loves him but she is still too freaked out to give it another go -- that is, until she talks to Meredith and realizes that therapy really did help and that Meredith really is okay now. Hunt had begged Cristina to just meet him halfway and they would muddle through together, and so she finally agrees and they have a big awesome kiss in the lobby. Oh, and as long as we're talking couples, Lexie and Mark are having a bit of weirdness after the moving in together talk but it seems like they're going to wind up being just fine.
And then we have George. The first person he tells about the Army is Bailey, and she reacts as he expected -- demanding to know what the hell he's thinking. She confronts Hunt about it while he, Mark, Derek, Meredith, Callie and Lexie are all working on a John Doe who pushed a woman out of the way of a bus to save her life. He's basically mincemeat, but they manage to keep him alive while all freaking out about the George news, since no one but Hunt seems to think it's a good idea or that he'll be okay. Callie and Bailey decide to stage an intervention at the end of the day when George is out of surgery, which causes a huge fight between Arizona and Callie since Arizona thinks what he's done is awesome. They finally have a showdown in which Arizona admits that her brother was killed in Iraq and so yeah, she thinks that George going over there to take care of everyone is awesome, and Callie seems to maybe realize she's been overreacting a tad. The girl who John pushed out of the way has stayed to hold his hand, since she feels guilty for brushing him off when he said hi to her right before The Incident. Mere also does some hand-holding and he tries to write on her palm but doesn't have the strength. At the end of the day Bailey and Callie are told by Richard that George never scrubbed in -- he sent George home to spend his last day as a civilian with his mother. And that happens just as John finally manages to write something on Meredith's hand that she can interpret: 007. John Doe is George. They rush him into his surgery but things seem to not be going so well.
Back upstairs, Izzie is still stewing over what Alex said to her, and she tells Cristina all about it in a huff. Cristina realizes that she's not using any of her notes, and that her memory really is coming back. Cristina finds Alex and he and Izzie rejoice; he tells her he didn't mean any of what he said, but she knew that already. As he holds her in a big bear hug, she goes limp. Because of the DNR, they let her go but Alex does compressions and begs Cristina, Bailey and Richard to help him and Richard finally disregards the DNR and they launch into full life-saving mode. As they shock her chest and we see her flatline, and George's vitals go bad, we fade in to a scene of Izzie, all dolled up for prom, getting in the elevator. When the doors re-open, there is George, hair shorn and in an Army dress uniform, waiting for her. She looks conflicted, and we fade out on the season not knowing if she and George are in fact going to go, hand-in-hand, to The Other Side.
Check out part one of the finale here, then discuss both episodes in our forums. Then see vloggers Val and Beth debate the legality of the Izzie/Denny relationship in TV is the Answer!
Want more? The full recap starts right below!Hot on the heels of Hour 1, Hour 2 is ushered in a few minutes before 10pm, but gets its own spanking-new voiceover. "Doctors spend a lot of time focused on the future. Planning it. Working toward it." Alex, George, Meredith and Cristina are all sleeping in chairs in Izzie's hospital room. "But at some point you start to realize your life is happening now. Not after med school, not after residency, right now. Blink and you'll miss it. Bailey comes in and notes that they all look like crap, and all but Izzie get up and get ready to go. Bailey gets a page from the Chief as George runs out to get ready for a surgery with him; he asks Mere to give him a status update later. Meredith and Cristina turn to leave but Alex growls that Derek said Izzie would wake up in the morning and demands angrily to know what Derek told Mere. I don't think I could have imagined Alex more on edge than we've ever seen him, but here it is. Mere tells him that Derek said it might be a while and leaves, and Cristina puts a hand on Alex's back and tries to assure him that Izzie will wake up. Lo and behold, Izzie has a bandage on her head where Derek operated, and that combined with her not having hair makes her actually look like a realistic post-brain-surgery patient, possibly the most realistic one this show has ever given us.
Out in the hall, Cristina puts on her lab coat and sees George and Hunt through the door. They shake hands and then do a textbook, back-clapping man-hug as she watches, curious.
Bailey drags herself into the Chief's office, looking just as hellish as her residents. She reports that Izzie isn't awake and adds that she's having a bad day independent of all that as well, so don't take her face personally. Arizona then bounces in and asks if the Chief told her -- he didn't, Arizona should, and she shouldn't take Bailey's face personally. Arizona then happily welcomes Bailey to the fellowship program in peds, and announces that they are getting her a pair of wheelie sneakers. Now THAT I'd like to see. And yet I'm certain I never will. Bailey's stone expression doesn't change, so Richard gets up to congratulate her and acknowledges that while he didn't support her before, he's totally behind her now. When she just glares, he gets annoyed and asks/orders her to meet him halfway since he is trying to be a big person. Bailey just glares at him and walks out without a word, much to his and Arizona's confusion.
Alex sits beside Izzie and quietly pleads with her to wake up until she manages to croak that she has a headache. Alex is thrilled that she's awake and talking, and then orders her to talk again to make sure. She tries to get him to tone it down on account of said headache, so he yells for someone to page Derek. She croaks, "Ow" as he apologizes over the title card.
Post dude-hug, Hunt finds Cristina and she asks him what it was all about. Hunt positively beams as he tells her that he slept for the first time the night before. Cristina is a little confused about why that would cause her More Than A Friend But Still Not In A Relationship On Account Of The PTSD Choking Problem to hug George, but Hunt quickly tells her that George has his own news, and he'll let George tell that. He then continues to tell her that she's the reason he was able to finally sleep without nightmares, since she came with him to see his mom. Her mouth starts to twitch with a little smile as he takes the step and says that he could be a better man for her, and if she was okay with it, with her. He quickly tells her not to say anything and to think about it, and then gives her one heck of a kiss before running off, looking hopeful. She actually still looks happy, but also incredibly confused.
George should probably savor the man-hug because the person to tell is Bailey, and she's not in the mood for anything. He promises her he'll be quick since he has to scrub in with the Chief but then babbles nervously about how she's going to be mad, but what he is doing is important and he thinks she'll eventually be proud. He even dons a high voice and says she's probably going to ask, "What did you do?" but then he immediately (and wisely) apologizes for the imitation. When Bailey asks if he calls this quick, he blurts out, "I joined the Army to be a trauma surgeon I report for duty tomorrow." Nope, I didn't forget any punctuation -- it was all practically one word. There's a pause, then wait for it... waaait for iiiit... "You did WHAT?" George concedes, "Yeah, that's where I thought we'd start."
Cristina tells Mere that something is up with George, and she doesn't know what it is but he and Hunt hugged and seemed happy. The look of disgust on both of their faces is delightful as Meredith points out that they don't hug when either of them is happy. Cristina's tone then changes and softens as she asks Meredith if she really is happy and better after therapy or if she's just faking it. Mere is smiling and asks what Cristina means -- apparently, I guess being happy has made her remarkably dense if she can't understand her best friend in a rare serious moment. Cristina asks if she is different, or at least feels different, clearly trying to learn if it's something that could really happen. Meredith really is different and proves it by telling Cristina that she's getting married today. Cristina is gobsmacked and asks if she should come, but Meredith is just letting her know; it's going to be quick and simple. Being well agrees with Meredith -- the last couple of episodes she has looked as glowy and pretty as I think I've ever seen her, and I wonder too if Ellen Pompeo was already pregnant at this point in real life and glowing because of that as well. Cristina thinks of something and roots around in her pockets before she pulls out some blue post-its and tears off the top one. It's her grocery list, and it's old, and she's giving it to Meredith. The rest of the post-its are new, and the pen she hands over is her favorite and she wants it back, so it is borrowed. All of these things are blue, so she's covered. Meredith points out, "Now see, if we were George and Owen we would hug right now." The give each other appalled looks and flee in separate directions.
Just then the paramedics roar up with a guy who is a complete broken, bloody mess with no ID, who was hit by a bus and dragged a ways before the driver realized he was there. A girl with her arm in a sling gets out of a second ambulance, trying to find out if John Doe is okay.
She follows the group into the trauma room where the doctors are attending to John Doe (I just typed "die" -- Freudian slip?) and in a bit of shock, tells them that he saved her life by throwing her out of the way of a bus. Callie tells Lexie to get her out, but she (again, we don't learn her name forever so I'll tell you now that it's Amanda -- dear writers, please, please give us names earlier in the episodes season) begs to stay and so Lexie shoos her to the corner and orders her not to move. This only last a second, and she then wanders back over in time for them to pull the gauze back from his face, showing a swollen, bloody mess. I expected to be completely grossed out but honestly he's so messed up that it just looks like a big fleshy ball. Yeesh. You know what word is gross? "Fleshy." His skull is totally smashed in, and Hunt calls for Derek and Shepherd as Amanda turns and pukes on the floor. Callie angrily asks Lexie if now she'll get Amanda out of the room.
Derek is examining Izzie while she pesters him with questions, but he won't answer until he's done. She knows her name, the year, and where she is and then asks him impatiently if he got the tumor, and he happily reports that he, "Got the whole damn thing." He looks genuinely happy rather than smug, and I didn't realize just how badly he'd turned into McSmuggerson of Smugville 24/7 until I saw his face here. Cristina, Alex and Derek are all thrilled and grinning, and Cristina reports that the only problem is a sluggish kidney that she'll test again soon. Everyone basks in the glow of success until, after a moment, Izzie asks if they got the tumor. Alex shoots a look at Derek who says she'll just be foggy for a bit, and tells her the news again with the added piece of info that she had a slight bit of bleeding at the end but he got it. She rejoices again while the others all maintain more muted smiles. They are all completely horrified when she asks about the tumor for a third time, and Derek gives her a straight-faced answer. Izzie is wondering why no one is celebrating, while the rest of them try and fail to look like she hasn't just died.
Alex resorts to his fallback emotion, anger, and yells at Derek in the hallway that this is just like what happened when they had to tell the woman her husband had died again and again. Well no, at least this isn't hellaciously bad news that he's repeating, but the repetition itself is pretty much exactly the same. He demands to know if Derek screwed up and the bleed affected her short-term memory. Derek orders him to stay calm, because freaking Izzie out won't help, and Alex begins to beg her to wake up again, just like he was doing earlier.
Mark walks into the chaos that is John Doe's room as he crashes, and someone shows Mark his arm, which seems to have a giant chunk taken out of it. Derek then makes his own grand appearance and asks what they've got -- Mark tells him "Roadkill." Thankfully, Hunt points out that John pulled a woman to safety, which makes him a hero. John responds by crashing again. Mark notes that his fingers are blue, so if he's going to save the arm it has to be in the few hours. Derek shaves off a bit of hair -- no, seriously! My pleas for just an ounce of realism have been answered! He gives Meredith a giant drill and some instructions about what to do, but when she lowers it to his skull I cower into the sofa. Through my fingers I see blood gush out of the hole she just made and everyone yells, but it actually is just what they needed and John's vitals come back and his eyes open, at least as much as they can. Meredith welcomes him back and tells him that he had them all worried, and one terrified eye turns and looks at her. I never would have caught it before, but once you know what's coming, that eye looks very familiar.
Lexie is stitching up Amanda's arm, and she asks if John is going to make it. When Lexie answers honestly that she hopes so, Amanda replies that he has to. Mark has been watching Lexie and then walks up to point out a flaw in her work and tells her to start over. Realizing this might not really be out her stitching prowess or lack thereof, she asks if she can ask him a question. It's fine with Amanda, so Lexie pulls him aside to remind him that he brought up moving in together and marriage and she put it off. She tries to plant her face in front of his, but he won't let her, and she points out that now he's embarrassed and won't make eye contact. She plays psychologist and tells him it's because now she has all the power in the relationship, but she doesn't want it and she's happy to share. She asks if they can skip this whole part, but he, ever so maturely, just tells her to go get something and that he'll stitch up Amanda.
Amanda gives him a pointed look as he sits down and tells him she'll pretend she didn't hear any of it. It's all the opening Mark needs and he bitches that women do this to him, and not the other way around. She comments, "Sucks being the girl, huh?" He growls that he's not the girl. I want to write this off as a completely sexist stereotype, and I guess it still kind of is, but I have been there myself and seen many a girlfriend through this scenario that is about to unfold, so there's some definite truth to it. Mark seems to realize that he IS the girl after all, and asks what other girls do when this happens. She tells him they start with the cold shoulder, so he's right on track, and then they bitch to their girlfriends at which point said girlfriends tell them that they don't need a man to build the future. If he wants to buy a house, buy a house. He contemplates this advice and then tells her she's good. She replies that she can help other people but sucks at her own love life, nicely setting up how she quickly falls for the John Doe who jumped in front of a bus for her.
Bailey marches into the trauma room, where there's still craziness as they all try to stabilize John. She demands to know what Hunt did to George and when Hunt is confused, she asks who else would convince him to join the Army and be a surgeon in Iraq. Everyone in the room is stunned, especially Callie, and John crashes again. Bailey orders Hunt to undo whatever he did, but Hunt's ready to argue and yells that all he did was give George an education in trauma and had no idea he would enlist. Judging from what we've seen, I think that's true -- while I guess he could have brought him in to work on Matt to try and sway him, I always got the idea that he thought he would be good at trauma, period, not necessarily in a war zone.
Callie notices that John has an open hip fracture, and that's why they can't stop the bleeding, so he needs an angio. They get a slight rhythm back and while normally they'd never do it on someone so weak, they have to try or he will die for sure. Bailey, meanwhile, points out that she knows how messed-up Hunt is (implying that the choking incident is public knowledge around the hospital), and he needs to get George out of this so it doesn't happen to him. Callie is livid and storms out, telling him to page her if she's needed, and Bailey also leaves in an angry huff. Mark walks in and asks what Hunt did to piss off all the women; I imagine he's pleased to see that it wasn't him that did it this time. They all wheel John out and Hunt tells him it would be great if he can stay alive for a few moments.
Arizona goes to find Bailey and offers that they might be bouncier (well, rollier at any rate) in peds, but she thought she would be more excited. "Because you look pretty dour for someone who's about to start a highly prized fellowship." Bailey is still not saying anything until Callie walks up behind Arizona and says she has a plan to stop George, is Bailey in? Arizona asks what's up and learns about the Army thing, and Bailey says she's in and takes off.
Arizona then asks Callie why they want to stop him. Callie answers as if it's the most obvious answer in the world, "Because he joined the Army." Arizona asks, "And?" Callie, in the most annoying, condescending tone she can muster, points out that he's her ex-husband and she also knows and loves his mom. Izzie would normally talk sense into him, but she's got bigger fish to fry right now with her cancer and "bad mental deficit," Arizona still wants to know why she wants to stop him and Callie, livid now, asks if she doesn't think it is a problem. Arizona announces, "I think that's awesome." Callie is aghast and looks at Arizona like she sprouted a second head that spouts obscenities and then storms off. Lovely, now they aren't talking about an issue again, and Callie is just mad to be mad. Also? I am kind of appalled that only two people are behind him in this choice because it is brave, and it is awesome. Not many people would make this big a sacrifice to help other people.
Meredith is shoving food into her face at an alarming rate and explains (with her mouth full -- classy!) that they are going to page her about John any moment. Alex then joins them but has no change to report in Izzie. Bailey and Callie then march up and lay out their intervention/ass-whooping (Bailey's words) (well, she was slightly less coarse). Cristina and Alex hadn't heard about the Army, and when they do, Alex laughs that 007 is the guy that gets killed, and Cristina adds that he will get killed cleaning his own gun. Now, I do at least understand Cristina's not liking this situation, given what's going on with Hunt, but come on, everyone else. Bailey tells Mere she'll be the loving friend, Cristina will use reason and logic to point out why it's a bad idea, Izzie will use her cancer eyes (and many times in a row, if her memory isn't better) and then if all else fails Alex will beat the crap out of him. He looks far too happy about this role. But what are Bailey and Callie doing, then? No one thinks to ask this, and everyone takes off and leaves Cristina at the table.
Meredith goes to the OR where John is getting prepped and holds his hand; he nods as best he can as she tells him she knows it's scary but he's a total hero for saving Amanda's life. He takes her hand and tries to write something -- she seems confused, because apparently she's never ever watched a medical show on TV or even seen a person on a ventilator before because it's not terribly unusual for them to try and write on someone's palm. But she pulls out Cristina's pen and paper and puts the pen in his hand. He can't hold on to it so she says they'll try again tomorrow, and then notices Amanda watching through the window. She goes out to tell the girl she can't be there, but Amanda asks if Mere would want to be alone during something like this. She then tells the tale of what happened: Amanda was on the corner and John said hi, but he was ordinary looking and she was distracted looking for someone hotter and didn't give him a second look. The thing she knew, he was throwing her out of the way of a bus. "He literally... he swept me off my feet! That is my prince in that bed." Mere is moved and tells Amanda that she can stay until they take him to surgery. Take him... from this room that really, really looks like an OR to me, so I'm a bit confused. Mere goes back in, and Amanda puts her hand on the window as she watches.
Arizona has had enough of being bouncy and understanding and storms up to Bailey, who again rebuffs her, saying it's not a good time. Arizona warns her that if she walks away she's going to pull Bailey's hair and growls, in as much as a perky blonde with a little pixie voice can growl, "I grew up with the name Arizona -- I learned how to play dirty on the playground." Bailey finally turns around and Arizona tells her, with the slightest tinge of hurt behind her anger, that she stuck her neck out for Bailey, which Bailey says she appreciates, but it is a big decision. Arizona thinks that it isn't, since this program is the best that there is. Seattle Grace really is magic with the number of people who are the best at what they do all miraculously there and yet acting crappy enough to keep them at a #12 ranking. Bailey finally tells her what's wrong, though she's not happy to do so. Tucker gave her an ultimatum, if she accepted the fellowship and the crazy hours that went along with it, instead of becoming a general surgeon with regular hours, he'll divorce her. "It's a big decision." Arizona is clearly sorry and Bailey storms off but then again, how could Arizona know? Also, who knew when we first met her that Arizona would wind up being one of my favorite current characters?
Mark and Derek look at John's scans -- Derek thinks Mark will have a hard time saving the arm, but Mark just declares confidently that he can get the arm back to full function if he can get there in time. Thank goodness he's better at surgery than relationships. He tells Derek he's thinking of buying a house, which Derek thinks is great. Derek then shares that he and Mere are getting married that afternoon, which Mark thinks is good news. Derek adds that he wishes he could just save Izzie, but Mark stops this line of thinking and tells him he's allowed to get married and be happy. It's a reminder that these two are actually best friends and have been for a while, despite recent events, and they do their own man-hug to celebrate. Mere walks in and wonders why all the hugging today, but Hunt walks in with the plan for John so there's no answer. Callie follows him in, and Hunt tells Derek he'll evacuate the epidural (who in the what now?), Hunt and Mere will handle the internal injuries, Callie then will do something that sounds like "internal fixators," which from the sound of it will maybe hold John's skeleton together. If all that goes well, then Mark can go work on his arm. Mere asks if he thinks John has a shot, and Hunt tells her he's seen people come back from worse. Is it any wonder he's got PTSD if he's seen worse than this?
Arizona finds Callie, who is not very happy to see her. She asks if Callie will talk to Bailey about the peds situation and Callie icily declines, saying she will talk to Bailey about the Army thing instead. Arizona asks angrily if Callie is upset, and Callie gives a cocky laugh and says no, she's awesome. Arizona says her name but Callie jumps in and stops her, appalled that Arizona thinks sweet, kind George's joining the Army is awesome. Arizona repeats her opinion that it is, in fact, awesome and Callie actually tells her, "No it's not." She then demands, "Who are you?" and storms off. It's cocky and quite frankly it's offensive, especially since she won't even ask why it is that Arizona feels this way and instead treats her like a moron.
The team is working on John and the question of the hour is, could you step in front of a bus for a stranger? Derek points out that that is what Hunt has been basically doing for the last couple of years. Well, I spoke too soon, it sounds like Derek might appreciate Army surgeons as well. Also, I feel like this could certainly be construed as a little clue to John Doe's identity. Hunt plays it down and claims that others did the work and he just cleaned up. But to his credit, Derek tells him that he sewed up soldiers under fire, which is certainly not cleaning up. He then asks if they think George can handle it. Callie jumps in to say no, and it's in a sad voice but it just somehow makes me madder. It just seems so condescending, like she pities George, when he's making a huge life decision that quite frankly seems at least sounder than a quickie wedding in the wake of his father's death. Derek thinks George will surprise everyone, and Mark kindly thinks he'll return in a body bag. Thankfully, Mere finally tells everyone to shut up.
Alex is writing colored notes and putting them up all around Izzie's bed so that she doesn't need to keep asking what is going on. One says, "Shepherd got the tumor out," and Izzie is happy all over again. Seriously, at least she just keeps being happy rather than sad. She asks why Alex didn't tell her the good news and he points to, "Your memory sucks." But, he tells her they are working on it and immediately starts quizzing her on when she woke up. He puts up a note about George joining the Army, shocking Izzie anew, and hammers her again about when she woke up. Cristina is in there watching all this and decides to give Izzie her own chart to memorize while she pulls Alex out into the hall.
Outside, she tells him to lay the hell off. In the room, you can see giant "DNR" notes plastered all over her chart like a grim omen. Cristina thinks that Izzie needs to rest after, oh, IL2 and brain surgery, but Alex thinks she needs to exercise what memory she has left. When Cristina points out that she won't heal with Alex, "barking orders like a caveman," (a very apt description) he tells her to butt out, sounding, well, like a caveman. She has the upper hand as Izzie's doctor and threatens to stop his visits and he finally loses it and actually voices his fears -- Izzie signed the DNR and promised to come out of it okay, not like this. He wants to know what will happen if she doesn't come back, like needing a babysitter or a tracking device on her ankle... okay, anger is back. But Cristina is more understanding and tells him calmly that he can handle this, and she will get better. He says it might or it might not, but either way, "Her future is on me." With that, he marches back in to start yelling like a drill sergeant again.
John is out of surgery and in the ICU, and Amanda asks Mere if he's going to be okay. She tells the girl that they will know more in the morning, and when Amanda gazes into the room she encourages her to go in. She walks in slowly and then takes his hand.
Cristina is working on the computer outside Izzie's room when Mere joins her, only to get an update that there is no change. Mere's upset to hear, but glumly tells Cristina she's off to city hall. Cristina finally stops what she's doing and says it doesn't seem like the day for it, but Meredith just looks at Alex and points out how hard he's working and how Izzie doesn't even know and might not ever know. She also tells Cristina about Amanda and how the girl is sure that John Doe is her Prince Charming and he will most likely die today. So because of all that, she's getting married. "Because I think it's important to take the time to tell the people you love how much you love them while they can hear you." Cristina ponders this and looks over at Alex, and Meredith adds, "I love you, Cristina Yang" with a look that's equal parts sincerity and mischievousness. Cristina realizes that Meredith really has changed, and then thinks about something a moment, looking at Mere in a way that freaks her out. Cristina finally declares, "I'm gonna hug you." They aren't as vigorous about it as the guys with the back-slapping, but after a moment of weirdness they have a good hug and Mere grins and shakes her head.
Arizona marches into the on-call room in a thunderous mood and doesn't give Callie a chance to be a bigger bitch, instead just launching into what she has to say. Maybe she doesn't understand people and that's why she doesn't understand why Callie is so upset, but she thinks it's awesome. Callie sweetly tells her to shut up. Dude, if this were a guy and we weren't that far into dating? This would be SO OVER, because I wouldn't stand for someone to dismiss my opinion so quickly and without basis. Arizona is a bigger person than me, though, and continues that she thinks what George is doing is, "dangerous and terrifying and brave." He's serving his country and risking his life to save the men and women who make it possibly for Callie and Arizona to sleep safely at night. And then she delivers the final blow, which totally explains her position and which Callie might have tried to learn earlier -- Arizona's brother was killed serving in Iraq and she was there to see his coffin return and get a flag. He died because of the shortage of doctors and so she thinks George is a patriot and hero. That's who she is. That said, she turns to leave but a chastised Callie grabs her hand and says she's sorry.
Cristina is hanging out in the boiler room when Hunt walks in, but he quickly excuses himself when he realizes she's already there -- it's sweet that he actually respects that she would want to be alone. She tells him to stay, though, and takes a huge breath before finally forcing out the words, "I love... you." He's confused, because she sounds like this upsets her, but says he loves her, too. She stops him and repeats it, sounding like it's a death sentence. She tries to explain how he traumatized her by coming to Seattle and pulling out her icicle and making her love him. She doesn't want to, but, "I can't breathe... without you." He looks like his every dream has just come true and he tries to assure her that she/they can do this. She just has to meet him halfway. "All you have to do is say yes." He repeats this and then leaves her alone to consider it. Swooooooon. I'll take McArmy over McDreamy any day.
Alex is still quizzing Izzie, but she's clearly figured out how to tune him out and just comments on how disgusting the green jell-o is that she is eating. He taps the note that says, "You keep asking for lime jell-o and don't like it," like a prissy schoolmarm and so she points out, "So stop giving it to me." Well, her brain is gone but at least she's making good sense. Alex retorts that she gets mad if he doesn't give it to her, and begins to quiz her again. She's tired and tries to get him to give her a break, but he tells her to suck it up. She tells him to back off, that she's sorry it's hard for him but he's not the one with the short-term memory of "a carrot." She really enjoys veggie metaphors. He takes her food tray and slams it down on the counter, which is the last straw for her. (That is, of course, until she gets annoyed all over again in a couple of minutes.) She tells him to get it off his chest, since she won't remember in a few minutes. It's the invite he's been waiting for and with no hesitation he launches into a rant about how he's not the carrot but he is married to it. He calls their wedding a crock that they only even did because they thought she'd die in a week, and challenges that she promised she wouldn't live like this, so what does he do now? He suggests a couple of options: smothering her with a pillow or overdosing her on morphine. However, he's not really "psyched" about that, nor about leaving her. Izzie clearly didn't expect quite this level of venom and looks stunned as he continues that he knows he doesn't have it as bad as her, but it's still not easy for him. She digests this, clenching her jaw, and he apologizes in a much smaller voice than he was just using. She assures him that she told him to get it off his chest, and wow, did he do that. He sounds like a little boy as he hopefully asks if she's forgotten yet, but she tells him through gritted teeth, "Nope. Not yet, gimme a minute."
Bailey finds Richard scrubbing out of surgery and asks him humbly if he still has a spot for her in general surgery, as she would like to accept. He's surprised and not terribly happy about this, especially since he finally got on board with her plan. Bailey tells him about the ultimatum, and he guesses that she chose her marriage. But he underestimates Bailey's awesomeness, and she answers in a slightly offended tone that she's leaving him, as a marriage shouldn't have ultimatums. But now that she's going to be a single mom, she doesn't think a new job with crazy hours is the right move. This hits a nerve, and she curses as she starts to break down. She apologizes, it's the first time she's said it out loud and that seems to have just made it real. He asks if she's sure and says that Tucker is just scared and might come around. And then we see one of the lines from the omnipresent episode promos, that played so badly out of context but which is really affecting here. She sobs, "We're all scared!" She points out that Izzie almost died and now has no short-term memory and George is going to war, which are both legitimately scary. What Tucker has to face isn't scary, "He's just weak." She's not wrong. Richard puts his hand on her shoulder but she tells him that won't help as she struggles to reel her emotions back in. He asks if he should go, and with total Bambi eyes she says no. He agrees softly to just stand there with her if that's all right, and she quietly says, "Yes, sir. That would be fine." They stare at each other as she tries to regain control. The scene was really affecting because Chandra Wilson is amazing, but it felt a leeetle like it was taken from, "Emmy Submission Scenes for Dummies."
Mark has hung up a couple of house listings on an x-ray light board when Lexie walks in, surprised to find him already done with surgery. I guess that means John gets his arm back? She skeptical about him buying a house and calls him out on doing it so that she'll feel bad and think he's moving on without her so that she will then regret her decision and change her mind. Did she not listen to Meredith's narration or Bailey's Emmy scene? While Mark's approach is lame, she's supposed to be learning to seize the day but isn't actually changing her mind and doing so. Mark finally asks if this is what girls do when they say they are moving on. She tells him yes, but that it generally doesn't involve a home loan. He denounces it as pathetic, and then tries to tell her that he really is moving on. "I'm a better woman than you." She scoffs, and rightfully so, because he's still not in any better shape than he was before.
Derek is in a suit and finds Mere still in her scrubs in the locker room. She gets a page that John Doe needs to go back into surgery and Derek tells her that he's got a bleed, but Derek got another doctor to sub in. He wants to do it but also wants to check on Izzie and fit in the little matter of their marriage ceremony. Meredith has the surgery and the George intervention as well, and the two try to figure out their ridiculous schedules so that they can shoehorn in the ceremony that will bind them together for the rest of their lives. She finally admits in a panic that there is no time, because this happens every day, and while she wants to marry him there just isn't time. He takes her face in his hands and then asks her for a piece of paper, because if they want to be together forever, they need to make vows, commit to each other and make a contract. She rolls her eyes and pulls out the blue post-its and Cristina's pen, which are all she's got. He sits down smiling, but he's totally serious and asks her what they want to promise each other. She starts to smile and tells him, "That you'll love me, even when you hate me." He then adds that there is to be no running, no matter what. Meredith then happily adds that they will take care of each other when they are old, smelly and senile. She's serious when she adds that if she gets Alzheimer's and forgets him... but he interrupts and promises to remind her who is every day. He writes it all down, impressively fitting it onto a single post-it and says, "This... is forever." He signs it and hands it to her to sign. She asks if their wedding is a post-it, but she sounds quite pleased about the idea and when Derek says that it is, she signs as well. He then kisses his bride, while a very strange and distracting acoustic version of the song from Fame plays in the background. He then puts the post-it up in her locker and points out, "See that? Plenty of time." It's cheesetastic, but I have to admit it's kind of perfect for these two.
Izzie is still sulking when Cristina comes in to do an EKG. Izzie snottily asks if there's no small talk today and Cristina asks her what her problem is. Totally put out, she tells Cristina about Alex and how she should be grateful but that he basically said that being married was the worst thing that ever happened to him, and if smothering her would be the best way to put them both out of their misery. She's on a roll, but Cristina realizes something and asks where she wrote that down. As she looks around Izzie is first confused, then elated when they both realize that Izzie remembered something.
Cristina immediately sees Hunt and walks up to kiss him and declare, "Yes. Yes!" Yay! He looks like a kid on Christmas and for that matter, so does she as she runs off to find Alex.
Callie walks in and finds Bailey and Richard still in the scrub room while Bailey wipes her tears. She apologizes but says that it's after six, and Bailey explains the intervention to Richard and asks if George left already. Richard is surprised and tells them that when George told him the news, he sent him home to spend his last day as a civilian with his mom, so George left in the morning. They're totally confused.
Derek and Mere walk into John's room to Hunt's surprise, since he thought they were going to get married. They tell him they did, and while he's confused, he doesn't question it and congratulates them, asking if they are sure they want to start their honeymoon in the OR. These two are totally sure -- like a post-it wedding, it just fits. The guys leave and Mere starts to prep John and gently tells Amanda that she can't stay, but that she will come get her after the surgery. Amanda tells her to hold his hand until he's put under, since it makes him feel better. She lets go and leaves, and Mere tells John that he made a really good friend, which she guesses would happen when you take a bus for someone. She takes his hand and assures him that she knows it's scary, but he's got a great team taking care of him. I feel like this is another part of changed Meredith -- that she's mothering someone to this extent. John grabs her hand and she guesses that he wants to write again. He doesn't try to take the pen, though, and just starts writing letters with his finger in her palm. She says, "oh... oh... seven?" He does it again, a bit more quickly and she murmurs, "Double oh... seven," with that he grabs her hand with as much force as he's got, and she gasps. He opens his eyes as she yells in a strangled voice, "Oh God! Oh God!" Yet another soundbite that sounded overdramatic over the promo, but completely got to me here. I have to admit that I was spoiled on who the patient was going to be, but when I watched it I still got teary, and when I watched it the second time to recap I totally cried as Meredith realized her friend was in that bed. (And consequently probably heard everything they were saying about his decision to join the Army, although that was by then a moot point.)
Cristina winds up paging Alex and when he gets to her, she tells him way to go, "Telling your wife you're trying to figure out how to off her?" Alex starts to tell her to mind her own business when the significance hits him, and he asks how she knows about that. Cristina grins and announces that Izzie told her. Alex runs in to find his very smug wife who tells him, "Pillow or morphine, I got the whole thing." He sits on her bed and tells her he didn't mean it, which she totally knows -- he loves her too much to do it even if she asked him to. Elated, he grabs her in a bear hug and tells her she's back. But then, her arm falls limp and alarms start ringing.
Mere sprints down the hall, yelling, "It's George, John Doe is George!" Callie, Hunt and Derek all take off running to his room.
Cristina is in Izzie's room and orders someone to page Bailey, the Chief and Derek, while elsewhere Hunt yells to O'Malley that they have him and will fix him, if he just stays with them. In the OR, Derek tells George he's not going anywhere, however his vitals drop and they put him under immediately.
As Bailey and Richard run into Izzie's room, Cristina tells them it's something I'm sure I'd spell wrong -- basically it sounds like something is wrong with her heart and her blood pressure is plummeting. Alex has been helping and asks for an intubation tray, but they all just stare at him. Cristina reminds him of the DNR and tells him it's not what she wants, even though it's clearly breaking her heart to do so. She starts to flatline, and Alex asks for a crash cart. Bailey tries to talk to him and everyone is upset, when finally they turn to the Chief. As Alex desperately does chest compressions, Richard decides, "Screw the DNR." Someone rushes in with a crash cart as Cristina takes over for Alex. Over the chaos, Meredith's voice asks, "Did you say it? I love you." They shock Izzie as Mere continues, "I don't ever want to live without you. You changed my life. Did you say it?"
We see poor, mangled George in surgery as she advises, "Make a plan.
"Set a goal. Work toward it. But every now and then, look around." Alex watches helplessly and starts to sob as they continue to shock Izzie's chest.
Mere tells us, "Drink it in." The screen fades to white and the thing we see is Izzie in her prom dress, getting into the elevator. But this isn't like the last time she did this, as she doesn't smile when the doors closed but just looks around with a conflicted look on her face. She looks up as the doors open and George is waiting for her, his hair shaved off, wearing his Army dress uniform and they smile at each other. Mere adds, "'Cause this is it." Everyone is working desperately on him in the OR, but as Izzie smiles at her whole George, the doctors say they are losing him." Meanwhile, in her hospital room, they shock her again. George is still staring at her in the elevator but she doesn't yet walk out to him. In her room she continues to flatline while Alex sobs and they shock her again. The screen goes black and Meredith warns, "It might all be gone tomorrow."
It's a heartbreaking but really well-done end to an uneven but overall pretty good season of Grey's. My sad theory is that George has died, since it seemed like he was waiting on the other side waiting for Izzie, but that her not getting out of the elevator shows that they aren't quite sure what's going to become of her yet. We've got the whole summer ahead of us to ponder that and look for spoilers, kids. Thanks for reading and see you in September!
Check out part one of the finale here, then discuss both episodes in our forums. Then see vloggers Val and Beth debate the legality of the Izzie/Denny relationship in TV is the Answer!