Everyone's trying for a fresh start in the new year, and it isn't working out all that well. George gets assigned to a young female patient who turns out to be a hermaphrodite, and battles with his/her parents over telling him/her the news. Izzie's patient, meanwhile, is a charming guy in his mid-thirties who needs a heart transplant. When he doesn't get the heart, they are both -- wait for it -- heartbroken! Alex frets about his boards, but saves the day when he figures out that a kooky writer patient who ate his own novel has mercury poisoning from the paper he ingested. Cristina finally figures out that she didn't really want the baby she was pregnant with, after all, and reveals this to Burke, who is very sweet about it. Addison is crowned queen of the fabled land of Passive-Aggressivo, and pressures McDreamy to get over Meredith already. And Meredith, with Webber's guidance, decides to get her mom into a trial to help her Alzheimer's.
Welcome back, everyone, and happy new year! Previously on Grey's Anatomy:McDreamy told Addison he was still in love with Mere; we learned that Ellis Grey and Chief Webber had a thing back in the day; Cristina got pregnant and miscarried; Alex re-took his medical boards, slept with Nurse Olivia, and broke Izzie's heart; and the Grey House Gang got a dog.
We open to the melodious strains of rock music, over which there is much dog barking and crashing sounds and George yelling. Izzie leans against the closed bathroom door and placidly sips her coffee, ignoring the melee outside in the hall. George bursts in yelling, "Izzieeeeee! INCOMING!" He's clearly terrified of the rabid dog chasing him -- the same one he was sweetly lying to under the Christmas tree just three weeks ago. Mere voice-overs, "Fresh starts. Thanks to the calendar, they happen every year. Just set your watch to January." Izzie tells George she's thinking about coloring her hair. George says he's thinking about cutting his, which I think is a very good idea, considering his current mop. Izzie agrees that it would look good shorter. They hear Mere talking to the dog outside the door, and cautiously open it to see Mere petting him and cooing, "Such a good dog! Who's Mommy's good boy?" Aw. Mere tells the two fraidy-cats that they're going to be late. George: "We need to talk about the dog." Izzie says that's not a dog, it's a hyena that escaped from the zoo and dressed up in dog clothing. So...they hate the dog. And it hates them. Even though it very recently loved them. I find this ridiculous. Mere reminds them that he's their dog, they love him, and he loves them back. In answer, the dog turns and growls at George and Izzie. Stupid. George complains that the dog tries to mount him from behind. Hee. See? That's love right there.
Shots of nature: deer running over a great big plain, water burbling in a stream, McDreamy's trailer. MereVO: "Our reward for surviving the holiday season is a new year, bringing on the great tradition of New Year's resolutions." McDreamy, decked out in his outdoorsy best, walks into the trailer and announces to Addison that he got a trout. A rainbow trout, and it's for breakfast! Addison is less than thrilled. She's attempting to dry her hair in a tiny space, and keeps tripping over the cord. She doesn't want trout, she hates this trailer, hate, hate, hate. She stomps into the tiny bathroom and slams the tiny door. McDreamy chirps, "No trout for you, then." Heh. MereVO: "Put your past behind you, and start over."
Cut to the home where Meredith's mom is living. She's having coffee with Chief Webber, and reminiscing about their sordid past. Webber tries to change the subject, but Ellis thinks they're about twenty years back, during their internship. She talks about how loud they were in the on-call room the night before. Webber decides it's easier just to play along, and says he hates being an intern. Ellis smiles lovingly at him, and agrees. MereVO: "It's hard to resist the chance at a new beginning; a chance to put the problems of last year to bed." It sounds like Mama Grey and Webber put more than problems to bed, and for much longer than we suspected.
Burke finds Cristina getting dressed for surgery, and starts talking about how, in the name of the new year, he thought she could answer his question about them moving in together. Cristina doesn't have an answer. Burke hits her with, "Then what were you planning to do about the baby?" Whoa. Surgery beckons before she can answer.
Webber addresses all the interns, and tells them that the new year brings new rules: fatigue played too big a role in mistakes last year, so no intern may exceed 80 hours of work per week. He reminds them that the nurses are going to have to work more hours to compensate, and to treat them well so they don't get cranky. Mere gets to go home until noon, and she's all excited. Izzie makes a snarky comment to Alex about cheering up the cranky nurses, then apologizes, saying her resolution was to let it go, and she's going to. She instead asks how his test went; Alex says he won't know for a few days, but feels pretty good about it. Izzie tells him, most sincerely, that they're all pulling for him. George: "We are?" The rest of the world: "We are?" Izzie: "Yeah."
Burke is in surgery, telling Cristina something about the patient's mesothelioma. Cristina asks if she can move a little closer, since she can't really see from where she's standing. Burke barks, "You're fine there." Wow, remind me again who's always yammering about keeping work and personal lives separate? Just then, Webber bursts in the room and tells Burke that they've found a heart for a patient named Danny Duquette. Burke is relieved, as he was worried they wouldn't find one in time. He asks Webber to send Bailey to get the heart somewhere in Idaho. In answer, Webber orders Cristina to leave the OR immediately -- she's exceeded her 80-hour limit. Cristina, stalling, is like, "Uh...okay. As soon as the mesothelioma's dissected out?" Webber ain't having it. Cristina looks at Burke imploringly, but he's no help either. "You heard him." Damn! Cristina leaves all mad.
Bailey greets Danny the heart patient in his room, and says she hopes seeing him here means they finally found him a heart. Danny is played by the daddy on Supernatural, but is much less intense here, and much more with the wit and charm. He tells Bailey he hates hospitals, so it would take something pretty special to get him in here. Bailey asks Izzie what they know about Danny. Danny interrupts, "Capricorn, single, loves to travel and cook." Bailey tells Danny to be quiet, and let Izzie show off. Izzie smiles shyly, clearly already in love with Danny. She gives us the rundown: Danny is 36, and admitted today for a heart transplant, necessitated by viral cardiomyopathy, which means that his heart is unable to fill and pump blood normally. Bailey and Danny are duly impressed, and Bailey tells Danny that Dr. Stevens will be attending to him. Danny is delighted: "Guess I'll be seein' you around, Dr. Stevens." Izzie grins, and Alex gives Danny a dirty look. Hee. Outside the room, Alex says he's got to hand it to Danny, trying to get some action when he's nearly a corpse. Izzie lies that he was just trying to be nice.
Bailey tells Izzie, Alex, and George how much she worked when she was an intern, and she can't believe they're getting it so easy. George says it's good for her -- being this pregnant, she'll get a break. Bailey: "You saying I look tired, O'Malley?" George stutters, "Not tired. No. You look...fresh, spry. You...glow." Bailey sends him off to do an intake on Addison's patient, then looks at Izzie and Alex, who tell her she does glow...like the moon. As a reward, Alex gets to spend all day in the pit.
Addison's patient is a teenage girl wearing a ski cap, who bears more than a passing resemblance to Avril Lavigne, in both looks and attitude. George introduces Addie to Rebecca's parents, who tell the doctors that the girl prefers for people to call her "Bex." Okay, then. George reports that Bex has been admitted for an ultrasound-guided biopsy on an enlarged pelvic lymph node. Addison asks Bex if she can check it out, and assures her that it's a minor procedure. Bex's dad leaves uncomfortably when Addison starts palpating her girl parts. George notices Bex drawing a comic, and tells her she's really talented. Aw, Georgie has a crush on little Avril! Addison tells Bex and her mom that they're going to run a few tests, so they can get some answers. She says there's nothing to panic about, and will keep them posted. George tries to be all charming with Bex, and jokes that he's sorry, but he's going to need her drawing arm to get some blood. Bex totally ignores him. Ha! But there's trouble in Bex-land: when George pushes up her sleeve to take the blood, he notices a bunch of little cutting scars across her arms. Bex's mom
begun calling her "Addie." Do you want me to say it? Fine. It's because I love her, OKAY? God. I LOVE ADDISON, ARE YOU HAPPY NOW?!?Another tiny scene. Cristina and Bailey are on the plane to Idaho. Bailey is sleeping, and wakes up to find Cristina looking longingly at her abdomen. Bailey: "Yang? Why are you staring at my fat, pregnant belly?" Cristina looks away quickly, and says nothing. The end!
Intersex meeting. Bex's dad is in shock. "You're telling me that my daughter...that our daughter, our daughter...might actually be a boy?" Yes, that is what they are telling you. The parents don't understand, and start freaking out. Addison gently explains that Bex has female genitalia, and looks like a girl, but internally, she has both female and male sex organs. The good news is that her tumor is benign, so physically, Bex will be just fine. Emotionally and psychologically, not so much. Addison recommends therapy for all of them, as it won't be easy for Bex to hear, and will be a big adjustment for all of them to make. Bex's dad is like, "Adjustment? What adjustment?" George has to tell them that many intersex people begin to identify very strongly with one sex, and it's not necessarily the sex they've been raised as. Commence the parents freaking out some more about how Bex is a girl, she's always been a girl, and she will continue to be a girl, girl! George says this might help explain why Bex has always felt so different, and biologically and emotionally speaking, Bex has a choice to make.
On his way to surgery, Mauer gets weirder and weirder, and yappier and yappier. At one point, he begs God to send him a simile, which...ha. Alex asks Lauren if he's always been this way. Lauren says the more of his novel he ate, the weirder he got. Webber introduces himself to Mauer as the surgeon who'll be operating on him. In response, Mauer yells, "I poured my heart and soul into that freakin' book, and now it's stuck up my ass! Put that on my tombstone! My tombstone!"
Danny flirts with Izzie some more, and confesses he's nervous. Izzie tells him he should be excited -- he's getting a new heart, and Dr. Burke is awesome. Agreed. Burke walks in just then to tell Danny that he'll be conferring with Bailey long-distance in the OR, and if everything's a go, they'll start the procedure before she even gets back. Danny is fine with that, and looks over at Izzie. "Hey, Izzie. I'm getting a new heart." Izzie smiles huge. "You're getting a new heart." Get a room, y'all!
Bex's parents stop George and Addie in the hall to announce that they won't be telling Bex about her newly-found intersexedness. Oh, great idea! George says they can't not tell her, if this could help her. Addison stops George, says they'll go ahead with the surgery, then they can talk to Bex on their own time. Actually, Bex's parents think it would be an even better idea if Addison just went ahead and removed the errant testis while she's in there. Man. Addie rightly tells them that she will absolutely not perform sexual reassignment surgery on their daughter without her knowing, and they'll be hard-pressed to find a surgeon who will. Go Addie! When she walks off, George tells them that Bex will find out someday. "How do you want her to find out?" In the background, we see Bex at her room door, looking at them all with concern. Poor Bex.
Meanwhile, Meredith has gone to visit her mother with her time off, and a nurse tells her that all these visitors have really been cheering her up. Mere, clueless, is like, "Visitors?" Then she looks over and sees none other than McDreamy there, refilling his coffee, all laughing and chatty with everyone. Hi! Commercials.
Burke tells Danny that there's still no final word on his heart, but they're going to get him the healthiest one they can find. Danny is only concerned about whether Izzie will be in the OR with him. Izzie looks over at Burke, who nods. She's in. Danny is happy. Seriously, you two. Room. Get.
In the observation room, Mere tells George that during her time off, she did five loads of laundry, cut her split ends, studied, and cleaned out the fridge. "Free time sucks." George, in a beautiful segue, asks her when would have been the right time to hear about her boyfriend's wife. Mere: "Are you mad at me, or something?" Heh. George says it's just, he has a patient, and he gets that there's a right and wrong time to hear bad news, but wouldn't she rather hear sooner than later? "So she can move forward one way or the other. It's a fresh start, right?" Mere just stares at him as if, by cutting her split ends, she accidentally lobotomized herself.
Mauer's surgery. Alex tells Webber that he'd like to keep an eye on the funny little writer for a while post-op, as he was acting pretty strange. Webber: "He ate a novel. He is pretty strange." He extracts the nasty, giant mass of paper and asks if anyone wants to read it. Ew. Webber says Mauer might need a Plan B, and Alex says he's not the only one. Webber tells him they should just wait and see, because right now, he's still here, and still a doctor. Aw.
George is in Bex's room, and Bex would like to know if she's going to die, because everyone is acting really weird around her. George says of course not. Bex just wants to know what's going on. George tries to be cool, and tells her that what's going on is that they're prepping her for surgery, nothing more, nope, that's it. Addison and Bex's parents walk in, and Bex tells her parents that she's really freaking out. They say everything's going to be fine. Bex: "I'm having surgery to remove a tumor that's compressing my ovary. Right, George?" George can't do it. He looks at Addison. "What, am I just supposed to lie to her?" Addie says that's enough, and asks George to leave the room. Bex begs George to stop, and tell her what's wrong with her. Oh, Bex. Her dad finally steps up and tells her gently that they learned her tumor isn't compressing an ovary. Bex asks where it is, then. Bex's mom says haltingly, "It's...it's a testis." Addison tells Bex she knows this is a tremendous amount of information. Bex: "I have a testicle? And I've had it my whole life? Oh my God. Does this mean...I could be a boy?" Nobody says anything, but Bex knows, and a smile creeps across her face. "Yes." Tears, commercials, whatever I'm not crying.
When we return, Bex's parents yell at George for engineering that conversation and forcing their hand. George is unapologetic. Bex's mom screams that she's just a fourteen-year-old girl. George: "Maybe. Maybe not." Heh. Mama Bex is out of control. She says they've raised a little girl for fourteen years, and how are they supposed to go home and tell the other kids. She tells George he had no right. George looks at Addie. "I know. I'm off the case, right?" He walks off all stompy and upset, his hair flopping around violently. Hey, Georgie, maybe that haircut would cheer you up right about now, yeah?
Alex checks on Mauer and asks how he's doing, but Mauer is having a hard time getting his words out. "Much obliged, bararshk. Much obliged, arsurgh. Twenty hours, weeds whacked weeds whack. For two hundred." Wow. No wonder he ate his own novel.
McDreamy finds Webber to tell him that Ellis is the perfect candidate for this new clinical trial they're doing. Webber thanks McDreamy for checking her out. McDreamy wants Webber to tell Meredith that she'll have to sign off on it, because they have baggage. "With you, you're just trying to help out a friend." Except, not. Webber's all, "Right, right. I'll tell her. I have no history with Ellis Grey, none at all. What?"
Alex tells Webber how concerned he is about Mauer -- with all the symptoms he's exhibiting, along with having eaten his own novel, Alex thinks he might have mercury poisoning from the ink. Webber looks confused. And, tiny scene.
Idaho Heartland OR. Bailey tells Cristina to call Burke, because the heart she's looking at has fairly extensive damage from coronary artery disease. Cristina ju
1 2 3 4
st stands there all, "Uh oh," but goes to make the call anyway. Burke answers on the other end, "Talk to me, Bailey," and Cristina says it's her. Burke says he can't talk; he's waiting on a call from Bailey. See what they did there? Cristina has to confess that she's in Idaho, in the operating room, with Bailey, on her time off. Webber walks over and asks Burke what's going on, and Burke fakes, "Hello, Dr. Webber! Tell me what's happening with Danny's heart, DOCTOR BAILEY." Burke. You're not on speakerphone. He can't actually see Cristina. Hot geniuses, I swear.Izzie monitors Danny, who's sleeping. Burke calls her out into the hallway to tell her what is obviously bad news. Tiny scene!
Webber tells Meredith that the treatment he wants for her mother won't cure her, but it will give her more good days. He reminds her that McDreamy checked her out as a favor to him, not because of anything else, and he urges her to consider. Meredith looks pensive, and also less tired than we've seen her in weeks. Guess those few hours off really worked!
Mauer is speaking in normal sentences now, and tells Alex what a failure he is. He says it's time for a Plan B, he reckons. "Perhaps I shall play the cello." Hee. Alex tells Mauer that they all have setbacks: he's a doctor, and Mauer is a writer. They don't get a Plan B. Webber checks in, and Alex says he's given Mauer a drug which will absorb the mercury over the several days. Webber congratulates Alex on a job well done, and Alex gloats a little bit. Ah, he deserves it.
On the way back from Idaho, Bailey busts Cristina staring at her belly again. "Yang." Cristina starts babbling about how the 80-hour work week sucks. Bailey doesn't buy that this is what is actually on Cristina's mind. "I thought about it. Not keeping it." Aw, Bailey. She says she and her husband tried for years, but still, when that stick turned blue -- well, you can't work the way they work, or want the kind of careers they want, and not take pause. "I took pause." Cristina: "You paused?" Bailey: "I paused." Bailey goes on to say that she sat up one night, middle of the night, and she knew she could do this, even though she still doesn't know how. "You just have to know. And when you don't know? No one can fault you for it. You do what you can, when you can, while you can. When you can't, you can't." Cristina looks as close to tears as we'll probably ever see her, and Chandra Wilson needs to have every award they've ever given anyone on TV ever. Which reminds me, how awesome was Sandra Oh winning that Golden Globe? Very.
Izzie's in Danny's room, waiting for him to wake up. He does, and grins, "You're stalking me. You're a stalker." Izzie: "Can you blame me?" Danny knows it's bad, which Izzie confirms. She lies that he has time, and he calls her on it. Izzie: "Fine. There's no time." Danny says that's just spiteful. They're both sad that he didn't get the heart, and we go to commercial.
Bex's room. George is sitting on her bed, and she tells him thanks for making them tell her. She asks him if she has to be a boy now. George says no, she doesn't. Bex: "But I can if I want to?" George says yes, but only if she wants. Bex looks at George for a long moment, then asks him to bring her some scissors. Teeeeeeears.
MereVO starts up: "Who gets to determine when the old ends and the new begins?" She stops McDreamy in the hall and asks him to tell her about the program for her mom. MereVO: "It's not a day on a calendar. Not a birthday, not a new year." Izzie sees Danny to the door of the hospital, and they say goodbye. As he gets up and walks out, she looks back at him wistfully. Danny returns her gaze. Aw, Danny! MereVO: "It's an event. Big or small, something that changes us. Ideally, it gives us hope."
Bex holds up a mirror as George cuts her hair. Her mom walks in, and instead of making a scene, she walks stoically over to George and holds her hand out for the scissors. The awesome music, whatever it is, swells as she smiles down at her child and starts cutting. MereVO: "A new way of looking at the world."
McDreamy's trailer. Addison pulls up and finds him on the porch, having a beer. He announces that he's cooking the trout outside, and she thanks him. She sits down and sighs heavily. "There is a land called Passive-Aggressiva, and I am their queen." Perfect. McDreamy says that's all he's saying. She asks if she's just supposed to wait out this thing with Meredith until it passes. McDreamy says that'd be good. Addie: "I still hate the trailer." McDreamy: "As is your right." The trailer is Meredith, y'all!
MereVO: "Letting go of old habits, old memories." Cristina corners Burke right outside the hospital, and gets right to it: "I wasn't gonna have it. The baby. We barely knew each other, and I was an intern, and there was no way that we could have..." Burke stops her, looks at her kindly, and says he's not mad. "I just wanted to know. I want to know things." Cristina nearly falls down with relief. MereVO: "What's important is that we never stop believing we can have a new beginning."
Mere's bathroom. Izzie and George are sequestered inside, reading magazines and eating pizza, when they hear Mere yelling at the dog. "You don't eat laundry! Bad dog! Bad!" They start giggling, and Mere bursts inside with her chewed-up laundry. She throws it on the floor, then collapses to them and grabs a slice of pizza. So now they all live in the bathroom, hate the dog, and we fade out.
1 2 3 4