The things we say in the doctor’s office are vital...
They are all useful and sometimes, if not utilized, can result in a twisted incident of fate where things can go from good to completely terrible in a matter of hours. The emotional return of Grey’s Anatomy Season 9 premieres strong, with the drama, romance and humor that makes the series all the more special in the new year! Bailey ran and now it’s time to face her hesitations head on. You know your watching a Shonda Rhimes classic when the happily ever afters are dramatically paired with life-altering consequences, one of them being a tragic death. This hour picked up right where the previous installment left off, with Adele Webber’s life held in the balance and a much-anticipated wedding put on hold. The consequences of the dramatic change is full of laughs, love, tears, other influxes of emotion and even one of the most fun patient cases we’ve gotten in some time.
The wedding must go on! But while it remains stagnant, the doctors of Seattle Grace-Mercy West tend to their own personal issues. Callie and Arizona have not been in a spectacularly sexy mood since the plane crash that changed their lives. And who can blame Arizona? After all Arizona has lost a leg and literally feels like less of a woman than she used to be. How can her lover, Callie look at her as confidant and sexy, when she, herself doesn’t. It’s an incredibly sad situation, especially when Arizona doesn’t even want Callie to see her take off her prosthetic leg. It doesn’t help that Arizona picks up on some hints that Callie may be thinking of running from their difficult new life together. This life-altering event in the two women’s lives has been challenging and has pushed them both to their breaking points, so it is understandable that Arizona would be frightened of losing Callie because of it. When presented with the question of running or staying and sticking it out, Callie assures Arizona that she’s not going anywhere, as long as that’s what she wants. Hopefully these two women will be able to gain the steam back in their relationship soon, because their scenes in this installment are the closest to perfect as possible.
The question of should we stay or should we go, is also on Cristina and Owen’s minds, as they both tend to a rowdy gang of bikers that opens Owen’s eyes to his and Cristina’s bleak situation. Cristina and Owen finally get their divorce papers. Neither of them are specifically sure what to do next; however, they eventually agree to sign them, after realizing that their marriage has become a toxic box that is only tearing them both down for the past two years. Some might insist that now Owen and Cristina are divorced, they will not be together. However, I feel as though two people who truly love each other do not specifically have to be married in order to be “together”. Owen seems hung up on the idea that their hasty marriage is what caused this mess in the first place. Without being boxed in by the bonds of marriage, these two very different soul mates might just be more than okay. We’ve seen that they can have fun together, they learn imperative lessons from one another and they often work well together, as made evident when they tackle this episode’s gang of bikers incident. The papers are signed. So where does the newly divorced couple go from here?
As Derek continues to recover from his recent surgery at the hospital, interns Stephanie and Shane find themselves being targeted as rebounds by Jackson and April. Stephanie is understandably adamant about getting some of Jackson and Shane is totally conflicted about being the new apple of April’s eye, except his childish notions of flirtation make him look like a fool when he thinks he’s being sexually harassed. I personally see no chemistry between April and Shane right now, but these two poor, awkward doctors might end up having a special bond later in the season, whereas Jackson and a horny Stephanie jump right into it when they get the chance. Once again, you can’t blame Stephanie. Those Avery men happen to be sex on a stick!
And where there is awkward sexual harassment and steamy intern-attending sex, there is Alex and Jo. These two are really starting to grow on me in a way that I didn’t think was possible. The two doctors find that they have a lot in common when they spend their time waiting out the stagnant wedding ceremony by comparing their horrific childhoods and even developing their relationship. It’s not the ideal romantic banter, but Alex has never been the ideal romantic kind of guy. What is great about this pairing is that Jo makes Alex glow. She makes him laugh and smile and even catches him off guard with her quick wit and odd stories. Jo and Alex’s fake crying bring some much needed humor and heart to a mostly emotionally draining episode. These two are actually quite charming and hilarious together! I think we’re witnessing what could turn out to be an incredibly ideal, dark & twisty couple. I dare say I might even like them more than Izzie. And I’m a huge Alex/Izzie fan! Here is to hoping Alex finally finds some much deserved, weird happiness in the future with Jo! As long as the writers take it slow and steady…
As Ben understandingly waits out this distressing twist of fate, Bailey and Meredith tend to Adele as the odds of her living through this one become smaller and smaller. It’s quite hard to watch these doctors fights to save one of the iconic characters of the series, when it is inevitable that Adele would somehow perish in the end. Still, this struggle did highlight Richard Webber and his tortured, complex marriage to the woman he spent most of his life with. The guilt on Richard’s face throughout Adele’s fight to stay alive just makes the entire situation all the more painful. He’s been having a fantastic time with Catherine Avery and had left his wife to another man with Alzheimer’s. It won’t be an easy thing to escape that guilt especially now that Adele has pasted over. This is a huge loss for the entire Grey’s Anatomy world. Loretta Devine has been wonderfully portraying the sweet and feisty Adele Webber in the series since the beginning, and to see her off is a huge deal. She will be missed.
And where there is tragedy, there is a happy ending. Bailey finally finishes Adele’s surgery and forgets about Ben and her wedding for at least a good twenty minutes. I love the fact that Bailey forgets, yet remembers just in time, mostly because it shows growth on her part. In her first marriage, Bailey let work dictate everything in her life and here it happened again. But Ben is able to understand that. All of Bailey’s hesitation comes from the constant struggle of finding time to be a happily married woman and be a successful general surgeon at the same time. Ben, being in the same general medical field as Bailey is able to understand the unpredictable nature of their careers, which is why these two are pretty much ideal for one another. The fight for balance is something Bailey and Ben will have to deal with together now that they’ve jumped the broom and sealed their new marital bond together in front of their friends and family.
The two lovers share a beautiful Christmas-themed wedding with macaroni and cheese cupcakes and a Christmas tree! The beginning of a lovely new marriage, where one ends mutually and another ends in tragedy, leaving Richard Webber a conflicted man full of guilt and sadness as he reminisces about his wedding with Adele, “My Funny Valentine” echoing in the background. Downright devastating. If you didn’t shed a tear during the last few moments of this installment, you might not be human and you would want to check that.
Just goes to show that Shonda Rhimes can make you laugh, smile, and cry all at the same time. The returning installment of Grey’s Anatomy is a knockout that proves this show, even in its milestone ninth season can still create amazingly touching and creative stories. And I think this might be one of my all-time favorite episodes of the series altogether! “Things We Said Today” gets 5 out of 5 stars!
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