“Grey’s Anatomy” recap: “Flight”

Last night we bid farewell to Season Eight of “Grey’s Anatomy” in a very somber fashion. If it weren’t for Ben and Bailey’s engagement, that would have been a completely depressing hour of TV. Lexie died, there’s no rescue in sight for the other members of the Oceanic, er Seattle Grace Six, April has no future and Teddy’s leaving. And of course we can’t forget about the Chief’s residents’ dinner that none of them were looking forward to.

Just because it was a sad episode, doesn’t mean it was bad. I thought it was a little slow, but I think that was a result of the show’s somber tone. Sandra Oh was really good as was Eric Dane during his “I love you” speech to a dying Lexie. That was some of the best-written material he’s gotten in a while, it’s no coincidence last night’s show was written by creator Shonda Rhimes. I also liked the call back to the pilot episode when the residents, then interns, were being introduced to the hospital by Richard. Especially since his prediction that two of them would leave the program altogether sort of came true. Izzie and George are no longer there; granted George died, but technically the group is down a pair of docs six years later.

Sadly, a lot of suspense was killed when Patrick Dempsey, Ellen Pompeo and Sandra Oh renewed their contracts. It’s too bad that news couldn’t have been kept under wraps until the finale aired. With that announcement came out beforehand, that cut the possibilities of who was going to die in the plane crash in half. Even without that news, it’s probably fair to say that the chances of Meredith, Derek or Cristina dying were pretty slim. I also felt the ABC promo department didn’t do the episode any favors by saying ONE would die in the preview. With that knowledge, it was obvious that even though Mark wad fading, Arizona was going to talk him out of the white light because we knew Lexie had already passed. I guess if we pick up where we left off at the start of Season Nine, he could still die, but as for last night, it was no surprise he was going to live.

The big surprise was Teddy leaving. I was never that attached to that character, so Kim Raver’s departure doesn’t bother me too much. It’s a shame that it took Owen firing her to get her to take that great job opportunity, but it showed great selflessness on his part because he is going to need her if Cristina does leave him. I also thought it was selfless of her to originally turn down the job so she could be there for Owen, but that wouldn’t have been wise. Owen fortunately recognized it.

Leave it to Bailey to save the day and keep at least some of the episode light. I’m not sure how the long-distance thing will work, especially with Ben working intern hours, but for now they’re happily engaged.

A few other thoughts and we’ll call it as season…

*I was hoping the finale would open up like the first episode of “Lost”. You know, Meredith’s eye opens and there’s just a burning plane and people running around and screaming frantically. It was sort of like that, but there wasn’t as much panic as during the “Lost” plane crash, but Arizona definitely took care of the screaming. We did get another “Lost” moment though when a Dr. Shepherd (although spelled differently) needed to have his arm stitched up. So there was that.

*I had a tough time sympathizing with Alex, Jackson and April dreading the residents’ dinner. I know they all have their issues (especially April), but a free, fancy dinner that includes duck that “just falls of the bone” sounded fantastic. It was great when April said she was just going to suck it up and be happy for the night. We’ll see how long that lasts when they find out why Meredith and Cristina aren’t at dinner.

*It was a great scene when Teddy and Meredith were performing the same procedure, albeit Teddy with all the proper equipment, and Meredith with whatever they could scrape together and Cristina and Derek, who between them had two good arms.

*It’s always funny to see when and where these characters decide to open up about how they are feeling. It was sweet when Teddy explained why she wasn’t going to leave Seattle, but did she have to do it in the OR with a patient on the table?

*Going forward, I wonder how they’re going to keep all of residents in Seattle, or if they’re not going to even bother. I assume the Season Nine premiere will pick up right where we left off, so that will give the writers a little time to figure out the docs’ decisions. It’s simple for Meredith; she can just decide to stay and convince Derek they’re better off there. For Cristina, now that Teddy’s gone, maybe she’ll have her eye on the top cardio spot. Although, she can’t go from new attending to Head of Cardio, right? I’m not sure what reason the writers could come up with to have Alex stay; maybe if Arizona is laid up for a while with her injury, he might decide to hang around. As for Jackson, my fearless forecast is that April is going to be pregnant and he’ll stay.

“Lines of the Night”…

*”I don’t know. I only have one shoe.”

*”I’m married to an orthopedic surgeon and I’m staring at my bone.”

*“Tasty-Freeze, no brainer.”

*“I still have PTSD, so I’m not reliable.”

*”I found it!” “The first-aid kit?” “My shoe!”

*”You were married? To a man?”

*”You’re not a free agent anymore.”

Well, that’s all I have. I hope you all enjoyed the episode and the season as a whole. Thanks for reading; I apologize for the lack of consistency in my write-ups, this year. I hope to be back on the weekly routine for Season Nine.

Joe Dyton is a marketing copywriter in Washington, DC and a freelance sports reporter for the Frederick News-Post in Frederick, MD. He is a former assistant editor for The Dealmakers real estate magazine in Hamilton, NJ and a former sports writer and copy editor for The Trentonian in Trenton, NJ. He can be reached at thedytonian@yahoo.com. Follow Joe on Twitter at http://twitter.com/dyton99.

Rangers-Capitals Game Five Recap: “Miracle on 33rd Street”

By Joe Dyton

I was ready.

I was ready to write the obituary for the Rangers’ 2012 season. With about six minutes or so left in Game Five Monday night, the Capitals were up, 2-1 and the Blueshirts couldn’t get anything going. I assumed the game was going to end, 2-1 or possibly, 3-1 on an empty-netter. I also figured Game Six would be nothing more than a formality. I know the Rangers took a 3-2 series deficit on the road in the first round, but the Caps are better than Ottawa and I figured they took care of business at their place. I shared this exchange via text message with my buddy Mike (a Caps fan) around the time I assumed the Rangers were toast:

Mike: “How are you feeling? I’m going crazy.”

Me: “I think the hourglass that is the Rangers’ season is just about out of sand. I am not sure they can pull off another Game Six and Seven back-to-back like they did last series.”

Mike: Caps haven’t won yet.

Could you blame me for thinking so negatively? The Garden was silent. The only line that was generating anything was the Brad Richards-Marian Gaborik-Carl Hagelin unit. All I could keep thinking was, “Who is going score?” The Rangers have some talented players, but no one who can just grab the puck and go score like the Capitals do. Even when the Rangers got that power play off of Joel Ward’s high stick, I didn’t get too excited because before that this as their power play for the night:

0-for-3, 0 shots on goal.

With a stat like that, I couldn’t get my hopes up even with Henrik Lundqvist pulled and the Rangers having a 6-on-4 man advantage.

Then, some way, somehow, the Rangers cashed in on their most important power play of the season. I don’t know what surprised me more; Richards tying the game with 6.6 seconds left, or the fact the Rangers scored on the power play. Either way, the Rangers had life.
Since Ward’s high stick drew blood, the Rangers got a four-minute power play and got to start OT up a man.

I thought it would be so great if the Rangers could just score on the PP and make it an early night. Then I thought it might be asking too much for them to score on both ends of a double minor.

Or was it?

Marc Staal and the Rangers PP proved me wrong again when he blistered that shot past a screened Braden Holtby. They got two power play goals in one game? I couldn’t believe it. Hopefully if they get any power plays in Game Six or (gulp), Game Seven the Rangers will employ the strategy they used for Staal’s goal. Get the puck to the points, forwards in front of Holtby and let it rip. Or at the very least, let the point-men wind up until the Caps’ forwards go down for the block attempt. Either way, I just know that the pass-pass-pass-perfect shot isn’t working and Holtby is stopping just about everything he can see.

A few other thoughts…

*I know the Rangers outshot the Caps, 38-18, but I felt like the Caps controlled the game after the Ranger-dominated first period. The Rangers had a lot of trouble generating quality scoring chances, while the Caps’ shot total wasn’t high, but the shots they did get were mostly high-quality.

*It’s scary to think how close the Caps came to winning this one. In the third period, they developed three great scoring changes on odd-man rushes and Nicklas Backstrom hit the crossbar after deking Lundqvist on a breakaway. It is game over (series over?) if he gets that puck an inch lower. Also, if Hagelin doesn’t bleed after he got hit by Ward’s stick, that’s perhaps a two-minute minor and OT starts at even-strength.

*The Rangers have to stop taking bad/lazy penalties. If the Caps had held on last night, the Rangers would have lost three games in this series on third period power play goals: Richard’s interference in Game Two, Hagelin’s slash in Game Four and Mike Rupp’s hook on Monday night. I’ll cut Rupp a little more slack because he was slowing down a scoring opportunity. Still, this series is too close and goals are too tough to come by to be taking needless penalties.

So, the Rangers have two cracks to win a trip to the Eastern Conference finals instead of one. I have a feeling that they might need both of the cracks. The Caps are going to come out even stronger than they did in Game Four; hopefully the Rangers will be more prepared for it this time.

Don’t be surprised if this goes seven.

Thanks for reading; until next time…

Joe Dyton is a marketing copywriter in Washington, DC and a freelance sports reporter for the Frederick News-Post in Frederick, MD. He is a former assistant editor for The Dealmakers real estate magazine in Hamilton, NJ and a former sports writer and copy editor for The Trentonian in Trenton, NJ. He can be reached at thedytonian@yahoo.com. Follow Joe on Twitter at http://twitter.com/dyton99.

Rangers-Capitals Game Four recap: “Even Steven”

Well, here we go again.

After four games in the Eastern Conference best-of-seven semifinal, the Rangers and Capitals are tied at two games each. That’s hardly a shock given how evenly matched these two teams were headed into the series. Now we have a best-of-three, and I wouldn’t be surprised if all three games were needed to decide this one.

What did surprise me was how flat the Rangers came out to start Saturday afternoon’s contest. I think everyone knew the Caps were going to come out guns blazing; they had no desire to go back to New Yorkdown 3-1, and they played like it. The Rangers looked a step slow; I’m not sure if they were still hung over from the triple overtime Game Three win, or if they relaxed mentally because worst case they were headed home tied at two games each. Whatever the reason was, the Caps out shot the Rangers, 14-3 in the first period. The only reason they just 1-0 was because of goalie Henrik Lundqvist.

Rangers coach John Tortorella must have had some strong words for his team between periods because they were much more into it when the second period started. I think it’s even safe to say they dominated the first half of it. It’s worrisome that the Rangers take so long to get warmed up sometimes. It seemed like they didn’t get going until Game Six of theOttawa series when their season was on the line. Then on Saturday when they had a chance to put a stranglehold on the series, they don’t show up until the second period. My hope is that on Monday night, their mentality is, “We can’t go back to D.C. down 3-2,” and not, “Let’s try to get this one, but if we lose, we can still tie it up in Game Six and win Game Seven back here.” The Caps played Game Four like they’d be eliminated if the lost it; let’s see if the Rangers can play with the same sense of urgency on Monday.

A few other thoughts…

*I’ll let others pin this one on Lundqvist, I’m going to give him a pass. I know there’s the thinking that he got his glove on Alex Ovechkin’s goal and that he has to find a way to stop Mike Green’s goal in the third, but he made so many other saves that he shouldn’t have. Namely, the stop he made on Ovechkin at the doorstep on the Caps’ first power play and how about the 2-on-0 save he made on Nicklas Backstrom. Yes, I would have liked to have seen him make one of those saves too, but this game isn’t even close without him.

*The Rangers’ offense still isn’t productive enough. I feel like it’s been the same thing since 2009; this team has so much trouble scoring goals. At times, I forget how they ended up with best record in the East. Just about every goal the Rangers score is grinded out; they needed a lucky break on their second one on Saturday. Braden Holtby’s defense hung him out to dry badly on that one. It would help if the Rangers could take advantage of the power play, but they went 0-for-2 again on Saturday. I think it’s too much to ask of a goaltender to hold a team as dangerous as the Caps to no or one goal every game.

*Not a great day for the officials, in my opinion. I agree that Carl Hagelin should have been penalized for slashing in the third period. My question is, why wasn’t Ovechkin penalized for breaking Brian Boyle’s stick in half just minutes earlier? The inconsistency in officiating during these playoffs is appalling. Speaking of inconsistency…

*I’m not shocked that Ovechkin isn’t even getting a hearing about his hit on Dan Girardi. There is just no rhyme or reason to who the league warns, fines, suspends, etc. This at least the third Ranger who’s taken a hit to the head in the playoffs and there have been no suspensions. Is it because Girardi didn’t get hurt on Ovie’s hit, that he’s not even going to get a warning? When Ovechkin got suspended earlier this year for leaving his feet and delivering a blow to the head, the league said once he left his feet, he’s responsible for contact to the head. Isn’t this the same thing? I kind of like the idea that the NHL just has a big “Price is Right” wheel that they spin when deciding whether or not to take action against a player or how long to suspend him for, because honestly, I don’t how else they come up with the punishments or non-punishments that they do.

My fingers are crossed that officiating doesn’t play into the result of Game Five, or at the very least, the Rangers can stay out of the box if the game is tied late in the third. It would also be nice if they could find a way to give Lundqvist some kind of margin for error. Either way, I have do doubt Game 5 will be just as tight and intense as the previous four.

Until then…

Joe Dyton is a marketing copywriter in Washington, DC and a freelance sports reporter for the Frederick News-Post in Frederick, MD. He is a former assistant editor for The Dealmakers real estate magazine in Hamilton, NJ and a former sports writer and copy editor for The Trentonian in Trenton, NJ. He can be reached at thedytonian@yahoo.com. Follow Joe on Twitter at http://twitter.com/dyton99.

 

Rangers-Capitals Game Two Recap: “The Garden of Even”

By Joe Dyton

Two games may be a small sample size, but it appears the difference in the Rangers-Caps series is going to be which team can avoid making the crucial mistake.

Throw the seedings out the window, these teams are evenly matched. The Caps have more offensive firepower, but some of that is negated by the Rangers’ solid team defense and Vezina and Hart trophy nominated goalie Henrik Lundqvist. Since both teams have decided to play the same low-risk, defensive style, each game is going to come down to power play effectiveness and avoiding costly mistakes.

Take Game One where Mike Green’s ill-advised line change led to Chris Kreider’s game-winning goal. That brief mental lapse swung the momentum in the Rangers’ favor and the Caps never recovered.

On Monday night, the trended continued in Game Two, but it was the Rangers’ miscues that helped the Caps even the series. A turnover led to a 3-on-2 for Washington that resulted in the game’s first goal. Lundqvist inexplicably tried to play the puck behind the net with the Caps rushing in. Let your “D” men get that puck, Hank! Two-zip, Caps.

Despite the Rangers’ comedy of errors, they were still somehow tied at two with the Caps midway through the third period. Their most costly mistake off call came when Brad Richards took a penalty just 36 seconds after the Rangers had just killed one off. I know some people felt the holding call was marginal, but at that stage of the game, a player can’t give the ref any reason to raise his hand. The Caps’ power play had been unimpressive to that point, but with all the skill players they have, it was inevitable they’d cash in eventually. Sure enough, before Richards could get comfortable in the penalty box, Alex Ovechkin rifled one past Lundqvist.

As the series moves on to Washington, I don’t see either team changing their strategies too much, especially the Caps who were able to steal home ice. Prepare for more low shot totals, a lot of blocked shots, a clogged neutral zone and hopefully less mistakes.

A few other thoughts…

*A bad game for Lundqvist? I don’t like to always like to look at the goal total when judging a goalie’s performance. I’m more interested in how each goal was scored. Last night, the Caps’ first goal was a tic-tac-toe assault finished off by Mike Knuble. I’d hardly put that on The King. Same goes for Ovie’s game-winner. The last things you want to give Ovechkin are time and space and he had both when he ripped that shot past Lundqvist. The only goal I’d put on him was the second when he gave the puck away. Bad decision, yes. Bad game, not really.

*Have the power play units broken through?: I was exchanging texts with my Caps-fan buddy Mike and whenever one of our teams had the man-advantage, we hardly got excited. Could you blame us? After all, both teams started the series 0-for-6. Then wouldn’t you know…

Mike (after Knuble’s penalty): “I’m scared.”

Me: “Like the Caps’ PP, the Rangers’ is bad.”

Ryan Callahan scores on a deflection. Two-all.

I almost fell out of my chair when Callahan tied the game. Mike texted me, “God (the Caps’) PP sucks,” just a few minutes before Ovie scored. We tried to figure out if the Rangers and Caps’ penalty kill units were really that great, or if the power play units were underachieving. Ultimately, we decided both teams are very good at killing penalties, but the power plays are so-so. I’ve actually accepted the fact that Rangers power play isn’t effective, but I’m surprised the Caps have been unable to get it going. I think both teams pass way too much to find the perfect shot. By time they get that perfect shot, 45 seconds of the power play has expired. We’ll see if either team tries a new strategy going forward.

*Missing, Marian Gaborik, last seen New York, NY, Game One, Eastern Conference seminfinals: Where has the Great Gabby gone? I know he set up Richards on the goal on Monday, but this guy scored 41 goals this season! The Rangers need him to find the back of the net if they’re going to win this series. They don’t have enough weapons to get by another round without him. I saw on Twitter today some people wondered if he’s nursing an injury, but it not like he’s skating poorly or anything. I just think he’s been kept in check.

That’s it for Game Two. As a Ranger fan, I’d love to see them take both in DC, but I think that’s unlikely. A split is fine, just as long as they win Game Three so I can watch Game Four pressure-free. Ah forget it, take ‘em both boys!

Joe Dyton is a marketing copywriter in Washington, DC and a freelance sports reporter for the Frederick News-Post in Frederick, MD. He is a former assistant editor for The Dealmakers real estate magazine in Hamilton, NJ and a former sports writer and copy editor for The Trentonian in Trenton, NJ. He can be reached at thedytonian@yahoo.com. Follow Joe on Twitter at http://twitter.com/dyton99.

 

Rangers-Capitals Game One Recap: “Hit Me With Your Best Shot”

By Joe Dyton

So, was that a game between the Capitals and Rangers or a split squad New Jersey Devils scrimmage circa 1995?

There were 32 shots on goal for the game! That wasn’t the Caps or Rangers game total, the two teams combined to shoot (18 shots forWashington, 14 forNew York). I figured this game was going to be tight, but I figured each of teams would at least hit the 20-shot mark. Given that both teams went on power play four times (although one of the Rangers’ was for less than 30 seconds), those shot totals are ridiculously low.

During the game, I exchanged a few texts with Caps-fan friend Mike, and I said that after the first period there was zero room to skate out there. It was almost as if it was eight-on-eight. After the period ended with the shots advantage of 6-4 in favor of the Caps, I figured it was the result of both teams being a little tired from playing Game 7’s and also a bit tentative since it was the first game. Turned out that wasn’t the case as neither team didn’t record double-digit shots in the second or the third periods either.

As a Rangers fan, I’m happy they pulled out the win. I wasn’t sure what to expect since they played a grueling Game 7 against Ottawajust two days beforehand. I just hope that as the series goes on, the Blueshirts find a way to get more pucks towards Braden Holtby. I don’t think less than 20 shots going forward is going to do it. On the Caps’ side, Dale Hunter has gotten this offensive-minded team to buy into a more defensive approach, and it got them in the playoffs and past the defending Cup champs,Boston. If they can’t generate more offense in Game Two, I wonder how patient they will remain when they head back to DC for Games 3 and 4.

A few other thoughts…

* I felt one of the game’s biggest turning points early on came when the Caps didn’t score on their 5-on-3 power play. The Garden crowd had gotten a little quiet, and that kill reignited the fans. The Caps had an excellent opportunity to set the tone after a scoreless first period. Instead, the Rangers fed off the PK and took a 1-0 lead thanks to a crafty wrap-around by Artem Anisimov (pull him down and take the penalty there, Mike Green!) Although…

*Did anyone else see the Caps’ goal at the end of the second coming? I know I did. It was the perfect storm, the Rangers looked like they were headed to intermission with a 1-0 lead to protect, but couldn’t keep the puck in the Caps’ zone to close out the second. When the Caps came flying down the ice with less than 20 seconds to go, I just knew they were going to score there. Brooks Laich’s flip pass was brilliant, as was the concentration by Jason Chimera to knock it past Henrik Lundqvist without even having to really settle it down. As much as I wanted to kill the Rangers for giving up a goal so late, I think more credit has to go to the Caps for their clock awareness and execution.

I also don’t care what the NBC crew says, that wasn’t a “soft” goal given up by Lundqvist. Just because a shot goes through the goalies’ legs doesn’t mean it’s a soft goal allowed. Same goes for Brad Richards’ goal; it wasn’t soft; he put it past Holtby from point-blank range. Stop it, Mike Milbury, just stop it.

*Chris Kreider, the kid is all right. When the Rangers finally signed Kreider after he finished his season atBostonCollege, I thought it was nuts that people said he might join the Rangers in the playoffs. Huh? He just finished playing college hockey; his first NHL game was going to be in the Stanley Cup playoffs? I admit I dismissed the idea. Then Carl Hagelin was suspended during theOttawa series for three games, and the kid got the call. The Hagelin suspension sucked, but who knows if we would have seen Krieder without it? He scored the game-winner in Game 6 in the first round and did it again on Saturday, and had the primary assist on Richards’ insurance goal. I hope he’s wearing a blue shirt for a long, long time.

*I thought the refs were OK, but not great. They kept the game under control, which was good to see, and I had no problem with Mike Rupp’s goaltender interference call. He wasn’t pushed into Holtby. To me, the key missed call was the trip on Marcus’ Johansson’s pseudo-breakaway in the second. I agree that it wasn’t a goal, but he was tripped. I also got a kick out of the missed trip on Alex Ovechkin with about four minutes left in the game, and he yelled audibly, “Are you (effing) kidding me?” It’s too bad the microphones don’t pick up more of that stuff.

Overall, I thought it was a decent Game One. Obviously better for Rangers fans than the Caps’ faithful, but I have a feeling it will be awhile before this one is decided.

Final thoughts from my friend Mike from the Capitals perspective, “Two-minute breakdown, (crappy) PP and Mike Green (-2 on the day) lost that game.”

My final thoughts from the NYR perspective: I’m grateful for the win, but am concerned about the low shot total. The Caps probably deserved a better fate; they held the Rangers to 14 shots and lost, not to mention they hit the post three times. Even though the Rangers hold the edge, I feel winning Game Two is almost essential since the Caps are strong at home (last series not withstanding).

That’s all for now. Hope you enjoyed the game. Until Game Two…

Joe Dyton is a marketing copywriter in Washington, DC and a freelance sports reporter for the Frederick News-Post in Frederick, MD. He is a former assistant editor for The Dealmakers real estate magazine in Hamilton, NJ and a former sports writer and copy editor for The Trentonian in Trenton, NJ. He can be reached at thedytonian@yahoo.com. Follow Joe on Twitter at http://twitter.com/dyton99.

“Grey’s Anatomy” recap: “The Girl With No Name”

By Joe Dyton

I apologize for my lack of “Grey’s” recaps the last few weeks. To be honest, the show has been so lackluster lately, I haven’t really been too inspired to write about it. Other than the Cristina and Owen’s marital troubles, most of the storylines have been incredibly dull. I swear, a couple weeks ago, the writers just made up the fact that Arizona had a lot of exes at the hospital just to give her and Callie something to argue about. Anyway, I just felt like I would have been saying the same thing every week. I decided this week though that no matter how bad, uninteresting, etc. the show was, I was going to write a recap and do the same for the rest of the season.

I think I picked the right week to get back into the recap game, because I thought last night’s episode was pretty good. The main medical case with the kidnapped girl was one of better ones they had done in a while. There were no groundbreaking surgeries or anything, but it was a strong, gripping storyline and it was interesting to see how Holly’s presence affected a couple of the docs. From her parent’s perspective, it was easy to see how Richard felt for them since he knows exactly how it feels to have someone he loves not remember him. I also thought Chandra Wilson was excellent in portraying just how terrified Bailey was at the thought of Tuck being taken. I’ve seen a lot of different Bailey’s over the course of the show, but freaked out, shaken Bailey was a new one to me.

The residents going on their interviews was also interesting. It’s funny, with the intense story with Holly, I felt the interview saga could have been its own episode. Either way, it still worked. It was fun to see Cristina just soaking in all the attention she was getting from the different programs like she was a blue chip high school basketball or football star. Is anyone else concerned that given how cocky she’s being about everything that she’s going to end up failing her boards? I didn’t especially like the dirty pool Arizona played with Alex, setting him up with interviews at undesirable locations just to get him to stay at Seattle Grace. If she wanted him to stay there, why not just ask him? Or, at least set up a recruitment pitch like everyone else. My favorite part of the episode came out of this storyline as well: Owen telling Teddy to get lost when she asked him to convince Cristina to stay at Seattle Grace. I don’t blame for his reaction; you can’t tell a guy you hate his guts and then ask him for a favor.

And then there was Richard. Oh, poor Richard. There was a small part of me that didn’t feel sorry for him because he did cheat on Adele with Ellis Grey all those years. However, since that was never really depicted on screen except in that flashback episode, it was easier to forget that and just feel bad for the guy. It was especially sad when his singing their wedding song didn’t help jog her memory this time around. I think that’s when he realized that there probably was no going back and he made the selfless move to let her be with her newfound love. Does this mean the door has opened for Richard to pursue Jackson’s mom? Anyway, I feel Loretta Devine is doing an amazing job of portraying Adele with Alzheimer’s.

A few other thoughts and I’m finished…

*I thought last week’s episode was pretty good too. Part of me thinks that the show missed an golden opportunity by not having Sloan be Chief. The reason I say only part me thinks they missed is because I’m not sure if Sloan’s clichés and rah-rah approach would be as entertaining week after week. It was great for an episode though. If I’m ever the chief of something, I definitely plan to have a “Beef with the Chief” session for my employees. I also thought the flashback stuff with Owen and Cristina was really good, although I’m not sure why in the world Cristina wanted to torture herself with the play-by-play of Owen’s indiscretion.

*Not sure if anyone else is watching Shonda Rhimes’ new show, “Scandal”, but I watched the first two episodes and thought they it was pretty good.

*Line of the Night: “You’re an acquired taste, like blue cheese.”

*Honorable mentions for “Line of the Night”…
-“I love mean Kepner.”
-“English or the Jodie Foster in the woods movie?”
“I’m asking for a job, not a date to the prom.”
-“No more one hour outside of Toledo’s.”
-“Fruit just says your program sucks.”

Well, that’s all for this week. I hope you all enjoyed the episode. Have a great day and wonderful weekend!

Joe Dyton is a marketing copywriter in Washington, DC and a freelance sports reporter for the Frederick News-Post in Frederick, MD. He is a former assistant editor for The Dealmakers real estate magazine in Hamilton, NJ and a former sports writer and copy editor for The Trentonian in Trenton, NJ. He can be reached at thedytonian@yahoo.com. Follow Joe on Twitter at http://twitter.com/dyton99.

“Grey’s Anatomy” recap: “I Will Survive”

On Thursday, we got the penultimate episode of the seventh season of “Grey’s”. I thought it kind of a snooze for the first three quarters of the show. Normally, I’d complain about that, but I’m willing to give the show a pass because the purpose of last night’s show is to set up next week’s finale. The finale looks good based on the previews, but we’ll see what happens when we watch it.

But, back to Thursday’s show. The biggest problem for me was much of the hour was fueled by the Chief Resident race, and I don’t really care who wins. Not to mention, this just feels like a repeat of the race to succeed the Chief when he was planning to retire a few seasons ago. So when a storyline that a) I’m not that interested in and b) has been done before is carrying the hour, it’s not going to be best viewing experience for me. On this storyline though, it looks like the race is down to Alex and April, right? Cristina is out, Jackson dropped out and Alex more or less push Meredith out with his end of the episode bombshell (more on that later). Is Lexie in the race too? I honestly can’t remember. For comedy’s sake, it would be great if April won the gig; can you imagine the rest of the residents having to report to perky, rules-following April?

As for the non-chief resident parts of the show, what can I say? Now that Callie and baby are both healthy, Arizona and Callie are married and Arizona and Mark are getting along alright; there’s not much to feed that storyline anymore. I’m not sure where Arizona and Callie go from here; I guess they’ve had their time in the spotlight, and they’ll now take Meredith and Derek’s spot as the show’s happy, harmonious couple (I can’t imagine things staying sunny between Mer and Der if/when her tainting their trial comes to light). At least there’s some hope for Mark if he and Lexie find their way back to one another (poor Jackson).

Speaking of Jackson, I thought he asked off of the Chief’s diabetes trial to focus on surgery because he thought that would be better his chances for a shot at Chief Resident. I never would have guessed he did it for selfless reasons; dropping out because he didn’t want his name to hurt the Chief’s chances of winning awards was pretty noble. Who knows, maybe Owen will take that selflessness into consideration when he makes his pick.

I wish I could get more excited about Derek and Meredith’s plans to adopt. It’s great that they want to, but just like I was indifferent about Meredith getting pregnant, I don’t think my enjoyment of the show will be made or broken if they get to adopt Zola. When Meredith was talking to the social worker, I wanted to root hard for her to do well, but honestly, I just wanted to show to move on to something, anything more interesting. It’ll be interesting to see if Meredith’s messing with the trial with hurt their adoption chances.

I don’t think it was much of a surprise that Teddy’s situation was going to get messy eventually. It was inevitable that Henry was going to develop real feelings for Teddy and Andrew was going to return, right? Hey, after seven seasons, it’s tough to keep the surprises coming, so I can’t beat up the writers too badly for this plotline. Does anyone think Teddy is really going to go to Germany with Andrew though? I’ve heard nothing about Kim Raver leaving the show, so if she did head off to Germany, I’d be somewhat surprised about that.

On the medical side of things, I’m torn on the Teddy-Cristina debate. I can understand Teddy being mad that her subordinate went over her head, but I agree with Cristina too. Yes, she defied her boss, but she saved the patient’s life. I do think there’s a little truth to Cristina’s accusation that Teddy is threatened by her. Why else would she overreact so badly? I have to bring out my Logic Police badge for a second though; aren’t there other cardio surgeons that Cristina could work under? Is Teddy the only heart doctor in the hospital? As for Cristina’s case; the tree in the lung was pretty interesting. No surprise that April was going to sell her out to Teddy though. It’s all about the checklist and protocol after all. You know what, never mind; I don’t think I could take it if April wins Chief Resident.

Alright, let’s move on to the two most interesting parts of the episode; at least for me anyway. I loved the Owen and Cristina showdown near the end of the episode. The best part about it was everything Owen said was right; Chief Resident would be nothing more than a resume highlight for her. She’d hate the administrative part of the job (where April would excel actually), and want to quit no sooner than she got the gig. The same thing happened to Callie, remember? It would have been an interesting story for Cristina if she did get it though; she’d have to deal with that doubt about whether she was Chief Resident because she earned it or because her husband did the picking.

And then there’s Alex. Oh, Alex. I will admit, I was surprised about how the Lucy thing turned out. I assumed that once he turned down the Africa job, she was going to say she took the job at Baylor. Then we’d have the classic TV “I gave up a good job for you, why didn’t you do the same for me?” argument. What a great job by the writers taking it a step farther and have Lucy not head to Texas, but take the exact same job that Alex turned down. That was just push Alex needed to go into destructive mode. Well, that and Cristina telling him that he doesn’t stand a chance against Meredith for Chief Resident. There was no way Alex was going to play fair and square; he just needed a reason to play the “Meredith cheated” card, and he got two. Can’t wait to what happens next week, and it’s been awhile since I said that about “Grey’s”.

A few other random thoughts…

*Sorry I didn’t do a recap for last week’s show. I was out of the office on Friday, went home for the weekend and didn’t get to watch it until Wednesday. Overall, I thought the episode was kind of bland for having two main characters getting married to one another. Also on that point, I was shocked about how close-minded Callie’s mother was. I remember her dad was the same way; I thought him finally coming around would have rubbed off on her too. Other quick thoughts…I was kind of surprised Meredith and Derek would miss Callie and Arizona’s wedding; did they really have to pick that moment to get officially married?…I can’t figure out Stark; he’s mostly a jerk, but then he turns around and gives April a glowing recommendation for Chief Resident…last week was the second episode in a row that Bailey had to talk Callie off the edge; she’s like her fairy godmother.

Line of the Night: “Meredith messed with the Alzheimer’s trial.”

Honorable Mentions:

“My mom was a nurturing as a steak knife.”
-”No time for mommy (stuff).”
-”I have everything I ever wanted…almost.”

*I was kind of surprised next week’s finale is only an hour; the reaction to Meredith’s deceit and the fallout from the Chief Resident selection could probably take up the hour itself. That’s fine with though; I’d rather there be fewer, stronger storylines in a shorter amount of time than a bunch of filler storylines in a two-hour finale.

Joe Dyton is a marketing copywriter in Washington, DC and a freelance sports reporter for the Frederick News-Post in Frederick, MD. He is a former assistant editor for The Dealmakers real estate magazine in Hamilton, NJ and a former sports writer and copy editor for The Trentonian in Trenton, NJ. He can be reached at thedytonian@yahoo.com. Follow Joe on Twitter at http://twitter.com/dyton99.

“Grey’s Anatomy” recap: “Sanctuary”/”Death and All His Friends”

By Joe Dyton

Before we get into last night’s “Grey’s” Season Six finale, let’s step back and take a deep breath. I don’t know about you, but I had quite a time trying to breathe while watching that episode. Holy cow, that was intense. It’s been well-documented in this space that I thought the last few episodes of this season (save last week’s ep) weren’t very interesting. At some point, I finally accepted the fact that “Grey’s” creator Shonda Rhimes was saving the very best for last. I didn’t care for that strategy; it didn’t seem right to bore us for the sake of having an explosive finale, but after seeing it I had one thought:

It was totally worth it. 

I’ll be honest; I was worried that the finale wouldn’t live up to the hype/anticipation because of how mediocre the last few episodes had been. But it was everything it was cracked up to be and more. I always felt the best episode of the series was the post-Super Bowl “Code Black” one from Season Two. That episode didn’t come close to the suspense that was in last night’s show. Alfred Hitchcock said in horror movies that the terror isn’t in the boom, but in the anticipation of it. That’s how I felt about last night’s finale; anytime a doctor went into the hallway or somewhere they shouldn’t have been, I felt myself climbing towards the edge of my seat. There was plenty to rave about in the episode, but I thought its biggest strength was how well the suspense was built up in each scene. And that was established from the get-go. Reid getting shot was brutal, but she’s a recent addition to the cast. It didn’t surprise me that she was hit; she was expendable But when Alex, who’s been here since the pilot, was shot just a few seconds later; it made the audience realize no one was safe. I thought it was smart to establish that fear right away instead of dragging it out for the first 30 minutes or so.

I was also pleased that even though the finale was two-hours, it didn’t feel like it. Very little time was wasted. There have been a few times that “Grey’s” was extended by an hour and it felt like a chore to get through, but last night that wasn’t so, thank goodness. To be fair, I started the show about 30 minutes in, so maybe it didn’t feel long because I didn’t have to sit through any commercials. But I think I would have felt the same way if I watched it all live. At times, I actually felt like I was watching a movie; it was that tense.

So, that was my quick, introductory view of the finale. To review the rest of last night’s epic episode in more detail, I’m going to break out an old format for a special request I got earlier this week. Without further ado, here are some Thumbs Up and Thumbs Down from last night’s show.

THUMBS UP: To the Chief. Not Derek, Richard! I initially gave him a Thumbs Up for receiving his six-months sober chip, but that was just the beginning for what was a great two hours for him. I admired his bravery and how he was able to sneak into the hospital. There was no way he was going to let his hospital get taken hostage without a fight. And what can I say about his final standoff with Mr. Clark? I loved his “I’ve lived” speech and I really loved how he poured his flask contents on the floor. I have to admit, if I was in Richard’s position, I probably would have taken a sip. No one could blame if he had.

THUMBS DOWN: To the ABC Promo department. Last week’s previews gave away the results of Meredith’s pregnancy test and her reaction to Derek getting shot. Granted, they didn’t show Derek get hit, but when they showed Meredith screaming and Cristina holding her back in that preview, was there any doubt what she was reacting to? I won’t come down on them too hard for showing Bailey being pulled from her hiding spot, because that gave us an idea for what we were in store for, but the other two reveals were inexcusable.

THUMBS UP: To Special Guest Star Mandy Moore’s performance. In the beginning of the episode, she didn’t bring much to the table; she was just good ol’ Mandy Moore. But as the episode wore on and things got tenser, I became more and more impressed with her dramatic acting chops. She really sold how scared her character was when the big emergency was revealed and when she had to assist Bailey in keeping Charles alive.

THUMBS DOWN: To the morbid foreshadowing. I cringed when Derek was complaining about all of his paperwork and wished that something would get plunged in his head just so he could be in an OR. Was there any doubt Mr. Clark was going to find him after that? And then when Cristina joked that she hoped Meredith and Derek would die so she could fulfill her godmother duties, I had a feeling we were in some trouble.

THUMBS UP: To the other strong performances from last night. I thought Chandra Wilson was excellent; but she’s always excellent. She played scared very convincingly as well; and her “The elevators are off” freak-out was very passionate without going over the top. I also thought Ellen Pompeo was great too. I’ve never been overly impressed with her acting; she’s not bad, but over these past six seasons, I’ve never really watched her and thought, “She should turn that scene in for Emmy considerations.” Last night, she got to put on a nice display; of course there was the reaction to Derek getting shot, but she was also good in the OR when she thought Jackson and Cristina gave into Mr. Clark’s demands, her “Eye for eye” bargaining speech was very good as well as when she told April about how it took her a long time to find/want/want to have kids with Derek.

And speaking of April; I have to give Sarah Drew a “Thumbs Up” for her performance too. She was good when she was in shock after finding Reid and even though part of me was hoping Mr. Clark would fire a warning shot in the ceiling to shut her up when she was giving her life story; she was awesome in that scene too. It’s tough to have a bad episode when there’s a good story followed up with good performances like the ones given by Wilson, Pompeo and Drew.

THUMBS DOWN: To the personal storylines during a time of crisis. This Thumbs Down is two-pronged. Part of it goes to Rhimes for putting it in there; to me it was the only weak link in the script. I know she really couldn’t let the season finish without resolving some of that stuff; but when a shooter is roaming around the halls of Seattle Grace-Mercy West; I don’t want to see Cristina asking Owen if she loves her or Teddy, or Mark asking Lexie if she thought more about his proposal and especially Callie and Arizona picking up where they left off on the baby battle. Like I said, I understand why Rhimes put that in there; if the whole two-hours focused on the shooter, the episode would have been even more heavy-handed than it was. Just for my viewing pleasure, I could have lived without that.

The other prong goes to Arizona and Callie. At least Mark and Lexie and Owen and Teddy put a lid on their drama when they realized there was a crisis. It blew my mind when Arizona brought her and Callie’s troubles again once the hospital went into lockdown. I thought Callie said it best, “You want to talk about this now?” I couldn’t have said it better myself. This was the pimple on what was otherwise a flawless episode.

And finally…

THUMBS UP: To Charles’ final words. It was a heartbreaking scene, but I thought it was a great send-off for a character I didn’t care for very much. Remember this is the guy who shamelessly used Izzie to get ahead when he first started there. Anytime someone can make me feel for a character I don’t like, they’ve done good work. I felt awful when he asked Bailey to tell Reid how he felt about her knowing that she suffered the same fate.

OK a few more random thoughts and I’ll see you in September…

*I can’t help but wonder if Lexie really loves Alex or if she was caught up in it all. She didn’t seem to be bothered when he called for Izzie, so maybe she does. I was definitely impressed with Mark’s ability to keep Alex alive while having to watch the gal he loves pour all of her emotions out over someone else. Talk about a true professional.

*Believe it or not, Rhimes said in her original script, Mr. Clark shot Bailey, but she couldn’t go through with having the soul of the show being wounded, so she re-wrote it. Here’s a link to more of her thoughts about the episode: http://www.greyswriters.com/

*I did not see Mr. Clark ending up in Derek’s OR coming. Not one bit. When Owen got there and just nonchalantly said it looked like Cristina had things under control and he’d check in on her, I assumed Cristina was obviously having trouble, but he didn’t want to alarm Mer. I couldn’t believe it when Mr. Clark was in there and forcing  Cristina’s to stop operating. To me that was easily the most suspenseful scene of the episode; Bailey and Charles hiding in Mary’s room was a close second.

*It would have been nice to have seen Meredith and Derek’s reunion at the end of the episode. After him being shot and her miscarrying (another shocker; given that she found out on the same day) and us sitting through two hours of nail biting suspense, wouldn’t it have been nice to end things with Meredith giving McDreamy a big, “You’re OK!” hug? I’d be shocked if the Season 7 premiere picks up where this one ended, so I guess we’ll have to imagine how that scene played out. Speaking of Meredith, I was impressed by her strength. She threw Cristina aside like a rag doll. I guess we all get a little stronger when the person we love is in danger.

*Line of the Week: “I’ll be your eye for an eye.”

*Honorable Mentions for “Line of the Week” (Strongest considerations are in bold.)

-“I’m a nurse.”

-“You stop crying.”  (I think I liked the exchange more than the line actually.)

-“I hope it has his hair.”

-“Don’t alarm the makers of the tiny humans.”

-“Did he weep like a (witch) baby?”

-“I wanna see the (witch) baby tears.”

-“I was doing charts, now I’m shot!”

-“Correction, (I) loved it here.”

-“…because that would be the worst break-up ever.”

-“There’s no hum.”

-“Me or you.”

*I was a little surprised Arizona gave in and decided she’s ready for children now. Much like Lexie, I wonder if she got caught up in all of the day’s events and said something she didn’t mean.

*So, given the fact that Owen ran back into a locked-down hospital (nice job by Teddy getting in the way of the cop by the way), entered an OR with a armed man and took one to the shoulder, I guess it’s safe to say he loves/chose Cristina?

*As for final thoughts on Season Six, I thought it was a B, B minus. It started out strong with the mourning of George, but lost its way a bit when the Mercy West crew came in (it just added too many characters and unnecessary plot lines), the stuff with Sloan’s daughter, not to mention the back-and-forth with Izzie. There were some strong episodes along the way, but the second half of the season rarely gave us too many quality episodes consecutively. The last few episodes heading up the finale were tough to sit though from an entertainment standpoint, but the finale more than made up that. This season was a like a college kid who did OK in a course all semester and then aced their final exam that counted for 50 percent of their grade. They saved their best for last, and at the end of the day, I’m OK with that.

I hope you all enjoyed the show and this season as a whole. Thanks for taking the time to discuss the show with me. I look forward to more of what’s to come in the fall.

Joe Dyton is a marketing copywriter in Washington, DC. He is a former assistant editor for The Dealmakers real estate magazine in Hamilton, NJ and a former sports writer and copy editor for The Trentonian in Trenton, NJ. He can be reached at thedytonian@yahoo.com. Follow Joe on Twitter at http://twitter.com/dyton99.

“Lost” Thoughts”: “The End”

By Joe Dyton

Well after six years, 119 episodes and a two-hour series recap/retrospective, the series finale of “Lost” finally arrived. I still thought it was odd that ABC opted to air the finale on Sunday when it was on Tuesday all season long, but whatever. I guess the network couldn’t have turned the evening into a five and a half hour extravaganza on a weeknight. But that is a very, very small drop in the large bucket that was the last ever episode of “Lost”.

When it comes to series finales, often times viewers are more interested in the ending than the actual episode itself. “Lost” co-showrunner Carlton Cuse made a good point, the only thing a lot of people remember about the last episode of “The Sopranos” is the ending when the screen just went to black. So, going into last night’s show, I was curious if Cuse and his co-showrunner and co-writer on the finale, Damon Lindelof would be able to put together a memorable episode and not just an ending. Looking back, I think they won in that respect. Honestly, I was more satisfied with the episode than the ending. Don’t get me wrong; I didn’t mind the ending, it’s just that part of it left me ending, which I’ll get to shortly.

I’m going to be honest; a two and a half hour episode is a lot to muddle though, but I’m going to try to touch on everything. Last night was really about two things: the show and the end of the series. Let’s dive into the episode first….

I thought there was plenty to like about the finale. Things got off to a great start when Kate smirked at the name, “Christian Shephard.” Hurley’s throwaway line about Jacob “Being worse than Yoda” was classic, along with his noticing that Jack and Kate’s “moment” would have been really sweet, “if they weren’t about to die.” I thought most of the “letting go” flashes were great; I liked Sun and Jin’s the best; mainly because after they were killed off, it was nice to see them have such a sweet recollection of their time on the island. It also provided some comic relief when they both picked up their ability to speak English again and just grinned from ear to ear when Sawyer was worried for Sun’s safety. Not to mention the great exchange between Jin and Sawyer: “I guess we’ll see you there?” “See you where?”

The other memorable flashes belonged to Kate, Claire and Charlie (it’s tough to get more powerful than them re-imagining Aaron’s birth) and of course Locke wiggling his toes and Jack finally letting go by touching his dad’s long-lost coffin. Sawyer and Juliet’s didn’t do as much for me, but it was still sweet, especially when Sawyer told Juliet he had her. The only reason I said I liked most of the flashes was because I wasn’t a huge fan of the Sayid and Shannon one. It was almost too manufactured: Boone intentionally taking a beating so Sayid could come to his and Shannon’s rescue felt cheap compared to the rest of characters getting flashes through twists of fate. I was happy for Sayid of course, but I always felt Shannon was a non-entity to the show and brought nothing to the table.

On the island, we finally got the plane survivors vs. Un-Locke showdown we’d been anticipating for weeks. Fortunately Jack was right and Desmond turning out the lights in a sense made Un-Locke venerable long enough so they could take him out. I enjoyed the Jack-Un-Locke fight, even if it looked liked it was ripped from Superman-Lex Luthor showdown in “Superman Returns”. I mean we have the hero going toe-to-toe with the bald villain in the rain on a crumbling rock and the villain stabs the hero? I can’t help but wonder if the “Superman Returns” scribes were watching that last night and thinking, “Hey!” Anyway, luckily Jack’s Lois Lane (Kate) had his back and put one through Un-Locke so he fell over the cliff instead of the weakened Man of Steel. My only complaint about the fight scene was before the commercial break prior to it; I thought Jack jumping through the air fists raised and the screen going black was incredibly cheesy. It didn’t give me high hopes for what was to come after the break, but the scene redeemed itself nicely.

On the other side of the rock, the suspense wasn’t as great, but it was fun watching Miles, Richard and Lapidus put the plane together. As always, Miles gets a least one great throwaway line, “I believe in duct tape.” I couldn’t help but think of the scene in “Major League” when the pilot was duct taping one of the propellers of the team plane while all of that was happening. Anyway, everyone wondered what was the point of keeping Lapidus around; he seemed like another non-entity. Well, our question was answered last night; without him, Kate, Sawyer, Miles, Richard and Claire never get off the island. I applaud the writers for giving what was such a non-factor of a character a heroic sign-off.

As for the ending, I’m kind of at peace with it. I like that we got to see what happened with all of these characters, I do. I just felt that after six years and a TWO AND A HALF HOUR finale, we could have gotten some more answers about the island. I saw a pre-show interview with Cuse and he said they aimed the finale at character resolution (which I felt they did an excellent job with) rather than the island’s mythology. With the time they had last night, couldn’t they have concentrated on both? Did it have to be one or the other? Part of me feels they put all of this mysterious stuff in the first season and didn’t have any satisfying answers, so they Cousin Oliver’ed all of it and just made the show a character-driven series where strange, unexplained phenomenon occur. It just felt like they took the easy way out there. So, while I was OK with how things were wrapped up, I would have liked a little more. Maybe that makes me greedy, I don’t know. One-hundred and fifty minutes seems like a lot of time to just abandon one-half of what the show was all about.

OK a few more random thoughts and we’ll call it a series….

*I went into last night’s show with zero expectations (it’s the only way I knew I wouldn’t be 100% let down by the ending). The only thing I wanted was for the flash-sideways this season to have a clear-cut explanation, and I guess I won in that sense. However, in the grand scheme of things, the flash-sideways were kind of waste, weren’t they? I liked that they were revealed to be the characters’ after life and Desmond was working to get them all to their destined meeting place, but unless I missed something those scenes didn’t have much bearing on what was happening in the island-universe. Think about it: Seasons one through three gave us flashbacks to show us the events that got everyone on the plane and to the island (with the exception of the Season 3 finale, which was a flash-forward), Season four was all flash-forwards that showed us the Oceanic 6’s lives off of the island and how/why they went back and even Season 5’s wacky time travel let us see the island through the years. This season, the flash-sideways pretty much were independent of the island action. That caught me off-guard.

*I was glad we got a least some explanation of the island’s powers. That light everyone seemed to want looked like it’s what kept Un-Locke invincible as well as what kept Richard from aging. I believe it was after Desmond “turned off the lights” that Richard got his first grey hair, and he couldn’t have been happier. The only thing more I would have wanted was to see how Jacob’s brother turned into the smoke monster when he was thrown down that tunnel.

*Juliet being Jack’s son’s mother had to be one of the biggest “No duh” moments in the series’ history, right?

*I hate to say it, but last night’s episode felt like it was two and a half hours. It kept my interest most of the time, but the pacing felt slow. Maybe that was because it was the last episode and I just wanted to get to the end so badly. Either way, I felt like some fat could have been cut to get it back to at least two hours. I was more than happy to see Rose, Bernard and Vincent one last time, it wasn’t necessary in the long run; same goes for all the time Sayid and Hurley spend in the Humvee waiting for Boone and Shannon to come out of the bar.

*At some point, when I’ve let this show digest, I wouldn’t mind going back and watching Season Six again. Mainly because I want to see how much interaction the characters had with people other than themselves in the flash-sideways. It was almost like a “Sixth Sense” thing going on there where they didn’t realize they were deceased until they touched someone else from the island and had that flash. But there was definitely interaction with other people; where they all deceased too? (i.e. the nurse who asked Jack what was wrong with his neck or even the airport security guards who questioned Jin and Sun about all the cash they had).

*I liked how the series came full-circle; it opened with Jack’s eye opening and finished with it closing. It doesn’t get anymore cut and dry than that.

*While I was somewhat at peace with the flash-sideways ending, I would have liked to have gotten a little more out of the island ending. Mainly with Sawyer and Claire; they never left the island in the show’s six seasons. It would have cool to see their reaction when Lapidus landed them in L.A. or wherever they were able to go with their fuel supply.

*So just to be sure, let’s see if we have all of the main characters’ fate from this year straight: Jack: died saving the island; Kate, Sawyer, Claire, Richard, Lapidus and Miles: made it off of the island on the plane; Ben, Hurley, Rose and Bernard: stayed behind on the island; Sayid, Sun and Jin: died in the sub explosion.

*My personal highlight of the evening was when Un-Locke mentioned for Jacob’s way of doing things that Jack was “Kind of the obvious choice” to replace him. Gotta love those winks to the audience.

Well, I think that’s all I have; I double-checked my four pages of notes, but I probably still missed some things, hopefully nothing too big though. J

I enjoyed this show; I am very grateful I jumped on the bandwagon. Thanks to those who pushed me to do so, you know who you are. The finale may be been imperfect and incomplete, but I’ll definitely remember it as a whole and not just for the ending.

Thanks for following along with me!

Joe Dyton is a marketing copywriter in Washington, DC. He is a former assistant editor for The Dealmakers real estate magazine in Hamilton, NJ and a former sports writer and copy editor for The Trentonian in Trenton, NJ. He can be reached at thedytonian@yahoo.com. Follow Joe on Twitter at http://twitter.com/dyton99.

“Grey’s Anatomy” recap: “Shiny Happy People”

TGIF! I hope you all had a great night and your Friday is going well. Since next week is the “Grey’s” two-hour season finale extravaganza, I’m going to keep this week’s recap (relatively) short.

For starters, let me just say, FINALLY. After a few weeks of being stuck in neutral, I felt last night’s show actually moved forward with a few things. I guess with only one more episode to go, the writers had no choice. Like I said last week, I understand all the good stuff is being saved for next week’s finale, but did we really have to be bored until then? Last night’s show was by no means perfect, but it was definitely more interesting than the last few episodes. 

I spent the last few weeks pointing out the bad about “Grey’s”, so let’s start out by focusing on the good this time…

*It was good to get a decent-sized dose of Bailey last night. Episodes are better when she’s involved. I loved her opening scene with Ben, it’s nice to see her get involved in the romantic side of things after being on the sidelines the last five seasons. I got a kick out her and Ben singing the same tune on the elevator the next day; and the look on McDreamy and McSteamy’s faces when they put the pieces together. Her “I don’t have time to play games” speech was excellent as well. I’m glad that her character hasn’t changed just because she has a love interest. On the medical side of things, I liked her telling her burn victim patient it was OK to cry; her disappointment in seeing Ben flirt with a nurse was the fuel behind that speech, but it was a good speech nonetheless. And I guess, I have to mention her asking Sloan if one woman is enough for any man. I mean, could she have asked a worse person that question?? 

*While Bailey may have gotten the game ball from me last, night I thought Alex was great as well. Professionally and personally. On the work side, I was impressed in how determined he was to prove his young patient wasn’t crazy. Where’d that motivation come from? He usually doesn’t make the time of day for that kind of research. Maybe it was because like he said he’s lived with and dated crazy. Or perhaps Lexie is bringing out the well-rounded doctor in him. Either way, I liked his passion. On the personal side, I liked that he eased Lexie’s concerns by saying they were a thing, but I thought that was established last week. Anyway, I’m happy to see him going back to nice Alex (has a character ever yo-yoed personality-wise more than Alex in the history of TV?), and my heart will break for him if Lexie chooses Mark next week.

*Ah, Mark. He cracked me up yesterday. I still can’t believe the took Reid home; or maybe I can, who knows. I guess it’s safe to say that whenever he’s in a compromising situation, he’s going to come out of the bathroom with steam coming out of the door while he’s putting on a towel. Isn’t that exactly how the scene played out when Derek went to see Addison a few years ago? I was blown away by his quasi-proposal to Lexie at the end of the episode. I don’t doubt he loves her, but I wonder if he would have made such a bold gesture if Teddy hadn’t walked in on him. It was like he needed that push (along with a timely pep talk from Callie) to go for what he wanted. Besides the main storyline for next week (I won’t say what it is for those who don’t like to watch previews for next week), I think Lexie’s decision is what I’m most looking forward to seeing resolved in the finale. 

*I also found Meredith’s predicament interesting. I thought for sure she was going to go against Derek’s wishes/orders and tell Cristina why she thought there was something going on between Owen and Teddy. I was shocked that she was able to bite her tougnue for the whole hour. I liked her explanation to Cristina, “It was you and me for a long time, but now it’s me and Derek too.” It makes sense to me; especially considering Derek isn’t only her husband, but her boss too. It’s funny when I was watching that scene last night, I realized Meredith isn’t very interesting or compelling for the lead character in a big drama like “Grey’s”. But maybe that’s a good thing; the strength of the show is the ensemble, her character’s last name just happens to be in the title. Speaking of Derek and Meredith, what was party they were having for anyway? Was it just a pre-housewarming/groundbreaking party for the house they’re going to build?

*I also enjoyed the love story between the two elderly patients; especially since the woman was played by Marion Ross, aka Mrs. Cunningham on “Happy Days”. I liked how their story motivated characters like Callie and Mark to take a chance and made Cristina question her situation with Owen, but I liked it independent of all of that too. It was just nice to see two patients have not only have a happy medical ending, but a personal one as well. 

*The only thing about last night I didn’t care for was the Cristina/Owen/Teddy stuff. I felt like Cristina and Owen’s relationship has been spinning its wheels for too long now. I was happy when Teddy was brought on and thought her throwing a wrench in the works would make Cristina and Owen more interesting. It had its moments, but overall I could still care less what happens there. I will say that storyline picked up a little momentum when it was revealed that Teddy overheard Cristina and Owen’s argument about her, but I am still hoping that a whole lot of time isn’t spent on them next week. Just sayin’.

*I didn’t have a ton of standout lines that I liked, but my favorite exchanges were between Derek and Mark, “Go Bailey.” “Indeed.” and Derek and Meredith, “I hate your job.” “I love you.” 

Well, in an effort to keep this relatively short as promised, I’m going to wrap up here and save energy for next week’s finale recap. Have a great day and a wonderful weekend!

Joe Dyton is a marketing copywriter in Washington, DC. He is a former assistant editor for The Dealmakers real estate magazine in Hamilton, NJ and a former sports writer and copy editor for The Trentonian in Trenton, NJ. He can be reached at thedytonian@yahoo.com. Follow Joe on Twitter at http://twitter.com/dyton99.