By Joe Dyton (thedytonian@yahoo.com)
I apologize for the delayed “Grey’s” recap. I didn’t get to watch it over the weekend. Hopefully, I’ll be able to watch the show sooner going forward.
Well, Season 9 of “Grey’s Anatomy” started out with a lot of gloom and doom, huh? While the episode itself was a bummer, I was OK with the circumstances that made it that way. I’ve been screaming in this space for the last couple seasons that things needed to be shaken up a bit. I’d say killing off Mark (and Lexie last season) was a good start. Although, the writers missed a golden opportunity from a storytelling perspective by killing them both off. It would have been interesting to see Lexie and/or Mark try to cope without the other. Sure we’ll see Derek and Callie mourn Mark and Meredith will be broke up over Lexie, but it won’t be the same as watching the star-crossed lovers get over the other’s death.
I also felt last season that Callie and Arizona had become stagnant since they got married. Well it looks like that’s about to change. It’s a shame it took Callie taking off Arizona’s leg to make them more interesting, but sometimes desperate times call for desperate measures. I wish we could have gotten more than a couple of minutes of those two, but we’ve got all season to see how this affects their relationship.
Speaking of waiting to see how all of these stories play out going forward, I’m OK with how the show aired these first two episodes. At first, I was surprised that we didn’t get the aftermath of the crash and the rescue in the season premiere. However, since we got the fallout first, I’m happy with how it played out. If we gotten the second episode first, seeing Mark in a coma the following week wouldn’t have been as jarring. And of course, Callie and Arizona’s “snap out of it” argument wouldn’t have had the same impact because we already would have known her leg was gone. I’m already looking forward to seeing how everyone got to where they are in Thursday’s episode.
As for the rest of the episode, the other thing that stuck out to me the most was Cristina in Minnesota. I’m curious why she decided on going there when she had her pick of hospitals. I can’t imagine her wanting to work at a place that was so happy-go-lucky and non-competitive as that hospital. It’s not in her DNA. I wonder if something happened after the crash that limited her options. Anyway, it looks obvious why Cristina will end up back at Seattle Grace. I get why Meredith is upset, but I don’t buy her Bailey/Ellis Grey impression. It’s just too far from her personality. I could see Cristina treating her interns that way (heck, we have seen it), but not Meredith. I wouldn’t be surprised if Meredith begins to soften as the season goes along.
A few random thoughts and I’m done…
*Thursday’s show was a who’s who of some of my favorite TV shows with the guest stars; Mr. Feeney from “Boy Meets World” (William Daniels), Rex Van de Kamp from “Desperate Housewives” (Steven Culp) and of course Brian “Smash” Williams from “Friday Night Lights” (Gaius Charles). Nice job by the casting department!
*I’ll admit it; I like Happy Bailey. She had to be the bad cop, no-nonsense, responsible one for eight seasons. It’s nice to see her having a little fun. I never thought I’d see the day where she’d get a nickname like “BCB” though.
*I’m still torn on whether I buy Alex giving up his fellowship at Hopkins to keep his program with the kids alive. Part of me does, but at the same time, all he ever wanted to do was get out of Seattle.
*Who would have thought that all those years ago, George had no chance of succeeding in that appendectomy surgery that Burke selected him for in the first episode? It’s set up for the (un)lucky intern picked to fail. I’m impressed that Shonda Rhimes kept that from us for eight seasons.
*I enjoyed the Sloan Home Movies. The one before Derek and Addison’s wedding was especially interesting since Mark told Derek he’d never have a friend better than him, and of course we know Mark ends up ruining Derek’s marriage.
*April working on a farm? I don’t have much else to say about that one.
Lines of the Night:
“I’m a gentleman. And also, I don’t wanna.”
-“Especially today.”
-“They call you Medusa.”
-“Soften up those sharp Seattle edges.”
*Finally, “The Dytonian” is hitting the airwaves! Maybe. I am going to be co-hosting a sports podcast with my friend, Mike in a few weeks. Anyway, I recorded a TV-based podcast last week just to test out my broadcasting skills and equipment. I may keep the TV one going as well if there’s an interest. Here’s the link if you want to check it out: http://dyton99.podomatic.com/entry/2012-09-29T20_23_16-07_00
Well, I hope you all enjoyed the show! Here’s hoping that as the docs recover from the scars of the crash, we’ll get some sunnier episodes down the road.
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.
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