GREY’S ANATOMY: ‘Shock to The System’

Two episodes into the new season of GREY’S ANATOMY, and things are thankfully starting to calm down a bit.  Don’t get me wrong – it’s not that I didn’t enjoy the intensity of last week’s episode (not to mention last season’s finale).  GREY’s has always done very well with intense storylines, and some of the series’ finest episodes have been its most suspenseful (bomb in a man’s chest, anyone?), but after all the emotion of the shooting and its aftermath, it was comforting to see them strike a lighter tone this week.  It felt like good old classic GA, complete with witty banter and angsty patients.

And angsty doctors too, naturally.  Cristina and Owen have the most to deal with – Cristina, true to her nature, is having a small morning-after freak out about being married.  Owen’s got it covered though.  He calmly talks her down before she can go into a full panic attack, reminding her that they’re the same people they were yesterday, and that marriage is just a title they don’t need to focus on.  It doesn’t help matters when Teddy’s patient ends up being a former patient of Burke’s who naturally assumes that Burke is the husband when she finds out Cristina is married.  Owen, still trying to keep his new wife calm, goes to Richard and convinces him to let her back into the OR with or without approval from Dr. Perkins.  After all, it’s Cristina!  She’s not complete without surgery!  She won’t be able to fully recover until she’s got a scalpel in her hands, right?

Oh, Owen.  You meant well, but you got it so very wrong this time.  Cristina is a nervous wreck assisting Teddy in the OR, and when Owen accidentally knocks over a tray of tools, she disappears duck-and-cover style under the table.  Only Meredith is able to calmly get her up and out of the room, but Cristina’s had about all she can handle and gives Owen back her wedding ring when he tries to apologize.  It’s Meredith to the rescue again: she gives Cristina a pep talk and reminds her that things will get better, and Cristina finally gets past her freak-out and goes home with Owen.

Meredith has a full time job this week talking people out of being crazy.  She gives Derek a firm lecture about his recent speeding habits and how if he were to die it would really be a bummer for her.  To drive the point home (get it??), she finally comes clean about her short-lived pregnancy.  Derek agrees to stop channeling his inner NASCAR racer, although I’m not convinced he means it.

Meanwhile, Mark and Lexie have their own angst going on.  Mark is in “life is short” mode and has decided he and Lexie are so MFEO that he can gloss over silly steps like actually getting back together, and skip straight to the proposal.  It’s kind of hard to find a good moment though, given that Lexie is seriously pissed at him for being way overprotective of her since her stay in the loony bin.  After she tells him in no uncertain terms to leave her alone, Mark changes his mind about proposing, which is good because now I don’t have to smack him.

The only other significant thing that happens in the episode is that Bailey, looking much more stable than last week, gets Alex to let her remove the bullet from his chest.  Physical reminders or not, she says, they will carry that day with them forever.  Plus, now he’s not all lumpy.  Chicks don’t go for lumpy guys.

All other angst is pretty minor.  Callie and Arizona’s plotline consists entirely of Callie stressing out over Arizona redecorating the apartment, which is apparently such a scary concept that she needs to chug a bottle of wine with Mark to get over it.  Oh, you kids with your cute non-problems.  You’re in the happy lovey-dovey place and you know it.  Don’t pretend otherwise.

Jackson and April are little more than wallpaper this week.  Can we please find these two something to do, something that preferably lets April be more than an annoying kiss-ass with no mind of her own? Shonda, are you listening? (… She totally reads these blogs, you know).

Well, that’s it for now.  Until next time, I’ll leave you with my favorite quote of the episode:

Owen: You can be scared with me, or you can be pissed with me, or happy, I don’t care ‘cause I’m gonna stay through it all.  I’m not going anywhere, Cristina.  I’m not going anywhere without you.
Cristina: Let’s go home.
Meredith: I already fixed her before you came, but that was a nice speech.

Your turn to comment!  How did you guys feel about the lighter tone of this episode?  Do you think Mark and Lexie should get back together?  Will Derek truly stop driving like a maniac?  And most importantly, what shade of beige should Callie and Arizona choose for the walls of their apartment??

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