Seriously. Would you be comfortable having open-heart surgery when the three surgeons scrubbing in on the operation were involved in some ridiculous love triangle? Luckily, it appears that bit of drama has finally fizzled out. By the end of tonight’s episode of ‘Grey’s Anatomy,’ titled “Time After Time,” Cristina finally managed to convince Marlow that she’s off the market. Despite her efforts to be overtly affectionate towards Burke in Marlow’s presence, it was a genuine moment between Burke and Cristina, which Marlow witnessed unbeknownst to her that made him realize she isn’t the woman she once was. He made sure to let her know this before announcing that he was leaving Seattle Grace.
Marlow was still convinced that Cristina is still the tough ambitious woman she was when they were together. Cristina tries to prove him wrong by flaunting her relationship with Burke every chance she gets. Burke puts up with it but it eventually causes Marlow to send Burke away from the surgery they were all scrubbed in on. The whole thing was ridiculously unprofessional. They’ve got someone’s life in their hands and they’re all preoccupied with each other. Luckily, the surgery goes well despite their drama.
Burke is feeling dejected though and Cristina finds a way to take his mind off it by asking him a question about surgical tools. He answers her politely and after he leaves, Marlow comes through another door. He heard the whole thing and tells Cristina that he knew she knew the answer to the question she asked Burke. The Cristina he knew would never ask a question she already knew the answer to just to give her man a boost. He agrees to leave Seattle Grace, realizing there’s nothing for him here.
Though the overlying theme of the episode was “history,” this wasn’t the first time the characters were forced to face their pasts. At the beginning of the episode, Izzie showed up dressed in her Sunday best, reciting the Hail Mary prayer under her breath. She admits to having gone to confession but no one but George knows what it is she needed to confess. In private she explains to him that now that now that she’s confessed, the sin is gone and she can move on with things. George needs more time though and references his disastrous sexual encounter with Meredith as a similar example. He explains that when that happened it took time to blow over and the same applies with their situation. Basically, he’s not ready to go back to being friends and pretend like the sex never happened.
We learned a while back that Izzie had a daughter when she was a teenager and that she gave her up for adoption. Somewhat predictably, this bit of history caught up with her when her biological daughter, Hannah and her parents showed up at Seattle Grace. Hannah’s adoptive parents introduced themselves to Izzie then quickly got to the point by explaining that Hannah has leukemia and needs a bone marrow transplant. Izzie is doubtful that this is even an option because she’d only be half a match. Hannah’s parents say its worth a shot and even agree to let Izzie meet her daughter if Hannah consents. Hannah doesn’t consent though I have to wonder why not. Eleven years old is old enough to understand the whole “being adopted” situation but I’m not sure I believe its old enough to develop any sort of resentment towards her mother for giving her up. Either way, she made her decision and her parents supported it, though they were very apologetic to Izzie.
Bailey was by Izzie’s side during most of this and reminded her that its ok to want Hannah to want to meet her but that in order for that to happen, the girl has to survive. Izzie agrees to have her marrow tested and of course, she’s a match. Having one’s bone marrow extracted is no easy procedure. It involves an epidural and a substantial amount of pain. Bailey held Izzie’s hand through part of it but when George found out that Izzie was having something done in one of the examination rooms upstairs, he forgot all about his plans for coffee with his exhausted wife and went to be with her. He held her hand through the rest of the procedure and afterwards, helped her get dressed as she confessed to him about having a daughter.
After explaining about Hannah, Izzie tells George that she can forget the sex but she cant lose him as a friend. George doesn’t really respond to this and tells her he’ll get an orderly to help her into her wheelchair. He leaves but the moment he gets out of the room he pauses and goes back to help her. The two peek in on Hannah’s room as she’s having the transplant done. George points out that the girl has her mother’s eyes and mouth. We finally get to see Hannah, who is bald due to the cancer treatment but is indeed as beautiful as her mother.
Meredith mentioned to Callie that George was up with Izzie but when he returns later, he lies and says he was at the clinic. Callie looked too exhausted to call him out on his lie and just said she was going home.
Alex’s Jane Doe, who is going by the name Ava, (on Alex’s suggestion) is healing from the recent plastic surgery, which was successful. Her face is still healing but she looks a million times better than she did when she was all puffy and bruised. They take a picture of her and put it up online as well as sending it to the local news in the hopes that someone will recognize her. A couple shows up claiming they believe she might be their daughter. The plastic surgery altered some of her facial structure so mainly they’re going by the hair, the eyes and the fact that their missing daughter was pregnant. They list their daughter’s blood type and mention that she had her tonsils out when she was younger. So far, Ava matches the description.
Alex introduces the couple to Ava and they begin to get reacquainted. It’s a strange situation because Ava doesn’t remember them and they don’t entirely recognize her. They pretty much jump right into the situation as though its definite that Ava is their daughter. Her “father” shows her how to play Solitaire and they tell her that her name is Shannon. Eventually the woman admits to Alex that Ava is not their daughter. She’s sure of it and leaves, asking Alex to send her husband out to the lobby. Alex ends up having to break the news to Ava. She is so upset by this that she lashes out on him, telling him that he needs to stop looking at her like she’s this poor pathetic victim. She accuses him of becoming too emotionally attached to her and sends him away.
Meredith’s stepmom, Susan keeps buying her groceries and trying to be helpful. She doesn’t seem overbearing about it but Meredith sees it that way nonetheless and eventually tells her off, saying she doesn’t need a new mommy. How come Meredith can never be upfront without being rude? Susan comes back later and tells her that she feels bad for not having encouraged Thatcher to visit her when she was younger but that they were newly married and she just didn’t know how to deal with the situation. She says she’s just trying to be helpful and kindly points out Meredith’s knack for rudeness.
Meredith admits that she’s used to having an overbearing mom but not used to having an overprotective one and asks her to just give her time to get used to it.
While Sloan attempts to boost his chances at getting the Chief position by helping Weber find a woman, Derek uses the most direct approach. He talks to Weber about how he deserves the position but the talk doesn’t go well. Later they talk again and Weber points out that being Chief destroyed his marriage and he wont let that happen to Derek. Derek insists that he doesn’t need Weber to protect him. Weber then admits that he promised Meredith’s mom that he would look after her daughter. Derek quickly realizes that its Meredith that Weber is trying to protect. His relationship with her could be costing him his chance at becoming Chief. At the end of the day he lies at home in his trailer (which looks amazingly roomy from the inside, I might add). Meredith calls him on his cell phone but he doesn’t pick up.
And that about covers it. So how long before Derek and Meredith have another huge fight? It seems unlikely to me that he’s going to be able to choose to stay with Meredith without eventually starting to resent her for unknowingly costing him the promotion he’s been wanting since he arrived at Seattle Grace.
What did you think of the episode? Are you as glad as I am that Marlow is leaving? I didn’t dislike his character but then again it seemed like the only point to him being there was to drive a wedge between Cristina and Burke. Will Izzie and George be able to go back to being friends so quickly? Do you think Alex is getting way too close to Ava/Shannon/Jane Doe?
