'Grey's Anatomy': What's going on with these women?

I don't know what condition of post-feminism we are currently living under (post-post-post perhaps), but after last night's "Grey's Anatomy," I think everyone should scramble through their boxed-up college paperbacks and find their copies of "The Golden Notebook" because we need to get back to basics, people.

The headliner of the episode was that, in time-honored fashion, Callie forgave the adulterous George and confronted Izzie, calling her a traitorous . . . rhymes with witch. "You did this to another woman," Callie said, blaming the woman who was not even her friend in the sentiments of 20,000 drink-and-dials. Indeed, it was George who had to explain to the suddenly, inexplicably spineless Callie that she didn't really forgive him because what he did was unforgivable. In the words of Tracy Lord: "Aren't men wonderful?"

Izzie, meanwhile, thought Callie's request to meet in the cafeteria was a girl fight throw-down, which is just insane (Is this a hospital? Are they doctors?), but then Izzie has been gone from the rational part of this planet for so long there really is no point in discussing it. Again, it was up to a man -- this time, Alex -- to put things in perspective. When he found out about the George thing, he was justifiably disgusted and hurt -- Izzie could have had Alex, but she settled for George? After Denny? Izzie makes Meredith look like the healthiest girl on the block.

And that's tough to do since Meredith was so busy twittering and twitching over the fact that Derek was "bonding" with her stepsister Lexie that she allows her bumbling intern to inform the wrong patient that she is dying from cancer. She got a wrist-slap from Dr. McSteamy and a lecture from Derek, who told her once again that she is a child and he loves her but he isn't quite sure he can wait for her to grow up.

If you think for a moment, this is exactly why many people argued against women becoming doctors or being in the workplace at all -- they are too emotional, they will only distract their male colleagues with damaging sexual affairs, and they can't be serious professionals. In early "Grey's," the women were a much more interesting mix of strength and weakness, with characters like Bailey, Cristina and Callie balancing the more broken personalities of Meredith and Izzie. Who, in the old days, were still actually interested in medicine and their careers as well as their love lives. But with Bailey inexplicably sidelined and Callie wandering around in a haze, there is not a single functioning female spine in view. Even Cristina is too busy abusing Lexie because of the Meredith connection to do her job -- teaching interns -- properly, as Derek (of course) reminded her in another male-on-female dress-down.

If only Callie could come out swinging, or Izzie get some therapy. Meredith and Lexie could duke it out and get their father into AA. Thankfully, Ava's coming back. She's one tough cookie, and we need some tough cookies. Because Lessing won the Nobel this year. And that has to mean something.

-- Mary McNamara

(Photo courtesy ABC)

Comments

[Amanda]

Unfortunately, Ava is coming back....

[EastWest]

Mary,

Take a deep breath. I am a man. To me it is a TV show. I do not take is seriously. I am not changing my view of women based on what happens on this very unrealistic TV show. In fact, I rarely watch it. There are plenty of things on TV assulting the image of women. But this show is not one of them.

For the record, I do not watch those other things either.

[Once a Fan...]

I absolutely agree - what is going on with these women?

A show which started with strong, focused and interesting female characters (with flaws for sure, but that is what makes us who we are), has become a show with weak, insipid and silly girls acting like they are in high school. Seriously. From a dedicated fan, I am now bored with the antics of these characters.

I've read Allan Heinberg's blog (he's a wrtier of this episode) where he talks about his personal inspirations for this episode and that it is an episode about forgiveness. If this was his aim, it did not shine through for me. Instead I saw an episode of strong, stoic and sensible men either putting emotional woman in their place by chastising them that they are forgetting to do their jobs or by witnessing how cruel women can apparently be to their family, boyfriends, friends, colleagues, patients and family of patients. These male characters should run far far away to avoid the destructive wrath of the female characters.

I agree with EastWest that it is unlikely people are changing their views of woman based on these characters and this show. I just wish the show would return to what made it a hit and resist giving us these cardboard cut outs.

For some reason I am still watching (perhaps in the hope that things will change), but I won't care if I miss an episode.

[Ehkzu]

Here on Earth no Izzie would fall for no George. As someone said early in the show, she's out of his league, and her falling for him represented Gray's Anatomy jumping the shark.

Even worse than the show's demeaning of women is, for me, the show's demeaning of work. Hollywood does this constantly. It's as if these twittering imbeciles can't imagine anything being interesting other than people's love lives. The Japanese have long dramas about people learning a craft, and about professional relationships--particularly about a student with his/her sensei.. Here that's unimaginable. Bailey was teaching them how to be doctors. That was interesting. Bailey was interesting. Callie was interesting. The central characters were just exasperating, and while I accept people doing weird stuff in fable shows like Pushing Daisies, here it's just...again, exasperating. George is an insensitive jerk who believes he's sensitive--except that sensitivity is 95% inwardly turned, which doesn't leave much room for the rest of the world.

I only say all this because I really liked the show at the beginning. It coulda been a contender.

At least I have "Life" to look forward to now...

[coolrepublica]

Shonda, please bring back Isaiah Washington . Beg, plead, grovel if you have to because Grey's Anatomy is dying a slow and painful death.

Preston Burke's relationship with Cristina was the only thing worth watching. Now that he is gone I ,and a lot of other people, find the show super boring. Boring!

I know that keeping the George character and getting rid of the Preston character was the cool thing to do by the gay community and all, but George and Izzie's love story is so stupid it rivals Heroes' Peter Petrelli story line(Which is a though act to follow but Grey's is trying and trying hard.) But television is a business not a popularity contest and I am sorry to report that the better actor got fired.

I guess it is too late for a reunion on Grey's and Preston (may) never be back, but after Isaiah Washington left the show, the show's feng shui went to the crapper. I might just have to start watching Bionic Woman to see how Burke is doing.