'Grey's Anatomy': McDreamy tackles 'the great white of tumors'

For the second week in a row, "Grey's Anatomy" changed up the usual episode format. Usually, there are several different medical cases addressed by doctors with different specialties. In  Thursday night's episode, there was just one case, epic enough to capture the attention of the entire surgical team. 

It's a rare occasion when an episode begins without a pearl of wisdom in the form of a Meredith voiceover, but this week it was Derek's turn. Dr. McDreamy hasn't had much going on for him this season, other than being the voice of reason in the middle of the Seattle Grace Three Ring Circus. Unfortunately, the voice of reason, while necessary, just isn't all that interesting. 

How many times is Derek going to have to point out the Chief's failings? I'm tired of that conversation happening over and over again.  The more kind-hearted and generous and human Derek is, the more the Chief seems like a giant calculator. Of course, as an administrator, part of his job is to crunch the numbers and figure out where to put the money.  But he's working at a hospital, not a Hollywood talent agency. The numbers shouldn't come first. The ethical and medical issues should come first, and then the financial situation can be assessed. He's just turned into a robot.

I'm glad the writers finally gave Derek something to do other than shake his head at the Chief. I loved the case. Isaac (Faran Tahir) was an incredibly intriguing patient. I do wish that we had been introduced to him before this episode, as it might've added to the drama, but Isaac still made an impact. The brief life story he rattles off to Derek includes a war, the death of his family, a refugee camp -- this guy is fascinating, and everyone in the hospital knows him and cares about him.

Everyone except the Chief, it seems. Webber not only doesn't recognize Isaac by name, but doesn't realize that Isaac works at the hospital. This allows Derek to get away with the forbidden surgery and also reveals a lot about Webber's attention over the last few months.

Because of the magnitude and significance of the surgery, I expected chaos and confusion, doctors competing for a space in the OR, the usual. However, Derek's methods are different from the Chief's. It's not about who got there first, or who "called it," or whose turn it is to get their hands on a scalpel, or who brought him coffee. It's about who possesses the specific skill set necessary for this procedure. Perhaps the "draw a dot on George Washington's nose" idea is unrealistic, but if I were the patient, I'd prefer that the head surgeon use that method to select a team as opposed to the who's-sleeping-with-whom method.

The slow pace and singular focus of this episode made it highly introspective. The episode title is "Give Peace a Chance," and though it's an episode about Derek "going rogue" and undermining the Chief, it's more notably about where Derek is in his life. He seems confident, happy, calm, patient and driven. It's nice to see that things in his personal life are working out and his confidence as a surgeon is positively impacted. Remember when he lost a patient and consequently ended up drinking beers at his trailer, which became a black hole, sucking in all the other attendings who were suffering from low self-esteem? That wasn't fun. I like "I'm a neuro God" Derek much better than that guy.

There were some good humorous moments tonight. It's the little things that make a difference -- hearing McDreamy and McSteamy pass around the term "BFF" made me smile. The diaper storyline, while outrageous, was definitely funny. I'd like to say it was ridiculous, but I know I'm not "hard-core" enough to pee into a diaper, so I'll refrain from passing judgment!  I thought that Derek laughing while playing eenie-meenie-miney-moe in Isaac's spine was also a smart way to cut some of the tension.

I enjoyed Derek writing on the wall, too. That's one of those things you get scolded for as a kid, and then suddenly, you're an adult, and that's your wall, so why not write on it if you want to? Mommy isn't around to take away your crayons. His detailed drawing of the tumor not only reminded us of his skill level, but gave us a peek at the Marriage Post-It mounted on the wall. (Why was it mounted so high? Nobody can see that high.)

I haven't said too much about Owen and Christina this season. I'm not deliberately ignoring them; I just haven't been so interested in their story! Their relationship seems to have stabilized, which inevitably means a storm is coming up ahead. This is "Grey's Anatomy," after all.  Also, I think that this downtime might be beneficial to Christina. She's always been a little too cut-happy for me, and it's rubbed me the wrong way. Maybe now that she's not anyone's surgical darling, she'll learn to appreciate the surgery more.

As for Izzie and Alex... The whole thing just feels so contrived to me. I like that Alex is bonding with Reed, and I thought Justin Chambers' performance during Alex's breakdown was phenomenal. Still, it's hard to get invested in a storyline that I know can't last too much longer.

What'd you all think of this episode?  Would you like to see more episodes that center more on one particular doctor or patient? Do you miss Izzie? Are you ready for Meredith to get up out of that bed? Who is your favorite of the newbies?

Let's talk in the comments below! And don't forget to come on back after next week's episode.

-- Carina MacKenzie (follow me on Twitter @cadlymack)

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Photo: Sloane (Eric Dane) and Lexie (Chyler Leigh) coax Derek (Patrick Dempsey) through his most difficult surgery yet. Credit: ABC

Comments

[Amber]

You left out my faaaavorite scene. It's okay, I forgive you since I agree 100% on everything else. (Arizona standing up to the chief was my favorite bit. She is swiftly becoming one of my favorite characters.)

I am SO TIRED of the Chief sucking. I've been rewatching old seasons of Grey's and how the Chief is now is actually effecting my enjoyment of him then. He's just so selfish and self-absorbed. I'm sad that he's become the villain of the story. I'm really hoping he snaps out of it soon.

[erica stephens]

Attention All Producers! Female actors who get pregnant,write it in the story line or write them off the program.I am sick of watching fat faces,head shots,hiding behind tables and blankets.It is rediculous.it should be in their contract,you get pregnant your on camera pregnant or your off the show for awhile.
Merideth gray is already unattractive,now she is fat ,same wart on her face and unattractive.

[KT]

I thought last night's episode was outstanding. However, I don't know if this type of one-character centered episode would work for all of the characters on GA. The music was also different on this episode. There seemed to be some classical music and it fit perfectly with the scenes.

Patrick Dempsey's facial expressions and body language conveyed the messages just as well as his voice. I also liked how he finally got to do the voice over at the beginning and end of the episode. The ending with the chief and Derek was outstanding. Derek didn't even flinch. He is more even tempered than the chief. I think the chief realizes he may be in over his head. I think this was the best episode so far this year. It will be hard to top this one!

One last thing, I realize the writers are trying new things this year. Like I said last night's episode worked because of the story and the main character. I have erased all of the other episodes from this season from my DVR because they have been blah. Something is missing. I can't put it into words which is frustrating. I hope the writers will give us more of that GA feeling that contains more humor, passion and quirkiness about our central characters.

[Sue]

Did anyone else get the impression that the Chief no longer has the authority to hire/fire attendings or maybe even residents? The look on Derek's face gave me the impression that the board has put him in control.

[BeautyQueen]

Sue -

I think the look on Derek's face was about where he is in life right now more than some behind-the-scenes secret power he might have. His reaction indicated to me that he's everyone's darling right now and he knows it. He just pulled off a surgery that will make him a catch for any hospital on earth, AND he's happy in his marriage; he's on Cloud 9. No blustering from the Chief is gonna bring him down!

That said, he very well could be something like the board's "watch dog," and if nothing else, he walks tall in the knowledge that they wanted him to replace the Chief just a few short weeks earlier.

[Jennie Cee]

It's so hard for me to take Grey's Anatomy seriously. On one hand, it's the best written soap on TV. On the other... I don't think that's its intention.

Your frustrations with the show are always mine. The constant competition with the characters isn't just old, it's geriatric. And it's hard not to see every new upheaval as some sort of contrived plot twist to shake things up and create conflict, and that just seems like sloppy storytelling. Like this Izzie and Alex thing. Really, another break-up for them? It's hard to feel the finality of that when you know that eventually, as always, they'll be right back together. Because they're meant for each other, right? Is that the way it goes? I should be happy the tortuous up-and-down romance of McBangs/Meredith was finally settled with a Post-It note declaration of monotony, but not if it means that Alex/Izzie get the role of 'annoyingly on-and-off couple' torch passed down to them. Hey, here's a newsflash. Sometimes happy couples are as intriguing to watch as the unhappy ones! There doesn't always need to be drama!

More than anything, there's still this tangible lack of George. Really, when Izzie said all them seasons ago that George was the glue, that wasn't just lip-service, was it?

[Sarah]

I actually like that Izzie's gone off to deal with her firing by herself, because it's a flashback to the determined, confident, screw-what-you-think Izzie of the first season-and-a-half. Too bad it took something as dumb as filming a movie for that to happen. Remember the teenager who bore her baby then gave her up with sadness but no regrets? The girl who took six years to put herself through night school working as an underwear model?

I never understood how such an independent young woman would have thrown away the career for which she'd worked so hard, for some patient she'd known for a month (who was not even in imminent danger of dying). After that, it was hard for me to feel much empathy for such an inconsistent character, no matter how empathetically played.

[m]

What do you mean the Alex storyline can't last much longer?
I agree Justin Chambers is doing a fenomenal job.

[Sarahhh]

Ditto the Arizona bit that Amber mentioned. She really held her ground.

[Sarah]

I disagree almost completely with erica's comment, above. Except that they could've made a better effort to hide Ellen Pompeo's big obviously-pregnant boobs. Doesn't make much sense for Meredith to have huge breasts all of a sudden. Well, maybe i'm weird for noticing that.

Otherwise, holy man, i find it really hard to believe that people just can't handle a less-than-Hollywood-gorgeous face on their screens. Frankly, i find the prevalence of young, beautiful people in shows like this unnatural and creepy. Cut the lady some slack, she's forty years old!