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Post by kaz on Aug 4, 2009 7:41:22 GMT -5
Now that season 6 is fast approaching, I thought we might close out this hiatus with a type of season 5 mini marathon. Rather than a strict rewatch and review of all of the episodes, I thought we could try something a little different (especially considering alot of us have already written detailed reviews for the majority of the episodes).
So here's the deal - every few days I will post a voiceover from an episode of season 5, obviously starting at 1&2 and working our way through consecutively. I have in mind that people can then comment on how the theme introduced in the voiceover has been borne out in a particular episode or across the season.
As we journey back through the episodes, feel free to rewatch them, revisit the episode threads, or just plain reminisce. Post any thoughts which come to mind - it might be something you've already talked about but want to restate, an aspect that you missed altogether in the episode on your first (or first few) viewings or maybe something which you have come to understand better or differently after having watched the entire season. There are no real limits, so long as it's on topic (which is, season 5).
Here we go:
Episodes one & two - Dream a Little Dream of Me
We all remember the bed time stories of our childhoods. The shoe fits cinderella; the frog turns into a prince; sleeping beauty is awakened with a kiss. Once upon time...and then they lived happily ever after. Fairytales. The stuff of dreams. The problem is, fairytales don't come true. It's the other stories, the ones that begin with dark and stormy nights and end in the unspeakable. It's the nightmares that always seem to become reality. The person that invented the phrase happily ever after, should have his ass kicked so hard. Once upon a time. Happily ever after. The stories we tell are the stuff of dreams. Fairytales don't come true. Reality is much stormier, much murkier...much scarier. Reality. It's so much more interesting than living happily ever after.
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Post by kaz on Aug 4, 2009 7:48:30 GMT -5
I like the way the notion of reality vs. fairytale has played out and is tied together in the season finale.
Meredith tells us in the opening that fairytales don't come true and never is that more obvious than in the last episode. George, the "knight in shining armour" sweeps the girl off of her feet, saving her from the bus. That's the fairytale aspect but the reality, is much darker.
Izzie dreams of stepping off of that elevator in her pretty pink dress and being led away by her own prince. By season's end, she is on that elevator again...as she flatlines.
Cristina in the season premiere is swept off her feet and essentially falls in love at first sight (fairytale). The reality is that she has the toughest path of anyone to get to the point by season's end where she can stand in front of Owen, who is a broken man and not that fairytale prince at all, and tell him she loves him.
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Geniusmentis
KMKonliner
McVid
I only have 2 neurons and one of them is usually sleeping.
Posts: 4,067
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Post by Geniusmentis on Aug 4, 2009 7:57:19 GMT -5
Owen Hunt: "A damsel in distress"... like in fairytales, he is our prince charming, our spotless knight.
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Post by kaz on Aug 4, 2009 9:36:16 GMT -5
Owen Hunt: "A damsel in distress"... like in fairytales, he is our prince charming, our spotless knight. He certainly is when he first appears but when he comes back he is a very different character - which shows that reality is much more complex than a fairytale.
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Geniusmentis
KMKonliner
McVid
I only have 2 neurons and one of them is usually sleeping.
Posts: 4,067
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Post by Geniusmentis on Aug 4, 2009 13:51:36 GMT -5
Yes, the two first episodes reguard dreams, then Owen's episodes reguard his life after war, and the knight is full of spots!
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Post by kaz on Aug 4, 2009 18:56:19 GMT -5
Yes, the two first episodes reguard dreams, then Owen's episodes reguard his life after war, and the knight is full of spots! And I think we all thought that when Owen returned, the fairytale would continue to a certain extent, with Cristina getting that "happily ever after". Maybe she will get that. She's certainly gotten her "prince" at this point but it's been one tough road to get there. That's real life, I guess. It's rarely smooth sailing all the way.
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Post by cl3me on Aug 4, 2009 22:17:46 GMT -5
Love this idea Kaz!
How about the 3 couples that came into the ER. They were on their way to the "ball". First impression was that they were all happily married, living the dream of happily ever after, caught in an unfortunate accident. As it unfolds however, we find out the pretty picture is full of shadows - cheating, lying, dishonesty. The reality is that their lives are full of shadows.
Christina is sleeping beauty, stuck in a robotic state since Burke, is awakened to possibility by Owen's kiss. Owen is the knight in shining armour. No straight line to happily ever after though, because he's out the door and off to war.
Meredith is trying to talk herself into believing the fairy tale so that her and Derek can move forward. Tough for her though because she is quite convinced that fairy tales don't apply to her. She finds it much more believable that her and Christina will end up spinsters.
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Geniusmentis
KMKonliner
McVid
I only have 2 neurons and one of them is usually sleeping.
Posts: 4,067
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Post by Geniusmentis on Aug 5, 2009 3:51:41 GMT -5
Yes, the two first episodes reguard dreams, then Owen's episodes reguard his life after war, and the knight is full of spots! And I think we all thought that when Owen returned, the fairytale would continue to a certain extent, with Cristina getting that "happily ever after". Maybe she will get that. She's certainly gotten her "prince" at this point but it's been one tough road to get there. That's real life, I guess. It's rarely smooth sailing all the way. Yes, it's real life, but it's even true that during all a fairytale happens every terrible thing possible before the happy end, so they can hope something better. Oh yes, cl3, Christina is sleeping beauty, but she'd had prefered a kiss to a strangulation! LOL
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Post by samill21 on Aug 5, 2009 6:25:00 GMT -5
Meredith and Cristinia - their scenes were terrific. Mer just wouldn't shut up about her future life with Derek - that she is about to have her happily ever after. Cristina saying that she is simply sick of hearing it. That there is no such thing as happily ever after. Of course then Cristina slips and Mer believes it is Karma! Perhaps it is - Owen could well be her prince!
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Post by kaz on Aug 6, 2009 21:47:35 GMT -5
Episode Three - Here Comes the Flood As surgeons, we're trained to fix what's broken. The breaking point is our starting line at work. But in our lives, the breaking point is a sign of weakness and we'll do everything we can to avoid it. Bones break, organs burst, flesh tears. We can sew the flesh, repair the damage, ease the pain. But when life breaks down, when we break down, there's no science. No hard and fast rules. We just have to feel our way through and to a surgeon, there's nothing worse and there's nothing better.
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Post by kaz on Aug 6, 2009 21:52:02 GMT -5
So without too much consideration, it's clear that the theme of breaking and "healing" plays out through the season and not just because they are doctors and this is a hospital.
Owen comes back broken in episode 6 and by the end of the season is on his way to healing himself (with Cristina's help).
For Cristina, those wounds that Burke left seem like they are starting to heal.
Meredith goes to therapy and by the end of the season appears to be "better", for want of a more appropriate word.
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Post by kaz on Aug 20, 2009 22:56:30 GMT -5
Episode Four - Brave New World
In 6500 BC, some guy looked at a sick friend and said "I have an idea. Why don't I drill a hole in your skull? It'll make you feel better". And thus, surgery was born. It takes a certain brand of crazy to come up with an idea like drilling into somebody's skull but surgeons have always been a confident bunch. We usually know what we're doing and when we don't, we still act like we do. We walk boldly into undiscovered country, plant a flag and start ordering people around. It's invigorating and terrifying. We like to think we're fearless, eager to explore unknown lands and soak up new experiences. But the fact is, we're always terrified. Maybe the terror is part of the attraction. Some people go to horror movies. We cut things open, dive into dark water. And at the end of the day, isn't that what you'd rather hear about if you've got one drink and one friend and 45 minutes? Smooth rides make for boring stories. A little calamity. That's worth talking about.
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Post by Leanne on Aug 21, 2009 12:52:25 GMT -5
Calamity well that about sums up most of the Grey's members life's ;D... The take charge is very Owenish, he is definitely a take charge kinda guy and trauma suits him well...he takes charge of Cris to instead of her taking charge (must be a hard relationship for 2 doctors both being forceful personalities yet there hours and work seem to always draw them together btw Kaz these are amazing thanks for doing it
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Post by kaz on Aug 21, 2009 19:41:12 GMT -5
Thanks Leanne.
This is one of my favourite voiceovers of the season because I love that very last line we get right as Owen reappears and the implications it has for Cristina.
Episode Five - There's No "I" in Team
I am a rock. I am an island. That's the mantra of pretty much every surgeon I've ever met. We like to think we're independent, loners, mavericks...that all we need to do our jobs is an OR and a willing body. But the truth is, not even the best of us can do it alone. Surgery, like life, is a team sport. And eventually, you've got to get off the bench and decide - what team are you batting for?
The thing about choosing teams in real life, it's nothing like it used to be in gym class. Being first picked can be terrifying. And being chosen last isn't the worst thing in the world. So we watch from the sidelines, clinging to our isolation. Because we know as soon as we let go of the bench someone comes along and changes the game completely.
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Post by kaz on Aug 24, 2009 2:10:10 GMT -5
Who could have known that this next voiceover would have been so pertinent to Owen's storyline for season 5?
Episode Six - Life during wartime For a surgeon, every patient is a battlefield. They're our terrain, where we advance, retreat, try to remove all the landmines. And just when you think you've won the battle, made the world safe again, along comes another landmine. Some wars are never over. Some end in an uneasy truce. Some wars result in complete and total victory. Some wars end with a peace offering. And some wars end in hope. But all these wars are nothing compared to the most frightening war of all - the one you have yet to fight.
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Post by kaz on Aug 30, 2009 20:02:48 GMT -5
Episode Seven - Rise Up If you're a normal person one of the few things you can count on in life, is death. But if you're a surgeon, even that comfort is taken away from you. Surgeons cheat death. We prolong it, we deny it. We stand and defiantly give death the finger. We're born, we live, we die. Sometimes not necessarily in that order. We put things to rest, only to have them rise up again. So if death is not the end, what can we count on anymore? Because you sure can't count on anything in life. Life is the most fragile, unstable, unpredictable thing there is. In fact, there's only one thing about life we can be sure of.
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Post by kaz on Sept 4, 2009 4:16:23 GMT -5
Episode Eight - These Ties that Bind It's intense, what happens in the OR when lives are on the line and you're poking at brains like they're silly putty. You form a bond with the surgeons right next to you - an unbreakable, indescribable bond. It's intimate, being tied together like that. Whether you like it or not, whether you like them or not, you become family. The ties that bind us are sometimes impossible to explain. They connect us even after it seems like the ties should be broken. Some bonds defy distance and time and logic. Because some ties are simply meant to be.
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Post by kaz on Sept 4, 2009 4:38:14 GMT -5
The above voiceover is one that probably works the least for me out of the season because this is where Denny comes back. Viewers could be forgiven for thinking Shonda meant them to believe he wasn't a hallucination but actually somehow back from the dead, given the whole "some ties are meant to be" part of the voiceover.
What the heck does that mean in the context of what we now know was wrong with Izzie?? It just doesn't make much sense to me. What bond is meant to be? Between Izzie and HERSELF? A fictitious Denny? It views like she means between ghost Denny and alive Izzie but we know Denny wasn't a ghost and Shonda kept coming out and saying fans were silly for thinking they would ever do a ghost storyline, given that this is a medical show. I think that voiceover played a big part in blurring the lines and making everyone confused. But maybe that's just me.
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Post by kaz on Sept 6, 2009 19:35:24 GMT -5
Hi guys
I've noticed that noone is really interested in this so I am going to post the next few voiceovers that I've got over the next couple of days and then just unpin this thread and let it drift to the bottom. It takes some time to type out all the voiceovers. I'm happy to do it if people have an interest but it seems they don't.
Episode Nine - In the Midnight Hour When you're little, night time is scary because there are monsters hiding right under the bed. When you get older, the monsters are different - self doubt, loneliness, regret. And though you may be older and wiser, you still find yourself scared of the dark. Sleep. It's the easiest thing to do, you just...close your eyes. But for so many of us, sleep seems out of our grasp. We want it but we don't know how to get it. But once we face our demons, face our fears...and turn to each other for help, night time isn't so scary because we realise we aren't all alone in the dark.
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Geniusmentis
KMKonliner
McVid
I only have 2 neurons and one of them is usually sleeping.
Posts: 4,067
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Post by Geniusmentis on Sept 8, 2009 9:42:17 GMT -5
I like the voice-overs. I hope that you'll put them until the last episode! I've always read them, but I cannot say nothing interesting. Anyway, they are very useful, even to understand better all the episode.
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