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Post by kaz on Oct 12, 2010 17:17:30 GMT -5
MEREDITH AND DEREK RECEIVE SOME DISTURBING NEWS, ON ABC'S "GREY'S ANATOMY"
Diane Farr ("Rescue Me," Numb3rs") and Frances Conroy ("Six Feet Under") Guest Star "Can't Fight Biology" - Things are hostile on all fronts when a visit to the obstetrician results in some disturbing news for Meredith and Derek, and Lexie loses it when she notices Meredith and April getting closer. Meanwhile a car crash brings in multiple traumas and Jackson tries using his physical attributes to get ahead in the operating room, while Cristina's self-doubt carries outside of the hospital and into her house hunting with Owen, on "Grey's Anatomy," THURSDAY, OCTOBER 14 (9:00-10:01 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network.
"Grey's Anatomy" stars Ellen Pompeo as Meredith Grey, Patrick Dempsey as Derek Shepherd, Sandra Oh as Cristina Yang, Justin Chambers as Alex Karev, Chandra Wilson as Miranda Bailey, James Pickens, Jr. as Richard Webber, Sara Ramirez as Callie Torres, Eric Dane as Mark Sloan, Chyler Leigh as Lexie Grey, Kevin McKidd as Owen Hunt, Jessica Capshaw as Arizona Robbins, Kim Raver as Teddy Altman, Jesse Williams as Jackson Avery and Sarah Drew as April Kepner.
Guest cast includes Frances Conroy as Eleanor, Diane Farr as Lila, Nathan Halliday as Jake Fisher, Jon Curry as Fred Fisher, Kate Martin as Vickie Fisher, Christian Clemenson as Ivan Fink, Stacey Miller as Kimmy, Jackie Houston as realtor, Jennifer Say Gan as Dr. Keating and Linda Klein as Scrub Nurse Linda.
"Can't Fight Biology" was written by Peter Nowalk and directed by Ed Ornelas.
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Please refrain from posting in this thread until after the episode has aired and remember to use spoiler tags.
This thread is for your discussion, thoughts, comments, reviews, musings (brief or extensive) about the episode once you have seen it.
Here are some questions to think about, to get the discussion started:
- What did you think of this episode? - Did you like it/dislike it? - What parts did and didn't work for you? - What was the best scene/moment/line? What was the worst? - Is the episode worthy of a rewatch? - What would you change about the episode if you were the writer?
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ruralstar
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Post by ruralstar on Oct 14, 2010 21:51:11 GMT -5
- What did you think of this episode? *yawns* - Did you like it/dislike it? See above.
- What parts did and didn't work for you?
Worked: Alex taking his job seriously. He seemed genuinely touched by the cancer patient.
Owen and Cris moments-of course!
Last scene with Meredith and Derek. I can understand Meredith wanting to get a handle on her future but I agree with Derek's approach. Whatever comes they will deal with it.
Didn't work: The worm guy's declarations were anvil moments for Cristina. I have mixed feelings about those bits. Aren't we past having messages spelled out in this fashion? I did like the actor they cast.
Jackson grinning like the cat that ate the canary. Man that was just plain creepy. *gags* They seem to be really reaching for humor lately. The wart guy last week and now Jackson going stupid after proving last year that he was more than a pretty face. I didn't think Teddy was stupid enough to fall for his antics and I'm glad I was proven right. - What was the best scene/moment/line? What was the worst?
Best: Owen kissing Cris. Passionate and sweet FANTASTIC.
Alex explaining to Az the male perception of boobs. I wonder how many times they read that scene without either actor cracking up?
Worst: Jackson sweet talking Teddy to get in on the surgery.
- Is the episode worthy of a rewatch?
I'm sure I will rewatch but mainly for the limited scenes with Cris and Owen.
- What would you change about the episode if you were the writer?
I don't think Meredith would be so unaware of Lexie's feelings at this point. They've had their issues but they've become friends and blood is blood afterall. April was there for the miscarriage but I find it implausible that Mer would take her under her wing so quickly and freeze Lexie out. Mer is so inconsistent and it drives me crazy.
I would have had Teddy cut Jackson off at the knees after the flirt in the hallway. And kicked him of her service besides. But then I wouldn't have written him as such an airhead in the first place.
Speaking of airheads. What happened to our quirky but tough Arizona from last year? She's turned into a flake since the shooting. Trauma fall out?
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duchovlet
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Post by duchovlet on Oct 15, 2010 7:02:03 GMT -5
A firehouse is the perfect living quarters for O/C If MacGyver can live on a house boat then Owen & Cristina can live in a FH. Of course Mac didn't have a stripper pole, I mean a firepole. Edited to add spoiler tags. Kaz
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ruralstar
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Post by ruralstar on Oct 15, 2010 7:13:54 GMT -5
Firehouse is a cool place to live for O/C. Considering that this is GA I wonder if there is supposed to be something symbolic about a firehouse? Putting out fires in a relationship? Handling emergencies? The pole...yeah, won't go there LOL.
Just remembered something else I liked about the ep. The Huntington's patient and Meredith came off a bit less heavy-handed than Cris' worm man. Mer's patient tied in nicely with the final scene between Mer/Der. The inention was the same for Worm man and Cris/Owen. Just didn't work as nicely for me.
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Post by ranniez on Oct 15, 2010 7:34:10 GMT -5
I liked the part at the end where it seemed that Cristina bought the firehouse for Owen. (Maybe with money that she inherited from her dad?) She said that she doesn't care where she lives but knew that Owen loved the firehouse.
As to the worm man I think the speech to Cristina was to tell her that you don't give up so easily on something you love. I think he sensed somehow that Cris was deeply troubled and that's why he talked to her so forcefully. I think she was really considering what he said in relation to her trauma and how she said last week that she thought she would be happy being a plumber.
Love the ballet dancer, too. I was really glad that Alex found a way to save his leg. alex was cool when he said to the boy that if he had bone cancer and was in danger of losing his arm and couldn't operate anymore he would take any risk to save it.
Did anyone watch the webisode that Kevin directed yet? I did and it was really cool.
Take care now!
Edited to add spoiler tags. Kaz
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Post by MarryMeOwen on Oct 15, 2010 17:36:14 GMT -5
- What did you think of this episode? I dont think it was well balanced. There didn't seem to be any main story only plot in this episode. With the exception of OC and Mer/Der, I found little to care about in this ep. - Did you like it/dislike it? Aside from the small OC moments we got which were great and the Cristina and Meredith development, I could have waited until everything was uploaded on Youtube. I guess that means I am indifferent though the final OC scene was very sweet. - What parts did and didn't work for you? DID: -OC moments were great and well thought out. I liked how we saw Owen catch himself when he realized he was pushing Cristina into the househunting. I was glad when he backed off a bit, and was trying to get Cristina to participate, but I also liked that we saw Cristina in a kind of teaching moment with the worm guy. I think she saw part of herself in him in how she could easily lose herself again in work and disregard her relationship which for right now is her comfort zone even though there are still some getting used to aspects of being a newly wed. In the final scene I was reminded of the Burke talk when Cristina told Owen how Burke took pieces from her, I think she realized that by not going for the firehouse she was kind of taking away a piece of Owen in that moment. She decided that she wanted to do something romantic and whimisical-ish for him to let him know that she appreciates all he's been trying to do for her. At least that's how I read it.
-Mer/Der- I liked their baby talk scenes but I really could have done without the lexie drama following it. How many times did I have to hear Mer say she has a hostile uterus? I lost track. I did like how Meredith was inspired by her patient to get tested for Alzheimer's disesase. I alwasy thought this conversation would come, but I think it will be interesting to see what happens if she finds out she has it.
DIDN"T
AZ and Teddy- Teddy is still someone I can't warm up to and AZ is totally digressing for me. I think AZ is so passive aggressive that I can't enjoy this character anymore. When she tried to push Teddy into going after Mark again it was totally recycled from when Derek wanted Mark to distract Cristina from Meredith. I wish they wouldn't dumb down AZ and Jackson so much. Teddy I will never figure out. One minute she is Attachment Barbie bawling about a boy, then next minute she's trying to be all Judge Judy when Jackson is making eyes at her in the cubby room. Its like effing decide on a personality for Teddy and stick with it or she needs to go.
Jackson/Teddy- First you have Teddy being extremely unprofessional in how she was talking about Jackson to AZ in a public area of the hospital, loud enough so that he AND Alex could over hear their comments about his looks, then Teddy gets mad when Jackson does what is expected of him aside from being a good doctor. I am sorry but when did Jackson become the Mark of cardio? I realize he's hot but he's not an idiot, in fact I thought he was the Mercy West version of Cristina, but apparently I missed something. either way this s/l didn't work for me, I get they are trying to integrate Teddy but they are doing it the wrong way.
-Lexie drama with April- I get that we are to see Lexie's insecurities but Lexie being jealous of April is nothing new. I think its more of a case of new baby syndrome for her, but she handled it the wrong way at least she caught herself but I'm getting kind of tired of her antics. Especially how she got upset that Mark slept with Amelia, its like get over it, you told him to leave you alone and he did now grow up.
-Dancer storyline- didn't really work for me either, I felt no connection to this character I think because he pretty much decided that he is the best at what he does. The character didn't really have anything to learn from his experience, but hey at least he got a new leg out of it.
- What was the best scene/moment/line? What was the worst? BEST-had to be O/C as little screen time they had what they had was great quality I love seeing Cristina's romantic side when she surprised Owen with the firehouse. It almost seems like he has always wanted to live in a firehouse since he was a little boy.
BEST-Moments with Bailey and Cristina I love how Bailey is the only one that didn't push Cristina back into the OR like the others tried to do, even though they did the best they knew how, Bailey totally gets what her babies need.
BEST: Mer/Der Liked seeing them having a real relationship moment for once instead of work stuff.
WORST- Lexie, AZ, Teddy- Can't the writers find something else for these characters to do except whine about other people?
- Is the episode worthy of a rewatch? Meh I can take it or leave it, the last 30 seconds were GOLD though - What would you change about the episode if you were the writer? Less Teddy and AZ interaction, I really dislike this friendship mainly because AZ has become passive aggressive overnight it seems. I don't know what the purpose of this is, I also think the writers need a consistent personality for Teddy, she changes in every episode. Also Teddy is supposed to be Cristina's teacher and has supposedly lived through trauma herself and is suffering from PTSD, the writers could have capitalized on this a bit more, but I guess they aren't interested in that. Less Lexie as well, I have always been borderline with her and tonight I was reminded why.
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Post by kaz on Oct 15, 2010 19:37:51 GMT -5
What did you think of this episode? This episode is definitely the weakest of the season so far. It wasn't awful, by any stretch of the imagination, but was just a bit of a snoozefest. Did you like it/dislike it? Neither. I didn't hate it but there was nothing to really get excited about. On the whole, I am indifferent. What parts did and didn't work for you? What worked - all of the O/C moments (although they were few and far between); Cristina working with Bailey who, unlike everyone else, just sort of let her find her feet and do things at her own pace; Cristina's interactions with the patient (although heavy-handed when it came to the writing); Meredith and Derek getting some forward movement on the baby front; Meredith working with her patient and finally being ready to face up to the Alzheimer's; Alex getting back to paeds and excelling; Arizona finally getting over it, being an adult and giving Mark a chance; the frat-house bathroom scenes at Meredith's house (felt like a repeat of the earlier seasons with Izzie and George etc but also kind of nice).
What didn't - Arizona being annoying when it came to Mark and asking Teddy to sleep with him, as a distraction; Jackson as an airhead; the Chief being concerned about money again (didn't we cover this last season?); jealous Lexie stuff; the heavy-handedness of the "lesson" that Cristina learned from her patient. I liked the softness the overall interactions brought out in Cristina but it was all spelled out far too much. What was interesting, however, was that although I was thinking that last speech from the patient was about Cristina going back to surgery, it actually turned out to be about Owen and getting in deeper where he and that relationship are concerned. That was a nice little surprise at the end (although I do hope that some of that speech also rubbed off when it came to surgery and Cristina is ready to take a few more baby steps back towards the OR). What was the best scene/moment/line? What was the worst? BEST - Owen and Cristina at the end. I like that Cristina took a big leap, not a baby step. And I also liked the continued softness between these two, which we saw blossoming at the end. The OR scene with Owen and Cristina was also a good one. Like marryme said, I liked that Owen pulled back and tried to back pedal a little when Cristina asked if she only asked her there to discuss house hunting. He's just gently nudging her when it comes to surgery and their life together - enough to move things forward, but in a respectful way.
BEST - Alex's boob speech to Arizona at the end.
BEST - Meredith and Derek at the end. Patrick Dempsey's mumbling annoys me but that aside, this was a really good scene for the characters.
HONOURABLE MENTIONS - the scene where Cristina took Meredith's blood to test for the Alzheimer's gene; the line/moment where the patient told Lexie and April that they had to keep the confession to themselves because of doctor/patient confidentiality and they revealed that it only applies to medical stuff; the Lexie/Meredith talk at the end. I didn't care for the Lexie/April/Meredith friendship triangle at all but I did like this moment.
Is the episode worthy of a rewatch? Only parts of it, mostly the O/C scenes and the ones I've identified above as good scenes or moments. What would you change about the episode if you were the writer? The Arizona/Mark stuff and Teddy/Jackson storyline. So much yawn and it just doesn't make sense.
On the former, Mark's been around for a while and only THIS episode it resurfaced as a major problem? What about when Mark and Callie were talking about raising Mark's grandchild? It just came out of left field and was pointless. It's like the writer was finding lame things for Arizona to do so Jessica Capshaw can bide her time until she goes on maternity leave.
And as for the latter...firstly, didn't we already cover the Jackson as a bimbo/pretty boy angle briefly back in time? Secondly, the flirting stuff was SO cringe-worthy from a writing perspective (and also delivery and editing). The only good thing was that Teddy shut him down at the end but if I was the writer I just would have given this whole thing the chop or had Teddy treating Jackson like eye candy, perhaps, and Jackson stepping up and kicking butt in surgery to show that he's not (if they really had to go down that path). It just felt completely pointless and like someone (probably Shonda) wanted an excuse to have Jesse Williams take his shirt off. I'm sure it somehow fits into the "biology" theme but I just hated the storyline so much that I'm not even going to take the time to think about that.
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Post by MarryMeOwen on Oct 15, 2010 19:46:13 GMT -5
I wonder if there is some kind of connection to the fact that Mer built a house of candles for Derek and Cristina bought Owen the firehouse? Fire is usually a metaphor for conflict isn't it? Wonder what it says about their emotional energy or whatever..
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Post by kaz on Oct 15, 2010 20:00:04 GMT -5
I wonder if there is some kind of connection to the fact that Mer built a house of candles for Derek and Cristina bought Owen the firehouse? Fire is usually a metaphor for conflict isn't it? Wonder what it says about their emotional energy or whatever.. I think it's symbolic of something, but haven't decided what yet. Fire is a tricky one because it could represent so many different things.
On one level, fire equates to passion.
On another, fire is destruction but then it's also rebirth - it purifies and cleanses, it promotes life (eg controlled burning in forests and bushland to stimulate the growth of vegetation).
Traditionally, the fire/hearth was the centre of the home so it also may symbolize warmth, comfort and the centre of life.
Passion, heat, hearth, centre of life all link into the heart as well which ties in to Cristina.
Then there's the other aspect of it - that the renovated fire house was where fireFIGHTERS were stationed, which links into Owen's saviour complex.
I don't know if we're supposed to take any of that as a sign of where this storyline is headed (and I personally wouldn't even really know what to read from it). But overall, I think it means that Owen and Cristina are in the right place. I don't interpret it negatively.
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Post by MarryMeOwen on Oct 15, 2010 20:09:25 GMT -5
I wonder if there is some kind of connection to the fact that Mer built a house of candles for Derek and Cristina bought Owen the firehouse? Fire is usually a metaphor for conflict isn't it? Wonder what it says about their emotional energy or whatever.. I think it's symbolic of something, but haven't decided what yet. Fire is a tricky one because it could represent so many different things.
On one level, fire equates to passion.
On another, fire is destruction but then it's also rebirth - it purifies and cleanses, it promotes life (eg controlled burning in forests and bushland to stimulate the growth of vegetation).
Traditionally, the fire/hearth was the centre of the home so it also may symbolize warmth, comfort and the centre of life.
Passion, heat, hearth, centre of life all link into the heart as well which ties in to Cristina.
Then there's the other aspect of it - that the renovated fire house was where fireFIGHTERS were stationed, which links into Owen's saviour complex.
I don't know if we're supposed to take any of that as a sign of where this storyline is headed (and I personally wouldn't even really know what to read from it). But overall, I think it means that Owen and Cristina are in the right place. I don't interpret it negatively. Found this on the web it kind of makes sense to me as well : www.three-musketeers.net/mike/elements.htmlFIRE: If there ever was a dichotomous element it would be Fire. Fire, the bringer of destruction, the symbolism of chaos and war. Fire burns everything, bringing nothing but ruin. And yet, Prometheus risked the wrath of the Titans to bring fire to man. Fire banishes the darkness. Fire cleanses and purifies. Lastly, sometimes Love is spoken of as an eternal flame. Fire. Fire can be shown as an agent of destruction. Everyone can imagine the scene where the heroine looks down and the town is awash in flames. Fire is also usually used for strong emotional feelings (such as love, hate, desire, and determination). Fire can also be used to express determination or a strong desire as well. Characters and things that are shown to have a 'fire-esq' quality to them usually have a red-colored theme to them. Red because flames and coals have a red coloration to them. They are also more likely to be violent (in this case violent meaning extreme and chaotic) in their response and more likely to rush into a situation without completely thinking the consequences through. For example, Hino Rei / Sailor Mars (from Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon) is Fire personified, but she is hardly evil, nor does she have evil intents. She is strong-willed, hot-tempered, and incredibly determined and independent, that's all. *** Sound like anyone we know??
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Post by Leanne on Oct 16, 2010 3:45:22 GMT -5
Well this episode got the worst reaction out of me LOL FYI I havent managed to watch the whole episode yet Put it on and got the part when the worm guy hurled and as I have a tummy bug that was me finished made me feel as sick as a dog LOL kudos to Greys Im guessing they got the reaction they wanted out of me LOL will have to watch when I feel better
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ruralstar
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Life is a Journey of the Mind. Anything can happen....Just wait
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Post by ruralstar on Oct 16, 2010 6:27:56 GMT -5
I wonder if there is some kind of connection to the fact that Mer built a house of candles for Derek and Cristina bought Owen the firehouse? Fire is usually a metaphor for conflict isn't it? Wonder what it says about their emotional energy or whatever.. I think it's symbolic of something, but haven't decided what yet. Fire is a tricky one because it could represent so many different things.
On one level, fire equates to passion.
On another, fire is destruction but then it's also rebirth - it purifies and cleanses, it promotes life (eg controlled burning in forests and bushland to stimulate the growth of vegetation).
Traditionally, the fire/hearth was the centre of the home so it also may symbolize warmth, comfort and the centre of life.
Passion, heat, hearth, centre of life all link into the heart as well which ties in to Cristina.
Then there's the other aspect of it - that the renovated fire house was where fireFIGHTERS were stationed, which links into Owen's saviour complex.
I don't know if we're supposed to take any of that as a sign of where this storyline is headed (and I personally wouldn't even really know what to read from it). But overall, I think it means that Owen and Cristina are in the right place. I don't interpret it negatively. I didn't have time to spell it out yesterday but you hit the nail on the head about fire and the firehouse, Kaz. I agree with you.
Meant to add that I liked the scenes with the cancer patient. The dancing bit did a nice job of showcasing how everyone feels about this kid, himself included. It was nice to see Alex responding to that. I think it helped that he actually saw the emotions on the father's face.
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Post by Leanne on Oct 17, 2010 6:25:47 GMT -5
Finally felt up to watching the show - What did you think of this episode? ok it was ok mmm an episode of sorting out problems basically
one big hit on the head/wake up call for Cristina ... and Lexie and Meredith resolving there issues and Mark and Arizona sorting there's out as well as Teddy and Jackson bringing up the rear and a few loose ends like Meredith's Alzheimers
- Did you like it/dislike it? just a like from me nothing mind blowing but could see what there agenda was with this episode ~ I do agree with Rural the worm guy was a bit heavy handed, to many resolution for one episode, they certainly are trying to tie up loose ends almost like they anticipate season 8 will be the last (not saying that it is but its kind of odd) - What parts did and didn't work for you? worms no I didnt like that neither did my stomach ...
- What was the best scene/moment/line? What was the worst? Owen moments ... last scene especially worst worms - Is the episode worthy of a rewatch? I might give this one a skip and just watch the beginning and the end - What would you change about the episode if you were the writer? Add in more Owen and Cris LOL, ;D sorry Im not a writer so I will have to take what they dish out but hey it would be nice for a bit more screen time
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Post by raachel2008 on Oct 17, 2010 22:44:00 GMT -5
D sorry Im not a writer so I will have to take what they dish out but hey it would be nice for a bit more screen time I'm pretty sure their first scene in the firehouse was edited. There were a couple of pictures were Cristina was not wearing her coat and in the last scene Owen says "But this morning you said..." or something like that. Not only edited, but poorly edited. Edited to add spoiler tags - Kaz.
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