Grey's Anatomy: Sleeping Monster (9x21)

This show. This show, man. You gotta love it. Constantly uppin' the angst and keeping me interested in several plot threads all at once. As always, I'll separate them out and talk about each in turn.

I'll start with the biggest: this week, Bailey got to do the voice-over that's usually reserved for Meredith, so we knew that her character was going to get the biggest piece of the pie. Basically, Jackson calls in the CDC to investigate the infection. Bailey's under a lot of stress since she's not allowed to see her patients. The doctors all want to support her, and many of them are angry with Jackson for calling in the CDC. I'm not, though. He totally made the right move, there. Everyone gave him a lot of crap for it, though, and I'm getting a bit tired of people bullying Jackson Avery. Just look into those eyes! How can you stay angry with him?

Anyways, Bailey is freaking out the whole episode, and the CDC people are asking her all these questions, and in the end it turns out that she does have the infection, but it was not her fault, but rather the gloves were faulty. You would think that she would be relieved, but three patients died of the infection and she feels totally abandoned by all her friends. Bailey has this dramatic speech at the end where she tells Webber that he's not the man she thought he was, since he didn't stand by her. This was excellent acting and excellent writing. It really amped up the drama and I'm excited to see what they do with Bailey's character from here.

Next, we've got April. I'm so past caring about her right now. I just feel really bad for Jackson because he has to deal with her mood swings and he really doesn't need another person to deal with right now. Matthew broke up with her, so she takes it out on Jackson: "I'm not board certified, I'm not a virgin, and everything I care about has been ruined because of you!" Later in the episode, Matthew comes to the hospital and the two of them make up. But April still hasn't apologized for what she said to Jackson, so I'm not forgiving her just yet. I hope Matthew becomes interesting, soon, or else I hope April finally dumps him.

Christina and Alex had the cutest part of the episode. It was absolutely my favorite. These two have such abrasive personalities, and they hated each other when this show started out. Now, they live together and they go to each other for advice and it is just too cute. Alex agrees to be nice to Jo's boyfriend, and he actually manages to succeed for a while, until he accidentally let slip that she grew up in foster care. Jo was pissed. She came to Alex and told him to never talk about her or to her again. It was a really tense moment and I really felt bad for Alex here. 

Meanwhile, Christina was working on a pregnant patient with Alex and  Jason (Jo's boyfriend). The surgery went alright and the baby was saved. Along the way, she continued to try and connect with Owen about Ethan and his parents. He seemed totally fixated on Ethan's situation, to the extent that at the end of the episode he decides to stick around to care for him rather than go home with Christina.

Christina and Alex then have a conversation so wonderful that I have to quote it in full: Alex: "You were right about Jo." Christina: "Of course I was. What did I say again?" Alex starts to leave, rolling his eyes. Christina laughs. "Alex!" Alex: "I'm such an idiot! I love her." Christina pats the bed next to her. Alex: "What?" Christina: "Just..." she pats the bed again, and Alex comes over hesitantly, then lays down. "You're weird." Christina replies: "Give it a minute." Alex does, and then he says: "It's just... she just... why do I always screw myself out of everything good?" There's a long pause, and then Christina says: "I think I'm losing Owen." Alex: "What?" Christina: "Not today, but... soon."

I love their trust and friendship. It was a beautiful moment between two of my favorite characters on television.

Then we have Owen and Ethan this week. That little kid playing Ethan continues to melt my heart. His mother died this week, and I was so upset for him. He was so brave, though, wanting to be there to comfort his grandmother. I'm wondering whether the dad is going to wake up, or if Owen is going to try and adopt this kid? I sort of hope the former, because I don't want this kid to suffer any more.

Meredith spent the whole episode talking about how she wanted Christina in the delivery room with her, and there was a slightly amusing running joke about how people poop on the table when they give birth. The funniest moment was this: Christina says - "We have been friends a long time. You wanna know how? By not watching each other poop!" And Alex, barely participating in this conversation, just says - "Holla!"

The last big plot thing going on here was a family-reunion-gone-wrong wherein a bunch of people all got parts of their fingers sliced off from playing tug-of-war with a clothesline. I liked this thread basically for one part: the little girl who wanted to be a journalist. She kept asking what was going on with the CDC and saying things about how they were obstructing the free press when they knocked her out for a procedure. I just thought she was really adorable and I really liked the dynamic of this whole big family all quarreling and freaking out about one another. I kind of hope that the family is still around in the next episode so we can get more of this.

Anyways, I really enjoyed this episode. I'm intrigued to see where things go next, especially for Bailey, and for Jo and Alex' relationship.

9/10