Okay, well at least Derek wasn't in another plane crash. That would be pushing things a little too far. Still, there were a few things about this episode that pushed my suspension of disbelief just a touch. Let's go over what happened.
A small plane crashes in the street, right behind Richard. He rushes to the hospital and tells everybody to prep for incoming injuries. Two people were on the private plane - a man and his date. This was their first date, and it was love at first sight for both of them.
Of course, the fact that there was a plane crash brings up a lot of unpleasant memories for a lot of the doctors. Meredith is freaking out because she hasn't heard from Derek all day. Callie tells her that she's only freaking out because of the plane crash, and that Derek is probably just fine. Bailey tells Meredith that she has to keep it together, but that if she doesn't hear anything by 5pm, she has permission to freak out. Arizona seems to be doing okay - the plane caused a lot of injuries in a prenatal yoga class, so she has her hands full with patients. Alex tries to help her, but he ends up hovering. Arizona tells him to knock it off, and Alex admits what's on his mind: he's been feeling guilty all day, because he was the one who cut Arizona's leg off. Callie made the call, but Alex cut the leg. Arizona asks Callie why she never told her, and Callie said that since Arizona was going to blame her, no matter what, she wanted to save Alex, and make sure that Arizona still had somebody to turn to.
Maggie learns about the horrible plane crash, and about Lexie and Mark. She tells Meredith that it's okay to be freaking out about Derek - she should go home. She's going to be too distracted, anyway. At home, Meredith is just about to call Derek or the police, as it is 5pm, when she sees lights from a police car outside the window.
The man and woman on the plane crash were both pretty badly injured. The woman suffers memory loss, and cannot remember the date with the pilot. The man almost dies, but Maggie and Meredith are able to save him. Stephanie, who is desperate to find true love, is distraught over the thought of this woman never remembering the amazing first date with this man, who she says she's already crazy about. She keeps pushing her to remember. Meanwhile, Owen and Amelia are not getting along. They are both snippy with each other, as Amelia has ended their relationship and Owen feels used. Stephanie yells at them both, telling them that they're ruining the story for her. It's her time to be the protagonist!
Luckily, the girl does eventually remember her date on the plane. It looks like love at first sight (or first date, I guess) really does exist! Amelia and Owen talk it out. Amelia tells Owen he's being really unprofessional about this - just because his feelings are hurt, doesn't give him any right to treat her badly. Owen admits that he's got a lot going on - he feels massive guilt about the plane crash, feeling that he should have protected his people. He was the one who put them on the plane.
Richard spends the whole day telling the story of the plane crash to everybody who will listen. He is clearly embellishing the story to make it more exciting, and April calls him on it. Richard admits that he's exaggerating a bit, but he says that he really did feel fear, for one moment, that he was going to die. He felt that, and it made him realize how much he loves his life, and how many people in his life love him.
Okay. So. Complaints.
Now that I've seen the promo for next week, I know that Derek probably isn't dead (yeah right, like they'd do that...) Still, though, the whole suspense buildup, and the way the voice over talks about preparing for your worst case scenario? It's just... it's too dramatic, when I know they're not going to go through with it. Maybe I'm just jaded about Derek and Meredith drama at this point. Every little flashback scene of them being happy was ruined by the obvious fact that they were just showing them happy to juxtapose to the angst that's coming our way. It's too over the top.
I also thought that Richard and April's little plot thread was fairly useless. I like the idea of the two of them having an interesting relationship, since they're both sort of family to Catherine Avery now. But the idea of Richard gossiping with the interns just didn't really work for me, and his explanation for it was rather weak.
My last complaint is a nitpick, but I have to mention it - at one point, Jo and Stephanie talk about the plane crash, and Jo fills Stephanie in on some of the details, including the fact that Meredith's sister Lexie died out in the woods. Apparently, this was news to both of them. Bullshit. No way does Alex not tell Jo the story before this point. No way do these interns not know that Meredith had another sister. I mean, the hospital is freakin' named after Lexie and Mark, for goodness' sake!
But there were elements of this episode that I truly loved. Mostly, I adore the way this episode explored the trauma of the plane crash, and its lasting influence on everybody (I'm a little bit annoyed that we didn't see Jackson's own process of coping, because he lost Mark. And Callie lost Mark too. It felt like there were a few missed opportunities here. But they couldn't give equal focus to everybody, I suppose.) Meredith and Arizona were the main focus in terms of their grief and PTSD. I loved how Meredith went to find Arizona first thing. She didn't want anybody else, she just wanted Arizona. They sat together in that supply closet and just let it wash over them.
Alex had a really interesting role to play. He's one of the closest people in both Meredith and Arizona's lives. These are two women he really loves and cares about. I remember back when everybody was suing the hospital, Alex felt a little bit left out. It's sick and wrong, because of course he should be grateful not to have been through such a traumatic experience. But he just wants to be there for the people he loves, and he feels survivor's guilt over Lexie and Mark's deaths. I loved the way he tried to be there for Arizona in whatever way he could, and the fact that he eventually admitted that he was hovering to make himself feel better, instead of her. That's an important distinction that a lot of people need to recognize. If you're helping to make yourself feel like a good person, you're not doing it for the right reasons.
I love how this show can find such darkly comedic moments. Maggie talks about how her experience on a plane was "the worst" because they were out on the tarmac for four hours and then they cancelled the flight. A group of people are all sitting around (Alex, April, etc.) and they have to fill her in on what's really going on with Meredith and Arizona. It's funny because Maggie just has no idea how badly she's sticking her foot in her mouth.
Stephanie continues to be my favorite. Seriously. I loved her speech to Owen and Amelia. She tells them that she's the protagonist in this story, and that they're ruining everything for her. Even though both of these people are her superiors, they both shut up and sort of awkwardly stammer after her outburst. That was awesome. I also loved the moment when Owen and Stephanie are in the OR together and Owen tells her to stop talking, and Stephanie gets all uppity about how he's denying her right to ask questions and learn. She's just such a delight.
I'm excited about the Derek-centric episode next week. It should be fun to see. I do like the over-the-top drama of it all. If I didn't, I wouldn't be watching this show. I'm just nervous that they're not going to do enough to make all of the buildup feel justified. We'll see!
8/10
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