Grey's Anatomy: Do You Believe in Magic (9x22)

Okay, this show is just constantly finding new ways to drive me crazy. I mean that in a good way, in that I never know what they're going to throw at me next, and it's always dramatic and it's always intense. I'll go through the different plot threads this week, starting with...

Arizona and Lauren. Okay, what the Hell. No. I disapprove. It sucks because Jessica Capshaw (Arizona) is such an amazing actress that I immediately sensed Arizona's connection with this Lauren woman, and I actually think it's pretty hot. But... but Callie! Callie and Arizona are my favorite couple on this entire show. They have been through so much, and I just can't understand why we would want a wrench thrown in that. The cute-meet between Arizona and Lauren was great, though. It was just so depressing to see their flirtatious behavior. The only thing that will justify/save this plot development for me is if they tie it in with some PTSD or insecurity about her missing limb or something. Like, if she's having trouble in her marriage because of her other issues, then an affair would make sense. Otherwise, it just makes Arizona seem like a bad person.

Then there's Derek and Brooks' case this week, which was hilarious. Basically a little girl needs brain surgery, and the frazzled parents are having a hard time controlling the little brother. Brooks gets smacked in the face by the little boy when she tries to play with him, and the payoff is basically that Derek tells the little boy that he gave his sister superpowers, so he better watch out. Hilariously, Brooks leads down and says: "He put a vampire in her head. I'd watch out, kid." The little boy looked so scared! It was hilarious. On a more serious note, it looks like Brooks isn't nearly as passionate about Neurosurgery as Shane is, and I wonder how that's going to play out in the future.

Derek was feeling some anxieties because of how nasty this little boy is. He asks Meredith about their unborn son: "What if he's a monster?" I loved this scene because it accurately portrays the panic of impending fatherhood while still keeping things light. Derek was wearing a tiara, for goodness' sake! It was really cute to see the family spend some time together. That little girl playing Zola is precious.

Christina's journey in this episode involved her obsessing over  Ethan's dad, and wondering how to get him out of the coma. She continually talked everyone's ear off about the patient, even calling some French medical professionals to seek advice. Apparently, Christina knows French! Awesome. Anyways, at the end, while lying next to Owen in bed, she observes that he's changed. She admits that she knows he wants kids, to which Owen replies, emphatically, that he wants her. However, it seems like this might be an issue as we move forward.

Speaking of Owen, he has been spending more and more time with this Ethan kid. Their relationship is really adorable, but something seriously tragic happened this week. Ethan overdosed on his grandmother's sleeping pills, which basically guarantees that he'll be going to a foster home for a while until they know if his dad is going to wake up or not. Poor Owen is really invested in this case, and I'm really anxious to see how it plays out when the dad either wakes up or dies.

There was a pretty interesting patient story this week. This magician and his two assistants come into the hospital. The magician's wife has been sawed in half because of a trick gone wrong. It turns out, the two girls who assisted the magician are actually lovers, and the husband is too obsessed with his magic to notice that his wife is having an affair. This was an interesting little subplot, though it didn't actually relate too much to any of the other doctors' storyline. Meredith had fun patching up a woman who had been sawed in half. She really kicked some ass during the surgery. 

Then there was April and Jackson's story. I've been annoyed with April's plot lately, but there was no Matthew in this episode, so it was better than expected. Three girls come into the hospital, one of them complaining of serious stomach pain. The three of them had been out partying, and the other two girls are still very drunk. They are just making jokes and giggling while April tries to help their friend, who it turns out has actually burned a hole in her stomach. Jackson ends up scrubbing in on the surgery and April apologizes for her behavior from the last episode. The two of them have fun with the surgery and with making fun of the ditzy drunk friends. Their flirty behavior leads to April asking Jackson to go out for drinks, but he declines and they awkwardly both rush off. I don't know what I feel about this... I don't really like Matthew, but I like Jackson much more with Stephanie than with April, so I'm torn.

Speaking of Stephanie, she had an awesome moment where she yelled at Jackson for how he keeps standing her up. She basically tells him that she deserves better and that he should start being more attentive. He interrupts her with a kiss. Not much else happened in this very brief moment, so I'm curious to see where this goes from here.

So, then we've got Alex and Jo. I think this was my favorite part of the episode this week. Alex is just so cute with his broken heart. Even better, Christina continued to be hilarious as she tried to comfort him. Alex is in the elevator wearing a hoodie and with headphones in. Christina pulls an ear-bud out and hears his music. "What is that? The soundtrack of your broken heart?" Alex keeps trying to avoid Jo, but she shows up everywhere. At one point, Alex sees her with the other interns, so Christina and Meredith walk the "long way" around so to as avoid running into her. But then, Jo and Alex are both in the same surgery, which forces them to have a conversation. Jo tries to be civil, but Alex is having none of it. At the end of the episode, Jo shows up at Alex and Christina's house. Her face is covered in bruises, and she asks if she can stay with Alex. Tense! I'm more than excited to see where this goes from here.

I saved Bailey for last. Basically, she locks herself in the genome lab running test after test on herself, because she feels "dirty" after infecting the patients. Throughout the episode, everyone tries to talk to her, but nobody gets through. My favorite moment was when they all lined up outside of the bathroom waiting for her. When she exits, she just walks silently by. Derek had a fantastic line, as he tries to tell Bailey that she needs to stop being so angry with them: "You've seen me mad, I hang out in the woods and I drink myself into a stupor." It made me laugh! In the end, Ben shows up and finally gets Bailey to admit how she's been feeling.

I think overall the best thing I can say about this episode was that it had fantastic pacing. So many things happened, but I was captivated and following each storyline easily. As I mentioned before, I have some serious qualms about this new twist with Arizona and Lauren, but other than that I don't really have many complaints!

8.5/10