Then we move to the interview portion of the evening, in which Webber interrogates the interns one at a time. Alex is first. All he talks about is his wrestling scholarship and baseball and football and how "masc" he is. Oh please, I'll believe Clay Aiken likes vajayjay before I believe Alex is a jock. Prettyboyprettyboyprettyboy. Anyway, Alex dodges Webber's questions and says he just goes out and "plays to win," etc. Great! NEXT.

"Our health plan no longer covers waxing? Fuck that, I'm outta here."

Next is Cristina. Webber says she'll have to fess up sooner or later because she's a surgery junkie and won't be able to bear an O.R. ban for too long. Cristina turns the questioning back on Webber, asking him how he keeps his edge. She says that before she got to SGH she was focused and cool and driven and would've ratted on another intern in a second, but since she's actually started working she's become burdened with loyalties and attachments and feels that she's "lost her edge." She gets upset saying this and tears up as she asks Webber how she can once again become detached and learn to be a great surgeon. This scene is interesting and well played. Webber excuses her, saying he wants no part in making her less human.

"Sir, I'm losing my edge. I keep having nightmares that I'm dressed as a nun and hanging out with Olympia Dukakis."

Izzie comes in, telling Webber how people have always seen her as "pretty"—blond hair, boobs, razor-sharp dentition, that's it. But Denny makes her feel not like a pretty girl but like, well, herself. So she says if she were the one who cut the LVAD wire, she wouldn't feel guilty about it.

"Yeah... I'll get back to you once I'm done staring at these shiny objects."

Then it's George's turn. He and Webber have a silent staring/intimidation contest, but George insists he won't break. He says he does care what Webber thinks of him but just can't tell Webber what he wants to hear. George makes some tenuous connection between this situation and his situaiton with Callie and his inability to reciprocate the "I love you." Webber is baffled by this and just asks George to leave.

"Yes sir, I know the hair is bad. Next season I'm going back to my Amadeus look."

And finally, Meredith. Webber says he's known her for a long time, knew her mother and father, and knows beyond doubt she didn't cut the LVAD wire. Meredith fires back with something that leaves Webber speechless: she says she's finally pieced it together and realizes that Webber was the one who broke up her parents' marriage. She can tell it wasn't just a tawdry fling but that Ellis really loved Webber—she left Thatcher, yet Webber decided to stay with his wife because it was the right thing to do. Webber is shocked by this and, suffice it to say, doesn't bully Meredith for the information he wants. Ooh, Webber with the goose egg. Though these interview scenes were arguably a little odd, I thought they added a really interesting element and didn't slow the momentum nearly as much as I expected.

"Go ahead, fire me—I've got millions coming my way whenever they do a Sissy Spacek biopic"

Afterward, Izzie visits Denny's room and tells him that her answer to his marriage proposal is yes. Bailey shoos her out, saying that she's a hospital visitor now and therefore can only be there during visiting hours. Izzie mentions the prom and says she'll be back in her fancy dress. As she leaves, Denny boasts that he tricked her into marrying him. Yeeha. Now maybe you can elope to Bora Bora and NEVER WORK IN TV AGAIN.

Cristina likewise visits Burke, telling him about the dumb prom they're throwing. Burke says he won't bear a grudge if his condition is too much for Cristina to handle. She then says something mysterious, asking him if he's going to "tell Shepherd about..." Burke replies "Not yet," but it's unclear what they're talking about. Any theories on this?

And then Meredith confronts He-Shepherd and says they need to make a decision about the dog. He snaps back that he doesn't care either way. Meredith says they should probably put the dog to sleep then, but she wonders aloud whether there's a chance the dog could get better. He-Shepherd retorts that there's no way it's gonna get better. So Meredith says they should put an end to it today then. Ooh I LOVE thinly veiled metaphors of dog health as proxy for relationship health.

You know, if I'd wanted Old Yeller I would've tried NICK AT NITE

Later, at Finn's office, She-Shepherd signs the consent form to put the dog to sleep. They all stand around the dog mournfully until She-Shepherd gets paged and has to leave. So Meredith and He-Shepherd watch over as the dog goes under, talking in all manner of signs and signifiers about burying their dog but really burying their relationship. We should get Jacques Derrida in here to UNPACK THIS ONE A LITTLE FURTHER. Meredith starts bawling, and this scene is no fun to watch. At one point, as Meredith is petting the dying dog, He-Shepherd puts his hand on her hand, which upsets her horribly. Anyway, the old dog finally dies.

That night, the prom begins at the hospital, with all the fancy balloons Bailey requested. I still can't believe this is actually happening. Meredith arrives unfashionably late, making a grand entrance down a staircase in a long dress that looks like something Carol Channing might use as a dustcover for piles of old Tony awards.

Actually sweetie the Miss Preparation H pageant is the next ballroom over

Posted by m_ruv on May 21, 2006 11:34 PM