Grey’s Anatomy: Life’s a Hole unless your Whole

Hi everyone! This “week’s” Grey’s Anatomy is ridiculously late, and for that I am very sorry. I was out of the country and missed the episode so now I’m playing catch up. Interestingly enough, in this episode a lot happens, but we are spared from too many dumb sub-stories and stick to the people we actually care about. Derek is still nuts, Meredith is shockingly calm, Izzie is stubborn, Sloan gets to play God and George actually plays a significant part in this episode! That being said, I apologize again and let’s dive right in.

We left off with Izzie dropping the “I have cancer pretty much everywhere humanly possible” bomb on Yang in the air vent chamber We kick off today with Izzie and Yang in the kitchen of the frat house discussing Izzie’s options. Well, Yang is discussing Izzie’s options. Izzie is kind of sitting there looking like she trying to decide the best way to tell Yang that cancer was a lot more interesting when you were visited by ghosts you could have sex with.

They keep getting interrupted by residents of the frat house, in which every time they walk in Izzie quickly silences Yang. Because of course where else to have a conversation you want to keep a secret other than the most crowded house in Seattle. You should’ve gone to George’s. Nobody’s there. When Meredith enters she assures Yang that she didn’t have to come over, because Meredith is still fine. She hasn’t heard from Derek since his Louisville Slugger incident, but other than that, she’s fine.

Izzie begins to pack up to head into work and Yang tries to stop her and get her to call in sick. Izzie is like, why would I call in sick? And Yang is like, Uh, I don’t know, because you’re dying? Unfortunately, Izzie is still keeping her upcoming death a secret and used the “I have cramps” excuse when she stayed home to bang Denny, so she goes in much to Yang’s concern.

At the hospital, The Chief sadly looks over the list of people about to die, I mean…the surgical white board. His thoughts are interrupted with a question from Bailey (who I hate to say it, is getting increasingly more needy and annoying). He ignores Bailey, natch, and asks Sloan if he’s heard from Derek. He then sees Meredith and asks the same question, which you know is about to send Bailey into another “the Chief is ignoring me” tantrum. Alas, she tries a different approach to getting what she wants. Torres has joined Bailey at the board and learned that her surgery has been cancelled. With nothing else to do for the day, Bailey subtly bullies Torres into joining Shepherd in the woods and bring him back to Seattle Grace. Torres tries to protest, but come on…

The residents one by one begin to prep their interns. There is a huge case today and it looks like all hands on deck for this one as all residents and all interns make their way to the examination room. We learn that this patient, maturely nicknamed “Blow Hole” was hit by a drunk driver 12 years ago. He has no nose, no lips and severe facial damage. The surgery they are performing has only been conducted four times and anyone who is going to have it, has to endure serious psychological testing for years prior to the surgery and has to stay on medication the rest of their life. We also learn in this scene to not use the nickname “Blow Hole” around Izzie. Man, the chick gets full body cancer and gets way overly sensitive.

When everyone is assembled in the patient’s room, we see the look of shock in their faces, and meet the patient. And, well Grey’s really out did themselves this week. I’m not going to show a picture, because it is scary, and sometimes people read recaps during their lunch. But for a mental picture, he looks like Harvey Dent….um at the end of The Dark Knight, and he is here for a facial transplant. It’s like The Dark Knight meets Face-Off.

As Sloan and the Major brief the steps of the transplant, they don’t forget to be teachers and ask the interns questions throughout the brief. Lexie stays the star pupil answering every question correctly much to the encouragement of Sloan and much to the eye roll of the rest of the interns. Looks like the interns have caught onto all the “extra study hours” Lexie has been logging in the plastics lab with Sloan. This irritation is only magnified when Sloan asks Izzie and Grey…little not big, to be on his service today. Everyone is shocked and irritated including Big Grey and Yang. But come on, like those two have never reaped the benefits of scrubbing in on big surgeries before because of who they were sleeping with. Those in glass houses whores.

Yang also gets a shock when she learns that she is getting a solo surgery today. There is a nice old lady with a hernia, and since everyone wants to work on blow hole, Yang gets him. It’s cool for Yang, but a little scary for the old lady. The little old lady turns out to be a little batty and kind of annoying and she wants to chit chat with Yang about her friends and her missed trip to Europe and the most recent contestant kicked off of American Idol, but Yang is all business, until her cell phone rings. Yang cuts the woman off and walks out on her cell phone. Ok, the old lady was annoying but that would beyond piss me off. The only thing ruder would have been if she spit on her face Pumpkin style before walking out. The phone call is in regards to Izzie’s diagnosis, as Yang is trying to get Izzie an immediate appointment, but in my mind all I see is asshole on a cell phone.

Out in the woods, Torres shows up and could not look more out of place in her sassy makeup and leather ensemble. She finds Derek enjoying a little hair of the dog still looking dirty and sexy. Torres begins to relate to Derek as she has lost a patient in a difficult way too. She shares with him her painful story to which he listens intently. When she finishes her story, Derek asks her how she can live with killing a man like that. How she can get up every morning and look herself in the mirror? Without an answer that makes sense, Torres does what every vulnerable woman talking to a hot man would do, asks for a beer.

Grey tries to discuss with Yang her worries about Derek, and how she might be a single woman right now, all the while Yang is completely ignoring her. Grey understands being ignored. What with having a solo surgery and her affair with the Major, she must spend her days reveling in her charmed life. What Grey doesn’t know is that the Yang is carrying the massive secret about Izzie’s impending death and the major is borderline psychotic, when he isn’t being sweet or passionate. As their conversation wraps up an intern walks by with a bloody face.

George and Grey are meeting with a separate patient trying to get her information and one by one more interns enter the room beat up and crying. George and Grey decide to not ask them and ignore it, which is fine by me, because seriously who cares about those dipshits?

In Blow Hole’s room (ok I’m not as asshole for using this nickname, it’s just easy), he meets with Sloan, Izzie, Lexie and a couple of no-named interns. We learn that Blow Hole’s post surgery support group consists of a few people he met in a chat room for people who love orchids. Seriously people will talk about anything online. Izzie asks him to practice using a lung device that he’ll need post-surgery. An intern starts to show him how to use it and asks him to “practice and blow” prompting another intern to add “hole,” snickering. Izzie flips out and demands they go to the hall. At least the intern didn’t add “job” prompting another intern to say “That’s what she said.” That’s what my friends would have done. So maybe we aren’t assholes, just immature.

Izzie begins to tear the interns a new one in the hallway and is interrupted by Sloan. Sloan is pissed. This has been his baby for three years and tells Izzie that her and her emotions aren’t going to “piss all over it.” He demands her off the case if she can’t control it, and ends the conversation by warning her that whatever is going on with her, she better get it under control.

Back with the ridiculous story line about the interns we don’t care about, we see one of them running up the stairs with a bandaged hand while another one runs by crying. Bailey asks Grey and George what is going on, and they tell her they are ignoring it. She reminds them that it isn’t fun getting involved in this type of intern drama, but as she painfully learned with their class of intern screw-ups, you kind of have to. And I just realized that George actually has some prominence in this episode. Yay George!

After one of the interns runs into and knocks over a patient, George and Grey finally pull the interns aside. Basically they tell them to cut it the hell out because they look ridiculous and nobody gives a shit what is going on with them.

Bailey, still on her mission to get the Chief to pay attention to her, moves on to victim #2, the Major. The Major is pretty adamant about not driving out to the woods and meddling in Shepherd’s life. But now it’s not just Shepherd she needs, but Torres is off the grid too. The Major tells Bailey he straight up does not want to go, but Torres plays the “face” card once again until the Major caves and gets his car keys.

As Blow Hole is getting ready to go into surgery Lexie arrives to tell him that his friends are here. The three nicest people on earth walk into his room with orchids and say hello. They flew in a little early because they wanted to be there for him before he enters surgery. Blow Hole blows a gasket and tells them to all get out. He is very upset and after a few moments of him yelling at them, they leave, orchids in tow.

At lunch, Yang finds Izzie eating alone and reminds Izzie that she has an appointment with a very exclusive doctor in like 15 minutes and she better get a move on. Yang begins to pat herself on the back for scheduling this appointment so last minute until she is interrupted by the three other residents joining them. They pick up on the conversation and Izzie uses the ever delightful cover of discussing an enema that she needs. Grey and Alex are torn between figuring out why Yang is scheduling Izzie’s enema and why Izzie is chowing down on fries if she’s all backed up. Meanwhile George looks on knowing that this cover is bullshit since he’s been trying to figure out what is wrong with Izzie for weeks. He asks Izzie what enema stands for and she storms off. When she does Grey comments on how weird of a day it is.

Not to side note, but Grey has officially grown on me. When did she become so likable and funny….and dare I say not scary looking?

In the woods, “The Patient I killed-the trilogy” begins starring Major Owen Hunt. He shares the story of his patient somberly while Torres and Derek guzzle their cans of beer. Derek comments how he’s surprised he didn’t talk about a traumatic event from Iraq. The Major quickly says that he never talks about Iraq, which is why he’s so healthy I’m sure, and moves on to say that you eventually accept and move on. Derek tells the Major that only somebody who is completely dead inside could move on. Only if you were unable to feel would you be able to accept, to which the Major can’t argue he can only join their not-so-happy hour.

Yang finds Izzie skipping her appointment and is pissed. She pulled in a lot of favors and doesn’t understand why Izzie isn’t fighting her ass off to save herself. Izzie is still upset that not only are the interns and the recapper calling Blow Hole, Blow Hole, but Alex called him Blow Hole too. She worries what the black hearted interns will call her, “Swiss Cheese for Brains.” Yang delivers a LOL by saying, “no, that’s too long, Blow Hole is pithy.”

Although, Izzie has seen the interns and residents laugh at too many patients and fight over too many surgeries to want to entrust her life with this group. She knows how ugly surgery can get and that people die on their watch all the time. With that being said, she doesn’t even know if she wants surgery. She doesn’t want to be another patient that leaves a world class surgeon hiding in the woods. With that being said, Yang is like…WhyTF did you even tell me crazy girl? Why did you unload all of this on me, knowing I’m going to want to fight, just to say…hmm, actually I’m not so sure I want to fight. Izzie tells her she regrets saying anything and that Yang better keep her mouth shut.

In Blow Hole’s room, Sloan informs him that if he does not have a post-op group, Sloan can’t legally conduct this surgery on him. It is too traumatic and the ethics board will not let him. Blow Hole is devastated because he has had people terrified of him, and looking away from him for 12 years and he didn’t want that to happen with his orchid friends. He wanted them to see him looking whole…not…hole. Lexie tells him that his friends never looked away, and they didn’t cringe at the sight of him. They encourage Blow Hole to call them back, because they flew from all over the country to be there for their friend.

In the Chief’s office, Bailey comes in to break the news that she has lost both Hunt and Torres, so thank God there haven’t been any traumas or broken bones! Meanwhile, the spectators are gathering in the viewing room to watch the transplant. Before the surgery can begin, the intern battle that nobody cares about rages on. Grey and George pull aside a completely unrelated intern to be the gossip about what is going on. He is hesitant at first, but Grey promises he will get all of her rectal exams from now on unless he spills the beans. He gets into a long drawn out story that still nobody cares about and slowly loses Grey, George and….well not me, because this story line lost me a long time ago.

In Blow Hole’s room his orchid friends-the nicest people in the world return. They all begin to talk to him and without saying so, obviously forgive him. He is terrified that if the surgery doesn’t work he’ll be uglier than he is now, to which one of them interrupts him and tells him to stop calling her friend ugly. She then kisses him softly, and is officially dubbed, nicest woman ever.

Out in the woods, the trump card is played. The Chief arrives. He begins to reason with Derek about why he needs to come back, and doesn’t say anything that the Major and Torres haven’t already told him. The Chief tries to get firm with Derek until Derek calls him out on sending Meredith to the woods expecting a ring. The Chief thought it would help, because that was the only way to get Meredith out there, but Derek argues that the Chief was only trying to help himself. And now the ring is in the woods, Derek is still a mess, Meredith thinks she is broken up with and Derek blames all of it on the Chief.

During the face transplant, Sloan lets Lexie get hands off with the face. They notice the other interns mocking her upstairs-obvs in total jealousy but they keep on going.

In the woods, the Chief barges into Derek’s trailer. Their fight is pretty much awesome. The Chief rains holy hell down on Derek. Derek screams at the Chief to get the hell out of his trailer but the Chief keeps pushing. He basically tells Derek that there is no amount of screwing up, hurting people and excessive boozing that he could ever do that would come anywhere near what the Chief has done in his past. Derek’s been drunk for a couple days, The Chief spent most of the 80′s in a bottle. Derek threw a ring at Meredith, the Chief’s affair with Mama Grey was so old it could practically vote. The Chief tells Derek he can keep pushing, but when he climbs out of the well of despair he is currently residing in, he’s gonna needs some bro’s, and the Chief will be that bro.

Derek is still worried that Meredith will never forgive him, but come on….if you guys have made it through all the mess you’ve already been through. She’ll forgive you this. Besides she’s probably so thrilled you finally showed some balls that she won’t even remember the ring that you sent into the woods.

Wrapping up the most uninteresting intern love triangle ever….the girl is pregnant and George and Meredith remind them that they are Doctors and to start acting like it. And Scene.

As Yang prepares for her first solo surgery, the patient stops her. The patient who has been ignored by Yang all day long needs to feel some type of reassurance. The woman understands that it might be just another day, just another surgery for Yang…but for her-the patient, she is absolutely terrified and needs to feel reassured. Yang finally musters up some compassion and kindly tells the woman that it isn’t a silly surgery, and she promises to get her through it. I’m sure that Yang will rock the surgery, but she was super crappy to this woman all day. In my book, she kind of blew her first solo surgery.

After they put the patient under, Yang has a moment where she looks completely panicked. She looks around at her tools, looks at Karev, looks at Bailey, looks at the patient and pauses. She looks directly at Karev and tells him that Izzie has stage four cancer that has spread to her brain and she is refusing treatment. Once it’s off her chest, she is ready to begin. Karev honestly looks like he just learned he was adopted.

After Blow Hole’s surgery is over, his friends and the Doctors gather round him. They think everything went well, and are even going to let him take a look at his new face. Very nervously he slowly brings a mirror to his face, and even though he is super swollen and red, you can tell he feels whole. And the nicest people on the planet, all seem really happy for him. Yay Sloan! Maybe McD isn’t the only miracle worker at Seattle Grace.

Yang takes this victory to remind Izzie that they don’t always lose their battles with disease. She tells Izzie that she told Karev and Bailey, and they are telling George and Meredith. The secret is out, but in the end that was how Yang felt best to help Izzie. At first Izzie seems upset, but in the end, she is just relieved. The secret is out, and now Izzie doesn’t have to keep fighting everyone.

And speaking of cat’s out of the bag, as Lexie does post surgical work she is being obviously gossiped about by the rest of the interns because of her relationship with Sloan. When Sloan walks up, Lexie basically says F-it to the interns by making out with him in front of them. She decides to no longer care what they think because she thinks their relationship is beautiful. The real reason she made out with him though had nothing to do with the interns gossiping. What Sloan did in surgery was friggin hot. I would’ve made out with him too.

Out in the woods of despair, Meredith joins Derek. She seems pretty calm and her eyes aren’t crazy bloodshot, so I’m assuming she hasn’t heard the news about Izzie. Derek asks Meredith if she would still love him if he wasn’t a surgeon and she says no. WTF? She goes on to tell Derek about Izzie’s diagnosis, and that he is one of about 20 people who can treat her, and that she doesn’t know if she could love someone who would throw that talent away. Ok, that makes more sense. And actually I’m really surprised nobody has made this argument to Derek already. Why do I keep agreeing with Meredith?? Although, the fact that she isn’t more upset about Izzie does remind me of the selfish bitch she is. So the world is right again.

Meredith pulls out Izzie’s charts and leaves them with Derek. As we enter Meredith’s closing monologue we see everyone reacting to Izzie’s news. And even though we’ve known since October this was coming…it’s still sad. The resident’s, her friends, help her get settled in the hospital bed, her new role in the hospital. And the episode ends.

So again, I know this is crazy late, and the next recap will come soon I promise. Overall, I thought it was a good episode. I like limiting the number of ridunk side stories and focusing on the people you actually are interested in. What did everyone else think? Besides how crappy is TWSS for being so late?