TV Review: Grey's Anatomy Episode 2.14

Sunday, January 22, 2006

From ABC: The truth is in short supply as Meredith and Cristina lie to each other about the status of their relationships. George is given the unpleasant task of discharging an elderly patient who's no longer sick, but refuses to leave the hospital; and Alex learns his fate after re-taking his medical exams.

My Rating: 4 out of 4

Tonight's episode of Grey's Anatomy titled Tell Me Sweet Little Lies is just another example of why this series is one of the best television programs on television. Sandra Oh once again shined in this episode, and we can definitely see here why she won the Golden Globe this week. The focus this week was not on the medical aspects of the program, but on the internal relationships between the interns and staff of Seattle Grace Hospital.

This doesn't mean they didn't have patients to handle. Far from it in fact. This was your normal busy day with a high patient load. In fact, that patient load leads to some problems with the nursing staff. They feel overworked, and the head nurse on staff goes to Webber to discuss the matter, but he doesn't give her much to go on. This leads the nursing staff to pull a sick out and give the hospital a ten day warning before they go on strike.

This warning is administered during the operation of one of the patients, a Japanese eating champion, who has come in to the ER with hiccups. After Bailey, Izzie and Alex look into things, they find she has a tear in her esophagus that is causing the hiccups. Bailey informs her coach that her career is over, and she needs surgery if she wants any hope of continuing to eat at all, much less competing. The coach doesn't listen, and pulls the patient out against doctor's orders. She is later brought back to the hospital after collapsing.

Bailey doesn't just have this patient to deal with, but her pregnancy becomes an issue when she goes into early labor. Addison looks into her case, and at first it looks like false labor. However, when Bailey is operating on the young woman, she feels pain again, and Izzie tells her it looks like Bailey is in labor. Webber is called in to finish the operation, and Bailey is put on bed rest the final two months of her pregnancy. I really hope Bailey is back because I really enjoy her character.

The other case belongs to Derek and Yang. A guitarist comes into the hospital after having an accident that severs three of his fingers. They can repair the damage, but he needs to quit smoking. This is a problem, and it leads to some tense moments between Yang and Shepard. Derek operates, and it appears to be successful. My question here is why don't these two interact more? I loved their interaction on tonight's episode. I loved Cristina cornering Derek in the elevator. She's right about so much happening in there. A lot of important moments between Meredith and Derek have happened in the elevator. Derek took Cristina's words because she knew in a way she was right, and Meredith is her best friend. If anyone had a right to speak up,other than Meredith, it is Cristina.

Burke also realized the importance of Meredith to Cristina, but he has his own issues that he isn't even aware of yet. Cristina has moved in, but not moved in. She still has her apartment, but Burke doesn't know that. Meredith and Cristina go back and forth being not totally truthful the entire episode, but they finally come clean. Cristina hasn't totally moved in, and Meredith knows that her and Derek are not just friends. He is still her McDreamy.

More problems develop on the home front for George, Izzie and Meredith. The dog is causing more problems than joy, and George is now threatening to move out. Meredith wants to keep the dog, and it angers George that she would choose the dog over him. He has his own patient to deal with. An elderly woman that is perfectly healthy, but doesn't want to leave the hospital for the bed waiting for her at a nursing home. George deals with her the best he can though, and I really do adore George more and more each episode. Him standing up for himself with Meredith was another scene that just made me love this episode. However, I am a bit confused about the final scene of the episode with Meredith giving the dog to Derek. That just seemed odd, but there was more there that just what was said.

As for Alex, we finally learned his fate. He was given his results at the start of the episode, but we don't learn what they are until the near very end. He can't even open the envelope himself. He has Izzie do it for him, and he passed. So it looks like he is sticking around. I thought he would be the one of the cast leaving, but if what happened tonight with Dr. Bailey is any indication, I think we might not see much more of her for a bit, even if she has her eye on the interns from home.

I really loved tonight's episode. This episode never disappoints me. I loved tonight's interaction between all the characters so much. We never have a lack of knowing what is going on with everyone each week, even if their air time is shortened we know they are around and are a part of the action. I can't wait for next week's episode. If you want to discuss tonight's episode, hop on over to my discussion topic for Grey's Anatomy on my forum found here.