Drama for Mama: Grey’s Anatomy
Usually, I don’t like it when shows do “flashback” episodes. Typically, these kinds of episodes are full of footage you’ve already seen, and it’s obvious the writers just needed a break that week. But this week’s episode of Grey’s Anatomy did not “phone it in.” This flashback episode showed us what the main characters were like years ago as well as what specific cases, patients and colleagues helped shape who they are today. If you missed it or your DVR is on the fritz, here’s what happened:
Hard-charging Dr. Miranda Bailey, aka “The Nazi,” used to be a sweet little timid intern named Mandy with purple glasses and LONG braids. While working on a difficult case, she learned from sheer necessity to take up for herself. She had a little help from Chief Weber, too, who warned her that surgery is like a shark tank and she can’t be a minnow and expect to survive. So that minnow-like intern named Mandy defended herself and her patient and stood up to her bully resident, thus beginning her journey as the Dr. Bailey we all love today.
By the way, Dr. Bailey is totally crushing on the cute anesthesiologist, and he’s flirting with her, too! I’m so glad she is finally getting a little luck in the love department.
Dr. Callie Torres reflected on one of her defining moments in medicine when she helped a severely deformed man walk again by basically rebuilding his legs in a series of complex surgeries. Alex Korev was her intern on the case, and he had a major role in it, too. Callie’s flashback was funny because it showed us how freaked out she gets by public speaking, and we can ALL relate to how that feels. (She had to explain the case in front of a room full of doctors. She was so nervous that she was puking the morning before her presentation.)
In a surprise visit, Chief Weber was back at Seattle Grace. He has been in rehab and has been sober for 45 days now. He came back to the hospital hoping to get his job back because he was promised it would be there for him once he completed rehab. Derek said the board would have to approve the decision and it might take them a couple of months to be convinced that the Chief is ready to lead again. Derek offered him a job as an attending general surgeon and also asked him to give a lecture to the surgeons about one of his most memorable cases.
Surprising everyone, he did show up to give his lecture. He told about a case that he worked on with Dr. Ellis Gray, Meredith’s late mother and his former lover. The flashback showed how the two worked together to help diagnose one of the first cases of AIDS in Washington state. The two of them bonded with the AIDS patient, who was feeling the full-force of the discrimination and fear that people felt about this disease when it was first discovered in the 1980′s.
One of the flashback scenes that bothered me most was when Ellis Gray’s husband, Thatcher, brought their little girl, Meredith, to the hospital for a visit because she missed her mommy. Meredith looked to be about 3-years-old or so. Her mom brushed her off quickly and left with Dr. Weber as Meredith cried for her not to go. Heartbreaking.
The flashback also showed us how Chief Weber began to become an alcoholic. He warned the doctors not to “lose their way” as they went through their lives and careers and to remember the oath they took when they first became doctors. His speech was emotionally stirring, and the doctors stood to applaud him. Maybe there is hope for Chief Weber, after all.
What did you guys think of the flashback episode? Liked it? Hated it? Click the word “comment” below to post any thoughts.
