My personal philosophy in life is to
under promise and over deliver, lest people be disappointed. Thus, I
was extremely nervous when the season finale of Grey's Anatomy was
hyped to the extreme. Game changing! The finale that changes
everything! You don't want to miss it! To her credit GA creator
and writer-of-this-episode Shonda Rhimes pretty much delivered on her
promise. I found myself with my heart in my mouth for the entire
evening before finally being able to exhale as the credits rolled.
I knew we were in trouble from
Meredith's trade mark opening voice-over. The former Queen of Dark
and Twisty Land was all shiny and happy having just found out she was
pregnant with a McBaby. The juxtaposition of Meredith's total
happiness with Gary Clark's utter despair was both heartbreaking
and chilling. And as Mr. Clark began his bloodbath at Seattle Grace
Mercy West, I knew all bets were off as, just minutes into the
episode, Reed took a bullet to the head.
Check Out 15 Reasons Why This Was The Best Grey's Anatomy Finale, EVER
MEREDITH AND CRISTINA
The Twisted Sisters really were the
showcase of the entire finale. Meredith, side-lined for much of the
season, took center stage as she dealt with the unexpected pregnancy
that filled her with delight. Her joy turned to horror, however, as
she watched Derek get gunned down by a vengeful Gary Clark, unhinged
by the loss of his wife and holding Derek responsible. The twists
and turns are too numerous to mention her, but how amazing was
Meredith offering herself up in Derek's place? It is the ultimate
sacrifice to give your own life for the one you love and Meredith was
willing to do that. As Cristina said earlier, they are really adults
now. Sadly, although Derek will survive (more on that later)
Meredith lost her baby and her pain was palpable. Before she could
even wrap her mind around the idea of her child it was taken away and
her devastation was clear.
OK, can I just say that Cristina Yang
is a rock star? Rock. Star. Still reeling from breaking things off
with Owen, Cristina rose to the occasion and, in the absence of an
attending physician, performed highly-difficult and ultimately
life-saving surgery on Derek with a GUN TO HER HEAD! That's right.
Shooter Gary Clark tracked them down in the OR and threatened to
blow her to kingdom come unless she stopped the surgery. Cristina
being Cristina, of course, kept right on doing what she was doing
and, with a little help from Jackson's clever ploy, managed to keep
Derek alive. She also reconciled with Owen, right there in the
middle of Crazytown.
I have to admit the the Faux "Triangle"
of Cristina-Owen-Teddy has been annoying me to no end this season,
mostly because there's never been a choice: Owen clearly loves
Cristina and has been choosing her repeatedly throughout the season,
over and over again. The writers, however, have been bent on giving
us drama and have tried to convince us that Owen's feelings are
complicated and, as a result, we've had numerous occasions when
Owen has remained ambiguously silent when a simple conversation would
end the madness. And now we know why: So Owen could show up in the
OR in the season finale and both clearly and passionately declare his
undying love for Cristina, which he did in spades. No ambiguity
there. Owen was safely outside the hospital but willingly and
unhesitatingly went right back in to a very dangerous situation
because his True Love was still in harm's way. And the way he
calmly and surely went into the fray? Be still, my heart. Final
aside: Some of you were mad at Owen last week because of the whole
Meredith thing. Please note how he tried to keep her safe and how
she tended his wounds. Things are looking up.
I'm not thrilled with the way the
story arc was written but at least the "triangle" is at long-last
dead with Owen definitively choosing Cristina and Cristina imploring
Meredith (after Owen was shot), "Look, I'm saving your guy here.
Can you please go and save mine?" Yay! Owen and Cristina end the
season in a good place and we can now try to forget the Triangle of
Doom and move forward into another story next season. One other
quibble: I know Shonda was trying to wrap up the episode at that
point, but would it have killed her to give u an Owen and Cristina
kiss or embrace or something? Seriously. Oh, well. I'll settle
for the exchange of meaningful, intense glances from behind surgical
masks.
EVERYBODY ELSE
Scariest and most heartbreaking
subplot? Miranda Bailey and high-profile guest star Mandy Moore
dealing with the aftermath of Gary Clark shooting Charles Percy.
I've never been a big fan of Bigfoot, but his death was strangely
moving with Miranda proving with each passing minute why she was his
favorite doctor. Miranda felt guilt for saving her own life by
pretending to be a nurse, but Charlie set her straight by calling her
smart. She's also brave and loyal and kind. Love her.
Biggest plot twist? After Alex was
shot (and I've been loving Karev, so that broke my Alex-loving
heart) it fell to Lexie and Mark to care fore him and, as they did,
Lexie implored Alex not to die and leave her because she loved him
(!) Now I'm firmly on Team Alex, but I sincerely offer my sympathy
to Mexie fans who I know are as shocked and disappointed as Mark
Sloan clearly was.
The Callie and Arizona Baby Drama was
wrapped up a little too neatly and quickly in my opinion, but I like
them, so fine. Good for them. I do feel badly because I feel like
Arizona was quietly representing the numerous women out there who
don't want children, but that's a story for another column.
Calzona is now happily reconciled after realizing that Life is Short.
Speaking of which, in an episode whose
primary theme was redemption, how awesome was Richard Webber? He bravely faced down the shooter and kept his sobriety in the process.
He's truly been redeemed and I anticipate that he'll get his
Chief of Surgery job back next season as well.
So there you have it: A Game-Changing
Season Finale Which Changed Everything. Want to share your thoughts
on the episode? Sound off in the poll and the comments. I'll
return next week with a wrap up of season six and speculation about
season seven. In the meantime, hunker down because new episodes of
Grey's Anatomy won't begin until sometime in September. It's
going to be a long summer.
(Image courtesy of ABC)