Grey’s AnatomyFreedom Parts 1 and 2
Original Air Date: May 23, 2008
Valeria – TwoCents Reviewer
valeria@twocentscorp.com
I must say that I was somewhat let down by the season finale. Everything was wrapped up nicely and I was engaged the whole time – but I have to say, I feel a bit cheated by Shonda. She told me that great things were going to happen, and that there was going to be a big kiss at the end (not the Meredith and Derek one) that was going to make me lean into the screen and just f-ing melt. Even though I got the kiss I wanted, I was far from melting. But let’s take it from the top and break down the two hour finale.
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Grey’s Anatomy
ReplyDeleteFreedom Parts 1 and 2
Original Air Date: May 23, 2008
Valeria – TwoCents Reviewer
valeria@twocentscorp.com
I must say that I was somewhat let down by the season finale. Everything was wrapped up nicely and I was engaged the whole time – but I have to say, I feel a bit cheated by Shonda. She told me that great things were going to happen, and that there was going to be a big kiss at the end (not the Meredith and Derek one) that was going to make me lean into the screen and just f-ing melt. Even though I got the kiss I wanted, I was far from melting. But let’s take it from the top and break down the two hour finale.
Meredith is continuing her therapy sessions, where it’s finally revealed why she is so messed up. At the age of 5, she witnessed her mother slitting her wrists in front of her. Sitting in a pool of blood, she waited for her mother to pass out before calling 9-1-1. In that moment, Ellis Grey told her daughter to be extraordinary. And well, that’s what Meredith is trying to work out – be extraordinary how? Why did her mother, a gifted, talented, extraordinary surgeon want to end her life.
Even though Meredith can’t quite seem to work out her own issues, she finds a way to help resolve Cristina’s rut. Meredith gives her the sparkle pager, thus giving Cristina a way to get out from under Erica Hahn’s watchful, weary eyes. Oh yeah, my girl Cristina is rollin’ high now.
Alex as we saw in the last episode is still sticking by Rebecca. Izzie is supportive to his face, but once she’s back in the hospital she reveals how worried she is about Alex – who she loves. I mean, she says it off-handedly, like one would say they love a friend – but I’m hoping it’s for something more, because DEAR LORD do I want these two back together again.
The finale centered around two main story lines; the clinical trial, and the latest trauma to come in through the emergency room. Derek and Meredith have had 11 deaths so far, but they have two more patients to go – Jeremy and Beth, who also happen to be deeply in love with each other. But things aren’t going too well, Derek is feeling beat down from the results so far – so terrible that he’s going to sell his land.
The latest trauma to come through the emergency room is a debilitatingly shy and nerdy young man – 19 year old Andy. Who on a dare to impress the girl that he’s been pining after, jumped into a vat of quick drying wet cement. Everyone is desperate to work on this case, but Cristina having the sparkle pager, gets first dibs, leaving Izzie to roam the hospital without an interesting case to work on.
This boy Andy, he’s one of the reasons why sometimes I tend to love the guest stars more than the ensemble cast (not that they’re not great). For being a 19 year old, he looks more like a scared 15 year old, and his self-deprecating comments about being a loser, make you feel for him more than roll your eyes at him. Besides, he’s bringing out the best in all the surgeons, especially Bailey, Callie, and Cristina.
Bailey, in attempt to calm down her patients and give him a pair, reiterates the story of Han Solo, thus revealing that she knows more about Star Wars than anyone expected, and at the same times reveals not only to herself but to the audience as well, what really defines her, which I think is motherhood. Sure, she’s a great leader and surgeon, but motherhood is what drives her – that’s what’s the most important to her.
Callie meanwhile, is continuing to have ridiculous amounts of incredibly hot sex with the McSteamy Penis. And even though she’s definitely enjoying it, Mark’s threesome-with-Erica dirty talk is definitely turning her on, probably more than his maneuvers. So while she’s working on this case, the only thing that she can think about is Erica Hahn. But she’ll keep denying it to herself. That is until she meets Lola, the girl that Andy is in love with. You see, Lola likes Andy, but she doesn’t want to be criticized for her feelings, so she’s more than happy to go along with her loser friends that got Andy into the vat in the first place. Callie tells her that that’s lame – giving her the same advice that she should probably be giving herself concerning her feelings for Erica.
But I have to say, the best part of this episode has to be seeing Cristina back on her game. Then again, I’m biased because I love that fierce girl. The sparkle pager has made Cristina drunk on power – so much so, that the chief is finally taking notice that Erica Hahn is not doing her job teaching Cristina. So when it comes to an emergency in the OR, Cristina steps up and performs a complicated technique solo, just as Hahn walks in and demands to know what’s going on. But after a back and forth, Cristina tells her to shut the hell up and let her do her job, to which the Chief backs her up. Best. Thing. In. The. World. As anyone that’s read my reviews can probably tell, I dislike Erica Hahn very much, so anything that shoots her down from her self-imposed pedestal is really wonderful to me.
So much stuff is going on; that I forgot to say what’s going on with everyone else at the hospital. So, let’s get back to Meredith and Derek’s clinical trial. As I mentioned before, the last two patients, Jeremy and Beth are ridiculously in love teenage lovers. So in love in fact, that Meredith and Derek totally give in to the request that they’re able to consummate their love before each of them goes under the knife. It’s pretty adorable watching the two of them be so excited by being in love with each other. So much so that when Jeremy tells Beth that he won’t die because he’s not done loving her, one can’t help but break down and cry – because you know that totally means that he will.
Beth isn’t the only one torn up because of Jeremy’s death, Derek is incredibly let down as well. He rushes into the staff locker room and throws out the bottle of champagne that he had saved up for the day the trial would be successful, and absolutely refuses to do the procedure one more time on Beth.
There are a group of doctors in this hospital, that for one reason or another have been shut out of participating in the exciting trauma and/or clinical trial. These doctors are George (and to an extent Lexie), Izzie, and Alex. First let’s start off with George, who is continuing to lie to himself by pretending that his position as the chief’s intern gives him some sort of import/power. But he has access to something that no one else has access to, every surgeon’s personal file. He reveals this bit of information to Lexie, who in an impulsive moment, breaks into the Chief’s office and pulls out everyone’s’ information. What we find out is that Cristina is dyslexic, Izzie finished medical school in 6 years by going to night school and working as a Candy Striper, and that Alex supported his less-than-stellar grades by writing a touching essay about battling testicular cancer. Oh, and George only failed his intern exam by just one point. Lexie figured that George would be relieved to find out the truth about his exam – but the truth hurts and George is more angry than relieved. It just proves what he’s known all along, he will always be the almost guy, definitely a step away from the heart in the elevator guy.
Izzie is calling to check up on Alex. She’s been worried about him all day long. He tells her that everything is fine and to stop calling. In reality, Rebecca is an extremely catatonic state, still confused about her pseudo-pregnancy. It’s so incredibly touching and depressing at the same time watching Alex take care of this incredibly broken woman. When Alex left Rebecca alone to answer the phone, she took the enormous steak knife and slit her wrists.
Alex rushes into the emergency room with Rebecca, and even though he’s taking control of the situation and administering medical help, Rebecca is Izzies patient. Izzies patient who needs to be submitted to a psychiatric ward. But Alex is refusing to comply. But after a nudge from Bailey, Izzie stands up to Alex threatening that if he takes Rebecca out of the hospital, she’ll have him arrested. But Alex insists that he can take care of her, he had to do the same thing to his mother, and this time he’ll do it better because he’s a man. But he doesn’t have to do it, so Rebecca ends up in the hospital, seeking the help she needs, and Alex will maybe have the strength to move on from his past.
And after all of that, the episode is finally winding down. Beth becomes the first success in the clinical trial, and Andy lives past his cement gaffe and gets the kiss he’s been waiting for all his life. George stands up to the chief, letting him know that one point isn’t enough to hold him back – he wants to retake his exam. The Chief says that’s ok.
As for Meredith, it looks like she’s worked out her issues. She managed to figure out that The Chief isn’t the bad guy, and Ellis didn’t really want to kill herself after all, if she had, she would have just slit her throat. Meredith realizes that when her mother told her to be extraordinary – she wasn’t talking about surgery – she was talking about love. Meredith’s mother just wanted her daughter to have everything that she didn’t.
Cristina becomes once again, even more awesome than her past two mentors, paging Lexie Grey to teach her the running whip stitch. And well, Izzie has finally become a fine doctor (according to Bailey), so she gains full inheritance of the clinic. Bailey meanwhile, is going to focus on her family and her career – she’s seen the big picture.
And like all finales should end, everything is wrapped up with a kiss. And well, even though none of them made me lean into the screen like Shonda had promised, everyone is getting some tail. But perhaps the most surprising kiss of all is George and Lexie’s – it’s just so natural and comfortable, that it takes you by surprise, but doesn’t feel surprising all at the same time. Callie finally admits to herself that she wants a girl, and goes forth and makes out with Hahn, Mark sadly looking on in the background. And finally I get the kiss that I’ve been waiting for all night – Alex and Izzie. Perhaps the most touching kiss of all, because Alex has put himself in such an open and vulnerable position with Izzie, that one can only hope that he’s finally found someone that he can trust and depend on. The chief makes full amends with his wife, and is welcomed home with a big ol’ kiss.
But perhaps the most satisfying kiss of all is Meredith and Derek’s. It finally means that their dark and twisty crap is all over. They kiss in a field of lit candles that outlines their future home. Meredith is ready for the house that Derek built, for the champagne, for the future with Derek. But now that everything is finally settled with the two of them – what will they ever do for storylines?
Everything was wrapped up nice and all in a bow for the fourth season of Grey’s Anatomy. No cliff hangers, no characters leaving for greener pastures. And even though I’m left satisfied with how things ended, I’m wondering where things are going to go next season, and for once I have to say I really have absolutely no idea. Which is sort of great. A clean slate, and a new start. Way to go Shonda. Even though I’m still waiting for the kiss you promised.
Those are my two cents. Any questions, comments, concerns?