“Choosing Not to Settle” – Grey’s Anatomy Recap

“Love the One You’re With”

Grey’s Anatomy 9×03

Posted by Kim

“I saw the plane. I went to the hangar and I saw the pieces of our plane laid out on the floor like a jigsaw puzzle. Mistakes happen. Accidents happen. We  make mistakes that can cost lives, too. We make sure it never happens again  And we try to make sure future patients never have to go through that grief. They don’t have to sleep with the lights on every night because the darkness is too much. We just can’t stand by and let this happen to other people’s Lexies and Marks. We have to do something about it. We have to make this right.”

Can you put a price on grief and suffering?  How much money would make losing someone you loved okay?  These are the questions the plane crash survivors are faced with in this week’s episode.  The airline is offering them a SUBSTANTIAL sum to settle (we never see the number, but it’s implied that it would be a life altering one for all of them) but the survivors have to be unanimous in their decision.  We see Meredith, Derek, Owen (speaking for Cristina, who is still in Minnesota) and Callie (representing Mark and Arizona, who still refuses to leave the house) struggle with this proposal throughout the episode.  After all, no amount of money will bring Lexie and Mark back.  No amount of money will cure Derek’s hand or save Arizona’s leg.  So why not take the settlement and be DONE with the whole mess?  It’s certainly an easier prospect than potentially dragging out a court case for what could be years…especially a court case that could eventually not rule in their favor.

Throughout the episode, it seems they are going to take the money.  Callie sees that the money would not only take care of Arizona’s rehab but it would also secure a future for Sophia.  Cristina, in her typical avoidance fashion, says that she will do whatever the group wants.  Meredith and especially Derek are the ones who are most hesitant.  Yes, this money would allow them to stop working and let them travel all over the world with Zola…but as Meredith points out, Zola is really only interested in the Park next door right now.  And traveling?  Really?  Mere can’t even get on a plane to go visit Cristina.  Then after Derek has a conversation with Webber about a past settlement, he has a realization.  The bigger the settlement offer, the more the company knows that it was their fault.  And then he sees their plane and realizes that they can’t take the money.  Taking the money would be akin to saying it was okay.  And it’s not.  And it never will be until the company ensures that this kind of tragedy can never happen again.  And that won’t happen if they essentially take “hush money”, no matter how much it is.

I thought the final scene of the episode was magnificent.  Much like it has been throughout the history of this series, they make the choice to stand together.  Meredith and Owen telling their lawyer to shut up was very reminiscent of early seasons.  And Sara Ramirez, who continues to do excellent work this season, delivered “You don’t know, you’re not one of us” so perfectly.  I love that the show continues to not tie up this plane crash arc in a neat little bow and move on to other things.  While there were more “normal” story arcs in this episode, the crash still hangs like a shadow over them.  I assume that it will continue to, and I look forward to it.  Will we be seeing a court case later this season?

Other thoughts on the episode:

– I  literally CANNOT with Cristina and Mr. Feeny (as he will always be known) bonding.  I love it.  I love that Cristina is finding a mentor in him, especially a mentor that there is ZERO chance of her sleeping with.  As much as I am ready for Cristina to get back to Seattle, as one of our Twitter followers pointed out, they now have a hook for this Minnesota story arc.  I think Cristina still has a lot more to learn from him.

– Also, I’m picking up some sexual tension between Cristina and Rex Van de Camp (yep, refusing to learn some of these character names.  That’s what they get for using actors I associate with other TV shows.  Deal with it.) and from the preview for next week it LOOKS like I wasn’t just seeing things.  Hmmm.  Not sure how I feel about this, cause we STILL don’t know the full story about the current state of Owen and Cristina’s marriage.

– I don’t know HOW Callie hasn’t slapped Arizona across the face.  I really don’t.  Slow claps for this scene as well:

Arizona needs to WAKE UP and see that she is not the only one suffering here.  Also SHE WOULD HAVE DIED HAD CALLIE NOT AUTHORIZED THE AMPUTATION.  Callie did NOT make that choice lightly.  When faced with having a wife with one leg or no wife at all, she chose the wife with one leg.  And this is her life now.  Callie’s life has changed forever too, and hopefully after this scene, Arizona will start to see that.

– Let’s talk a second about Miranda Bailey.  I really fear that the writers have had no idea what to DO with her for the past 2 seasons, and it has really been an assassination of a spectacular character.  GO BACK AND WATCH SEASON ONE AND SEASON TWO.  I want THAT Miranda Bailey.  The bad ass, takes no shit from anyone, delivers one hell of a put down Miranda Bailey.  The Miranda Bailey who was being groomed to become the Chief of Surgery.  I hope that the scene with Webber (which I LOVED that “You get your hand back” speech) is the beginning of an exciting storyline for her that doesn’t revolve around her love life, but instead revolves around the fact that she is a brilliant surgeon.

– Alex, Alex, Alex.  How long until he and that intern fall in love?  Cause as soon as she said she had no interest in sleeping with him, I felt like that sleeping with him was going to be inevitable.  And my bb Alex is another one who I worry the writers have not figured out what to do with.  I’m not really digging his regression to being an ass and a man whore.  Maybe that’s because they haven’t had a good love interest for him since Izzie?  Whatever it is, I hope they figure out his arc.  Maybe they should study some old school ER, since Alex basically has now evolved (stature wise anyway) into Dr. Doug Ross.

– Let’s have a moment of silence for George Clooney on ER, shall we?  Mmmmm.

– Jackson and April.  First of all, I gave Jackson a standing ovation for THIS: “I did not TAKE her virginity.  She GAVE it to me.  It was something we did TOGETHER…and she can’t handle that.”  SWOON.  (Plus in general that scene with Meredith berating him for defiling a virgin = CLASSIC Grey’s).  Jackson Avery, you are so much better than her.  Seriously.  I know April is freaking out about finally losing her virginity and breaking her promise to God but she treated Jackson like CRAP this entire episode, and he was rightly outraged.  There is obviously a connection between Jackson and April, and for her to seemingly dismiss it and ask to pretend like it never happened had to sting.

– And THEN when they were both saying “We just need to stay away from each other” while NOT MOVING from their spot, I literally screamed at the TV: “OR YOU CAN JUST HAVE SEX AGAIN BECAUSE YOU CLEARLY WANT TO.”  So thank goodness they finally kissed.  I could not handle all the unresolved tension.

– Shallow note: Patrick Dempsey looked GLORIOUS in this episode.  The Hair.  That Henley he was wearing when he went to see the plane.  It was all very good.  I impulsively kicked him out of my Top 5 when Derek was being such an ass at the beginning of last season, and I really think I need to reconsider that.  Sorry, Hiddles.

– Also, Mer and Der’s dream house is GORGEOUS.  Can I live there please?

-NGL, when patient of the week Roxie stood in front of her fiance in her lingerie, post her excess skin removal surgery, I cried.  Such a sweet sweet moment between those 2 characters.  That’s why I love Grey’s so much.  It can really make you care for characters that you will NEVER see again.

Okay…I think I am done.  Whew.  I never thought recapping Grey’s would be such a beast, but I think it is a credit to how good it has been this season.  I hope it keeps up.

Also, just a heads up, due to issues involving Transatlantic Diplomacy, the recap for this upcoming episode will also be delayed.  (Translation: I have a date with a Brit on Thursday).  I will do my best to get the recap up by Saturday.  Till then, share your feels about this week’s episode!

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