ABC/ERIC McCANDLESSGrey's Anatomy returned tonight with another strong outing, "Here Comes the Flood." The chief read his staff the riot act; the hospital pipes burst, forcing everyone to take high ground; and, as per usual, a bunch of beautiful people mooned over each other. Good times!
Want to discuss what went down? Come right this way...
CURRENT SYMPTOMS
Meredith's Pain: According to Cristina, Meredith's day-to-day psychological and emotional pain is an 8 on a scale of 1 to 10, and Derek Shepherd doesn't even know it. Totally separate from the ramifications for Meredith, Cristina and Derek, it just makes me sad that Mer walks around with that much unhappiness every single day. She sounds desperately ill. Work, love and talk therapy are all good stepping stones on the road to wellness, but I kind of think she needs to take it up a notch and consider more radical treatments...
Alex's Vision: Alex has eyes for Izzie. In case you didn't realize that already, tonight we saw clearly that he looks to Iz for inspiration and, yes, hope. A reason to keep going. I think Alex spends a lot of time thinking about Izzie's muffins, but he still can't help but rebuff her brusquely when she literally offers to shack up with him. I can't decide if that's as jerky as he wanted it to seem, or actually some kind of backward chivalry and thoughtfulness where he doesn't want to lock her in a house with him if that's not the best thing for her...
Erica's Anxiety: Callie told Mark to knock off teasing Erica about their new girl-on-girl pairing, but I have to say, if you're going to be teased by anyone, you could do worse than Mark Sloan. The guy is pretty irresistible.
George's Future: Loved that the chief's big talk about education resulted in him walking the walk with George at the end of the episode. George is going to pass, I'm sure. If nothing else, I have to believe that resting his head on the table to keep all the medical facts from falling out of his head is a foolproof study plan!
PROGNOSIS
I can't believe I'm about to say this, but I think the prognosis for all these characters is...good. I think the more the sky falls around them, the tougher and tighter they become. The external crisis of Seattle Grace's falling rankings, plus the chief's new attitude, keep the excitement and drama churning, which means that there can be more moments of, well, grace, for our heroes.
I think Mer will keep getting stronger and happier. I think Callie, Erica, Izzie and Alex are going to be braver about love. I think George and Lexie and Mark are going to find a new direction for their lives. I think Cristina and Bailey are going to continue to kick ass in their typical indomitable way, and I think Derek's hair is going to continue to make us all very, very happy.
How did you guys feel about "Here Comes the Flood"? Deliver your diagnosis and write up your prescription in the comments below!