While the staff of Seattle Grace — and especially a jilted Callie — dealt with the fallout of Hahn’s resignation, Denny’s reincarnation haunted Izzie while reappearance of Mer’s wild college friend stunned Der and Yang on this week’s episode of Grey’s Anatomy.
Death at the Door
Yang (Sandra Oh) delivered hot coffee and news of Hahn’s departure to Deredith in their bedroom, saying, “The wicked witch is dead.” When Der (Patrick Dempsey) remarked that it was too bad because she “was really talented,” he got the stay-out-of-it look and kicked himself out of bed to see who was at the door. A hot blond with an accent (Melissa George) looking for Mer (Ellen Pompeo) ran upstairs, flung herself on the bed, hugged and giggled with Mer, who she referred to by the nickname Death, and Yang soon found herself exiled as well. Sadie apparently backpacked around Europe with Mer before med school and Yang was jealous. “She’s never even mentioned this woman. How good of a friend could she be?” Der answered sarcastically, “Good enough to kick us both out of bed. Welcome to my world.” On the way to work, Sadie explained that she had postponed her residency to work in the morgue — “all of the fun cutting, none of the rules ” — but became “bored and started craving blood that was flowing,” so she signed up for Grace’s intern program.
Spirited Away
When Izzie (Katherine Heigl) arrived the hospital, she envisioned Denny again and this time he wouldn’t stop talking. He even commented on finding her new short hair “sassy.” She was assigned the case of a Native American, who claimed he was being haunted by the original owner of his donor heart. It had been attached to his own heart in hopes of buying him some time until a heart of a more appropriate size became available. As he explained to Izzie that he wanted them to remove the donated organ so his tribe’s medicine man could burn it and release the soul, Denny continued to pester her.
The Chief had called in a hotshot heart surgeon to handle the case and had put Bailey (Chandra Wilson) in charge of wooing her to fill Hahn’s position. He warned them that she was “a little different, a little off.” Dr. Dixon (Mary McDonnell) suffered from Asperger’s (a type of autism that causes inability to handle social situations), but no one put two and two together after interacting with her. Bailey went around her when she went Rainman over the rules regarding medical waste and the Navajo’s desire to take the transplanted heart.
Meanwhile, Izzie questioned the man extensively about ghosts and he finally figured out that she was being haunted too and asked that she not be on his surgical team because he didn’t need any “extra ghosts” in his life. Izzie watched his surgery from the viewing area and tried unsuccessfully to give Denny the silent treatment. Her vision kept insisting that he was real. “I wished I could see you again every day since you died,” she said. “Looking at you and knowing I can’t touch you is hurting me. You aren’t real so that means I’m sick or something is wrong with me.” Then, the Navajo’s original heart started beating on it’s own. Hard to tell who was more freaked out — Izzie, who thought Denny was behind it, or the awkward doc who had never seen it happen and couldn’t process it. The Navajo attributed it to no longer being haunted while Dixon gave a more rational explanation that his heart had six years to repair itself.
Bailey walked Dixon out at the end of the day and Dixon admitted her condition. It all clicked for Bailey, but it was too late. Dixon called her on her previous scheming: “I’m not good cues like sarcasm or condescension, but I do know when I am being manipulated and made fun of. I don’t think I like this hospital very much. I don’t think I like [it] at all.”
Izzie was so out of sorts that she was willing to try anything, and the Navajo’s burning ritual was at the top of the list. Before she went home to burn Denny’s sweater, she confronted her vision: “I will always love you. You own a piece of me. Even though you’ll be gone, you will never be forgotten. I’m sorry we never got our chance. I wanted to be your wife. I’m trying to let you go so that your soul can be at peace.” Alex (Justin Chambers) witnessed her goodbyes and offered to burn it for her.
Unfortunately, she returned to her room and found the apparition waiting and still swearing that he was real and had come back for her. She eventually gave in and placed her hand on his chest and didn’t fall through. They shared a hot and heavy kiss that also appeared real.
Quick questions: Is Denny a ghost? Is it all a dream? Did he fake his death? Are they going to have a ratings-week crossover with the Ghost Whisperer an d Jennifer Love Hewitt?
Human Pretzel
Yang kept nagging Callie (Sara Ramirez) about Hahn’s sudden departure and while doing so realized that they were more than friends. “Are you a lesbian now?” Yang inquired. Sloane (Eric Dane) joked that she might only be a “once-bian.” Callie tried to avoid dealing with the abandonment by throwing herself into the case of a homeless man, who was fished out of a working garbage truck and whose femur broke in half and punctured his torso. He was impaled on himself and had so many things wrong with him that Hunt (Kevin McKidd) called all the docs down to the ER. As they tried to unfold him, the man sprang awake and started screaming. He refused surgery if they couldn’t promise that he’d walk again as he was homeless and needed to be able to get around town, so Hunt excused the team.
McSteamy and McDreamy tag-teamed Hunt in the hallway. “We save lives here. We don’t just patch them up and leave them to die. If you can’t handle that, go back to the desert.” When Torres worked up a plan to build the guy new legs out of bone fragments and titanium, Der went to the patient’s room to change his mind and overheard a heartfelt conversation between the pretzel and Hunt. “My life took a turn and I couldn’t connect,” the man said, and Hunt digested it, obviously worried he was heading down that lonely path. The doc duo eventually convinced the man to let them try to save him, but he died on the table. Callie’s breakthrough technique worked and she lost it, the emotional situation forcing her to confront her personal demons.
Hunt drank alone that night at the bar and when he left, Yang followed and offered her sympathy for the patient’s passing. Hunt looked as if he might hit her as he yelled about not wanting her pity, but instead made out with her intensely. After a few minutes of what-just-happened stares, she walked away.
Chop Shop
Lexie (Chyler Leigh) had band-aids up and down her arms from the secret intern stitch sessions. When Yang inquired about her wounds, she made up a lie so pathetic that Yang thought she might be a cutter. Lexie told the other interns they should close for a few days until suspicions subsided. But Sadie, who wanted into the club, argued against, suggesting they be less overt and post a guard. To prove her point, she whipped off her shirt, sliced her shoulder blade without any anesthetic and asked who wanted to sew her up. She challenged, “You’re only going to learn so much by being careful.”
Later, during a surgery, McSteamy complimented Lexie on her stitches to the Chief, who in turn complimented Yang for teaching her, which gave Yang pause as she hadn’t taught anything. It looked as though Yang would take the praise anyway, though, since the Chief also mentioned it put her in the lead for the solo surgery. But Yang later stormed into the interns’ locker room, noticed they all had similar repaired wounds and ordered them to shut down the self-suturing.
Grey Matters
Der rode Mer about checking up on Lexie about the cutting accusations because Lexie is her only family left. While they were talking, Sloane interrupted and got a little flirty with Little Grey. In return for doing what he asked, Mer requested that Der warn McSteamy to “keep his little Sloane out of Little Grey. The last thing she needs is Sloane going all manwhore on her.” Sloane played it off as ridiculous, but it’s obvious that he is pining for her. After so many possible pairings, this one was inevitable sooner or later. – Carrie Bell
Tell Us: Is Denny real? If not, how do you explain Izzie’s visions? Should Sloane and Lexie to hook up? Should Dr. Dixon take over Hahn’s position?
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