A Recap of Grey’s Anatomy’s “Sympathy for the Parents”- Brought to You By the Letter “B”

 

“I’ve got a Little McDreamy in me . . .”

Hey boys and girls!  This week’s episode of Grey’s Anatomy has been brought to you by the letter “B.” 

B is for . . .

Baby,

Bromance,

Brothers (who BEAT eachother up),

Bereavement,

Broken,

Banging (even though you are both hung up on other people), and

Bat-sh*t Crazy!

Let’s revisit, shall we?

Baby Talk (and Talk, and Talk, and Talk . . .)

Man, was there A LOT of talk about babies during this episode!  The Grey’s Anatomy writers certainly know how to take a “theme” and beat it to death, don’t they?  Let’s see .  . . BABIES . . .  Derek wants one . . .

and Meredith doesn’t (because she is afraid she will be a Bad Mommy), but then she changes her mind, and decides she wants one after all. . .

Callie ALSO wants one (and has been TALKING about it nonstop for about  FOUR episodes now, which is REALLY grating on my nerves), but Arizona still doesn’t.

 Bailey HAS one, but he seems to disappear and reappear at the writers’ convenience.

And Little Sloan, who I was REALLY REALLY hoping thought was gone for good, is HAVING one, right on McSteamy’s doorstep, at the episode’s conclusion.  Ummm . . . yeah, there’s not really much more I want to say on this topic.  Put a fork in it, Grey’s.  IT’S DONE!

The Bro-mantic Adventures of Mer and Karev . . .

Grey’s Anatomy has always been a show about relationships, with a little medicine thrown in for good measure.  Obviously, the relationships that receive the most screen time tend to be the romantic ones, like the relationship between Meredith and McDreamy.

On occasion, Grey’s will also treat us to platonic GIRL-friendships, like the relationship between Meredith and Christina.

But what often gets short shrift on this show are the bromances – those fist-bumping, noogie-giving, non-emotive grunting, platonic relationships between DUDES.  And THAT is what we got treated to during “Sympathy for the Parents.”  Yes, technically, Meredith is a GIRL, but her relationship with Alex Karev (which continues to be one of my favorite dynamics on the show) is much more bromantic than anything else. 

“So, how about those Yankees?”

Meredith and Karev relate to one another in that special monosyllabic way that only DUDES can.  Without a word exchanged, Karev knew that in order to resolve her inner turmoil about having kids, Meredith needed to be told that she was nothing like her mother.  Just as Karev needed to be told that HE was nothing like his father.  And when Karev’s brother appeared at Seattle Grace out of no where, and EVERYONE was prying into Karev’s home life, Meredith, Queen of the Dysfunctional Family Club, knew to stay out of his way.  In her own, quiet, and non-judgmental way, Meredith supported Karev throughout this episode,  subtly steering him toward the betterment of his relationship with his estranged brother.

Brotherly Love and Bizarre Belly Buttons

That is NOT a weiner . . .

By far, the best and most intriguing storyline of the evening went to Resident Badass Hottie, Alex Karev.

Mmmmmmmmmmm .  . . yummy!

Who knew he had a cute younger brother and a sister, both of whom he hadn’t seen in seven years?  Who knew he was a foster kid, with an abusive dad and mentally ill mom?  Who knew he spent some time in juvie for stealing food, because his family was starving?  When Alex’s younger brother, Aaron, arrives on the scene, with an umbilical hernia that requires surgery, and no health insurance to boot, all of these little known facts rise to the surface.  And yet, Alex still managed to become a doctor and send checks home to his family every month.  In the words of Miranda Bailey, “I am impressed” (and a little turned on).

Playing the part of Alex’s blue collar baby bro, Jake McLaughlin did a fabulous job of making his character instantly likeable and relatable.  He somehow managed to be both farm-boy polite and intensely masculine, at the same time.  When Christina called Aaron “Angel Spawn” to Karev’s “Evil Spawn,” you, as the viewer, totally understood why.

Alex, of course, was none too happy with his Baby Bro for sharing all of this information with his colleagues.  Aaron, for his part, was extremely hurt to learn that Alex  (1) had gotten married and NOT invited his family to the wedding; (2)  had a wife with cancer; and (3) was getting a divorce.  The two manly men threw down, right in the middle of Seattle Grace.  And I know we were supposed to be upset and saddened by this.  But I LOVE a good boyfight (so sexy), and cheered in spite of myself.

Fortunately, Aaron’s surgery goes off without a hitch.  And the two brothers ultimately bond with one another, as Alex explains that he needs to stay away from his family in order to continue to support them financially.  In a super sweet moment that nearly brought a tear to my eye, Alex told Aaron that Little Bro had turned out to be a “good guy.”  Awwww  . . .

Bereavement sucks . . .

In the chief medical storyline of the evening, a wife with cancer suffered a stroke that left her in a vegetative state, following surgery.  Because she had signed a DNR-type document, Seattle Gracers were forced to pull the plug on this woman, against the wishes of her husband, who refused to accept her death.  The whole thing was pretty heartbreaking and intensely hard to watch.  So as not to further depress myself, that’s all I’m going to say about that . . .

Broken People Suck Too . . .

When Arizona described Owen as a mopey guy who never smiled, she WASN’T kidding.  Owen Hunt spent all of last week’s episode miserable, and all, but about two seconds, of this one (Dude DOES seem to enjoy cooking . . .:)) in the same sorry state.  Don’t get me wrong, Kevin McKidd is giving spectularly complex performances week after week.  But the writers REALLY NEED to slip some Happy Pills into this character’s coffee, pronto!

When the episode opens, Owen is all distracted, mopey and PTSD-y, after last week’s traumatic war flashback revisit.  However, he refuses to talk to Christina about it and balks at the idea of returning to therapy.  Teddy, who can sort of relate to what Owen is going through, having worked on the battle field herself, desperately wants to help Owen, but fears intruding on his relationship with Christina.  When Christina makes a mistake during surgery, and Owen freaks out on her, Teddy advises Christina not to demand too much from Owen at this time.

Later, when Owen becomes angered over a cooking mishap, and Christina instinctively shrinks from him in fear, Owen finally admits he has a problem and agrees to get help.

Banging a.k.a. “Pounding the Cake”

Sloan and Teddy had some sex during this episode.  They repeatedly described it as “mindblowing,” but it kinda looked lukewarm to me.  I just don’t see the chemistry between these two.  Plus, it’s OBVIOUS that Teddy still has the hots for Owen.  And McSteamy remains hung up on Lexie.  In other (more important) news, I learned a kickass new euphemism for sex.

“Pounding the cake” . . . I just KNOW this one is going to come in handy one day (possibly during next week’s recap?)

Welcome to Bat-Sh&t Crazytown – Population: April

“I refuse to be ignored, McDreamy.”

OK, so I found April’s behavior during this episode to be completely bizarre.  Apparently, many of you felt the same way, because my blog was  just crawling with “April and Derek” searches, even before I posted this blog entry (and even before I had watched this episode).  Let’s see: there were those eerily creepy wide-eyed stares she gave him every time he passed her way, the evil looks she shot Meredith, whenever the latter and Derek were acting lovey-dovey, the abrupt way she left the room in tears after Derek’s speech to the comatose patient’s husband, and her overly defensive response to Lexie when she was called out on her “crush.”

Now, if this was any other show, my first guess as to what was going on here would be that the Mean Ole Sort-of Married Doctor is having a forbidden affair with his young resident.  But I don’t think this is the case here.   After all, Shondra Rhimes KNOWS that if she makes Derek into a cheater after ALL this time (with a former MERCY WESTER no less), “Mer and Der” shippers will literally burn down her house!

The next, most logical, explanation would be that April’s character is merely in the throes of innocent puppy love.  In such case, the bizarro creepiness element to it all, would be merely the result of bad over-acting.  However, I am already familiar with Sarah Drew’s work.  And I happen to know that this actress is a Total Pro when it comes to subtly portraying the agony of unrequited love.  I watched her do it during teen drama, Everwood, where she played the shy and bookish Hannah, who was suffering from a crush on a boy that she was certain was miles out of her league . . .

And she pulled it off again on Mad Men, as a wife who knows in her heart that she is married to a closeted homosexual, who will never return her romantic affections . . .

Nope.  My guess is that Sarah Drew’s bizarre portrayal of April during this episode was intentional.  After all, this wouldn’t be the first time, the actress has played the role of a creepy obsessed psycho stalker.  Anyone else remember her guest-starring role in Glee as the Bat Sh*t Crazy, Teacher Devouring, Susie Pepper?

Something tells me that THIS storyline is FAR from over . . .