Review by Tagouga
I have mixed feelings when it comes to this episode of Grey’s Anatomy. Yes it was a change from the regular scene but I would’ve been more interested in finding out what was going on with Bailey and the aftermath of that last scene between Meredith and Cristina! Instead, the story was focused on Callie and Arizona. The hour was divided between the trial case that Callie was facing and the flashbacks into the life of Arizona and Callie months ago. I’ll tackle each part separately.
Travis Reed, the famous snowboarder and Cristina’s former patient, needed a new hip and the “ortho goddess” chosen to perform the surgery was Callie Torres. The main challenge was the fact that Callie had never used the Peterson resurfacing hip joint which was the patient’s request but if there was someone always up for challenges, it is Callie. However, nothing went as planned from here onwards, instead the patient got a “botched” surgery, an infection, a revision surgery, a heart surgery, and unfortunately an amputation! Wow, when you put it this way, you feel that maybe Callie did a mistake after all. However, after both lawyers present their case and question their witnesses, and after the flashbacks showing what actually happened, it becomes clear that Callie is not to be blamed. Honestly, I was kind of losing interest at this point before an interesting twist came along: Callie accidentally found a letter sent to her by a clinical trial on the Peterson hip claiming that they had put a stop to their trials after several incidents of infection caused by a bacteria resulting from the Peterson joint itself. The date of the letter? Three weeks before Travis’ surgery! Now to tell you the truth I don’t know what I would’ve done if I was in her shoes, but Callie looked determined to tell the jury about the letter. However, Meredith succeeded in convincing her that she did not do anything wrong and the only thing that letter would do is jeopardize Callie’s career. Back at the courthouse, the verdict is in: NOT GUILTY!
In the flashbacks, we learn that Arizona wanted a baby at some point and that she actually became pregnant! However, the couple’s joy and excitement didn’t last long and they ended up losing the baby. So what was the point of this revelation exactly? Are the writers trying to justify what was happening with Arizona? Because it is not working. I know the character has been through a lot from the leg amputation to the newly discovered miscarriage but this does not justify the fact that she not only cheated once with that other doctor (I totally forgot her name) but now she is somehow in a relationship with Leah.
A familiar face we saw in this episode was Callie’s dad who came in to support his daughter in her trial. And in another attempt by the writers to bring Callie and Arizona back together, her dad reveals that he once cheated on Callie’s mom but the latter found it in her heart to forgive him. He tells his daughter that when things get hard in a marriage, you have to work harder. And in the final scene, we see Callie at Arizona’s doorstep asking her to come back home. Of course, what Callie does not know was that Arizona was not alone! Let’s see how this drama will unfold in the next episodes when Callie finally finds out about Murphy.
P.S. I just read a comment on a site referring to a mistake in this episode where Cristina states that Travis Reed was her first solo valve replacement surgery. In fact, Cristina performed her first solo valve replacement, which was assigned to her by Teddy, in episode 11 of season 6.
Bits & Scalpels
– Sara Ramirez delivered a great performance in this hour! She is an amazing actress.
– Cristina seemed pretty convinced that Callie was to blame. Not only did she suggest that Callie should settle, but she also was the only one who looked somehow disappointed when the verdict came in. Also it was interesting how she used the past tense saying that Callie “was” the best orthopedic surgeon she knew.
– Callie sent an email to that clinical trial. Why did they send a letter instead of replying by email? And why didn’t Travis’ lawyer dig into that?
– Delightful flashback to the once happy couple: Arizona and Callie picking out a sperm donor, looking at houses…
– Callie throwing the letter at the courthouse? Really? I think it was safer to throw it at home.
– It was really nice seeing Arizona at the courthouse supporting Callie and trying to make her feel better by giving her Sophia’s drawing.
Grey Banter
Cristina: I believe my valve is what gives him his edge. His heart is my Mona Lisa.
Cristina: There’s a margarita-decorating station… Limes! Salt!
Travis Reed: The reason we are who we are is ’cause we’re not scared of firsts.
Callie: I am not turning an Olympic athlete into a doorstop.
Must-Download Tune
Laura Mvula – She
Conclusion
A somehow forced storyline and one of the weakest installments of this season.
Tagouga Rating
C-
I'm so torn about this episode as well. One one hand, it was so different than what we're usually used to, but I still admire Shonda for doing something a bit different (she's done a lot of awesome stuff over the years, the one with the 24 hour trauma aspect in real time was brilliant, while the less said about the musical the better).
Maybe now that the show is in its 10th season (and starting to get really boring), the show should do more episodes like this one?
And the Murphy storyline should just go away. The show doesn't have to be THIS soapy. I kept expecting Murphy to walk out while Callie was at the doorstep so at least the show didn't stoop THAT low.
I was expecting the same thing with Murphy walking out… I must say that honestly, up until this point, I still have zero interest in the new interns and all their storylines!