Guest Review by Tagouga
Wow. That was intense.
Continuing with last week’s case, it was Amelia’s time to take center stage and narrate tonight’s episode. From her breakdown in the bathroom to freezing mid-surgery and finally being able to pull it off, every single emotion was perfectly conveyed and Caterina Scorsone delivered a great performance. The moment when she took off her gloves and exposed herself to radiation put me on the edge of my seat. I kept hoping that Shonda would NOT let anything happen to her after such a risky move.
Towards the end, I was beginning to believe that Herman would never actually wake up. But she did, and the joyful moment didn’t last long as we soon discovered that she had lost her sight. I think this development was essential to attain two essential goals. The first was to literally have Amelia defeat death (as she mentioned) because she did save Herman’s life after all. And the second was to allow Arizona to take over fetal surgeries since I am assuming Geena Davis’ character won’t stay for long. In the end, Amelia was finally recognized as a true neurosurgeon and thanks to Webber, she was able to successfully step out of her brother’s shadow.
Speaking of Webber, no one deserves to be called Chief as much as he does. Not only did he step in to assist Amelia during surgery, but he also managed to boost her confidence with a wonderfully strong speech. His pep talk was enough to convince her that she did not need her brother because this was her surgery and no one was more prepared than she was. I absolutely love this side of Webber. Ever since the beginning of the series, he has always managed to deliver the necessary words of wisdom at the times where he was needed the most.
Bits & Scalpels
– I understand that Bailey is concerned about her patient’s health, but yelling at the physician who is in the middle of performing a critical surgery is probably not the best idea.
– Power pose to boost confidence is an actual thing (I looked it up). Maybe I will try it next time I have a presentation to give.
– The opening credits were especially cool.
– The dye making the tumor glow was fascinating. Add to that the size of the tumor covering almost all of the brain.
– Great reference to Derek’s spinal tumor hanging in the bedroom.
– Callie and Arizona had some sweet moments. Let’s hope the two can now properly move on.
– I kept expecting Derek to come or call at some point. Speaking of which, when will we see McDreamy again?
Grey Banter
Amelia: The key, though, win or lose, is to never fail. And the only way to fail is not to fight. So you fight until you can’t fight anymore.
Maggie: Okay, so you watch, like, the worst day of a person’s life like a movie.
Callie: Oh, relax. It’s not the ballet or whatever.
Callie: Oh. Oh, okay. I got shushed, but the purple prose is fine.
Arizona: You either need to get on board and shut up or you need to get the hell out.
Arizona: I’m not ready for my head to be the only place that she exists.
Amelia: Dr. Herman lost her sight to her tumor. We took revenge on the tumor by killing it, by tearing it out and decimating it and decreasing its odds of killing Nicole by 100%, by sending death running like a crying bitch, by telling death to screw himself… That is the battle. And it is the only battle worth fighting. You should be on a high right now. And you should be chasing that high for the rest of your life. You defeated death. Mere mortals cannot do that. Only we can. No one remembers easy. Only superheroes. They remember the blood and the bones and the long, agonizing fight to the top. Only freaking superheroes. And that is how you become… Legendary.
Must-Download Tunes
RHODES – Worry
Sleeping at Last – Saturn
Conclusion
A great engaging episode that completely drew me in right from the first moment.
Tagouga Rating
A
I agree Tag. What a wonderful episode. Herman going blind absolutely broke my heart! Greys has just been on fire. I wonder if they might keep her and show us her life as a blind doctor? That would be cool, but I feel that was her last episode.
Also, loved BOTH those songs, and I hate Bailey lately. She's being way too selfish and it's really off-putting! What the hell?
Finally, loving all the opening credits and how they've been changing recently. Excellent touch!
An engaging episode indeed! Loved that ending so much but one thing that's been bothering me lately is how they're all suddenly looking at Arizona like she's not good at her job. She used to be a goddess! And now suddenly, even Bailey questions her capabilities?
And I've been hating Bailey too, so much. She needs a new storyline or something.
The past few episodes have been incredible! Good job, Greys.
Exactly Chris. I don't get it either but I especially got annoyed by Bailey second-guessing Arizona. I thought Arizona was already highly specialized. I guess not in Herman's procedures but it felt out of the blue for me.
Yes I would love to have Herman around as well.
I read 2 weeks ago that “Sleeping at last” were going to have a soundtrack featured in this episode so I was waiting for it and it didn't disappoint! I love all their soundtracks on Grey's so far. And the other song is amazing as well.
I miss the Nazi! Chandra Wilson needs new material asap.