When Grey's Anatomy ended last season I was still new to Twitter. I hadn't yet picked up on the magic of hashtags (#). And I surely didn't know that by choosing the right hashtags, I could converse with other Grey's fans about the show while I watched it.
This premiere was different. This time, I had people in my twitterfeed who were Grey's fans and I used a couple of different hashtags. There are probably a bunch for the show, but the 2 I used were #Greys and #GreysAnatomy.
Through the vast twittersphere, narrowed to focus on one little segment - Grey's fans - I was able to experience the show in the virtual company of tweeps who love and understand the show. Since my household is all male, I've never had the chance to get insights from interested, knowledgeable peeps while I watched before. It makes Grey's an interactive event.
One of the folks I follow is bestselling romance author Carly Phillips. And when Owen and Cristina were separated, while Owen blustered because Cristina didn't want to have the baby she was carrying, Carly tweeted this:
#Greys Go Meredith! It's like Brenda and Sonny #GHshe knew who she married! So did Owen. (@CarlyPhillips)
Well, that jumpstarted the little hamster that (sometimes, when I'm lucky) runs the wheel that passes for my brain. Of course, I'd been thinking about Mer and Der. They were separated too. Derek's been off pouting and whining since Mer rearranged his clinical trial so that the Chief's wife, Adele, would get the real Alzheimer's drug instead of the placebo. Mer and Cristina have been taking care of baby Zola.
Yes, Zola. You know, the same baby that Derek suggested he and Mer adopt. The same baby that prompted the "post it" couple to make it legal - because that would be better for the adoption. Yet Der walked out on his wife because she switched drugs to help the wife of the closest thing to a father Mer's ever had. He'd paint it noble, of course. She deceived him. She damaged the trust at the core of their relationship. Balogna. Big, stinky balogna - with cheese. What Mer did that Der can't forgive is - outprotect him. Der was playing knight by trying to slay the dragon Alzheimer's before it fells Mer like it felled her mother. Instead of standing by like a simpering maiden, Mer reached out to help the Chief, protect Adele and hid her deed from Derek. Why? To lie to him? To destroy their union? No, to protect him. And that's what he can't forgive.
Even if he couldn't forget or forgive, Der owed it to Zola to keep his McDreamy hiney right in the marital home. But that's Der's biggest flaw. When the going gets tough, Der gets going. He didn't stick around to try to work past Addison's infidelity and he doesn't stick around now to work through his issues with Mer. He doesn't even stick around now to be a father to the baby he supposedly wanted so badly. Being a father isn't as important to Derek as being right. And he is right. He must be right. Just look at what Mer did.
But you know what I tweeted back to @CarlyPhillips? Remember - she tweeted that Cristina knew who she married and so did Owen. I tweeted this:
And So did Derek, right? (@quackingalone)
Because that's when I got it. That's when I got the whole theme of the premiere. It was all about loving a leopard, spots and all. Mer helped Owen figure it out, but Der couldn't see the truth even after Mer hid Zola away rather than let the social workers remove her from their home. Der wouldn't fix his need to be right even when it cost him Zola. At the end of the episode, all Der could still see were the spots.
Derek knew Meredith was a rebel who made her own rules. He knew she was loyal to a fault and would never let a rule keep her from trying to help a friend. He knew that before Addison left. He knew it before the post it wedding. He knew it before he urged Mer to adopt Zola. And he sure knew it before their "legal" wedding. So he's punishing Mer for being who she is. Based on the previews for the next episode, it looks like Der will still be running away from his commitments instead of honoring them. And that's too bad. Really, too bad.
Here are some other thoughts of viewers about the Grey's Anatomy Season 8 Premiere:
@putasinghonit - So #greys is starting the season with a finale style episode? Amaze.
@Clairetastic - Seriously #Greys is like #Oprah. Makes me cry EVERY SINGLE TIME.
@miekhead - Okay... I was never a Cristina/Meredith shipper.. okay, maybe a little one but my heart just went boom then #greys
@shay_eh - Don't have much sympathy for Meredith. Still don't get why it wasn't a double blind study.
@cyn_kat - #nowwatching #greysanatomy season premiere: O first 5 min and I'm already... O...MY...Gahh!!
@PRHOPE- Wow poor Meredith. And she finally got her hair color and cut under control.
@obyntusA- McDreamy is a prick. Forgive Meredith already.
@HolMad826- I love Bailey and Webber's rship. Truth be told though, Bailey is the backbone of that hospital.
@decafavailable - Seriously, Mer, who hides in the same place they kidnapped someone from? You're supposed to be a genius.
@LeQueTeEncanta - McDreamy is being a McAss to Meredith.
@nityawitiasmoro- the season premiere of #greys= WAY TO KICK OFF THE NEW SEASON. intense, hilarious & made me cry a bucket.