Last season the halls of Seattle Grace Hospital got too crowded. The merger with Mercy West brought in a herd of new folks. All of the Mercy Westers seemed to be in a continual hunt for patients - and for screen time. The fans of Grey's didn't know or care about the new faces. They were invaders stealing screen time from the cast that now seems like family. A bunch of 'em needed to go.
The problem with that was that Derek was running SG and in typical McDreamy fashion he didn't want to hurt anyone. He'd been trying his best to integrate them into the hospital and had even taken one on (April) as his assistant. Besides, in the economic tsunami of the current economy, most viewers had a downsized somebody right in their household and we wouldn't view any administrator who downsized a bunch of workers as McDreamy. (Not even the Mercy Westers who by and large aren't liked much).
There were also some story lines that needed to be turned upside down to move characters to another emotional place. And now that the writers were gonna have time to coddle and confound our favorite characters again, the writers needed them to be ready to make some big changes. I guess what I'm saying is that SG and its team had driven into a rut and couldn't get out even though they were headed in the wrong direction.
One event, one man with a gun, solved the overcrowded staffing and the rut entrenched storylines. I think of it as Grey's 9/11. It blasted away the old SG and forces the staff to start over and build something new. Just as 9/11 did, the explosion made heroes of folks who didn't set out to do anything extraordinary. It made some of them make choices and sacrifices at the point of a gun that they'd never have made after cool reflection. We'll watch our heroes who endured so much and lost so much do the most heroic thing of all - get up, start over and move on.
But they're moving on from a different place. They're moving on from the place they picked in the heat of battle. It's like I tell my kids all the time - and I had to tell myself very recently - you have to pick the hill you want to die on. A bunch of the doctors at SG had to pick that hill at the point of a gun. This season is about dealing with the consequences of those choices.
My beloved Dr. McDreamy put it all on the line for the hospital after his job forced his hand. At the depositions in the lawsuit filed by the shooter after his wife's death, Derek wanted to testify truthfully. He wanted to talk to the grieving husband man to man, especially since Meredith's near drowning nearly forced Derek into the grieving husband's shoes. McDreamy the doctor would've said to hell with the lawyer's instructions and dealt with the shooter on a personal level. McDreamy the hospital chief didn't have that freedom. McDreamy's job nearly cost him his life.
As he recovers, Derek will learn that it nearly cost Meredith her life and that it did cost him a price he would never have paid - the life of his unborn child. In the wake of the tragedy Derek will finally have to come to grips with the fact that he isn't the man he thought he was, he isn't the man he'd set his sights on becoming. The man who could be happy running the hospital would've been happy with Addison. The man who could run the hospital wouldn't be at his best with beard stubble and a to-die-for hairdo. Derek was never the good little soldier aiming for general. He's a rebel who's at his best when he's bucking the system, not backing it.
Yeah, if Derek had known himself better, Grey's 9/11 would never have happened. Because Derek the man, Derek the doctor would've sat across from the grieving husband and told him the truth. He'd have said he was sorry and the man would never have picked up that gun. Derek idolized his cop-father who died for law and order so perhaps he could never admit to himself that he wasn't like his dad. All the others will have to deal with how the trauma affected and changed them. Derek must shoulder the burden of knowing he may have caused it all and cost it all. And he'll have to forgive himself.
Both Mer and Der will have to deal with the loss of the baby. She'll have to tell him about the child he wanted so much that she lost when she thought he died. She'll have to tell him that she went across the hall and saved Owen's life instead of curling up and protecting their child. She felt she owed it to Cristina to save Owen since Cristina was saving Derek. On a logical level he'd have to agree, but emotions aren't logical. Will Derek harbor a secret conviction that his wife's friendship with Cristina cost them too much?
As to Cristina and Owen, we've all heard that the season will start with their wedding. It's a far cry from the triangle with Teddy that tied up so much of the couple's emotions last season. And it's a far cry from the Yang we've come to know and love. At least Cristina won't take her vows in the traditional nightmare that Dr. Burke insisted upon, but she's walking down the aisle awfully fast after a triangle severed at the point of a gun.
Many things push Cristina into marriage to Owen. One of the most important, was the choice Meredith made. The friends crouched in relative safety, hidden away from the gunman as he held that gun pointed at Derek. Cristina tried to keep Meredith from going to Derek, but in that moment, Meredith made one of the biggest choices of her life. She told Cristina that Derek was her husband, of course she was going. To Cristina, that choice meant that Derek had become Meredith's person. Cristina didn't have a person.
So Cristina says yes to the sudden proposal and she's going to take the vows and marry Owen. Watching the couple adjust to matrimony will be interesting, but the more interesting question is whether either of them was really ready. In particular, Owen had that moment when Teddy told him to go to Cristina. Choosing Cristina under fire doesn't mean that Owen was actually over Teddy. It looks like they'll create a new romantic involvement for Teddy with the counselor they're bringing in to clear the staff before allowing them back to work. But that'll occupy the early part of the season. As we get into mid to late season, will Owen question his choice and his marriage?
In a very interesting way, this sets up the potential for bringing things full circle that Shonda (Sunshine) Rimes so adores. Cristina and Owen would be Derek and Addison and Teddy would be Meredith. How would that situation look to Meredith and Derek now that they're on the other side?
Still another triangle has to be resolved - or does it? In the finale Alex lay near death attended by Mark and Lexie. Mark wanted Lexie back but she'd been with Alex of late. But as she professed her love for Alex, he thought she was Izzie - and she pretended to be the other woman to comfort him. Mark watched it all. In the opener, they say Lexie will be having a really rough go of it psychologically. Will Alex or Mark care enough to tend to her or have her wishy-washy ways cost her both men? I'm guessing that therapy will teach Lexie that she must learn to be more than a reflection of the people around her. She must love herself and value herself before anyone else will truly love or value her.
Aprile watched Meredith put her life on the line for Derek. Then April assisted as Meredith lost her baby as she operated on Owen to pay back Cristina for saving Derek. According to the promos, that jolted April out of the so-obvious crush she had on McDreamy. April lucked out and will be one of only two Mercy Westers sticking around. Where will her story line go?
Well, apparently April and the other remaining Mercy Wester, Jackson, will be moving in with Mer/Der. Yeah, Sunshine, we get it. It's another circle completing with April and Jackson filling in for Izzie and George. The obvious romance would be April/Jackson, but I don't think the show will go there for a while. Why? The circles, you silly things. Sunshine loves a good circle. In the original trio, don't forget that George had a huge and years-long crush on Meredith. Izzie was everyone's friend for a long time and she held George's hand while he lusted for Meredith. So I bet that's where Sunshine will go here. Jackson crushin' on Meredith will let April be his friend. And it'll give McDreamy a taste of the what Meredith put up with last season. Eventually, the circle would be completed with the crush dying out while April and Jackson replay the George/Izzie thing - hopefully without the ick factor.
A Jackson crush on Meredith would be something Derek would likely spot pretty fast. He wouldn't respond to it well at all and might get batty enough to be vulnerable to April again. Not necessarily in a big way and not all the way, but perhaps enough of a touch to have viewers in suspense for the cliffhanger next year! Looks like Derek will have a lot to deal with next season - starting with his own family. His estranged sister is crossing over from Private Practice early on and that promises to be mighty intriguing. Will she raise the alarm to bring all of Derek's siblings to SG? Mama made peace with Meredith, but none of the others liked her much. And after all, Mer/Der only have a post-it marriage. Their marriage is only as real as they want it to be and Der's siblings are unlikely to respect the union any more than they respected Meredith at first meeting.
There are other loose ends to be tied. The Chief has taken back his hospital and now he'll have to rebuild a relationship with Derek. Callie and Arizona spent the shooting seige comforting some kids. Are they ready for one of their own? Can Arizona really put aside her decision never to have children? And lets not forget good Dr. Bailey. She had to watch a patient die because she couldn't get her to surgery, couldn't get her to the help she needed. We'll have to see how Bailey overcomes that hopeless, helpless feeling this season. Might it finally send her looking for comfort in the Chief's arms? A battle between Bailey and the Chief's wife would be interesting. It might almost complete another circle. Bailey sure gave Meredith a hard time for messing around with Derek. How would the shoe feel on Bailey's other foot?
I think next season will be all about the aftermath of Grey's 9/11. A lot of that will be about the choices at gun point that everyone has to deal with long after the battle has ended. A lot of those choices have the potential for bringing a bunch of things full circle - back to the beginning but with a twist.
Whatever the new season holds, I know it'll bring Sunshine to my TV again and that's gonna make me laugh and cry and ENJOY. It's been dark too long. All of us deserve to have some Sunshine back in our lives.
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