Grey’s Anatomy 3×17

I was hoping for a spectacular Grey’s Anatomy episode last night to bring this three-week sweeps arc to a fantastic finish. We were left with something of a cliffhanger last week as Meredith lay unresponsive at Seattle Grace after being in the water for who knows how long. As I pointed out in my review of episode 3×16, there were only two ways the writers could go with this plot: Meredith survives with no ill effects, or Meredith survives and needs rehab or physical therapy. Since 3×17 was titled “Some Kind of Miracle” you can guess which direction the writers eventually chose.

Meredith was the main focus of the episode, and most of the other characters were just hanging around waiting for word on whether she would pull through or not. Meredith, meanwhile, continues her adventures in the afterlife. If you’ll recall from last week, she was talking to Denny and Kyle, two people who had previously died at Seattle Grace. This week she also gets to see the woman who had a pole stuck through the middle of her body from the ep called “It’s the End of the World As We Know It”. I’m not going to pretend that I understand what purpose that particular ex-patient served in the storyline. I was completely lost.

Anyway, to make a long episode short, Meredith dithers around in the afterlife while Denny convinces her that yes, she’s actually dead. Then he tells Meredith that she doesn’t belong there and it’s not going to be enough for her to sometimes feel Derek’s presence. She’ll miss him too much, her death will destroy the optimist in him, and she’ll change his life forever. She must go back. This line of reasoning doesn’t do much to convince Meredith, and it’s not until she sees her mother in the afterlife that she decides to go back. Ellis really did die, and in Meredith’s vision she said that her daughter was “anything but ordinary.”

So Meredith goes back (i.e. regains consciousness) and starts talking to Cristina (who’s sitting by her bed) after just a few moments. What does she say? “Ouch.”

My Reaction: I was bored throughout most of the Meredith afterlife scenes, but thought the episode picked up some steam about midway through. I absolutely hated the fact that Meredith awoke so soon and was able to recognize people, talk, etc. “Miracle” or not, that still felt wrong on so many levels — even though I KNEW this kind of thing was coming!

I wasn’t affected by Ellis’s death at all. Obviously that character wasn’t on very much, so it’s not like I was attached to her or anything. Plus, the death just seemed… muted. We were viewing it from the afar, so all of the emotion was taken out of it.

I didn’t like the way the writers tried to tug on viewers’ heartstrings in this episode. I didn’t buy the fact that Ellis would suddenly say that Meredith wasn’t ordinary after all, nor did I care for all the Izzie/Denny sap. Those two knew each other for, what, a couple of months?? They never even took their relationship outside the hospital walls, so I’m having a VERY hard time buying this whole grieving fiance bit. Isn’t it time for Izzie to move on already? And why would dead Denny be hanging around at Seattle Grace anyway? Didn’t he spend enough time there when he was alive?

I’m glad this little arc is over and hope we get back to regular programming very soon. I want the fun Grey’s Anatomy of Season One, not this melodramatic nighttime soap opera stuff!