Last night’s episode of Grey’s Anatomy was called “Physical Attraction… Chemical Reaction” and actually served to move some storylines forward for once. Specifically, we saw things happening with George & Izzie, as well as with Callie, Bailey, and Lexie & Meredith, and I actually like the way these storylines seem to be heading. Here’s a closer look at what happened during the hour.

George/Izzie: George and Izzie are having bad sex, and they think it’s because they’re putting too much pressure on themselves to perform up to the level of their first time together. This leads to various attempts to spice things up with fantasies, props, and liquor, but to no avail. In the end, they’re forced to acknowledge that they simply have no chemistry with each other.

Meredith/Lexie/Alex: After seeing Lexie sleeping with Alex last week, Meredith does her best to avoid her half-sister during this ep. Of course Lexie continues to force herself on Meredith even though it’s clear that Mer wants nothing to do with her. This prompts Meredith to snap that Lexie should get her own life and own friends so she doesn’t have to intrude on Meredith’s. Then Meredith turns around and tells Alex not to hang out with Lexie anymore.

Lexie gets that wounded look in her eyes that she’s been using all season long, but doesn’t give up. Instead, she tells Meredith five random tidbits about herself so that Meredith might “hate her less.”

As for Alex, he actually listened to Meredith and backed off the whole Lexie thing. He told Lexie he doesn’t need to get between them and their issues, nor does he want to choose sides. Lexie points out that he is choosing sides by refusing to see her. In the end, however, Meredith relents and tells Alex to take a very drunk Lexie home.

Callie/Bailey: Callie continues to be overwhelmed at work, which means Bailey has to keep covering for her. Bailey handles the schedules, deals with patient conflicts, and hands out assignments to residents. The chief notices that things are running smoothly despite the fact that Torres doesn’t seem to have a clue as to what’s actually going on. He eventually puts two and two together, and realizes that Bailey is behind everything. Webber then fires Callie from her post as chief resident and gives the job to Bailey instead.

Mark/Derek/Chief Webber: Derek finds himself spending a lot of time with the Chief (dinner and a movie) and running errands for him (dropping off his dry cleaning), which prompts Mark to observe that it seems like they’re dating. We then get several of these types of scenes throughout the ep until Derek finally tells the Chief that he has to start taking care of himself and quit depending on other people to do things for him all the time.

My Reaction: This episode was a little strange for me. I found that I didn’t enjoy it very much as it was going along, but I really liked the way things turned out at the end. I’m so glad that the end is (apparently) in sight for George and Izzie, and I absolutely loved the way the writers acknowledged that these two have no chemistry as a couple. Haven’t fans been saying that all along? I know I have!

I’m also happy that Bailey was finally promoted to Chief Resident. She really should have won the job right from the beginning, so this change has been overdue. I wasn’t crazy about her breaking down in the Chief’s arms like she did, but I guess if it had been her lifelong dream to get that job, she might have teared up a bit. But flat-out bawling? I don’t think so.

I wish the writers would give Sloan something substantial to do. I like the character, but I’m getting tired of him just wandering aimlessly through the halls making snarky comments to Derek — especially when he makes the same snarky comment 20 times in a row.

I’m sorry, but I can’t stand the new cardio surgeon Hahn. How is it possible that she can completely shut Cristina out of surgeries like that, particularly since they’re supposed to be working at a teaching hospital (which Derek pointed out to Cristina when she tried to do the exact same thing to Lexie). Burke was 1,000 times better than Hahn. I miss him!

I know that we’re probably supposed to feel sorry for Lexie because of the way Meredith has been treating her, but I don’t. She just comes off as so damn needy that I can’t stand it. Maybe if she backed off a bit and waited for Meredith to meet her halfway (instead of always being in hot pursuit), they’d actually get somewhere in their relationship.

Overall, this was an ok episode. If it spells the end of George and Izzie, I’ll consider it a great episode!