Viewing Single Post From: 4.14 The Becoming

Viewing Single Post From: 4.14 The Becoming
oncetherewasaway	Aug 12 2007, 09:06 AM
McEditor Posts: 1,625 Group: .Grey Girls. Member #23 Joined: October 25, 2006	[size=7]MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION[/size] [size=8]SHONDA AND COMPANY BLOGS [/size] [size=6]Grey Matter [/size] Joan Rater On "The Becoming"... Original Airdate: 5-8-08 Hi everyone, this is Joan. Tony and I wrote this episode, "The Becoming" and I'd like to share some of my thoughts about it with you, but first I'd like to say ... OH MY GOD!!!! I just saw some stuff that was shot for the Season Four Finale (that Shonda wrote) and it's soooooo good. I don't mean to torment you and I really wish I could tell you all the cool things that are going to happen, and you should know the great restraint it's taking me not to give you even the tiniest little hint of what's to come (keep an eye on that champagne bottle from tonight's episode) because I have a big mouth and am really bad at keeping secrets so I can really relate to Izzie in this episode. But enough about me and the Finale because first we have to get there and getting there is really what "The Becoming" is about. Becoming who you want to be, who you know you could be if you weren't quite so screwed up or preoccupied with kissing when you need to be thinking about surgery. All of our doctors are trying, really trying, to become these people they see in their head, the versions of themselves who are strong and successful and happy, their best selves. Izzie wants to be a good doctor and keep the news of Ava confidential. But how does she do that and be a good friend to Alex who is changing his life for this baby that doesn't exist? Alex wants to be a good parent, but he himself didn't have very good role models so he's scared that he won't be able to do it. George is trying to be okay with the fact that he has to repeat his intern year, and Cristina is really trying to make the best of a bad situation with Hahn. And then there's Meredith. Meredith wants to be a great surgeon. She wants to succeed at this clinical trial. But she keeps thinking about Derek. Particularly his tongue. Thoughts of kissing him keep interfering with the surgeries she loves. So can Dr. Wyatt please give her some tools to make the thoughts stop? Because Meredith feels like she has to choose. Career or love. She can't have both. I went to see my first therapist in my twenties. She was this nice woman on the Upper East Side of Manhattan who told me, when I started whining about my lack of career, that most people she sees in their twenties are either good at career or good at love. Not both. And it makes sense, both things compete for your attention. You want to spend time with your boyfriend but your boss asks if you can do some overtime. How to negotiate both successfully is hard. And I think when my therapist said it, she was trying to make me feel better, sort of like, "Yeah, you have no career but at least your boyfriend sounds very nice." But it didn't make me feel better. It made me feel competitive. Because when I said, "Really? You never see people with a good career AND a good relationship?", she said, "only a few." Only a few. That's all I could think about after the session. Who were these FEW and how could I become one of THEM? It was a subtle shift in my thinking, but I began to think less about my problems and more about how to fix them. I started to imagine the new me in my head - she was a woman of action! She didn't sit around all day waiting for things to happen! She made them happen! I'm making it all sound very purposeful and dramatic when actually it was ten more years of therapy that included much whining and many more hours of inaction before I had what could even be called a career .... but .... I think that Dr. Wyatt knows that Meredith needs to be pushed into action. So Dr. Wyatt basically tells Meredith she's being a coward. Derek's with Rose and it's not heroic to let the love of your life go. It's cowardly. How's she gonna handle it? Because no one can fix this for Meredith but Meredith. What's she gonna do? I wish I could tell you -- And what about Mark? When Bailey defends him to the assembly of nurses by saying, "You knew he was a whore when you slept with him, now you can't act all shocked when he behaves like a whore." As everyone walks away, did you see the look on Mark's face? It's like he's realizing what a whore he is for the first time and he's so sad. A sad, sad whore. What's he gonna do about that? I soooo wish I could tell you -- I will tell you though that the Mark Sloan story was originally much smaller and much more a comedic runner until we had the read thru and Eric Dane brought such vulnerability and depth to his scenes. We just had to expand that storyline. And Cristina. Singing "Like a Virgin" while carving corpses. She just found out that Burke won the Harper Avery and she needs to not think. About how he's thriving while she's barely getting to do any cardio. And fo course, the girl who told depressed Meredith to 'dance it out' would sing in the morgue. And it works, she manages to get through the day without thinking about Burke until Richard calls her in front of the sexual harassment committee. She can't seem to escape Burke. And she lets loose. She's been so controlled, managed to stuff all her feelings about the Burke thing for so long but she can't anymore. She lets loose with her feelings and goes home and crawls into bed. This is a sadness that can't be danced off and I'd love to tell you what happens... Also... for a while we had "American Pie" be the song Cristina sang, but it was weird, it's already sort of a mournful sad song we wanted something that really played against the corpses in the morgue thing... So ... "The Becoming." Season Four is about change. Letting go of the old and embracing the new. Redefining who you are and struggling like crazy to be that better version of yourself that you see in your head. Becoming is hard -- it hurts like hell and can cost you friends and lovers and career advancement. And some of our characters will succeed, and others will fail. But all of them will try. Because the alternative -- standing still -- just isn't an option. Like I said at the beginning of the blog, there's such good stuff coming in the next three episodes, and I'd love to tell you what's gonna happen, but I've taken an oath and must observe doctor/patient confidentiality, so I gotta go all Izzie on you. You're just gonna have to WATCH!!!! May 08, 2008 in Joan Rater \| Permalink \| Comments (244) [size=14]----------------------------------------------------------------------- [/size] [size=6] The Emerald City Bar [/size] Random Thoughts Let’s talk – for a moment – about something called, “gaydar.” “Gaydar” can be defined as an intuitive ability to discern whether an individual is gay, straight or somewhere in between. I, for one, possess a very refined, very accurate gaydar. For example, I knew Walter was gay the instant he gave me his phone number on a napkin at one of my favorite bars in Capitol Hill. I like to think of this astounding ability as my very own sixth sense, but, instead of seeing dead people... That’s right, I see gay people. I pride myself on my gaydar. So, tonight, it came as quite a surprise when Callie – you know, ex-wife-of-George, alleged-penis-loving, meet-McSteamy-in-the-on-call-room Callie – asked me if I thought she and Hahn were lesbians. At first, I just laughed. But, then I realized she was totally, completely, 100% serious. Of course not, I replied. Callie and Hahn? Yeah right! Callie and Hahn? Hilarious! Callie and Hahn? Wait a minute… Oh. Callie and Hahn. The mere fact that Callie – all serious and insecure-like – was asking whether I thought she and Hahn were a couple said A LOT. It’s kind of like when you call into a radio show, asking for advice for “your friend” who has some really weird frozen food fetish when, in all reality, “your friend” is actually “you” and “you” can’t call because your sister listens to that radio show and she’d totally know it was “you” calling if you did. Or something like that. Look, what I’m trying to say is… Callie is confused. And so am I, because I never would’ve thought about Callie and Hahn diving into some pretty uncharted territory together. I’ve always thought of them like, well, Oprah and Gayle. Just two good friends who braid each other’s hair and take road-trips across the country together (with separate hotel rooms, of course). But, then again, maybe my gaydar is malfunctioning and Callie and Hahn have been secret luvahs this entire time. Stranger things have happened… Speaking of strange things… What do you get when you take Cristina, one of Madonna’s greatest hits, and the morgue? Well, you get Cristina singing one of Madonna’s greatest hits in the morgue, of course. Yes. Very strange indeed. I guess Dr. Burke is somewhere out there practicing cutting-edge surgery and accepting prestigious awards because the man just picked up his very own Harper Avery. Well, that whole picture obviously doesn’t sit too well with Cristina. I mean, your arms are in a dead man’s chest, your fingers are wrapped around a bunch of lifeless organs and you’re singing?! Just when I thought Cristina had closed that whole Burke chapter, this has to happen. What’s next for Yang? Cleaning?! Oh, I almost forgot… Today, SGH instituted some new “Date and Tell” policy. They required all personnel to report any past or present sexual relationships. Lexie and George came by the bar a little while ago and told me that the entire hospital was furious about the new policy. All thanks to one man and one man only: Mark Sloan. Man, I can only imagine how many pages and how much ink McSteamy needed to complete his form(s)! Everybody – and I mean everybody, er, except Bailey – had to fill out a form. Including… Nurse Rose. I asked the sex police (that would be George) for a little clarification on that one. He told me that if you were having sex with another member of the SGH staff, then you had to report it on the form. And, Nurse Rose took one of those forms? Yep. She filled one out? Yep. So, she’s now officially sleeping with Derek? …Yep. Seriously?! Okay, deep breaths, deep breaths. In and out. Iiiiiin and ooooooouut. Okay. Feel better? Me neither. I tried to get George to get me copies of everybody’s forms – or, just Nurse Rose’s – so I could see for myself. But, he told me that simply would not be possible. Anyhoo… It turns out that Lexie was mortified because Alex apparently forgot to put his relationship with her down on paper. Yeah, Alex totally forgot he slept with Lexie. Okay, that’s embarrassing. Good thing George was there to help Lex see the bright side of things – those two are becoming such great friends. It’s cute. I hear that Alex is feeling a little under the weather. He was actually supposed to pick up a shift at the bar tonight (apparently, he’s trying to save up for a security deposit so that he and Ava/Rebecca can get their own place), but he called in sick. The dude’s about to be a father! He needs to rest up, believe me! If Alex feels totally rundown now, I can’t imagine how he’s gonna feel when his baby is actually born… We’ll just have to wait and see about that one, won’t we? Alright, folks, it’s about time I head home to my babies. Until next time… - Joe the Bartender May 08, 2008 [size=14]----------------------------------------------------------------------- [/size] [size=6] The Nurse’s Station ... Debbie Does Seattle Grace [/size] Nurse Debbie On "The Becoming"... Yang has NO interest whatsoever in scrubbing in with Erica Hahn. The cardiothoracic surgeon whose backside has been attached to Yang’s lips everyday since she arrived. Of course this all has to do with Dr. Burke winning the Harper Avery Award. The Harper Avery Award! That’s the equivalent to winning a Pulitzer OR an Academy Award OR the Fastest Supply Stocker (Betsy, watch my DUST this year!) I sympathize with Cristina Yang. Well, as much as one CAN sympathize with Cristina Yang. Come on, let’s admit it: she’s kind of a turd. Okay actually, Cristina Yang is a more of a big, heaping pile of little turds that can easily be just one big turd. So to see her like this, well as much as it lifts my spirits, I can see why she ran down to the morgue for solitude. Nurse Tyler was in the vicinity and he said he heard her singing Madonna. That’s when I knew she had finally broken. If she were singing Sinatra or Whitney Houston (pre Bobby), maybe I wouldn’t have been so concerned but…. Here’s the deal. We ALL know what Cristina did for Preston Burke. She saved him more times than she should have in my opinion. But it’s done. She made a choice to protect him in all those surgeries. What does she expect? A medal? I mean, this crop of young, female residents think that they are the end all/be all and the truth is, if it weren’t Cristina Yang protecting Preston Burke, it would have been someone else. These residents don’t realize that there is a long line of women waiting behind that curtain to take their place. Case and point? Meredith Grey. Yeah, I’m going there so fasten your seatbelt. She thought Derek Shepherd would ONCE AGAIN wait for her to get it together but not this time. Didn’t I say that there was a line of women waiting in the wings or behind the stall or something like that (I have a small screen and I’m too lazy to scroll back and see what I actually wrote)? Enter Rose. Waiting. And once Meredith decided yet again that she couldn’t be with Derek, Rose pounced. And a’ pouncing is what I think is about to happen BECAUSE LADIES AND GENTS (hey are there any men who actually read this blog? If so, email me. Let’s have a drink! I love a man who reads) Rose asked George O’Malley for the “I’M ABOUT TO TELL EVERYBODY WHO I’VE SLEPT WITH IN THE ON CALL ROOM, CAFETERIA, ROOFTOP, SUPPLY CLOSET & IN THE SHOWER” form. Yeah, I saw her ask for one in the cafeteria after she told O’Malley a couple of hours before that she wouldn’t need one. So they are going to “do the Dew.” I wonder how Meredith Grey feels about that???!!! I have an answer to that question. I’m going to say that in true Meredith Grey fashion, she will pretend as if it doesn’t matter when it does. She still wants him. She does! Nurse Tyler told me that Meredith was whispering to herself at the nurses’ station: “He’s with Rose. He’s with Rose…” Does this paint the picture of someone who doesn’t care? NO IT DOESN’T FOLKS!!! Let’s get back to Rose and Derek sealing the deal. They have officially moved on to the next level. What does this mean? Are they in a relationship? Or will it be just casual sex? Will Rose want more? Okay people, I had lunch with Rose today and she told me that she does want more. She is a woman in love. Derek? I don’t know. He’s hard to read. Will he want more? Has his feelings deepened for Rose? Or does he feel regret? That happens you know. Just ask me, I’ll tell you. I had to fill this out for the Chief today so I might as well fill you in as well… There was Dr. Hall and Dr. Guzman and Dr. Marinis and Dr. Mckee and Dr. “Hammer” Wilding and Dr. Saul and Dr. Preston and Dr. Corn and Dr. Zemans and Dr. Fuerman and Dr. Barg and Dr. Brown and Dr. Rater and Dr. Heinberg and Dr. Clack and well, I could go on but I’ll just stop here. After all, I’m a lady. Oh! I’ve gotta run! Joe is having a contest tonight: Free two pound bag of pork rinds for the girl who can do the most Jell-O shots from his belly button!!! May 08, 2008 \| Permalink \| Comments (3) [size=14]----------------------------------------------------------------------- [/size] [size=6] “Live From L.A.” on Greys [/size] GREY'S ANATOMY - Professional complications The personal and the professional collided and smooshed together this week on Grey’s, with entertaining results. Meredith and Derek inched closer to becoming MerDer again. Meredith stopped denying her feelings for Derek to her therapist. Derek finally slept with Rose (mercifully, off camera) but admitted to Sloan that he was thinking of Meredith the whole time and feels like a heel. Actually, “whore” was the word he used. Mer and Der shared the world’s most romantic tumor surgery, working in perfect sync with soft lights and uninterrupted eye contact. All that was missing was a little Sade in the background – “Love is Stronger Than Pride” would have been an appropriate choice. In other developments Izzie has discovered that Ava/Rebecca isn’t pregnant, but professional ethics forbid her from telling Alex, who was getting his head around the whole parenthood idea. Whaaat? Seriously, after all the unprofessional stuff Izzie has done, she picked now to suddenly get all ethical and withhold life-changing info from Karev? Couldn’t she just leave an anonymous Post-It note saying “CRAZY GIRL NOT PREGNANT” in his locker or something? My favorite storyline was the date-and-tell policy Seattle Grace implemented after the nurses revolt against Mark Sloan’s libido. Sloan tried without success all episode to get somebody trustworthy to speak to the nurses on his behalf and tell them what a good guy he really is. Bailey finally agreed to speak to them, but… well, be careful what you wish for. The quote of the show has to go to Bailey, who addressed the assembled nurses about Sloan while Mark stood smugly by. She said, in short: “I would like to offer my thoughts on Dr. Sloan. This man is a whore. Has always been a whore, and will probably always be a whore… He’s nasty.” Bailey shooed all the nurses back to work after admonishing them to keep their knees together, and the normally suave Sloan is left shaken and stirred. It was a perfect comeuppance. Sure, you can carry on like a horny frat boy on Spring Break, but you run the risk of being shunned and publicly humiliated. Such are the risks one takes when mixing the professional and personal. --Dave Campbell May 09, 2008 in Grey's Anatomy \| Permalink http://blogs.abc.com/livefromla/2008/05/greys-anatomy-1.html [size=14]----------------------------------------------------------------------- [/size] [size=8]MISCELLANEOUS INFORMATION[/size] More Grey's Anatomy drama involving Isaiah Washington - May 11th. 2008 http://www.tvsquad.com/2008/05/11/more-gre...iah-washington/


4.14 The Becoming · SEASON 4