Viewing Single Post From: 5.03 Here Comes the Flood

Viewing Single Post From: 5.03 Here Comes the Flood
oncetherewasaway	Sep 21 2008, 12:52 AM
McEditor Posts: 1,625 Group: .Grey Girls. Member #23 Joined: October 25, 2006	COMPANY BLOGS Grey Matter Krista Vernoff on "Here Comes The Flood"... Original Airdate: 10-9-08 Absurd. A flood. In a hospital. Those absurd, desperate writers. I know that’s what some of you are thinking. But here’s the thing… Back in June, when we were just gathering together to begin early discussions of season five, my sister Jennifer came over for dinner. Jenn is a shrink. I’m sure she has a more official title than that, but I go with shrink cause she’s my sister and she lets me. She works in a psychiatric hospital in the San Fernando Valley and her patients are mostly low functioning schizophrenics. So she came over for dinner and I said “How was your day?” and she said, “You mean aside from the hospital flooding?” And I looked at her like, seriously? And she said, “Yeah, we had to move all the patients to one wing. All the schizophrenic patients, piled on top of each other in one small wing of the hospital. That was my day.” And I said, without skipping a beat, “And that is my episode. Just so you know.” So as absurd as it may seem? Real. And in real life it was even weirder cause all the patients were CRAZY PEOPLE. Awesome. I think it’s appropriate that Jenn inspired this episode because in a way, this episode is written as a love letter to therapy. What it all comes down to for me is what Dr. Wyatt says to Meredith in the elevator, “And happiness in the face of horrible is not the goal. Feeling the horrible stuff and knowing that you’re not gonna die from the feelings? That’s goal.” Nothing better than a good shrink. I love therapy and I love what’s it done for Meredith in the short amount of time she’s gone (and I’m bummed she quit before she could get to the really good stuff.) It’s hard – to peel away the layers of the onion that is you and look at all that juice cause it burns your eyes and makes you cry and makes you hurt and makes you feel…but it also makes you better. (Oh my God, talk about a tortured metaphor. Sorry. I’m tired. We’re in the room breaking episode 12.) Point is, I’m proud of Meredith that she got as far as she did. And I love that last scene where she stands up to Derek. She doesn’t get drunk. She doesn’t freak out. She doesn’t walk away. She doesn’t ignore him. She doesn’t leave him. She just stands there and tells him her truth. And that is so so so hard and so so so scary for her (as it is for a lot of us.) And what I love most is the look of shock on her face when it works. It’s so hard to change. For everyone I know, change and growth are deeply difficult tasks. And so it makes me happy for Meredith and Derek that they are taking baby steps toward happiness and function. When we were shooting that scene, Ellen expressed concern to me about her question to Derek at the end. “You still love me?” She was concerned that it sent a message to the girls and women who watch our show that a man’s love is the thing that matters most. (But she didn’t say the girls and women who watch our show. She said “the future Coco’s of the world.” Cause Coco’s my daughter, and Ellen’s no dummy, she knows how to get a writer to listen!) But my feeling is this: I was not trying to say that a man’s love is what matters most. I was trying to say that the ability to know and trust that you (and by you I mean, me, Meredith, all of us) are lovable. To be willing to stand in your truth, stand in your vulnerability, stand in your fear, stand at your breaking point and hold on to yourself – that’s what matters. And that’s what surprises Meredith. She’s shocked that she’s allowed to be herself and someone loves her anyway. Those of us who grew up in the sometimes loving but sometimes terrifying and sometimes cataclysmic way that Meredith grew up? We sometimes need to learn, and need to be reminded, more than once, that we are lovable just as we are. Ellen got on board – and I thought she delivered the moment beautifully. Tell you what else I love in this episode: Alex. On the porch. When he says “Hello” to Izzie. I tell you, that Justin Chambers can do any freaking thing you throw at him. There was some discussion when the script came out of whether or not we should change that “Hello” to “Hi” which sounds more like Alex. But Justin? He pulled it off so beautifully. He made it sound like Alex and then some. The vulnerability under that one word... The subtlety… I just thought it was exquisite work. Speaking of psychology, which I wasn’t just now, I was speaking of Justin but I’ve learned that when you say “speaking of” something, people usually go with you. It’s lazy, but I’m tired so… Speaking of psychology, how ‘bout Cristina? (I’ve never sat around with my sister Jenn and diagnosed the characters on this show the way I’ve sat around with her diagnosing every member of my own family, but I bet that would be a fascinating conversation.) Cause we know there’s actually a good and caring person somewhere inside Cristina. I mean, she cares enough about Meredith to storm Wyatt’s office, right? And Wyatt gets right away how vulnerable she is. How scared she is. (Even if she can’t admit it) But still – she totally stole Izzie’s apartment! And she didn’t even mean to! Izzie thinks she’s being evicted, and Cristina somehow convinces herself that Izzie pulled that flyer off the wall for her! I love it. We’re currently breaking episode 12 of season 5 and I’ve been here since episode 1 of season 1 – and I never get tired of writing these characters. And you know why? It’s cause so many of them so badly need a good shrink! Derek, who’s generally a pretty great guy and who just promised Mer he’d take baby steps, assumes her roommates are moving out. Just assumes it – without even a discussion. I mean, seriously, entitled much??? Alex, who clearly still has feelings for Izzie, is as mean as he can be to her until the very end – when maybe he’s thinking his luck’s gonna turn. And even then, all he can say is hello. Mark Sloan, a double board certified ENT and plastic surgeon who normally doesn’t give the time of day to an intern, stops to listen to Lexie’s diagnosis. Which either makes him a better teacher than we thought or a guy who simply, physically cannot walk away when a pretty girl is talking (I’m still not sure which.) George is about to have some kind of actual breakdown in anticipation of his test (and it makes me giggle that the proctor finds him “a nice quiet room up in psych.”) Lexie is codependent to an almost pathological degree – turning down Sloan’s surgery so she can help George with the Chief’s scut. Izzie who is generally the happiest person we know, has ended up somehow all alone. Callie and Erica seem to be discovering some real truths about themselves pretty late in life. And the Chief? The Chief is basically watching while the hospital crumbles around him because his fear and pride won’t let him acknowledge that the hospital is crumbling around him! And Bailey – her lack of power is TORTURING HER. I love that little moment when she goes to the gallery to get a quiet moment and you can see her giving herself a tiny little talking to… I imagine her saying, “Do not quit! Do not tell the Chief to go screw himself! Do not say out loud ANY of what you’re thinking, Miranda Bailey!” And then of course the ceiling caves in giving her the ultimate vindication. I love these characters. I love the messiness and the layers and the fact that they absolutely refuse to behave or to “get all whole and healed,” as Meredith would say. I think if I wasn’t a writer, I’d be a shrink. Jenn and I could open a practice together and then sit around every night and laugh about how crazy everyone is. That would be fun. I have to add before I go how much I loved the guest stars in this episode. The actor Jim Ortlieb who played Jack O’Brien (get it? Jack O Brien. J.O.B. Job. Biblical. Whatever.) was so funny and subtle and heartbreaking and that lovely actress Samantha Quan who played Shelley… I watched them shoot that scene plus I’ve seen this episode 3 or 4 times now plus I wrote it and I still cry every time she breaks down at the unfairness of getting terminal cancer in your 20’s. And Daniel Travanti who played Mr. Patmore? His breakdown? Kills me every time. I did not expect that performance. I did not script that he would cry. I pictured something totally different. And then I got the dailies of that scene and it just wrecked me with it’s awesomeness. I love good actors. Yay, good actors! I am rambling. I get that. I’m tired, like I said. But I hope you liked this episode and I hope more than that that you had a lovely summer. Because life is weird and hard and scary sometimes. People are diagnosed with terminal cancer in their twenties and people get debilitating pain for reasons no one can diagnose and hospitals flood and ceilings collapse and lives fall apart, sometimes out of nowhere… So I hope very much that you are all enjoying the quieter moments, the moments in between the breaking points. I hope you kiss your kids a lot and tell your spouses and parents that you love them a lot and buy yourself flowers a lot for no good reason. I hope you love your life. And if for some reason you don’t or can’t – I hope you find a really good shrink like my sister Jenn or Dr. Wyatt. Cause therapy rocks. End of love letter. October 09, 2008 in Krista Vernoff ----------------------------------------------------------------------- The Emerald City Bar Water, Water, Everywhere! Okay, times are pretty tough right now. For everybody. And, Seattle Grace is no exception. I mean, come on. First, it was all the crazy dreams. Then, came the #12 ranking. Next, an icicle impalement. And, now, A FREAKIN’ FLOOD?! Dude! Can’t SGH catch a break? Around here – I guess – when it rains, it pours! (hehe) So, yeah, it was literally raining all over the hospital today, after a (seemingly very important) pipe burst. I heard there was water everywhere. As a result of the fiasco, the ceiling in one of the OR’s collapsed! On a patient! Well, IN a patient, rather. Yikes. Not a very good day at Seattle Grace. No surprise, the bar was pretty crowded tonight. It seemed like everybody wanted to just… drown their sorrows or something. Speaking of which, can someone please tell me when Lexie started hanging out with Mark Sloan, of all people?? Are they friends? They’re just friends, right? Because I saw them drinking together tonight and it was all very, very strange. Lexopedia was reciting the periodic table and McSteamy was staring at her with just a little too much interest in his eyes. I have a feeling Lexie and Mark are about to get their own little couple-y nickname. Lerk? No. Marxie? No. Okay, leave your suggestions here… I would’ve asked Alex for some info about the whole Lexie/Mark thing, but the dude came in and ran right out when I told him Izzie had already left. Yeah – Izzie stormed out after she discovered that Cristina STOLE her apartment. How do you STEAL an apartment? Ask Cristina. Apparently Izzie found this awesome apartment with hardwood floors and a fireplace and, well, Cristina took it from her. When Izzie found out, I think it took everything she had to NOT KILL Cristina right then and there. Oh man, I’ve never seen Izzie so furious. When Alex came in, he asked where Izzie went, and I told him what happened. That’s when Alex – without even ordering a drink – left, too. He actually seemed to – GASP – care. Of course, Alex would never admit it, but it was obvious (to me) that he was concerned about Izzie’s feelings. Maybe Alex is changing after all… Changing for the better… I didn’t see Meredith tonight. I didn’t really expect I would. I guess Mer-Der have officially moved in together so they’re probably busy doing official moving in together things… Unpacking, redecorating, kicking out roommates… You know, the usual. Okay, folks, it’s about closing time and I guess George isn’t stopping by to celebrate his big day. Today was the day George was supposed to retake his intern exam and finally become a full-fledged resident. I even had a couple shots all ready for him… Some tequila, some vodka, some rum… Everything except, you know, water. But, I guess he was too tired or something because I haven’t seen him. Hope everything went okay… Guess I’ll find out in the morning. Until next time… -Joe the Bartender October 09, 2008 \| ----------------------------------------------------------------------- The Nurse’s Station ... Debbie Does Seattle Grace Well, well… Look who’s decided to be all grown up and move in together? I mean, I KNEW this was coming. But what I did not know was Shepherd wants the “Breakfast Club” to move out. It’s funny that he thinks Meredith is ready to live with him all on her own. I mean, this is a big step for her. It would be a big step for anyone. I lived with a guy once: Stan, 1981. I met him at a Madonna concert. He had a Mohawk. A real one; not these weird faux hawks that these kids do nowadays because they don’t have the guts to shave their hair off. He was the real deal. Of course I had to ask him to leave once I caught him with my neighbor Gordon wearing leather chaps and nothing else, but I digress. My point is it’s a big step for a girl to move in with a guy. Usually, for the girl, it means this is it. She’s found the one she’s going to be with. She can breathe now. And for Meredith Grey to take such a huge step? Well, it means that Derek is the one but one has to be sure that he’s the one and why not have your friends there just to be sure? The man has more patience than anyone I’ve ever encountered. What successful, gorgeous, doctor that you know, would live with his girlfriend and her misfit friends? Exactly. Speaking of patience? When people whisper, it’s hard for me to eavesdrop and I hate having to contort my body into crazy positions to hear what’s going on. And I’m talking about Callie and Erica. WHAT IS GOING ON? The secret looks, the whispering. It’s rude. I mean I’m standing right here. And I can almost hear you, so either talk a little louder, or go somewhere and talk privately. Preferably, somewhere that has a hole or two in the wall so I can hear what’s going on. All I know is, it’s something to do with Sloan because Hahn is just annoyed whenever he comes around. I mean, really we all are usually annoyed with Sloan, but Hahn? She’s annoyed more than usual. Yeah, we all know that Torres and Sloan sleep together occasionally but why is Hahn so annoyed by him? Maybe she wants him too? Could be. Stranger things have happened. But, when I look at Hahn and Torres speaking in those hushed whispers, my first thought is “They’re a couple.” They really do act like it. Like a quarreling couple. I’m sure I’ll know more in the days to come. Speaking of whispering, I overheard the Chief tell Dr. Bailey that this flood is shutting down Seattle Grace so I’ve gotta go pack my personal items. Note to self: don’t forget penguin scrubs in the right hand drawer of Nurses’ station. They don’t make them anymore and I think the penguins compliment my new haircut. Until next time… October 09, 2008 ----------------------------------------------------------------------- The Intern Formerly Known as Steve The Girl Who Lived It’s been quite a ride. How are you holding up? Tired? Disoriented? Pupils dilated? Seeing purple? Does pizza taste to you like cotton candy smells? Time travel does that to people. Or so I’ve heard. Or read. In various science fiction comic books. Okay, Okay. I’ll admit it. I sent you on a journey through time when I myself have never actually time traveled. Minor detail I neglected to include on the invitation. But, hey, it was cool, right? You got to be a fly on the wall for the greatest cafeteria fight that never happened. You got to experience the wrath of Dr. Yang when woken by an intern with a medical question. You got to fill your nostrils with that beautiful hospital smell. You got to learn all about the Seriouslys, and catch a minor case of them yourself. Plus you got to be there for the forming of the greatest surgical intern band ever. Pretty rad. And you are still alive, right? Well, there is someone else who is still alive. Only she didn’t do any time traveling. And she wasn’t exactly supposed to live. Kind of like my good friend, Harry Potter. Except He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named didn’t cast the Avada Kedavra curse on her. The thing that was supposed to kill her didn’t come from an external force. It grew inside her. It made her lose control of her arm and her leg, and then the whole right side of her body. This thing inside of her was about to take her life when… Oh, have I not mentioned Dr. Derek Shepherd yet? Do you remember him? Or is your memory just a bit foggy from all that time traveling? Well, let me refresh your memory. Dr. Derek Shepherd: Neurosurgeon. Miracle Worker. Savior of humanity. You see Dr. Shepherd created this clinical trial. I might have mentioned it before. Okay, so I was OBSESSED with it. I followed it like Bostonians follow the Red Sox, like Trekies follow William Shatner, like that little boy in the French movie followed that red balloon. And following it, well, kind of changed my life. If I hadn’t followed it so closely, then in the epic battle between fear and curiosity that would take place in my head moments after encountering Dr. Shepherd in the hall, Captain Fear might have won out. If I hadn’t followed it so closely, I would never have mustered up the courage to stay and ask Dr. Shepherd if he had collected the correct combinations of X, Y, and Z for the viral cocktail. If I hadn’t followed it SO closely, Dr. Shepherd wouldn’t have been impressed by my knowledge of the viral cocktail and might never have popped…The Question. “Steve, why don’t you scrub in with me on the clinical trial tonight?” If someone gave me a time machine, like I generously gave you, and told me I could travel ANYWHERE, back to ANY time in my ENTIRE LIFE, I would choose THIS moment. I would freeze it, and live in it and in the events that followed. Over and over again. Because beginning in that moment, I got to live out every kid’s dream. And by every kid’s dream, I don’t mean that every kid dreams of brains. Some dream of space or chocolate factories. But when I was in Kindergarten and Mrs. Evans asked us where in the universe we wanted to go, I raised my hand and exclaimed “TO THE BRAIN!” You see, the brain is my outerspace; it is my chocolate factory. Only there are no Oompa Loompas and gravity sickness isn’t an issue. Today I got to hang with my Willie Wonka/Neil Armstrong, Dr. Derek Shepherd. I got to scrub in with him on perhaps the most groundbreaking clinical trial of all time. And that alone sent me flying through space. But when Beth Monroe, the girl who wasn’t supposed to live, opened her eyes and used the hand she’d lost control of to give me a thumbs up…Well, then I was walking on the moon. I helped save a life today. And maybe I wasn’t the one who came up with the viral cocktail combination or injected it into her brain, but I was there. I was asked to observe and to be a part of it all. And I will forever be grateful, and remember that moment. When I’m stuck doing SCUT. When I’m giving rectal exams. When I’m on my feet for twenty hours straight in a place with patients that complain and don’t always smell so good (as you now know). When I’ve gone three days without sleeping and I’m deep in the SGH slumps. When even a round of the game, Ya Coded, won’t cheer me up, I’ll remember this, and I’ll push forward. Because I helped save a life today. And maybe someday in the far off future, that someone—who creates groundbreaking clinical trials that save lives and allow the Beth Monroes of this world to see their grandkids graduate from college—will be me. Until then, I’m hijacking your time machine so I can relish in the moment. It’s 88 miles per/hour, right? Tuesday, 07 October 2008 Edited by oncetherewasaway, Nov 10 2008, 01:52 AM.


5.03 Here Comes the Flood · Episodic Chat