Where the Wild Things Are

"We like to think that we are rational beings; humane, conscientious, civilized, thoughtful. But when things fall apart, even just a little, it becomes clear we are not better than animals. We have opposable thumbs, we think, we walk erect, we speak, we dream, but deep down we are still routing around in the primordial ooze; biting, clawing, scratching out an existence in the cold, dark world like the rest of the tree-toads and sloths. There’s a little animal in all of us and maybe that’s something to celebrate. Our animal instinct is what makes us seek comfort, warmth, a pack to run with. We may feel caged, we may feel trapped, but still as humans we can find ways to feel free. We are each other’s keepers, we are the guardians of our own humanity and even though there’s a beast inside all of us, what sets us apart from the animals is that we can think, feel, dream and love. And against all odds, against all instinct, we evolve."

- Meredith Grey

Where the Wild Things Are is the twelfth episode of the fourth season and the 73rd overall episode of Grey's Anatomy.

Short Summary
Bailey starts up a surgical competition, Lexie begins to steal things, Mark tries to break Derek and Rose up, Izzie goes too far when treating a patient and the other residents help out after a bear attack.

Full Summary
Grey's Anatomy gets underway, Dr. Meredith Grey sits anxiously in therapy, watching the clock and refusing to open up about why she's there.

When she gets paged, she bails, and is pretty psyched about it because of the contest going on that she's a part of. Meredith, Cristina, and Izzie talk trash, each confident that they’ll win the prize.

George (T.R. Knight) has no idea what they’re talking about, and is jealous he can't play, masking that with smart-ass comments about all of the participants and the contest itself.

Trailing by 26 points (the prize is not yet known), Izzie claims a patient with a swollen ankle. Cristina helps a man who’s holding his intestines in his hands, following a camping trip incident with Mrs. Bear. Mer consoles the woman from the camping trip, who it turns out is missing half the skin on her head. You gotta love Grey's Anatomy!

The campers who were injured are brothers - the one with the intestines falling out blames his brother for the bear attack because he touched a cub. He also criticizes him for his midlife crisis and for marrying his rebound girl, who Meredith is treating for the head injury.

Out of the blue, Rose tells Lexie that she loves Derek and Mer is close enough to hear it. Ick! We learn from Derek that they have gone on five dates, in about as many weeks, but have not slept together yet because Rose is waiting to make sure it's serious. We'll see how long this lasts!

Meanwhile, Cristina is mad jealous that roommate Callie (Sara Ramirez) has been hanging out with Dr. Hahn socially while Yang busts her butt in this contest, and Karev embraces his "underdog" status.

George and Lexie (Chyler Leigh) have moved into an apartment that's... a dump. To put it mildly. These two can't afford a little nicer than this? Interns don't make the big bucks but it is a salaried job, after all. Anyway, Lexie starts stealing stuff from the hospital to spice it up a bit! Nesting and all.

Meredith discovers that the brother who triggered definitely has a brain tumor, which has affected his judgment and behavior. Apparently this is also responsible, possibly, for his impulse marriage to his wife, who's devastated by the news. The other brother dies, and the tumor patient believes he, too, deserves to die after costing his brother his life.

Izzie's (Katherine Heigl) patient is far from pleased to find out he only had the flu - she subjected him to many unnecessary tests in search of some medical mystery that might have won her some more points! He is understandably upset and screams at Izzie, deservingly, for putting him through hell.

Meredith Grey ends up winning the contest, having diagnosed the brain tumor - the prize from Bailey (Chandra Wilson) is a sparkly pager, which has been passed down from resident to resident over the years.

For the next three months, Meredith gets first dibs on all surgeries. Wow. Finding Izzie upset at herself over letting the contest get in the way of better judgment, Richard goes to yell at her, but ends up telling her that she's a "lion" and was a great competitor in the contest.

Lexie tried to give George an "out" with the apartment but he decided that he wants to stay - and maybe could be a little less negative about things.

Meredith ignores the first page she gets on her prized pager and pretends she doesn't notice Derek and Rose's relationship, which Mark Sloan is jealous of - jealous of Rose, not Derek - and says won't last. As the credits roll, Meredith decides to give her therapist another shot.

Main Cast

 * Ellen Pompeo as Dr. Meredith Grey
 * Sandra Oh as Dr. Cristina Yang
 * Katherine Heigl as Dr. Izzie Stevens
 * Justin Chambers as Dr. Alex Karev
 * T.R. Knight as Dr. George O'Malley
 * Chandra Wilson as Dr. Miranda Bailey
 * James Pickens Jr. as Dr. Richard Webber
 * Sara Ramírez as Dr. Callie Torres
 * Eric Dane as Dr. Mark Sloan
 * Chyler Leigh as Dr. Lexie Grey
 * Brooke Smith as Dr. Erica Hahn
 * Patrick Dempsey as Dr. Derek Shepherd

Guest Starring

 * Amy Madigan as Dr. Wyatt
 * Cheech Marin as Otis Sharon
 * Clea DuVall as Jennifer Robinson
 * Lauren Stamile as Nurse Rose
 * Steven Flynn as Scott Robinson
 * Jason O'Mara as Phillip Robinson

Co-Starring

 * Troy Westbrook as Paramedic

Notes and Trivia

 * This episode's title originated from the song Where the Wild Things Are, originally sung by Metallica.
 * This episode scored 16.37 million viewers.

Quotes

 * Izzie: I'm sleek, like a cheetah!


 * Lexie: [about bed-pan] Oooh, fruitbowl!


 * George: I got married on the spur of the moment and I don't have a tumor.
 * Meredith: That you know of.