Flight

"A month ago, you were in med school being taught by doctors. Today, you are the doctors. The seven years you spend here as a surgical resident will be the best and worst of your life. You will be pushed to the breaking point. Eight of you will switch to an easier specialty. Five of you will crack under the pressure. Two of you will be asked to leave. This is your starting line. This is your arena. How well you play? That’s up to you. The years we spend as surgical residents will be the best and worst of our lives. We will be pushed to our breaking point. This is the starting line. This is our arena. How well we play, that’s up to us."

- Richard Webber and Meredith Grey

Flight is the Season 8 finale and the 172nd overall episode of Grey's Anatomy.

Short Summary
Faced with a life threatening situation, the doctors must fight to stay alive while trying to save the lives of their peers; Bailey and Ben make a decision regarding their relationship; and Teddy is presented with a tempting offer. Meanwhile, Richard plans a special dinner for the residents.

Full Summary
While on their way to Boise, Idaho, Arizona, Mark, Lexie, Cristina, Meredith, Derek, and their pilot's plane crashes. Meredith gets up and begins to question Cristina about where Derek went. Cristina is too worried about where one of her shoes went. In the background you can hear the pain-filled screams of Arizona, who's leg is crushed under part of the plane. Lexie is also missing and Mark seems to be okay. Cristina yells at Arizona to shut up and the doctors all hear a clanging sound. Meredith wonders where it's coming from and Arizona points Mark, Cristina, and Meredith in the direction of the sound. The three of them venture off and find out that it's Lexie, using a seatbelt to hit the part of the plane she is trapped under, to get someone's attention. Lexie doesn't look too great. Her lower body and left arm is crushed under part of the plane. Meanwhile back at the main area of the plane, Arizona manages to sit up and rips part of her scrub pants open to reveal that she has a very badly broken femur. The pilot, Jerry, asks if anyone is out there and Arizona responds. They form a friendship while everyone else is gone.

Meredith leaves Cristina and Mark with Lexie and heads out to search for Derek. Derek is on the ground with his hand stuck in a piece of metal. He can hear Meredith calling for him and is not loud enough when he calls back. After struggling and failing to pull his hand out he breaks it with a rock nearby.

Back with Lexie, Mark sends Cristina back to the plane to get fluids and oxygen for Lexie.

While Mark is left alone with her he tells her that he loves her. Lexie tells him that he doesn't have to say it just because she said it, but Mark means it. Cristina is looking for all of the supplies and meets Meredith over at the plane telling her that she should come see Lexie. Mark and Lexie are talking and he is telling her that she can't die because they're gonna get married and have kids together and how they are 'meant to be.' Lexie responds with a very quiet and out of breath "yeah, meant to be." and breathes her last breath. Mark grabs her hand and begins whispering I love you over and over to her as he closes Lexie's eyes. Cristina and Meredith arrive back where Lexie lay, but they are too late. Meredith begins to mourn over her sister while Mark sits holding Lexie's hand.

Meredith later finds Derek after he gets his hand unstuck by breaking it. They have to splint it using tape and a stick. Cristina notices that Mark isn't helping and begins yelling at him. When he doesn't respond she goes over to him. She checks his pulse and then rips open his scrub top. Something has gone wrong with Mark's heart and they have to fix it. Mark is then wrapped in many blankets.

Later the doctors are all huddled around a very small fire because the helicopter missed them. Mark has his head rested on Arizona's lap and he is telling her that Lexie is waiting for him, but she tells him she can't die because Sofia is waiting for him and so is Callie and herself. And that they're gonna go home together.

Main cast

 * Ellen Pompeo as Dr. Meredith Grey
 * Sandra Oh as Dr. Cristina Yang
 * Justin Chambers as Dr. Alex Karev
 * 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
 * Kevin McKidd as Dr. Owen Hunt
 * Jessica Capshaw as Dr. Arizona Robbins
 * Kim Raver as Dr. Teddy Altman
 * Sarah Drew as Dr. April Kepner
 * Jesse Williams as Dr. Jackson Avery
 * Patrick Dempsey as Dr. Derek Shepherd

Guest stars

 * James LeGros as Jerry
 * Jason George as Dr. Ben Warren

Co-Starring

 * Brie Eley as Administrative Assistant
 * Kate Mines as Nurse Gloria

Notes and Trivia

 * This episode's title originated from the song Flight, originally sung by Morgan Karr.
 * This episode scored 11.44 viewers.
 * This episode marks the final appearances of both Kim Raver and Chyler Leigh as Teddy Altman and Lexie Grey, respectively.
 * What happens medically in the woods to Mark, Arizona, Cristina, Mer, Derek and Lexie corresponds to what is happening medically in the hospital. Callie is treating a patient with an open femur fracture (like Arizona) and Teddy's patient has a cardiac tamponade (like Mark).

Quotes

 * Lexie: Mark, I'm dying.
 * Mark: What? No you're not.
 * Lexie: I am. Please tell Meredith that I love her and that she was a good sister. And please tell my dad -
 * Mark: You're not dying, you're going to be fine.
 * Lexie: Hold my hand.
 * Mark: I'm not holding your hand because you're not dying.
 * Lexie: Hold my hand.
 * Mark: No, you're not dying. Do you hear me? You don't die today.


 * Mark: I love you.
 * Lexie: You don't have to say it just because I said it.
 * Mark: I do. I love you. I love you. I've always been in love with you, I will always be in love with you.
 * Lexie: Yeah?
 * Mark: Yeah, which is why you have to stay alive.We- we- we're going to get married and you're going to become an amazing surgeon and we're going to have two or three kids.
 * Lexie: Sofia can have siblings.
 * Mark: Yeah, a sister and two brothers.
 * Lexie: That's nice.
 * Mark: And we're going to be happy Lex, you and me. We're going to have the best life Lexie, you and me. We're going to be so happy. So you can't die ok? You can't die because we're supposed to end up together. We're meant to be.
 * Lexie: Meant to be. (Lexie dies)
 * Mark (Closes her eyes and cries): I love you, I love you, I love you...


 * Meredith (Screaming into the woods as she searches): Derek! Derek!
 * Cristina: I don't understand how this keeps happening.
 * Meredith: Cristina we have to find him.
 * Cristina: I'm serious, i don't understand how this keeps happening.
 * Meredith: We have to find him because i don't think he went for help.
 * Cristina: We keep dying. We're in a plane crash Mer, like right now.
 * Meredith: If he went for help, if Derek had gone for help, he would have sent a message or something. I mean we have to find him, something is wrong.
 * Cristina: I'll tell you one thing. When we get out of here, i'm getting the hell away from Seattle Grace Mercy Death and I am never looking back.
 * Meredith (crying): Cristina, i think Derek is dead. He would have come for us by now, he definitely would have come for us by now, i think he's dead. And Lexie's dead. My husband and my sister are both dead and we are going to die out here too! We are going to die out here -
 * Cristina: Keep it together, keep it together.
 * Meredith: No you keep it together!
 * Cristina: I'm trying! Keep it together anyway, keep it together anyway.
 * Meredith: My sister is dead.
 * Cristina: Keep it together anyway.
 * Meredith: Do you think Derek is dead?
 * Cristina: I don't know, maybe but I've got PTSD so you know I'm not reliable.
 * Meredith: Cristina, you are still my person, even if i'm not yours.
 * Cristina: Meredith, Meredith -
 * Derek's voice: Meredith! (Meredith and Cristina look to see Derek stumbling over a hill, wounded)
 * Derek (smiling): I heard you're voice, I thought I was dreaming. (collapses unconcious)
 * Cristina: Oh my god!


 * Cristina: Matches! Yes, god finally. Fire, we can build a fire.
 * Meredith: We should, they'll see a fire. Lets get a fire started.
 * Cristina (to Mark who is still sitting, holding Lexie's hand): Mark! We need to start a fire. Mark, Mark! You have to help!
 * Meredith: Uh, I'll figure out how to get it started.
 * Cristina: No, no. You know what he doesn't get to do this. He doesn't get to stop helping. I'm sorry he lost Lexie but she was your sister and you're still helping. He has to help because the sky is falling, Mark!
 * Derek: Cristina -
 * Cristina: No, no, no! You know if there's one thing that i've learned with all the bombs and the guns to my head and the buses running down my friends is that I am not interested in dying! I want to get out of here and I want to go home! And everyone has to help!


 * Mark (lying on Arizona's knees): I should have said it earlier. That I loved her, I should have said it earlier.
 * Arizona: She knew. I think she knew.
 * Mark: She didn't know. She didn't know. (closes his eyes and looks visibly weaker)
 * Arizona: Mark! Mark, hold on. I need, I need you to hold on.
 * Mark: You'll be ok, you don't need me. You take care of our girls.
 * Arizona: No, shut up. Shut up, do you hear me? Shut up.
 * Mark: Lexie is waiting for me. I'll be ok. (closes eyes again)
 * Arizona: No, Mark Sloan, no! Ok, no. No, Sofia is waiting for you (opens eyes) and Callie is waiting for you and I am waiting for you. We're going to go home together, ok?
 * Mark: Ok.


 * Callie: Hey! What the hell are you doing?
 * Jackson: Eating.
 * Callie: No! You have a dinner tonight. The biggest dinner of your lives.
 * April : Here's the thing... I can't eat duck. I had a duck, on the farm. It lived in the house -
 * Callie: So order the steak.
 * April: Here's the thing... I had a cow -
 * Jackson: Look, no one really wants to go tonight.
 * Callie: He's pre-ordering the duck. Come on, where's your sense of ocasion?
 * Alex: In Baltimore, at Hopkins.
 * Jackson: Webber and I have issues. Oh, he knows what he did.
 * April: I failed my boards! I have nothing to celebrate!
 * Callie: Aww, boo hoo, poor April didn't pass her test. Big whoop, okay? I go fired from chief resident, then I got fired from this hospital, oh, my husband cheated on me -
 * April: You were married? To a man? (Alex nods)
 * Callie: And then he died. (April looks shocked)


 * (Cristina is looking for the first-aid kit in the plane)
 * Cristina: Oh I found it!
 * Arizona: The first-aid box?
 * Cristina: My shoe!
 * (Arizona rolls her eyes)
 * Jerry: Is she gonna be okay?
 * Arizona: She's not barefoot anymore.
 * Jerry: Well I guess that's something.