In the Midnight Hour/Grey Matter

Joan Rater On "In The Midnight Hour"...

Original Airdate: 11-20-08

Okay, it’s a little crazy to try to take out an appendix. I get that. I think Lexie and Sadie and all the interns get that. IT’S CRAZY TO TAKE OUT AN APPENDIX! But here’s the thing – it’s the middle of the night. And an appendectomy is the easiest surgery you can do. And they’ve seen them done a lot. And they’ve done them on the practice dummy guy, IStan. And they’re competitive and feel like their residents aren’t letting them do anything and, I think it bears repeating … it’s the middle of the night. When all things are possible. It’s not the middle of the night as I write this, but it’s late, 11 pm, and I’m feeling like maybe I’ll wake up early and exercise before work. I probably won’t, cause like … um … I never have … but it’s late and under cover of darkness … all things feel possible.

Which brings me to Izzie. I’ll get back to the interns because more needs to be said – THEY TOOK OUT SADIE’S APPENDIX!- but Izzie … Izzie just touched Denny -- talking, breathing, right here in her bedroom Denny – and she’s just sitting there at the beginning of the episode wondering what’s going on, it’s not possible that he’s here, because he died, but he’s here and he’s talking and now he’s walking toward her and now he’s unbuckling his belt and …. Crazy. Unreal. Impossible. But …. I think Izzie is thinking that tonight she’s going to let this be possible. In the confines of her room she’s going to let this be real. But it’s complicated and scary. She and Alex are finally good, really good and so what is this, why is Denny here, why can’t she just move on? And I think she thinks she will -- tomorrow, in the morning, as I’m exercising, she’ll be all moving on and stuff, but tonight …. Tonight why can’t she just let miracles happen, turn off her scientist brain and just be in that moment, the two of them, finally alone together? And by the way, I don’t think she thinks it’s cheating on Alex. I really don’t. Because Denny’s dead. Whatever this is, whatever he is, Izzie knows this isn’t real, she KNOWS that, but it feels real and she just … closes her eyes and, you heard the sounds coming from the room, as Meredith said, it sounded kinda porny, so whatever’s going on with the dead guy, the sex is good at least … But by morning, in the light of day, when appendixes have been removed and you realize you can’t stay in your room with your dead ex-boyfriend forever, she chooses Alex and it’s sad as she looks at Denny who seems sad, but he gets it, after all he’s “here for her …”

Back to the appendix. Sadie’s appendix. Did you hear Sadie say to Lexie that Meredith is wrong about her, maybe Lexie isn’t such a priss? And the look on Lexie’s face, “Meredith thinks I’m a priss?” And that is what takes Lexie over the edge in the middle of the night and makes her go, yeah, we can do this, why not? How hard can it be to take out an appendix?

Sidenote- I had these hedges, really overgrown. And my husband, who usually trims the hedges wasn’t home, so I said to myself, how hard can it be to trim hedges? I trimmed one side and then the other, and then I had to even out the first side and then I cut too much and had to go back and then the whole thing looked like CRAP but I had to fix it and then I just started whacking away like a crazy person and then my husband came home and said in a voice that he usually reserves for our 5 year old. “Honey, put down the hedge clippers and step away from the hedge.”

I think that’s what happened a little. In the OR as opposed to my front yard. Things were fine and then they weren’t and when Meredith and Cristina walked into that horrible scene and saw Sadie on the table and intern Ryan and Lexie just looking shellshocked and horrified, it was like, “Put down the scalpel and step away from the table”.

Here’s what I love – Meredith and Cristina rocked that surgery. They stayed calm, they did it, and in doing so they showed everyone – the Chief, Bailey, themselves -- how far they’ve come as doctors. And Bailey was there to see it and take a little bit of pride in the fact that she raised her babies, she taught them right from wrong, now it’s their turn to do the same thing to their interns …

Speaking of Bailey, how about the scene with her and Callie where she talks about how she’s come to resent the appendix for getting infected and needing to removed? She resents a surgery that our residents are so excited to perform. And that gives her pause. Seeing their passion, missing that passion in herself, makes her wonder if maybe she needs a change …

And Mark and Derek. I love their friendship. And I think Mark does too, which is why he doesn’t want to mess it up. But seriously – he didn’t think of Lexie in THAT WAY until Derek mentioned it. It is Derek’s fault. But when we find out how Derek’s mom took Mark in, took in a stray, we see a new side of Mark and I’ve got to say, I love it. That he sees how in distress Lexie is and tells Derek to take her home … or he will …

Meredith and Cristina’s fight. Cristina lost the solo surgery and feels that it’s unfair that she should take the hit for this, that Meredith should have stood up for her more, but I get when Meredith asks, “what did you want me to say?” Meredith’s friend almost died, Meredith’s “sort of but not really” sister is probably going to get kicked out of the program … and Cristina knew intern fight club was going on?!! I like that they are both right and that there are no easy answers and that it’s complicated and messy.

Speaking of complicated … um … Major Dr. Owen Hunt. Complicated. And tortured. Words fail him all night, so that when he finally finds his words and tells Cristina he thinks she’s beautiful … it’s so surprising and nice and she gets this look on her face. It’s like she softens for just a split second. It’s not what she was expecting to hear, he’s not who she thought he was, and I like that they are both complicated and they sit on the stoop as the sun comes up on a new day and they can just be quiet together.

Because that’s the thing about morning. It eventually comes and when it does, your life and the people in it, who you’ve become, decisions you’ve made either look good by the light of day or just illuminate how far off course you’ve gone.

Izzie realizes she can’t stay holed up in her room, Ggeorge opens his eyes to the fact that Lexie has been in love with him and he’s been so preoccupied he hasn’t seen it, Derek realizes that he needs to “bring home a stray” and when he does, Meredith is grateful. Alex tells Izzie, I can handle your crazy, if you want to break up with me, that’s on you. It’s like the residents are growing up, especially in comparison to the interns who probably just wish they could take it all back.

So … it’s morning as I finish this. And I didn’t get up early. The alarm went off and I decided I’d sleep in. But tonight’s another night, filled with possibilities, and I bet I’ll set that alarm again and one of these days, maybe, it’s possible, I’ll get to the gym and work out. How hard can it be?