Break on Through

"In surgery, there is a red line on the floor that marks the point where the hospital goes from being accessible to being off limits to all but a special few. Crossing the line unauthorized is not tolerated. In general, lines are there for a reason. For safety. For security. For clarity. If you choose to cross the line, you pretty much do so at your own risk. So why is it, that the bigger the line, the greater the temptation to cross it? We can’t help ourselves. We see a line, we want to cross it. Maybe it’s the thrill of trading the familiar for the unfamiliar. A sort of personal dare. Only problem is, once you’ve crossed it’s almost impossible to go back. But if you do manage to make it back across that line you find safety in numbers."

- Meredith Grey

Break on Through is the fifteenth episode of the second season and the 24th overall episode of Grey's Anatomy.

Short Summary
The nurses's strike causes chaos in the hospital, as Meredith accidentally intubated a DNR patient, and then must let her die; Izzie treats a young pregnant patient with much more in common than the patient realises. George joins the picket line, while the rest of the interns meet their new resident, the anti-Nazi, which Cristina immediately clashes with over her choice of medical care.

Full Summary
Izzie and George arrive at the hospital where the nurses strike is taking place. Cristina walks up and tells them they have to go in, they have patients and surgeries. Cristina walks through and food is thrown at her. After a few moments Izzie follows, but George says he can't.

Meredith arrives at the Roseridge Home for Extended Care to visit her mother. She suddenly draws back when she sees that the chief is there. At the hospital Patricia tells Burke and Shepherd that she quit being a nurse because of doctors that didn't help out. As Richard walks by the two tells him he needs knew nurses but he says he doesn't have the money to take on an additional forty nurses. At the nurses station Izzie, Alex, Meredith, and Cristina debate over who Bailey's replacement will be. Then an extremel perky resident, Sydney Heron, appears and hugs Cristina. All the interns suddenly find something to do, leaving Sydney alone.

Alex and Cristina see a patient with a large rash on her leg. Meredith walks along a corridor and sees an elderly woman, short of breath, shouting for her husband. Not seeing any other nurses or doctors around, she intubates her. Outside Seattle Grace, Olivia tells George that he can go through and they won't throw food at him. George tells her that he can't, he is a union man, so he picks up a sign and protests with the nurses.

Addison introduces Izzie to her patient, a young pregnant girl. Addison tells the girl that they will perform a C-section but leave the baby attached to the umbilical cord so that it can still get oxygen, then if everything is safe, they will successfully deliver the baby. The patient's mother says it sounds expensive but Addison tells them that it will be free. When Addison leaves Izzie tells the patient's mother not to worry that its charity because Addison will get rewarded and the hospital will get a write-off. Meredith greets the chief and tells him subtly that she saw her mother today. The chief acts innocent and asks how she is, Meredith tells her she is fine and walks away.

Dr. Heron talks to her patient about their honeymoon when Cristina stops them, noting that the rash has spread very quickly, they book an OR. Meredith talks to Derek about missing Doc and Addison asks Derek for a consult. Outside the hospital Nurse Tyler, Debbie and Olivia approach George and ask him to help some of their patients inside the hospital.

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 (credit only)
 * James Pickens, Jr. as Dr. Richard Webber
 * Kate Walsh as Dr. Addison Montgomery-Shepherd
 * Isaiah Washington as Dr. Preston Burke
 * Patrick Dempsey as Dr. Derek Shepherd

Guest Starring

 * Betty Garrett as Eleanor
 * Rae Allen as Ruth
 * Monica Calhoun as Mrs. Wood
 * Leisha Hailey as Claire Solomon
 * June Lockhart as Agnes
 * Kenneth Mitchell as Wade Solomon
 * Kali Rocha as Dr. Sydney Heron
 * Steven W. Bailey as Joe
 * Regine Nehy as Cheyenne Wood
 * Robin Pearson Rose as Patricia
 * Sarah Utterback as Nurse Olivia Harper
 * Kate Burton as Ellis Grey

Co-Starring

 * Zibby Allen as Temp Nurse
 * Kate Anthony as GI Nurse
 * Donna Hardy as Grace Bickham
 * Cathy Lind Hayes as Nurse Debbie
 * Moe Irvin as Nurse Tyler
 * Amy Cale Peterson as Nurse Home Staffer
 * Jeremy Rabb as ER Resident
 * Pamela Roylance as Alice Bickham
 * Teddi Siddall as Anne

Uncredited

 * Branden Weslee Kong as Visitor

Patient

 * Diagnosis
 * Doctors:
 * Treatment:

Notes and Trivia

 * This episode's title originated from the song Break on Through (To the Other Side), originally sung by The Doors.
 * This episode scored 18.44 million viewers.

Quotes

 * George: My dad's a truck driver, my mom's a teacher. If the evening news shows me crossing a picket line, they'll outlive me just to pee on my grave.