Losing My Religion

 is the twenty-seventh and final episode of the second season and the 36th overall episode of Grey's Anatomy.

Short Summary
The interns are pulled into the Chief's Office, demanding to know who cut the LVAD as Denny recovers from a successful transplant. Unfortunately for Richard, the interns have their own pressing issues, so he punishes them by organizing a prom for his niece. Everyone has a choice, Meredith between two men, Izzie to tell the truth, and Derek and Meredith choose to put Doc down.

Full Summary
A revitalized Denny wakes up from his heart transplant (received in the first part of the night's finale) and his more upbeat than ever, reiterating his marriage proposal to Izzie, who remains taken aback by it. She leaves the room and tells him she'll return later. Burke wakes up from his own operation and experiences problems in his left hand, as the fingers shake.

Cristina is still unable to reach out emotionally. The interns, meanwhile, are transformed into one giant prom committee by Richard and taken off all surgeries until someone comes forward about the stunt they pulled.

George dodges Calli when she asks what he's been up to, and Meredith is equally awkward when Finn arrives at Seattle Grace unannounced. Despite bad news about Doc, who Finn recommends be put to sleep, Meredith seems more or less happy to see him and invites him to the prom later. Derek extends the same invitation to Addison. The interns are then called in to see Richard, who plans on grilling them individually until they break. Surprisingly, all of them (Alex included) refuse to roll over on Izzie, instead turning their interrogations into personal therapy sessions.

-- Alex talks about how he may not like his fellow interns, but they're in it together, like members of a football team. -- George nearly cracks under Dr. Webber's stare, but manages to keep the secret. He apologizes for not saying what Richard wants to hear, much like his situation with Calli. -- Izzie discusses how Denny looks at her as a person, not just a hot chick, which she is, and that's why she loves him so. -- Cristina pours her heart out and asks how Richard keeps his edge, as she has clearly lost part of hers in the past day or two. -- Meredith turns the interrogation around, and admits to having figured out the relationship between Richard and her mother.

Despite his frustration over the unresolved incident with Denny's LVAD, Richard shares a poignant moment with his niece as the prom gets underway. After putting their forlorn canine friend to sleep, Meredith and Derek arrive at the event with their respective dates. After a moment of eye contact that means far more than a passing glance, the two disappear to a room at the hospital, where Meredith demands he stop looking at her that way. Derek would, he says, but he can't. Then they make love, naturally.

George tells Calli that he can't force his feelings for her, but wants time so that he means them. They make up and make out. With Izzie on her way up to see Denny before the prom, he dies suddenly due to a blood clot. Izzie is devastated but Alex consoles her and carries her out of the hospital. As she leaves, she admits responsibility to Richard and quits the internship. As the screen fades to black on Season Two, Meredith and Derek ask each other what their encounter means, and final scene shows her looking back and forth between Finn and Derek, unsure of where to turn.

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
 * Kate Walsh as Dr. Addison Montgomery-Shepherd
 * Isaiah Washington as Dr. Preston Burke
 * Patrick Dempsey as Dr. Derek Shepherd

Special Guest Star

 * Chris O'Donnell as Dr. Finn Dandridge

Guest Starring

 * Sara Ramirez as Dr. Callie Torres
 * Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Denny Duquette
 * Brooke Smith as Dr. Erica Hahn
 * Tessa Thompson as Camille Travis
 * Hallee Hirsh as Claire
 * Tiffany Hines as Natalie
 * Sarah Utterback as Nurse Olivia Harper

Co-Starring

 * Charles Duckworth as Brian
 * Ariel Felix as Anesthesiologist

Denny Duquette

 * Diagnosis:
 * Doctors:
 * Treatment:

Notes and Trivia

 * This episode's title originated from the song Losing My Religion, originally sung by R.E.M..
 * This episode scored 22.50 million viewers.

Quotes

 * Alex: I went to college on a wrestling scholarship. I played baseball, some basketball. But we'll go with football.
 * Chief: What the hell does football have to do with who cut the LVAD wires?
 * Alex: Let's say you were drafted to a team that wasn’t your first pick. You know, you don't like the players. You hate the way they play the game. You even think the quarterback is full of crap. The quarterback's a pain in the ass you don't owe a damned thing to. But, it's your team. You don't quit. You don't talk to the press. You don't bitch to the coach. You just, you just go out there every Sunday and you make the blocks and you take the hits and you, you play to win. You show up and you suit up and you play, because it's your freaking team.


 * Chief: I know your type. You're a surgical junkie.
 * Cristina: Yes sir?
 * Chief: I'm just saying, it's not going to be easy for you to be away from the OR that long.
 * Cristina: No sir.
 * Chief: And if you want to get back to the OR, you're going to tell me what I need to know, aren't you?
 * Cristina: You're right, it's not easy for me to be away from the OR. And it's not easy for me to sit in front of you, or any other authority figure, for that matter, and not be able to give you the exact answer that you want to hear. I'm the one with the answers. I've always been the one with the answers. But right now, sir, I don't have any.
 * Chief: Dr. Yang.
 * Cristina: How do you keep your edge sir? Because I've watched you and you've been doing this a long time, and you're clean...you're focused, you are the job, nothing gets to you. And the thing is, sir, I was like that...until I got here, until I actually started doing this job and now everything is—is fuzzy and...
 * Chief: That’s beside the point.
 * Cristina: No, see, sir, this is the point. Because I can't tell you, I can't tell you what happened in that room. And before I could have; no guilt, no loyalties, no problem. Before—before I wouldn't have even been in that room. I wouldn't have gotten involved. I would have never frozen in surgery, and I would have told him what I thought he should do. I had an edge, sir. I had an edge, and I've lost it, and I need it. I need it back. So, if you could just tell me, how you keep yours and how not to be affected, I know I could be a great surgeon. So if you could just give me the answers, I would really appreciate it.
 * Chief: You're excused Dr. Yang.
 * Cristina: But—
 * Chief: You're excused.
 * Cristina: I'll tell you, I'll tell you who cut the LVAD wires if you'll please—
 * Chief: No you won't, I don't want to know. Not from you. Yeah, I have the answers, but I can't tell them to you. I'm not going to be responsible for you becoming less human.


 * Izzie: I'm a pretty girl.
 * Chief: What?
 * Izzie: I'm not being arrogant, it’s just, it’s just kind of a fact. For a long time I made a career from my looks, so I get it, I'm a pretty girl. And not in a "from a certain angle" way, in an obvious way. It’s the blonde thing and the big boobs thing, big boobs are a key to obvious pretty if you know what I'm saying.
 * Chief: Dr. Stevens.
 * Izzie: It’s how men see me. I'm not a smart girl or an interesting girl, I'm a pretty girl. The blonde and the boobs it confuses guys into thinking that I'm someone else. And I'm used to it. And I'm used to them walking away when they realize… But then Denny goes and asks me to marry him.
 * Chief: Is that why you cut the wires?
 * Izzie: He doesn't make me feel like I'm a pretty girl. He makes me feel like… like me. I think he might know me. And so, if I did cut the LVAD wire, and I'm not saying that I did, but if I did, then no, I don't feel guilty. And I know that I should. And I would if it were anybody else. But I can't feel anything but happy.


 * George: Aren't you gonna say anything or... I'm not gonna break. I'm starting to get a little freaked out, but I'm not gonna break. It’s not because I don't care, because I do care what you think about me, I do. Care. I just can't tell you want you want to hear. Which seems to be a theme in my life right now. Just because you can't say something doesn't mean you don't want to, you can want to very much. You can be with a person and be happy with them and not love them. And you can love somebody and not want to be with them. You don't need to love someone to want them. Now that's frustrating, when what your brain tells you you want and what you actually want don't match up. It’s exhausting. And, well, it’s complicated. But that's life. And life... sucks.


 * Chief: I've known you for a long time. And I know your mother and father. And I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that you did not cut those LVAD wires. Meredith, I need you to tell me who did it.
 * Meredith: I've been going over this and over this in my mind trying to piece this together. It was you, you're the reason my parents broke up. And it wasn't just an affair, she really loved you. It wasn't just this cheap thing where she didn’t tell you she was married. It wasn't all a lie. She left her husband for you. But you stayed with your wife, because it was the right thing to do. Maybe safe, but she was the right person for you to be with. Let’s face it, my mother, nothing wrong with being safe, being with the good guy because he’s good and we are talking about forever here. You've never regretted your decision. You've never looked back... Right?


 * Meredith: Just leave me alone.
 * Derek: I just want to make sure you're alright.
 * Meredith: No! I'm not alright? Okay? Are you satisfied? I'm not alright. Because you have a wife, and you call me a whore, and our dog died, and now you're looking at me. Stop looking at me.
 * Derek: I am not looking at you. I am not looking at you.
 * Meredith: You are looking at me. And you watch me. And Finn has plans. And I like Finn. He's perfect for me, and I'm really trying here to be happy, and I can't breathe. I can't breathe with you looking at me like that so just stop!
 * Derek: Do you think I want to look at you? That I wouldn't rather be looking at my wife? I'm married. I have responsibilities. She, she doesn't drive me crazy. She doesn't make it impossible for me to feel normal. She doesn't make me sick to my stomach thinking about my veterinarian touching her with his hands. Man, I would give anything not to be looking at you.