Sympathy for the Devil

"My mother used to say this about residency, “It takes a year to learn how to cut. It takes a lifetime to learn not to.” Of all of the tools on the surgical tray, sound judgment is the trickiest one to master. And without it, we’re all just toddlers running around with ten blades. We’re human. We make mistakes. We mis-estimate. We call it wrong. But when a surgeon makes a bad judgment call, it’s not as simple. People get hurt. They bleed. So we struggle over every stitch. We agonize over every suture because the snap judgments, the ones that come to us quickly and easily without hesitation, they’re the one that haunt us forever."

- Meredith Grey

 is the twelfth episode of the fifth season and the 90th overall episode of Grey's Anatomy.

Short Summary
Derek's mother comes to visit, and Lexie and Sloan still try to keep their relationship a secret. Bailey and Arizona clash while Derek, Cristina and Meredith treat a prisoner. thumb|300px|right

Full Summary
Arizona was annoyed with Bailey for calling her in the middle of the night to chat about Jackson's transplant.

Derek told the convict that his brain contusion could kill him if it went untreated. He said he might as well take his chances with the "brain thing" than facing execution.

Sloan was looking for a way to sneak out of Lexie's room when he found out Derek's mom was going to show up. He was afraid she'd find out that he was hooking up with "forbidden fruit." Meredith was also nervous about the arrival of Mama Shepherd. The group was all around Meredith helping her brace for meeting Derek's mom. Sloan walked out of the house at 4 a.m., just as Derek was walking in. Meredith even changed her hairstyle.

Derek again suggested surgery for the death-row inmate. Derek refused to let him cheat the system and insisted that they would perform the surgery after he fell asleep.

Callie had a patient who had surgery in Hong Kong to get his legs lengthened. It was pretty ugly and the bottom half of his leg was gone. Bailey told Sadie she didn't trust her and told Sadie to stay out of her way when dealing with Jackson. She told Sadie not to talk to her patient without raising her hand and asking permission to speak.

William, the death-row inmate, found out from Jackson that he needs a new liver and new intestine. "Yeah," William said. "You want mine?"

Derek's mom made a surprise arrival at the hospital. She spotted Sloan, who quickly tried to avoid her. Meredith showed up and put on her best smile. Derek's mom wanted to meet Meredith for lunch. "I can't wait to dive in and learn everything about you," Mama Sloan said.

Dr. Hunt asked Cristina out on a date. She didn't respond. Denny, meanwhile, was giving Izzie top reasons for dating a dead guy. One was "no awkward dates." Bailey told Jackson that what William offered was "definitely against the rules." William was trying to convince Meredith that he should be allowed to give Jackson his organs. "Let me save a life before I go," he said.

The short guy, Chuck, was upset that the doctors suggested they could save him, but he'd lose the two inches he was supposed to grow as a result of his experimental surgery.

Bailey suggested a tips procedure on Jackson instead of waiting for donor organs. Arizona said the tips procedure was like putting a band-aid on a bullet hole. Bailey said she was tired of waiting. They shouted at each other for a few minutes before Alex came in and told them to shut up because they might have found the organs.

Arizona and Alex were on a plane to get the organs and Arizona suddenly started grilling Alex about Izzie and he got impatient with her.

Izzie was giving Cristina tips about what she should talk to Hunt about on their date. Meredith, meanwhile, was having her first "date" with Mama Shepherd across the cafeteria. Lexie came up and sat with Sloan and he asked what she was doing. She said, "You sleep with me, you lunch with me. New rule." Then, the rest of the interns showed up and Sloan got up to leave.

Derek's mom found Sloan and confessed that he was sleeping with Meredith's sister, who happened to be drinking a juice box when Mama Shepherd looked over.

Meredith had a bit of a light moment with William, when he told her that he was given a choice of hanging or lethal injection. He asked her what would be her choice, medically speaking. She explained that hanging would prolong his death after breaking his neck and the injection would be given after he was anesthetized. He asked if he was a match for Jackson. "Yes, you were," Meredith told him.

Derek's mom found Lexie and asked her if she's "a good girl." She asked how many sexual partners she'd had. "Kinda six, kinda seven," Lexie said.

Callie told Sloan about how she "used to walk tall" -- as a metaphor for the poor guy who was trying to get his legs stretched a couple of inches.

Back in the plane, Alex asked Arizona, "What is wrong with you?" because she wouldn't stop talking about "relationships and rainbows and crap" despite the fact that they just went to get organs from a dead kid for their patient.

Bailey was starting to operate on Jackson when Sadie raised her hand and asked Bailey to call on her. Sadie noticed a spot on one of Jackson's organs.

Meanwhile, William crashed. Derek wanted Meredith to sign the form that needed to be signed by two doctors to consent for William's operation. She froze and Cristina took the chart from Derek and signed it.

The chief told a frantic Bailey that Jackson would die if they kept his dying organs inside him. Sadie asked Bailey not to be mad at her for being there.

Cristina talked to Meredith for the first time in a while, just to say her pony tail looked ridiculous. Derek's mom told Sloan that Lexie was "a lovely girl."

Callie told Chuck she had to shave off a quarter inch of his leg to save him. The man was even more upset by this, and his six-foot-tall brother finally went off on him, telling him he should stop complaining about being short.

Derek told William he wasn't going to let him die in the hospital. William tried to tell Derek that they weren't so different, because Derek decides who lives or dies in the hospital.

Meredith confessed to Derek's mom she was a fraud and that she was not the kind of girl mothers like. She said she was "dark and gloomy" and that she was "the kind of person who feels bad for serial killers." Derek's mom simply replied, "It was very nice to meet you, Meredith," and walked away. Izzie saw this and shook her head. Izzie then told Denny she wanted to meet his mother, but she couldn't. She went on to say all the other things she wanted, like walking down the street with him, telling her friends about him. She finally said, "I want you alive." He asked if she was breaking up with him. "I think I am," she said.

Sloan met Lexie outside the elevator and turned to Callie, who was in the elevator with him and said, "Walk tall."

Hunt showed up to Cristina's house late and drunk. He said he was nervous because he hadn't been on a date in five years. She told him to shower, so he went into her bathroom.

Derek's mom said it's easier to have compassion for a good person than a murder. She said she knew Derek was still angry for what happened to his dad. She said she still couldn't sleep on his side of the bed, but said she wasn't angry anymore. She told Derek he sees things in black and white, and Meredith doesn't. "You need a spoonful of that," she said. "You need her. She's the one."

Hunt was in Cristina's shower -- completely clothed in his suit -- and started telling Cristina about his best surgery. It sounded wildly complicated, but he saved a soldier who then sent him a letter for saving his life, "then he shot himself."

Alex asked Izzie if she'd like to take a road trip to Iowa to meet his mom. She didn't respond right away, but then kissed him. Denny sat on the bed next to Alex after Izzie left the room to get tequila. Denny said, "Alex, we gotta talk."

Bailey told Jackson's mother they had to wait for a miracle. Meredith went into William's room and told him Derek removed a piece of his skull that left a bit of his brain somewhat exposed. She said any damage to that area would result in his brain swelling and cause brain death. She advised him, as his doctor, to make sure nothing damaged that area. Meredith knew William was ready to give his life to save Jackson. She left the room and William proceeded to slam the back of his head against the headboard of his hospital bed. He repeated this a few times before his hand went limp and the screen cut to black.

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
 * Patrick Dempsey as Dr. Derek Shepherd

Special Guest Stars

 * Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Denny Duquette
 * Tyne Daly as Carolyn Shepherd

Guest Stars

 * Kevin McKidd as Dr. Owen Hunt
 * Melissa George as Dr. Sadie Harris
 * Eric Stoltz as William Dunn
 * Jessica Capshaw as Dr. Arizona Robbins
 * Samantha Mathis as Melinda Prescott
 * Jason Kravits as Chuck Rubin
 * Ernie Grunwald as Gary Rubin
 * Brandon Scott as Dr. Ryan Spalding

Co-Starring

 * Aaron Refvem as Jackson Prescott
 * Gloria Garayua as Intern Graciella
 * Mark Saul as Intern Steve
 * Molly Kidder as Intern Megan
 * Candice Afia as Intern Laura

Notes and Trivia

 * This episode's title originated from the song Sympathy for the Devil, originally sung by The Rolling Stones.
 * This episode scored 12.95 million viewers.
 * It's revealed that Lexie is 24 years old.
 * While going to pick up Jackson's liver and intestines with Alex, Arizona mentions that she feels much closer to death on a plane, rather than in the OR. At the end of season eight, she was in a plane crash and nearly died.

Quotes

 * (Mark just sneaked out of the house. Derek passes him on the way into the house.)
 * Derek: Mark!
 * Mark: Hey there 'ya are. You wanna get a drink?
 * Derek: It's four in the morning.
 * Mark: Yeah, you're right. I should have called first. I hear your mom's in town. Good times.


 * Meredith: During surgery, Dr. Shepherd removed a piece of your skull. Which means that your brain is now only covered by dura matter. It's virtually exposed. If some how that area were to be damaged... It would cause intacranial which would cause your brain to swell worse than it did today, which would result in brain death. So, as your doctor, I need you to be very careful not to damage it. … Do you understand what I'm saying? (William nods; Meredith turns to leave)
 * William Dunn: Dr. Grey … Are you doing this for the kid? Or for me?
 * Meredith: Whatever helps you sleep at night.


 * (Owen is drunk and showering with all his clothes on at Cristina's)
 * Owen: Yang! Yang. I thought of it. I thought of my best surgery.
 * Cristina: (walks in) You're wearing shoes in my shower.
 * Owen: It was my first blasting in the field. Body was managled, home-made explosive device, copper wires were embedded five inches deep in the abdomen, arms and legs hanging on by threads of skin. I never seen anything like it. Not in a textbook, not during residency. It was incredible. Body full of holes... trauma surgeons dream. I put turnakits on where I could, started tying arteries off with my bare hands, but the bleeding was every where, stomach, chest... the best pressure I could think of was my own body. So, I ... I layed there for two hours on top of him, not moving trying to keep that dam from bursting with my own, hands and elbows, and knees... Body... full of holes. But he never bled out. I wouldn't let him. He made it to the hospital. He made it out. A month later... he sent me a letter thanking me for saving his life and then he shot himself. ... That was my best surgery. ... And my worst.
 * (Cristina gets in the shower with him, fully clothed)


 * Carolyn: Meredith. I was looking for Derek, I was hoping that maybe you'd be with him.
 * Meredith: You seem like a very nice person. You've been very kind, and you've given me a chance, and it seems like you wanna like me. ... So, it's only fair, you should know that the pink, and the ponytail, and the smiling with the teeth, ... I'm a fraud. It's fake. I'm not the kind of girl that mother's like. I'm not happy and bubblily. I'm dark and cloudy because I'm the type of crazy person that feels bad for serial killers.
 * Carolyn: It was very nice to meet you, Meredith.


 * Mark: Walk tall.
 * Callie: What?
 * Mark: All you do is be brave enough to get out there. You faught, you loved, you lost. ... Walk tall, Torres.


 * William Dunn: Why didn't you just let me go?
 * Derek: You're not dying here.
 * William Dunn: What are you scared of, Dr. Shepherd? Losing control? ... Or maybe you know that deep down, you're no better than I am. You decide who lives and dies all the time but for you they call it medicine. Not a capital offense.
 * Derek: Nobody gets to choose. Not me. Not a patient in this hospital. And certainly not the 5 women that you slaughtered. So when I say that you're not gonna die in this hospital, I mean, there is no way in hell that I will let you die in this hospital! You don't get off that easy. ... I am nothing like you.


 * Cristina: (to Meredith) That ponytail, looks ridiculous.
 * (walks out; Meredith takes the tie out of her ponytail, letting her hair down)


 * Izzie: (looking on) Mer looks weird. Does she look weird to you?
 * Alex: She looks like she's gonna pee her pants.
 * Izzie: Or crap. I made her hydrate.
 * Alex: Meeting the family always blows. I'd never make you do that. (walks off)
 * Cristina: (walks up) Who's that lady touching Meredith?
 * Izzie: Derek's mom.
 * Cristina: Oh, that's why she looks so weird.
 * Izzie: She does not look weird, okay? I've got it under control. Mer is doing... great.
 * Cristina: She looks like she's gonna pee.


 * William Dunn: You're upset with me. I get that.
 * Meredith: I don't get upset with patients.
 * William Dunn: You're mad at me for killing those women. I get that. Would you feel differently if you knew that I was beaten as a child? Every day. It's how I learned to read. I used to hide under the sink and sound out the letters in the detergent box.
 * Meredith: Is that true?
 * William Dunn: Did it make you feel better? ... Whatever helps you sleep at night, Dr. Grey.


 * Bailey: Uh, Jackson's BP is a little down from yesterday. No big deal, but if we make a few calls, get pushy, maybe we can get him bumped up a few spots on the transplant list.
 * Arizona: Dr. Bailey, you paged me 911 at 2:30 in the morning, to what? Chat?
 * Bailey: Uh … you like to chat. You chatty.
 * Arizona: Not at 2:30 in the morning! Look, he's young, he's near the top of the list. UNOS will find him his organs, when they find him his organs and God knows that staying up all night chatting about it, is not gonna help. I'm go get some sleep, I suggest that you do the same.
 * Bailey: He's running out of time.
 * Arizona: They always are. Welcome to Peds.


 * Arizona: So, Valentine's day. Personally, I think you can't go wrong with jewerly. If you want I can recommend some local places…
 * Alex: What is wrong with you? We just took a liver and an intestine from a little kid. A dead little kid. And you don't even care. You're talkin' about rainbows and relationships and crap. What the hell is wrong with you?
 * Arizona: You don't think that I know that they just pulled the plug on the kid? You don't think that I get that? You don't think I know about the tiny, tiny coffin that they're going to stick him in? I know about the tiny coffins. I see them all the time. In my sleep. So if you don't mind, I'm going to keep talking relationships and rainbows and crap. And I'm going to make plans for tomorrow. Because that's what you do, Karev, you make plans. You have to. You turn your back on the tiny coffins and you face forward, Until the next kid.


 * Callie: You know, I used to walk tall around here. I used to walk tall. Then... Then George. He took off at least an inch. Then Erica went and left me, that shaved off a few more. I got shorter. All that humilation it makes you shorter, so yeah, I am afraid of getting burned.


 * Lexie: Can I help you with something? Were you looking for Dr. Shep--
 * (Carolyn cups Lexie's face in her hands)
 * Carolyn: Are you a good girl?
 * Lexie: I … What?
 * Carolyn: A good girl. I don't mean perfect, I mean relativly speaking. … Are you?
 * Lexie: Yes.
 * Carolyn: How many sexual partners have you had? I won't judge.
 * Lexie: Um … 6. No, no 7. K-Kind of 6. It's kind of 7.
 * Carolyn: Criminal record?
 * Lexie: Speeding ticket.
 * Carolyn: How fast?
 * Lexie: Twelve miles over.
 * Carolyn: That's fast.
 * Lexie: It-It wasn't too … It was way too fast, but I-I was downhill. I-I-I was coasting, ma'am.
 * Carolyn: Now I don't suppose you can tell me … where the gift shop is?
 * Lexie: First floor. East wing.


 * Bailey: Okay, I made a list of the best pediatric GI's in the country. I figure between the two of us, we can get one of these guys to come down and do a TIPS procedure on him.
 * Arizona: Doing a TIPS on a kid that needs a new liver? That's like putting a band aid on a bullet wound.
 * Bailey: Well you have a better idea?
 * Arizona: I do. Waiting for UNOS, trusting the process. Why can't you do that?
 * Bailey: Because I'm tired of waiting while this kid is getting worse. Jackson's tired, his mother is too. The only one who's happy to sit on her ass and twiddle her thumbs and wait is you!
 * Arizona: Whoa. I've been patient with you. I've been nice. But I am really over you constantly telling me how to do my job.
 * Alex: Hey. (Bailey and Arizona just keep arguing) Hey... (Bailey and Arizona just keep arguing) Shut up! (Bailey and Arizona stop arguing) Respectfully. Respectfully shut up. Because we've got organs.


 * Derek: You are wearing an alarmingly high ponytail.
 * Meredith: Your mother is coming!