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Second Opinion

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“ Doctors have never had all the answers. There was a time when you were sick, we'd just drain your blood like you were getting an oil change. We're constantly having to rethink what we thought was true and redefine it. It can be scary to find out you've been wrong about something but we can't be afraid to change our minds, to accept that things are different, that they'll never be the same, for better or for worse. We have to be willing to give up what we used to believe. The more we're willing to accept what is and not what we thought, we'll find ourselves exactly where we belong. ”

Second Opinion is the sixth episode of the ninth season and the 178th overall episode of Grey's Anatomy.

Short Summary[]

As the doctors continue with their lawsuit, they're forced to confront the realities of their injuries. Meanwhile, Bailey tricks Arizona into helping her with a pediatric case, and Cristina tries to find normalcy in her new environment.

Full Summary[]

Meredith is on the phone with Derek. She's sitting on Cristina's bed. Meredith tells Derek that Cristina is back and that she needs someone, as she lost someone.

Callie and Bailey enter the hospital together. Bailey asks about the lawsuit, but Callie says she's not allowed to talk about it. Bailey then asks her about Arizona, and Callie says that she's working with a prosthetist and walking, but that she won't leave the house because it's not perfect yet.

Jo, who's working in the ER today and covered with vomit, walks past Alex, who tells her to go clean herself as she stinks. Meredith sees him and asks him about a list his real estate agent sent to hers. The list is filled with things he wants her to fix in her house before she sells it to him. Meredith thinks he's exaggerating, as he begged her to sell her that house, and they made a deal and drank on it.

In the intern locker room, Jo tells the other interns that she hates Karev and that Santa Claus is in the ER. Heather says he was in the ER two weeks ago too, and that he barfed all day. Leah asks Jo if Karev said anything about her, but Stephanie tells her not to be the sad girl. Stephanie asks why they'd sleep with their boss anyway. Leah says she did it because Alex is hot, while Heather says that having sex is easier than talking because she has social anxiety.

April and Jackson just had sex. April says she's stupid for sleeping with him again. When she compares the sex to an inevitable car crash, Jackson leaves the on-call room without saying anything.

While Alex is complaining some more about the condition of Meredith's house, they enter the ER, where Stephanie is waiting for them with a 17-year-old. As they start their exam, Alex comments that the boy looks jaundiced. As Meredith touches the boy's head to push him back down, there's some of the boy's hair in her hand. They tell Stephanie what tests to run. Meanwhile in the ER, Jo gives Santa Claus some fluids. He is a dirty unhoused man. She thinks he's drunk like the previous times he came to the ER, but he swears he hasn't drunk. He then vomits on her again. As she opens the curtain, Alex walks by, and he says that he told her to change her shirt.

Owen shows Cristina what salary he can offer her, and he says that she should thank Dr. Russell, the new Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery, as he really pushed to get her. He also tells her that there will be a meeting about the plane crash. He says he'll be there to support his staff, but not as her proxy anymore. He gives her an orientation package, and leaves.

Bailey is talking to a mother of one of her patients, a young girl. As the mother leaves, Bailey gets an idea and she calls Arizona, who's reading a magazine at home. Bailey tells her about her patient, and asks Arizona if she knows what could be wrong. Arizona says she'd need to see the chart and that she's not back to work yet. Bailey asks if she can send an intern with the chart, to see if sparks anything, and Arizona agrees.

Jackson approaches Richard, and tells him that Richard send his romantic email to the wrong Avery, as it was meant for his mother. Richard assures him that it won't happen again, and Jackson says that he forwarded the email to his mother.

As Meredith is being mean to Stephanie, Cristina comments that she was always supposed to be the mean attending. When Meredith asks her about Owen, Cristina says that he treats her formally, as if he's only Chief Hunt, and that he gave her the orientation packet. Alex comes over, and he and Meredith discuss their patient. Jackson welcomes Cristina back, and she asks him about Jeff Russell, but he doesn't know anything about him. Jackson asks Alex if he can have his old room back when he buys Meredith's house, but Alex says he doesn't want roommates, as he wants to be an adult. As April comes over, Jackson flees. Cristina teases her about it, and she goes to meet Jeff Russel. Meredith then says that Alex's suspicions about their patient's liver were right.

As Jo is waiting for Santa Claus's labs, Leah tells her that Alex is ignoring her and that she doesn't get why. Jo tells her that she should be done with Alex. Jo reads Santa Claus's labs, and there's nothing wrong with him. Meanwhile, she and Leah are thinking about other guys Leah can date.

Cristina meets Dr. Russell and introduces herself. She wants to work together with him, but he trusts her to work on her own, as he heard she's very capable and he's busy with other things. He just tells her to run his service, don't kill his patients and call him when she does something really cool.

In the meeting, the doctors are told that the meeting will be about their emotional damages. Cristina comes in late. Jeanette says Owen can go, but he and the doctors want him to stay. Andy says that they want to hear about physical and emotional difficulties the doctors have experienced after the crash. Jeanette explains that the more difficulties they name, the more money they will get. Derek asks who'll pay the money. Andy says that they're still looking at the possible options, like the charter company and the pilot. Meredith and Cristina feel uncomfortable going after Jerry, who's paralyzed now. Cristina leaves, saying she has no residual injuries. Jeanette tells them that they need to stop thinking of Jerry as one of them. 

Cristina introduces herself to Heather and Shane, who still remember her. Cristina gives them dwarf names. As they begin rounds, Heather comments that she's worse than Medusa, which makes Cristina smile.

Meredith and Alex tell Brian's parents what's wrong with their son. Alex tells them that Brian's symptoms also indicate the use of anabolic steroids. Brian gets angry and his mother asks him to tell her. He then confesses that he wanted to have "crazy body", which is what girls like. He says he's barely taken any, but his mother then says he started taking them 2 years ago, as he then stopped being her boy. 

Owen tells Jo to discharge Santa Claus, as he's already been in the ER a lot, while there's nothing wrong with him. Owen says he just wants drugs. Jo feels like there's more to it, but Owen tells her to discharge him again. Jo tells Santa Claus that there's nothing wrong with him. He asks if she has a blanket he can take with him, as it's freezing outside these days. Jo closes the curtain.

April pulls Jackson into an on-call room before he can flee again. He says that he walked out because he didn't want to hear her comparing the sex to a car crash, but she assures him he's not the problem. She then compares him to a good dessert that she can't refuse, but which you regret having eaten after you ate it. As she goes on talking about the negative sides of the dessert, he leaves her alone again. 

Arizona is on the phone with Bailey, asking about the chart. Bailey says she sent her intern to leave it the door an hour ago, and Arizona asks if she told the intern to ring the bell. "Thought that was a given," Bailey says, adding that this year's interns seem more defective than most. Bailey's intern, Leah, says she doesn't know what Bailey is talking about, but Bailey shushes her and hangs up the phone. Arizona looks at her prosthetic.

Callie and Derek are talking about Derek's hand. Jeanette wants them to establish that the surgery to get Derek operating again failed, as it would raise the award tremendously for everyone. Callie then says that she doesn't believe that Derek will not operate again. Derek asks to take a break.

Arizona is putting on her prosthetic. She walks through the living room, and somewhere in the middle, she bumps into something. She falls forward, pushing against the sofa, which moves a little table, causing a vase to fall off of it. The vase falls on the ground and breaks. Arizona gets back up, and walks through the shards towards the door. When she opens the door, there is no chart. She angrily slams the door.

Bailey is on the phone with Arizona, apologizing and saying that she doesn't know what happened and that the intern would hear about it. Arizona yells that it's a waste of her time, and Bailey apologizes once again. She says she'll find out what happened to the chart and send it over. She hangs up the phone, and then takes the chart, while Leah says that she wasn't asked to deliver any chart.

Andy is following Cristina, like Heather and Shane, asking her for a statement, as it could benefit her and her colleagues. Cristina admits that her shoulder hurts sometimes and that she may have had some PTSD, and Heather says she did throw a vase at them. Nurse Ruth then tells her that Dr. Russell's patient is coughing up blood. Cristina and her interns go take care of the patient. Cristina says they need to open up the patient and that they can both scrub in. As Shane and Heather leave to prep an OR and get another test, they whisper that they love her and that she's awesome, which makes Cristina smile.

Alex and Meredith are in surgery. They took out a piece of the mass on Brian's liver, and they send Stephanie to pathology with it. Alex is willing to compromise and let one complaint about the house go, but Meredith tells him to let everything go and asks why it's so important to him. Alex says that he wants to be more adult, which is why he also stopped calling interns. Meredith says that that's one of the dumbest things she has ever heard him say. 

Jackson is waiting for Richard, who comes out of the OR. He tells him that his mother replied to Richard's email, but that she also replied to him because he forwarded Richard's mail. He shows Richard the mail Catherine sent. "Oh dear," Richard says. He is embarrassed. He begs them to keep this from ever happening again. 

Owen asks Jo why she order an abdominal CT for Santa Claus when she discharged him an hour ago. He doesn't realize that the patient with Jo is in fact Santa Claus. Jo gave him a little make-over and didn't discharge him. Owen chides her for not following his instructions, and she tells him that she did it because poor-looking patients deserve the same care that they give to men in suits, instead of accusing them of skimming drugs. Owen then lets her wait for the CT results. 

Callie and Derek are in the attendings' lounge. Callie says that she wished they had taken the settlement. She blames Derek for coming in late with his big speech in the meeting about the settlement and convincing the others not to take the settlement. She says that he pushed them, just like he pushed her to operate on his hand. "Because I thought you could do it!" he yells. He says that she shouldn't feel bad, as it's his fault: he believed that she could it. He leaves her alone with tears in her eyes. 

Arizona is leaving Bailey a message. She says that she has a lot of ideas on the case, but that she needs to see the chart to know it they are worthwhile ideas. She asks again to send over the chart. 

Cristina is asking her interns questions in surgery to make them earn the right to suction. 

Meredith says she won't sell Alex the house anymore. Stephanie comes back in with the results from pathology: it's cancer. 

Jo asks Santa Claus to be honest with her, as the CT came back clear. She asks if he came in to look for drugs, and he says that he did. Jo then starts preparing him to send him out, but he then tells her about the headaches he wants the drugs for. When he wants to explain why he didn't tell her about the migraines, he suddenly vomits all over her for a third time that day. 

Meredith informs Brian's parents that they removed the mass on the liver, but she says it may recur if he keeps abusing steroids, but his father assures her he won't. His mother starts talking about how he used to be, and she says that she would've done anything to make him stop if she'd known.

Alex runs into Jo again, and he - again - orders her to change clothes. Jo starts yelling at him because he thinks that she's still wearing the dirty shirt he saw her in this morning. She also says that he should call Leah, to let her know if he's done or bored or anything else. He asks her to come with him.

Heather informs Cristina that the patient is on his way to the CCU. Owen yells at her because she operated on Russell's patient without consulting him first, thinking he'll fire her. 

Miranda tells Callie that she may have pushed Arizona a little hard. Callie asks her what she did, and when Bailey wants to explain, Callie sees Arizona walking in the hallway. "I may have pushed her just far enough," Bailey says. She then urges Callie to hide, as her presence would mean too much pressure for Arizona. Callie hides, and Arizona comes in, saying she never got the chart. Bailey apologizes and she gets it. Arizona says she's happy to help her, but that she needs the information to do so. Bailey shows her the chart, and Arizona sees something that gives her an idea for a possible diagnosis. Bailey plays stupid to keep her talking as they walk. Callie smiles as she sees them walk away.

Jackson approaches Richard to ask if he spoke to his mother, and Richard says he did. Jackson says he's happy there won't be any more miscommunication, but Richard believes that he isn't this upset as he keeps pretending, as Jackson spend the day making sure Richard and Catherine connected. Richard says that he thinks that Jackson is happy that his mother found someone who makes her happy, but that he just doesn't want to admit that. "Just keep it out of my inbox!" Jackson says.

Alex and Jo explain to Santa Claus what disease he's suffering from. They give him drugs and say they'll make sure to set him up with a primary care doctor. Santa Claus thanks Jo for what she did for him.

Cristina and Owen are in a conference room, waiting for Russell. Cristina defends herself, saying she had no other choice. Cristina says that Owen shouldn't have brought her back if he didn't want her in the hospital. Russell comes in, and Cristina explains what happened. Russell thanks her and says that it was a good save. Russell also thanks Owen, saying that he now know why Owen pushed so hard to get Cristina back to Seattle. This surprises Cristina, and Owen quickly leaves. 

Callie and Derek enter the conference room. Callie says that she wants to retract her earlier testimony. She says that she does believe that Derek will operate again. She says that nerve generation is slow, so his nerves may need a little longer and that there are still other options they could try, and she names a few. Jeanette comments that she's clearly thought about this, and Callie says she did ever since Derek dropped the instrument. Callie doesn't want him to give up just yet. 

Jackson sits down next to April. She tells him to seek his booty-calls somewhere else, as she thinks it's only about sex for him. He tells her he has feelings, a lot of them, for her and that she hurts these feelings when she compared him to a car crash or a dessert. She apologizes for hurting him. They're both a bit shocked to find out that it's not only about sex for the other one, and Jackson leaves.

Alex and Meredith are in the attendings' lounge. Alex tells her that he stayed in Seattle for Arizona, even though she called him a nobody. Alex says he still wants the house. Meredith then confesses that the remarks he had about the house were personal memories for her. She confesses that that's why she doesn't want to change anything about the house. She says that he can change the things if he wants to, but that she won't do it herself. They then agree to their deal again. 

Jeanette thanks the doctors for their cooperation. She then asks Owen to step out of the room, and she tells the doctors that they won't go after the pilot, but after the hospital itself instead. "This hospital, the people who put you on the plane," she says, while looking at Owen outside of the room. 

Arizona and Bailey are working together, discussing a scan of the patient.

Jo makes Santa Claus, who's wearing a warm jacket, promise he'll take the meds. He promises her he will and leaves.

Cristina is in the firehouse, where she starts gathering her stuff.

Alex comes into his new house, when suddenly Cristina stands in front of him. He scared her, and he asks what she's doing in his house. She tells Meredith gave her the keys and asks him to rent her a room. He smiles when he realizes she's asking him for help. "When you put it like that, I want to kill myself," she says. Alex then agrees, only saying the master bedroom is his. Cristina smiles and closes the front door.

Cast[]

Main Cast[]

Guest Stars[]

Co-Starring[]

Medical Notes[]

Callie's Patient[]

  • Diagnosis:
  • Treatment:
    • Knee replacement

Callie was supposed to perform a knee replacement, but it was rescheduled due to her having to meet with the lawyers about the plane crash.

Brian Danzinger[]

  • Diagnosis:
    • Hepatic lesion
    • Anabolic steroid use
    • Liver Cancer
  • Treatment:
    • Resection

Brian, 17, passed out in school and was brought to the ER with abdominal pain, tremors, and hypertension. He was also jaundiced and his hair started to fall out while he was being examined. All of his symptoms were linked to anabolic steroid use. The lesion on his liver was diagnosed as cancerous, but they were able to remove the cancerous tissue.

Santa Claus[]

  • Diagnosis:
    • Cyclic vomiting syndrome
  • Treatment:
    • Sumatriptan

An unhoused man came into the ER with persistent vomiting and nausea. He had had several visits, leading them to suspect that he was a drug-seeker. When Jo found out that he got severe migraines in addition to the vomiting, she relayed the symptoms to Alex, who diagnosed cyclic vomiting syndrome. They were able to treat the migraines to relieve some of his symptoms.

Jamie Kiefer[]

  • Diagnosis:
    • Appendicitis
    • Sore throat
    • Neck swelling
    • Lemierre's Disease
  • Treatment:
    • Appendectomy

Jamie, 13, had a sore throat after an appendectomy and swelling in her neck. Miranda consulted with Arizona Robbins, who diagnosed Lemierre's Disease.

Russell's Patient[]

  • Diagnosis:
    • Myxoma in the right ventricle
  • Treatment:

Russell was dictating into a tape recorder the status of a pregnant patient.

Cardio Patient[]

  • Diagnosis:
    • Aortic ulcer
    • Aortic dissection
    • Aortobronchial fistula
  • Treatment:
    • Endovascular repair
    • Bilateral thoracotomy with bypass

Russell's post-op ulcer patient was coughing up blood. Cristina took him back into surgery. Scans showed a dissection of the ascending aorta due to the stent ripping through it and causing an aortobronchial fistula. She repaired the damage and the patient was doing well post-op.

Music[]

Song Performer Scene
"You Could Have It (So Much Better Without Me)" Miss Li
  • Meredith's on the phone with Derek, talking about Cristina's return.
  • Callie and Bailey enter the hospital talking about Arizona.
  • Alex tells Jo to go clean herself.
  • Meredith and Alex argue about Alex buying Meredith's house.
"Connected" Caught a Ghost
  • Meredith argues with Stephanie Edwards.
  • Cristina and Meredith talk about Owen.
  • Meredith and Alex talk about their patient.
  • Cristina asks Jackson about the head of cardio.
  • Cristina, Alex, Jackson and Meredith talk about the sale of Meredith's house.
  • Cristina mocks April about sleeping with Jackson.
"Dazed and Confused" IKO
  • Derek and Callie fight over the settlement and the surgery on Derek's hand.
"Museum of Flight" Damien Jurado
  • Cristina and Owen look at each other after Russell told them they were both right.
  • Callie enters the conference room to talk about possible fixes for Derek's nerves.
  • Jackson and April talk about their relationship.
"And Still, the Darkness Comes" Aron Wright
  • Meredith and Alex agree on the sale of Meredith's house.
  • The survivors of the crash (and Callie) hear they'll be suing the hospital.
  • Arizona and Bailey talk about their case.
  • "Santa Claus" leaves the ER.
  • Cristina moves out of the firehouse and moves into Meredith's house.

Notes and Trivia[]

  • This episode's title originated from the song Second Opinion, originally sung by Murder by Death.
  • This episode scored 8.84 million viewers.[1]
  • Santa Claus mentions it's freezing outside these days, so the episode presumably takes place in late autumn or winter.
  • In this episode, Alex buys Meredith's old house from her, becoming a first-time homeowner. In addition, Cristina moves into the house as a renter, marking the first time she's ever taken official residence in the house. Previously, she had been the only series regular resident not to; Meredith, Alex, Izzie, George, Lexie, Avery, and April all had lived in the house from time-to-time.
  • The cyclic vomiting syndrome story was inspired by Chandra Wilson's daughter, who has the same disorder, which prompted her mother to suggest the storyline.[2]

Gallery[]

Episode Stills[]

Behind the Scenes[]

Quotes[]

Stephanie: Why would you start your year by having sex with your boss anyway?
Leah: 'Cause he's stupid hot.
Heather: I have social anxiety, so sometimes it's easier than talking.
April: Cristina, glad you're back.
Cristina: You still doing it with Avery?
April: Does everybody know this now?
Cristina: God and everybody.
April: Four whole seconds I was glad you were back.
Russell: Dr. Yang, I am in the weeds. I have a huge myxoma on a pregnant lady, I am spearheading the first U.S. lotus valve implantation, I've got four papers that journals are breathing down my neck for, I've got an army of interns who could use... Who need some... Who are stupid. Go. Run my service. Make me look great. Just don't kill my patients.
Cristina: Who's gonna assign my surgeries?
Russell: Um, you are. Call me if you do something really cool.
Cristina: Sir, I'm a fellow.
Russell: No, that's not what I've heard. I've heard you're as good, as capable, as excited about this work as I am, if not more. Go. Be that way.
Shane: I'm Dr. Ross.
Cristina: Since many of you will wash out or be fired, I won't waste time learning your names for at least a year. I will call you by your dwarf names. (to Shane) You, Happy. (to Heather) You... Mousey.
Heather: There wasn't a dwarf named Mousey.
Cristina: They saved her for you. Now get me up to speed. Every patient, every chart. I want to know this floor better than you do.
Shane: Right.
Cristina: Wrong. You're surgical interns. No one should know this floor better than you. (to Shane) You're Dopey now.
Shane: (whispering to Heather) She's worse than Medusa.
Heather: I hate her.
Cristina: I heard that.
Richard: Well, when I get an e-mail that's not meant for me, I hit a quick reply or delete it. You've been running back and forth, making sure I hear from Catherine, making sure she hears from me, making sure we connect. I think maybe you aren't as upset as you pretend you are.
Jackson: Oh, I'm not?
Richard: I think you're glad that your mother's found someone who makes her happy. You just don't want to admit that.
Jackson: Just keep it out of my inbox.
Jackson: All right, listen.
April: I'm sorry, okay? I'm sure that you would prefer your booty calls to be uncomplicated and void of feeling so I think you should probably just seek them somewhere else, okay? 'Cause I know this is just sex to you. And it's--
Jackson: It's not just sex., I mean, I wish it was. I pretend that it is, 'cause you have a good thing going with Jesus, but it's not.
April: It's not?
Jackson: No, and stop calling me a car crash or dessert or acting like I'm bumming out Jesus.
April: I'm sorry. You- You made it seem like it was--
Jackson: And stop acting like I don't have any feelings, okay? I have feelings. I have a lot of 'em.
April: About what?
Jackson: You. About you, April. For you.
Alex: I didn't stay to nail the freshmen.
Meredith: I know. You stayed for Robbins.
Alex: Yeah, and you know what she told me? That I'm a nobody. That I have no one. She told me that I have nothing to show for my life. I want your house, Mer, 'cause... I don't know why. I just... I just do.
Meredith: The chips on the ceiling are from the first Christmas tree we got intern year. You wouldn't know that, because we didn't like you then. And the burn marks on the hardwoods are from flame shots from that stupid party Izzie threw. And the scratch marks on the doorjamb in the study are Zola's height marks since she could stand, and the ones on the other side are from me when I was little. I grew up there, Alex. It's hard for me to change things. And you grew up there, too. So before you go trying to change everything about yourself, you got yourself this far. And you're fine the way you are, and so is the house. So I'm not changing anything. You can, if you want, but I won't.
Cristina: God! You scared me.
Alex: What the hell are you doing here?
Cristina: Oh, Mer gave me the keys.
Alex: Mer just sold me this place.
Cristina: I know. I want to rent from you.
Alex: No, no. I said no roommates.
Cristina: Oh, come on. It's fine. It's a big house. We work weird hours. We'll barely see each other. You won't know I'm here... (then, reacting to Alex' smirk) What?
Alex: You asking me for help.
Cristina: Well, when you put it like that, I want to kill myself.
Alex: The master's mine. Rent's due on the first. You buy the toilet paper.

See Also[]

A complete overview of this episode's crew can be found here.

References[]

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