Grey's Anatomy Season 9 - Is Seattle Grace A Sinking Ship?

Warning: Spoilers! The following may contain spoilers from Grey's Anatomy. If you are from outside the US then this blog post is likely to be a spoiler. If you do not want to know, then don't read any further.

Well if you've stumbled onto my blog looking for something to read about Grey's Anatomy then you've come to the right place. Here is a catch up on the last three episodes; right before we get a new one on March 14, 2013.



In the last three episodes of Grey's Anatomy all the drama has been mostly discussion and arguments about the plane victims idea that perhaps they can save the hospital from being ruined and re-open the Emergency Room, which closed it doors a few weeks back.

When I last watched Grey's; April convinced Jackson to help her smuggle in a kid who was critically injured to the old ER. Most of the other's helped; and so began an idea that was voiced at the end by Callie, that they should buy Seattle Grace. Arizona seems opposed to the idea, and Cristina is not totally on board either, however when it becomes clear to these docs what Pegasus (the new buyers) will mean for their careers and the future of Seattle Grace, they begin to re-think. 

Further discussion eventuated between the five surviving doctors on whether they should buy Seattle Grace; Cristina showing the most resistance as she was concerned with how Owen would react; and did not like that fact that they had to keep secrets from him. The contract that Owen has with Pegasus who are the potential buyers of the hospital is to keep quiet about the negotiations. Therefore whatever Owen tells Cristina is essentially a breach of contract. They look for a way to get the information without involving Owen and succeed, but he is not happy when it is revealed what Cristina, Meredith, Derek, Callie and Arizona are up to and he is devastated when they resign from their jobs. They must do this to eliminate the conflict of interest. Furthermore one of interns finds out what Pegasus's real plan is for Seattle Grace and they are devastated. 

The real plan turns out to be that Pegasus intend on selling off all the assets that Seattle Grace has; so essentially the hospital is a sinking ship. However, Owen does not know this; the go between who is officiating the sale doesn't tell him. Meredith's intern contacts her and tells her what she has overheard. The doctors have found an investor and they meet with him to pitch their ideas for Seattle Grace and hope to seal the deal, however they are turned down.

Catherine Avery steps in and tell the docs that the Harper Avery foundation has decided to invest in the sale; Jackson is to be in charge. Not too many of the docs are happy with this. And it was recently revealed in a spoiler that Owen Hunt quits in the next episode. It's all very well for his mother to buy him a hospital, but does Jackson have the experience to run it and does he want to? He is busy being a surgeon; and working his way through a plastic's fellowship. It looks to me like more of his mother's interference because she wants Jackson to succeed and she was never happy about his career in plastics in the first place.

Secondly; since when did Jackson become an awesome surgeon and where is the attending surgeon that should be supervising his procedures. Someone else mentioned this on Spoiler TV a few weeks ago; and it's starting to bug me that Jackson seems to be in charge of his own plastics department and has no teacher or mentor. And his rudeness towards Arizona just belied belief. We are seeing Cristina largely doing surgery on her own, however she is an awesome surgeon and her teacher and supervising attending is somewhere in the hospital. We have met the man; but Jackson seems to have no-one.

What will these changes do to the relationships between the docs; will Owen be able to forgive Cristina for going behind his back or will the drama that is about to unfold be too much for them? Their relationship is in a good place again, the first time in almost three seasons, but will they stay together. The issues of children versus no children is still not resolved and it would be great for the many Cristina and Owen fans if this happens at the end of Season 9. Not another Season of angst for this couple. Enough already! 


It is clear that there will be a Season 10; given ratings and cast contracts. Grey's Anatomy has been rated as one of the many shows likely to get a pick up for next season, but beyond that is anyone's guess. With the original cast member's contracts' up for renewal again; it could come down to who goes and who stays at the end of Season 10. Or Season 10 could rate so badly that ABC can the series. The hope is it does well as I personally would not know what to do without my fix of Grey's Anatomy, but when stories start to suck and fans are getting upset, that's when it's clear that a show may need to end. It comes down to Shonda's talent and creativity and that of her writers'. Can they keep it fresh and interesting?

Bailey's reference to Seattle Grace as a sinking ship could well be on the money. Even though a deal has been made and the doctors can come back and run the hospital their way, no-one believes it will be as simple as that. With the ER rumored to be opening up again in episode 19; it looks as though things might go back to normal, however in a Grey's Anatomy world; normal is not possible.

So Thursday night cannot come quick enough for me. It will be very interesting to see how this all plays out. What do you think of Jackson now being in charge of Seattle Grace? And this is how I interpreted the episode. Perhaps you see it differently. Join me on Facebook or Twitter or sound off in the comments.




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Should Grey's Anatomy End?

Recently TV Guide magazine ran a poll on popular television shows and whether they should end. Grey's Anatomy was one of the shows polled and it the results so far show that fans of the show are split. Last I checked, 51% said Grey's should end and 49% said that Grey's should keep going.

So almost more than half the fans think Grey's Anatomy needs to end, but a majority of those who voted for the show to end probably rarely watch Grey's anymore. Most fans who still currently watch would be happy to see it keep going, as long as the stories are still good. 

With the current story of the sale of Seattle Grace and the doctors using their settlement to buy the hospital; things have just gotten interesting. Who would have thought that the Harper Avery foundation would step in and bail out Seattle Grace and it leave the door open for some interesting events. Jackson Avery will be in charge. That is sure to rub a few people up the wrong way; including me. I have never seen this character in a positive light and I'm not about to start now.

In a nutshell; whether Grey's Anatomy is cancelled or not this season or next season will largely come down to ratings. It is still ranked as the most watched drama and making money for ABC is what they will be concerned with. It has already been listed as one of the shows likely to be renewed for a future season; so we are looking at ten years of Grey's Anatomy. Whether it goes beyond that will again unfortunately come down to contract negotiations.  The original six actors have only inked two year contracts, so if ABC cannot get Sandra Oh, Patrick Dempsey, Ellen Pompeo and the rest of the group to sign on again; then show will be history at the end of season ten. Fans will turn off if Meredith and Derek are no longer on their screens and I would be gone if Cristina were not a part of the show, Sandra Oh is a big reason why I tune in.

The hope is that the network begin those negotiations early; so that they have time to get a commitment from the actors. When the contracts were agreed on right before the end of season 8; it completely ruined the suspense of the plane crash finale, as fans knew the originals had signed before the episode went to air. Having contract negotiations dictate story arcs and creativity is not ideal either. 


Grey's Anatomy has had between eight and eleven millions viewers this season and for a show that is nine years old; this is pretty outstanding. Not many show of nine years report these kind of numbers. The demographic audience is still winning in it's time-slot most weeks; so the powers that be must be doing something right. Person of Interest, which is in direct competition has reported number of up to 15 million total viewers, however in the demographic; it's numbers are very close to Grey's Anatomy and some weeks behind. While total numbers do count; it is the demographic the networks are interested in, because this dictates how much advertising revenue they will make.

Whether Season 10 will be the Series Finale is anyone's guess at the moment, however if ratings stay steady; then I don't see why ABC would not renew the series; that is if they able to negotiate contracts with their major cast members. Fans are split on whether Grey's should end, however most dies hard fans will watch if story lines are good and their favourite characters don't leave.

Source: TV Guides Poll






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Grey's Anatomy Season 9 Catch Up - Review

Well I've been away for a bit getting my life sorted out and have missed quite a bit of Grey's Anatomy, which is something I never do (missing Grey's is criminal in my warped mind). Having watched back to back episodes from "Second Opinion" to "Bad Blood," I realised that I had missed a lot of drama and a great part of that drama was very good.


Highs and Lows


The highlight for me is Cristina returning. It was unexpected and awesome to see her show up at Seattle Grace. I had imagined that she would hide out in Minnesota for the better part of the season, but she returned. The death of her mentor was too much obviously. The low light was April and Jackson; I really don't care about this couple and wish Shonda would stop shoving them down our throat. I like the interns better than April and Jackson, and I really don't like them much. Cristina and Owen are divorced and still together; behaving like love struck teenagers; this story made me happy. The writers and Shonda found a way to keep it real and keep the CrisOwen fan base happy, but fans will soon be asking where it's all going. No such thing as happily ever after in Shonda's world, so you can guarantee that there is more drama to come.






The victims of the plane crash each were awarded fifteen million dollars, which is huge and somewhat expected once we learned that the airline company had questionable safety issues. However the insurance company found a loophole and refused to pay the damages so the buck now passed to the hospital's hip pocket. It was revealed that Seattle Grace would be sold to the highest bidder; and to make that sale happen the ER would have to be closed. Derek and April stayed up all night trying to cut costs to make the ER fit into the budget, however the consultant that was brought in to save Seattle Grace said that closing the ER would make the hospital more attractive to the right buyer. 






Now I haven't watched the latest episodes from the US; but I have heard rumours about the doctors using their settlement to buy Seattle Grace. Interesting times ahead, in any case.

Bailey finally ties the knot with Ben after getting caught up in a very risky surgery on Dr Webber's wife, Adele. She eventually makes it to the ceremony five hours late, and she and Ben make their union official. Dr Webber shows up later on at the wedding to wish Bailey well, and does not tell her that Adele has passed away from a massive heart attack, a complication from having lost so much blood during the stomach surgery. Webber has a very hard time grieving Adele, unable to forgive himself for not being there as much as he should have. 


He goes as far as to push Catherine Avery away because he feels he does not deserve the support of his close friends. He stops operating for a while, until Meredith drags him back into surgery and reminds him of what he's missing.

Derek gets full use of his hand back, thanks to Callie and his faith in her skills. He pushes Callie to look into every option available to them, and they finally come up with something they both believe will work. A nerve transfer; however someone in Derek's family must donate the nerve, as waiting for a cadaver will take too long. Derek's sister Lizzie arrives in Seattle and agrees to do the surgery. They later find out the they will need two nerves from both legs and Derek refuses to go through with it. However Lizzie is having none of that, and pushes Derek to let her donate the nerves.  


Meredith and Lizzie go Head to Head


In the mean time she and Meredith have words about how they never see her and Zola. Meredith goes on the defensive and talks about how busy she and Derek are. Lizzie will not accept that. Meredith tells her that it is hard for her as she never had a normal family. They talk later on after the surgery and Meredith promises to stay in touch, she also shares a secret with Lizzie that she is expecting a baby and only she and Derek know, and to please not blab to the family as she is only eight weeks gone.

So Derek makes it back to the OR again just in time for a really tricky surgery; that he ends up pulling off flawlessly. Dr Derek Shepherd is back. I still feel as though Derek is blaming Owen for the crash, given that Owen signed off on the change of company for transporting doctors to other medical facilities. However, Owen knew nothing about the plane company and was not required to research their safety records and histories. It was just a signature that approved a certain budget for transportation costs. Have we seen the last of the rift between Owen and Derek. On a higher note; Meredith also conquers her fear of flying and gets on a plane to go get a liver for an emergency transplant surgery.

Neve Campbell as Lizzie; Derek's sister

So far so good. Grey's is thirteen episodes down and doing okay so far for Season 9. The writing is good and I hope by the time I've watched the next two episodes I still feel the same way. Season Nine has been better than Season Eight in my opinion; even though we are missing Mark, Lexie and Teddy, it seems as though we are getting better stories for the main characters. Especially Meredith and Derek; I am pretty happy with how much focus we have had with them this season and Cristina too. Although I would love more Cristina, I could watch Sandra Oh all day. She is brilliant. As much as I do miss Mark and Lexie, the show is still good.


Anyway, as always catch up with me on Facebook or Twitter should you wish to comment or disagree or whatever. Or sound off in the comments box provided here. Thanks for reading and I also apologise for the big gap between posts.





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Grey's Anatomy, Beautiful Doom - Season 9 - 5 Postmortem

Our favourite medics returned for Beautiful Doom a few weeks ago; with the much talked about Meredith and Cristina centric episode of Grey's Anatomy. I loved it and there were times that I hated it. Anyway I'll cover that as we go through the episode. My apologies for my tardiness in posting this review, I was moving house yet again; long story. 

Photo by http://ladylavendersays.blogspot.com

Totally loved the first scenes with Meredith trying to potty-train Zola; and later she is on the phone to Cristina and Zola pees all over her. That would so totally happen; lot's of toddlers do that; especially boys. Cristina walking out side her apartment building or hotel or where ever it is she is living, and her car is covered in snow. And then Dr Thomas saves her bacon and picks her up for work. I was really getting to love their friendship, until he dropped dead on the OR floor, and the thing was, I knew it was coming. Will this be what makes Cristina return to Seattle. Yes; I know she turned up at the end; but I don't know that she is staying, I was under the impression she showed because she needed her person and also needed to get drunk enough to have to courage to get on a plane, which is so totally what I would do, had I gone through what she did. However two more episodes have gone to air in the US and I have yet to watch these episodes due to my hasty move back to Canberra; but according to a fellow Grey's addict friend of mine and various recaps, it appears that Cristina is indeed back at Seattle. 

Pic from Episode 6; Second Opinion; are the blue scrubs a giveaway?

While I'm happy to have her back in Seattle Grace scrubs; I am pissed at Shonda for killing off Dr Thomas. Why on earth did there have to be a tragedy to send Cristina scurrying back to her person in Seattle? Couldn't Dr Thomas simply retire? It was obvious that Cristina did not like it in Minnesota and felt as though she would never feel at home there. Dr Thomas did not have to keel over from a heart attack for Cristina to realise that he was the only good thing keeping her at the Mayo clinic. The cardio fellowship may have been the best program in the country, but the point that Cristina's career is not the only thing she cares about could have been made by having Dr Thomas retire to sunny Florida or something along those lines. It's all drama, drama, drama with Ms Shonda Rhimes, tragedy and pain. Don't get me wrong, I love Shonda and I love Grey's Anatomy and will be with it until the final episode, however I am getting tired of all the angsty drama. 

Apart from that criticism, I loved the episode and I still feel as though Season 9 is going to be great. I recently heard that Meredith and Derek are going to find out that Meredith is pregnant soon, so I am over the moon about this story. 




Not many of the other characters featured in this episode; Derek was seen telling Meredith he would take Zola to daycare and then get the train. I assume this is because he too, is freaked out about flying. Loved Owen and Zola, so cute. The interns trying to convince Meredith they are not babysitters or nannies. Totally loved Meredith's crush injury patient storyline; I was holding back the tears during this entire story as it too reminded me so much of Lexie and that fateful day. The scenes where we simultaneously saw Cristina and Meredith going about their business were not good. It may have been a fault with the live stream I was watching, but the sound during those shots was awful. It maybe a different story when I watch the episode on DVD when it comes out. Alex and April with Zola was pretty cute too.

Photo by www.theagapevox.blogspot.com

All in all this was again another great instalment of Grey's, and it only makes me more excited for the next episodes to come. I must try to watch them over the weekend and get up to date with my reviews. However it's not an easy thing when you are basically forced to move three hours away with not much notice.


I'll be back soon to review "Second Opinion" as soon as I've had a chance to watch it. In the meantime get in touch via the comments here and have your say or follow me on Twitter or Facebook.

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Grey's Anatomy - I Saw Her Standing There Season 9 - 4 Postmortem

Grey's Anatomy - I Saw Her Standing There; Aired in the US 25 Oct 2012, and in Australia on 30 Oct 2012. There will be another break in the US and here in Australia due to US election stuff being on TV. The next Grey's Anatomy episode; "Beautiful Doom" will be shown in the US on Nov, 8, 2012 and in Australia on Nov 13, 2012.


Well I have to say after watching the other night I am so disappointed with the writers about Cristina's new sex-friend. Yuck; I don't like him, they have no chemistry; just Yuck. Last night's episode was the first where I actually wanted to throw things at the TV. However, this turn of events (Cristina's obvious need to indulge in casual sex) was probably the worst of it. The rest of the episode was pretty good.

Cristina's new sex buddy, not for long however

The so-called affair with Dr Parker was probably over before it started once Cristina cottoned on to his plans to get rid of Dr Thomas. Obviously Cristina is not okay with her colleague and superiors' underhanded methods to force Dr Thomas to retire and I'm not surprised. I have never known Cristina to be okay with being used, and I certainly don't believe that she would support such sneaky, back-stabbing tactics. The part that I really enjoyed was when she and Dr Thomas were at a bar, and he explained that he knew what they were up to, and showed her the cheap watch he was given a few years back as a hint to retire. He explains to Cristina the only reason he wears it, is to passively and aggressively rub it in their faces. So it would seem that Cristina now has his back, given that she helped him out during the heart procedure they performed together. Can she bring him to Seattle Grace, if she has to come back there? Why should she come back, Owen should go there and fight to get his wife back. Just a thought.

Arizona and Callie's story progressed this week and in a real way, it was nice to see Arizona smile. I loved David, and I cannot think where in the heck I've seen him before. Can anyone help with that? He looks so familiar to me. It was nice that Arizona reached out to Callie at the end. They've a long way to go, but I have hope that they will be okay. The scene between Arizona and Alex was very touching too; I just hope that Alex gets a decent story this season, I always did enjoy him and Arizona working together, but I'm also wondering what will happen when she finds out that Alex was the one who cut off her leg. It seems as though Callie is letting Arizona think that she did it. 

Derek's moment in the gallery with Owen when he tells him that Meredith is bubble wrapping him was cute and I really loved Owen's speech and his speech also worked for Callie too. But he really must think that Cristina is lost to him if he can say to Derek that she's not coming back. What was with Owen going to stay at the trailer? He has a home; it's not like Cristina sold the place they were living at. And I enjoyed seeing Derek the teacher, it was a refreshing change. I have to wonder whether he will operate again in the near future or will his career revert to teaching other's. Let's face it, he is a world class surgeon, top of his field; he would have so much he could pass onto the younger surgeons.

I am torn about Katherine and Richard. I like Debbie Allen and the character of Katherine Avery, however I really miss Adele and I'm wondering when Shonda is going to re-visit what's going on with Adele. Loretta Devine is a fabulous actress, and I love all of her scenes on Grey's, so the hope is that we will get to see where Adele is at with her illness soon. And again I'm a little tired of Jackson and April's nonsense. 

Bailey and Meredith's banter over her once in a lifetime tumor was funny. It's like the shoes on the other foot now. When they were interns and residents, they had to beg to even be allowed inside the OR, now Meredith can simply tell Bailey she's not stealing her surgery. While it was funny to see the shoe on the other foot; I had to wonder, wouldn't the head of the department have the final say on who took that surgery. But really; it's Shondaland, since when do they follow protocol.

So what did you think of 'I Saw Her Standing There?' Is this season shaping up to be better than past seasons? Have you say right here in the comments or get on Facebook or Twitter to talk about it.

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To read more articles visit: Janelle Coulton; Freelance Writer 




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Copyright © 2012 Janelle Coulton