Grey’s Anatomy Season 4 Finale: Thoughts (I Still Like Rose….)

I had really high hopes heading into the Grey’s season finale last week.  While there are some questions that have been raised, ultimately I walked away a little disappointed.  The writer’s had given us such incredible ways to end each of the past three seasons.  (SPOILERS AHEAD if you plan on going back to watch.)  The clumsy way that Meredith met Addison to end the inaugural season.  The painful way that Izzie’s carried off after losing Denny, leading to all sorts of questions about her career.  And the third season, for me, gave us the ultimate in closure with the wedding break up, Alex being abandoned and so many other satisfying details.  I was expecting the same this season.  And while they can’t all be like last season’s finale, I wanted more.  Maybe the strike-shortened season is to blame.

I’m actually a little frustrated with the directions that everyone seems to be headed in… Just a few random thoughts…

• I once was ready to play my guitar outside of Callie Torres’ window.  (I guess that will never be now.)  But beyond my own personal hangup, I just kinda don’t get it.  I respect the writers for having characters that reflect folks that we live and love everyday.  But this just seems strange.  One minute she was begging Sloan to come in the closet and now…. I just need to see the way that this plays out.  Perhaps she was hiding the attraction?  Obviously that’s what the writers are hinting at, but they didn’t seem to go down this course until very late in the season.  Perhaps I’m reading into this too deeply, but one thing we do know about Callie is that she’s unstable.  She lived inside the stock closet.  She fell for George and took part in the mistake that was their marriage.  She started looking to Sloan and now this.  Perhaps the book isn’t closed.  And I hope it isn’t because…

.

• …I can’t take Erica Hahn.  The attitude.  The snide comments.  The weird expressions.  She just bugs the hell out of me.  She’s one of those people that you see in the airport and want to slap because they remind you of everything that frustrates you about the show.  But in that way, she’s done her job — good actress.  I just don’t like the character.  And for her to kinda get the payoff in this episode was kinda unfulfilling.  I don’t wanna see her drown, but she just doesn’t seem to deserve to “go home happy”.  The chief made me proud when he carefully yet sternly told her how she might want to reconsider her approach.  I’d have preferred a slap from Christina.  (Kidding.)

.

• George and Lexie.  I just don’t like it.  Lexie’s nice, but she needs someone else.  She needs another intern.  George has matured so much over the course of the show.  Lexie would be the “right now” girl…. again.  I hope this doesn’t come to pass.  It’s a step backwards for him and it certainly doesn’t help his reputation.  (I guess I didn’t get the theme of the episode: don’t care about what people think.  Yes… I got it.  You practically hit us over the head with it.) I still don’t like the pairing.  If he thought there was no chemistry with Izzie….

Grey’s Anatomy… still amazing

I stayed away. It had been awhile since Grey’s Anatomy went on hiatus due to the actor’s strike and, well…. I stayed away. At first, it was tough. Grey’s was that moment of tenderness (albeit artificial) in an otherwise hardened hustle-and-bustle New York City workweek. But after weeks of not watching, it became easier to reflect on what the show had already given me than to venture into anything new it had to offer.

Since the last new episode of the show earlier this year, I became a Tivo subscriber. The funny thing about Tivo is the more than you accumulate in content, season passes and those beloved ‘Tivo Suggestions’, the more than you don’t casually browse through channels. (You know, like real people do.) And so it was only after having seen a snippet of Meredith Grey at the beginning of my scheduled Lost recording did I realize that it was the third episode since the show returned with new content — and that I had neglected to start a season pass.

For a moment, I even considered just kinda sitting it out. Maybe I’d let the shows accumulate and if I felt the urge, I’d download them in a season and just start watching again. Or maybe not. Being away from the folks at Seattle Grace made me forget what made the show such a wonderful part of the week.

Strangely, I’d heard rumors that the show wasn’t doing well in the ratings anymore. There was talk that they’d even resorted to trying to use Isaish Washington’s likeness to try and bring the ratings up. (All lies, by the way.) Oddly enough, it was the rumor that the show wasn’t churning out ‘greatness’ anymore that made me curious. And so I thought now was as good a time as any. And with that, I downloaded the first three new episodes since March.

Shame on me for staying away.