Grey’s Anatomy Season 8 Rant and Rave – Part II

A few weeks ago I posted part I of my postmortem on Season 8 of Grey’s Anatomy. Now that the Season Finale has aired in most countries; I will continue my ranting. Read part II here: 
Grey's Anatomy Season 8, Rant and Rave Part I

The second part of Season 8 began with the If/Then episode. Shonda Rhimes created an alternate universe with Meredith as the central character. This was a success; as far as doing something different, which is what was done with the musical episode last season. I personally loved the music episode, however many fans complained. At end of the episode it was clear to me that the real story on Grey’s Anatomy is the way if should be, not the story in Meredith’s dream for the If/Then episode. And we now know that Lexie coding in the ER and Mark carrying her into the ER was definitely foreshadowing her fate.

A Shiny Happy Meredith

In actual fact, if you think back to the first episode of Season 8 when Lexie is walking down the stairs in the opening scenes, giving the same speech to the new interns, that Richard Webber gave in the very first episode. Obviously we had no idea what was to come, however it is pretty clear that most viewers were expecting it to be Lexie when it came out that someone would die in the Season Finale.

Mark finds Lexie, critically injured and near death

After the If/Then episode, we had a Valentine’s Day episode which was mostly romantic, upbeat, emotional, funny and sad as we could see that Cristina and Owen marriage was falling apart. In the next episode we see them in therapy trying desperately to fix things. Derek and his sister Amelia are arguing over a patient and Meredith is kicking ass fixing a guys fingers that got trapped in a meat grinder. These episodes were pretty great in my opinion. My only criticism was that the writers forgot that Cristina had made it clear to Owen late in Season 6 that she did not want children.

CrisOwen 's Marriage is in Trouble

The next three episodes were disappointing. Cristina was running around convinced her husband was cheating, and as a viewer I could not believe this would happen. However the focus on Alex and his pregnant intern was a great story arc, however I did not want to see them pair up. The story about the tiny, premature baby was depressing but the focus on Alex was great for a change. When Owen admitted he had cheated in the next episode; One Step Too Far. This is where I felt Shonda and her writer had gone a step too far, because I could not see Cristina and Owen coming back from this and I also felt that it was not in Owen’s character to cheat. Seeing Meredith back in Neuro was great and also showed that she is better off in General surgery, as she would always be in Derek’s shadow as a Neuro-fellow.

Cristina believes this Nurse is sleeping with Owen

These few episodes were where I felt the writing fell apart a little, however not as tragically as it did in Season 7 with the Mark, Callie and Arizona triangle. I don’t know one person who liked that story arc. In Support System I thoroughly enjoyed the exchange between Cristina and Owen where they lock themselves in their house and call in sick with the intention of trying to repair the damage to their marriage. Mark taking over as Chief of Surgery in Owen’s absence was a hoot; and he actually did a great job albeit annoying to some. It will be so sad to see him go. His scene with Dr Webber was a classic and it was obvious when Chief Sloan entered that OR that Webber would win that one.

Cristina suspects; but doesn't know yet

By episode 20; The Girl with No Name the quality of the writing improved and when the residents were flying all over the country for interviews at various hospitals, which is what happens in fifth year residency, rumours started circulating that death was coming to Seattle Grace. The two episodes dealing with the board exams that residents take to become board certified surgeons were really excellent. I loved Alex’s dedication to little Tommy and his inability to switch off and let Arizona handle things. Alex was determined to save that tiny baby, but to no avail. And the end result was that we the viewer assumed that he would fail his boards. However it’s April who fails, which is a surprise; but her meltdown during the exam must have freaked out the proctors.

  

Moment of Truth

By the time the penultimate episode went to air, the buzz was well and truly alive amongst critics, fans and entertainment writers about the big death that was to come. Fans were terrified it might be Derek who dies as Patrick Dempsey had talked about leaving a few times in the last twelve months. Meredith had been offered a spot at the Brigham, which is the best General surgery program in the US, and Derek had decided they were moving to Boston. Just days before the finale went to air, it was revealed that all original actors on the show had inked new deals, so this ruined the suspense of what was to come in the Season 8 finale.

   

About to Board the Plane to Idaho

However, regardless of that; it was entertaining and thrilling, heartbreaking and sad. Even though many fans, including myself were pretty sure Lexie would be the one who died, it didn’t ruin the emotion the actors portrayed throughout every scene. Even the scene between Owen and Teddy made me cry and I’ve never really been a fan of Teddy, which surprised me.

   

All in all this season was great compared to Season 7 which fell apart with the dreaded love triangle we won’t mention again. However, there is still room for improvement. With three cast members leaving, two of them are already gone, and one is going soon, it is mine and many fans hope that remaining characters can get a decent story and not have it cut short. For a while now there have been too many regular cast members and not enough time is dedicated to certain storylines. Many fans would love to see more of the basics of Grey’s Anatomy, like it was in Season 1,2 and 3, and definitely more of the funny. Grey’s is fabulous because of the comedy, the quirk, dark humour, the music and the emotional storylines. The tragic, dramatic, shocking stories work to a point; however I think Grey’s has seen enough tragedy.

So that’s my take on Season 8 of Grey’s Anatomy. Tell me what you think by sounding off in the comments box or you can connect via Grey’s Anatomy Addicts on Facebook or Twitter.

Read Janelle Coulton's Latest Articles

Are There More Deaths To Come On Grey's Anatomy? It is seven weeks until Season 9 of Grey's Anatomy premieres in the US. Fans and critics believe that one of our favourite medics will meet their maker. Aug 9, 2012 - Janelle Coulton

Will Cristina And Owen Save Their Marriage On Grey's Anatomy? Season 9 of Grey's Anatomy will return in the Fall. Many Cristina and Owen fans are hoping that their favourite couple can reunite despite their differences Jun 11, 2012 - Janelle Coulton

Will Grey's Anatomy's Little Grey Get A Funeral? The character of Lexie Grey is gone and Chyler Leigh has left the show; however fans are still plenty angry. May 29, 2012 - Janelle Coulton

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