The time jump showed that Meredith was the tough new attending even getting the nickname of Medusa, Cristina is working in Minnesota at Mayo Clinic, Alex is the new Derek/Mark aka the attending sleeping with his intern, Derek is trying to perform surgery but his hand is going numb, and Mark is on a ventilator and about to be taken off. All of these changes were very well-done and intriguing. They have set things up for an intriguing season. Last season's closing plane crash may have come across as a plot contrivance but the reactions have been killer.
The best scenes from the episode were when Richard, Callie and Derek took Mark off the machine, Meredith and Alex's fight at the airport, Owen talking to the crying intern and pretty much the entire last act where we learned that Alex is staying in Seattle, Owen's speech to the countrified April and the reveal that Arizona is indeed alive but her legs have been amputated. The show teased that Callie and Arizona would have a fantastic story this year and it definitely is the one that excites me the most from this premiere.
The new group of interns were great as scene dressing, parallels to the main doctors from years ago and as highlights for how the newfound attendings interact and teach them. None of them really made an eventful impact on the series but I wouldn't really mind them getting their own personalities and big stories as long as they also engage some of the big main characters.
So what did everyone think of the episode? Was it a smart move to flash forward the story? Did you see the Arizona twist coming? Share your thoughts in the comments.
