Tonight's episode was heavy on relationships - some of which had nice character moments while the majority were mishandled. Meredith and Derek's story was the only real couple story that I accepted as great in this hour. How they handled the fact and reactions of Derek basically being an overpaid teacher now was wonderful. When the show first paired together Richard and Catherine, it felt like it was forcing that story to happen instead of it feeling natural. After a few episodes of it, I still don't see enough earnestness for me to care about the longevity of them as a couple or the bitterness between him and Avery. Can the show please bring back Loretta Devine as Adele for me to actually care about the ongoing struggles and layers of the Richard character? Conversely, I see the chemistry in the Jackson-April pairing but don't see any depth to it. Right night, it is a forbidden romance that just keeps on happening. That relationship needs to hit the next stage so otherwise it will become so boring and repetitive.
The whole Cristina and Dr. Parker sexual romance just deeply confuses me - mostly because it literally came out of no where. There had been no allusions to that partnering in any of the previous episodes. Episode three had some very nice moments that gave many hope on the freshness of a reunion between Cristina and Owen. This episode pretty much just reset everything that had happened earlier. Cristina's whole separate narrative has had its ups and downs this season. She is really limited with who she gets to interact with as well as being too isolated from the Seattle Grace atmosphere. But, I also really enjoy her story because the relationship between her and Dr. Thomas has been so genuine and refreshing. Those two have great on screen compatibility. William Daniels was just this one-off character back in season eight but the show has done a fantastic job of building him up as a unique and multi-layered character. I'm secretly hoping that the introduction of the plot to rid him from the hospital will be used to get these two employed together back in Seattle.
I'm glad to see some actual growth in Arizona's struggles and her real emotional reunion with Callie. Arizona being dark and moping around was fantastic in the first few episodes but there was no longevity there. Tonight's episode showed her letting Callie and Alex back in and that really excited me even with the limited screentime tonight.
So what did everyone think of the episode? Did the lightness of the hour bother you? Should Dr. Thomas move to Seattle when Cristina returns? Share your thoughts in the comments.
