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Author's note: This fan was delighted to view Kevin McKidd's artful direction of this first episode of Season 11. Also a delight was hearing Sandra Oh's voice at the outset of the episode and to see her beautiful face as Cristina Yang in the 'Previously on Grey's Anatomy' montage. 


As the episode opened it was clear we were being set up for a season of reflection and change for the surgeons of Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. When we first saw Chief of Surgery Owen Hunt his disheveled appearance made it clear he'd been at work all night, unable to sleep and, as a result, working on trauma cases. When April Kepner began to express concern about him, a nurse interrupted with news of a medivac on its way with a cardiac trauma case. Sleep deprived Owen spoke from his heart when he said 'page Yang' before regretfully catching himself with a wistful expression as he corrected himself and asked for the new cardio doc before going to the helipad.

April further expressed her concern to Jackson Avery about Owen's state of mind, saying 'he's dying inside' and that Jackson should put himself in Owen's position and think how he might feel if his love moved away. Jackson tried to get back to work while brushing off his wife's attempts to convince him to befriend their boss, a situation with which Jackson clearly felt uncomfortable. Her concern, however, showed up throughout the episode as a thread of comedy as first Jackson flummoxed Owen by asking him out for beers and we later saw Richard step into the OR and invite Owen over for either a game of Jenga or checkers. 

Owen had also asked for Meredith Grey's assistance with their next trauma patient, which found them on the helipad, both showing some frayed emotional edges, as they battled for the patient's life amidst windy weather which sent the gurney they'd intended for their patient off the roof. When the gurney landed on a car in the parking lot it created two more trauma patients for which Owen enlisted the help of Callie Torres and Arizona Robbins. Once he was sure these new patients were in good hands, he set about diagnosing their cardio patient with Meredith's help.

While working together Owen and Meredith bonded over missing Cristina - talking about about how when Owen paged cardio he still expected Cristina to appear; while Meredith denigrated Maggie, their new cardio doc, with the ultimate Meredith put-down 'she's perky and chatty.' Meanwhile Owen and Meredith were forced to page Maggie when their patient went into cardiac shock, a situation which only incited further feuding between the two female surgeons. Owen ended up having to pull his Chief's authority when he told Meredith to stand down until their patient's cardiac symptoms were stabilized. 

It wasn't until late in the episode, when it was Derek's turn to try to befriend Owen with out of character sports talk, that April's concern for their boss was brought out in the open. Owen quickly pushed aside the topic by expressing his opinion about the feud currently boiling between Derek and Meredith over work opportunities and living in different states as a result. Derek invoked Cristina's move to Zurich in his argument which Owen also brushed aside, telling Derek it's not the same thing and that Derek should talk to his wife instead of asking Owen out on dates. While both men hurried away from the conversation it seemed that these topics would appear again in future episodes.  

While mention of Cristina did shore up my fan heart, I couldn't help but wonder at how the episode's outro might apply to her via Owen's continued storyline on the show. As the episode neared its end, Meredith spoke about how sometimes we have to get lost to find each other, that you can't always control it, the thing that will set you adrift, that all you can do is stand still, breathe, and take it in. 

Elsewhere in the hospital: Meredith reflected on her mother and inserted herself in the middle of Alex Karev's relationship; Richard talked at an AA meeting about the possibility of finding out he has a daughter which Amelia Sheperd overheard as she attended the same meeting;  Derek struggled with wanting to go to Washington DC for the presidential panel he's in charge of while dealing with being separated from his family; Callie and Arizona discussed the pros and cons of hiring a pregnancy surrogate; the residents continued  their competition to work on cases; the new cardio doc struggled to find her place in the hospital hierarchy personally and professionally; Alex and Miranda Bailey competed for Cristina's seat on the board; Geena Davis guested as a fetal surgeon who offered Arizona a chance to apply for her fellowship; and Jackson returned the ring to Richard that he'd given to Catherine Avery which gave the two men the chance to talk about family. 

Looks like ShondaLand had a fabulous #TGIT party to kick off the live tweets for the new seasons.
Kevin can be seen in the  middle of these groups shots.

Party held for ShondaLand cast and crew of Grey's Anatomy, Scandal, and How To Get Away With Murder.
People live tweeted the season premiere of each show.
Kevin directed the Grey's Anatomy season 11 premiere "I Must Have Lost It On The Wind"

Photos from #TGITparty hosted by Twitter on Saturday, September 20, 2014 in LA

Kevin, wife Jane, and Tom Verica
SOURCE:  https://twitter.com/Jecca_Bury/status/513680276351098880/photo/1

Kevin and Jane on red carpet
SOURCE:  https://twitter.com/ILoveCrowen/status/513555958904016896/photo/1

'Grey's Anatomy' Stars Tease Season 11:
New Love, Board Drama and Meddling Meredith
8:00 AM PDT 9/25/2014 by Lesley Goldberg
SOURCE:  http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/greys-anatomy-stars-tease-season-734879

"It feels like Owen is definitely going to get involved with somebody," Kevin McKidd tells THR

ABC's Grey's Anatomy enters its 11th season poised to explore what showrunner Shonda Rhimes has dubbed the Year of Meredith (Ellen Pompeo). And for good reason: The show's central character is in for a major shake-up.

Meredith's husband, Derek (Patrick Dempsey), wants to uproot his family and move to Washington, D.C.; her best friend, Cristina (Sandra Oh), has moved out of the country; and, after seeing her sister-in-law Amelia (Caterina Scorsone), move to Seattle full-time, she has a new half-sister (Kelly McCreary's Maggie) roaming the halls of Grey Sloan Memorial.

The Hollywood Reporter caught up with the cast at Saturday's "TGIT" kickoff party to get the scoop on what's to come.

Kevin McKidd (Owen)

It feels like Owen is definitely going to get involved with somebody at some point but he hasn't yet and we're on episode five. It feels right to let Owen take a breath. He and Cristina were so intense for so long and she really is the love of his life. He's burying himself in work and trying to bury his feelings, but they come out. To honor him as a character and to honor the fans of Cristina and Owen, it's good to give a few.

'Grey's Anatomy': Where we left off and what's next
By Natalie Abrams on Sep 24, 2014 at 7:25PM

Grey’s Anatomy will take family drama to a new level this season.
   
Meredith and Derek are in the midst of making the life-changing decision of moving to Washington, D.C., Callie and Arizona are looking at a future in which they have more children, and April and Jackson are about to welcome their first child. Which all pales in comparison to the fact that the new head of cardio is actually the daughter Ellis Grey gave up for adoption unbeknownst to Richard, making her Mer’s half-sister. Suffice it to say, there’s a lot of drama coming in season 11.

With that in mind, EW thought you may need a refresher on where we left off with the docs of Grey Sloan Memorial and a tease on what’s coming next:

<snip>

Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd)
What happened last season: Though Owen attempted to move on by dating another doctor, he and Cristina both had a hard time letting go—though she made that easier by leaving Grey Sloan without really saying goodbye.

What’s next: “He’s in denial about how heartbroken he is, so he’s buried himself in work,” McKidd says. “The only person who notices is April Kepner. She tries to enlist all the guys in the hospital to be his special friend.” But the guys don’t do the trick and Owen finds a connection with Callie. “She’s going through so much and he’s going through so much, so they’re starting to open up to each other and lean on each other emotionally,” he says. As for a new love interest, “Owen needs time to heal.”

<snip>

SOURCE: http://insidetv.ew.com/2014/09/24/greys-anatomy-season11-spoilers/