Against the backdrop of a possible summary judgment in the lawsuit plane crash survivors had brought against the hospital, we saw the
surgical service staff wrestling with related weighty questions in this episode. How do you truly move on from a traumatic experience? Once you have the answer to the question, the test results, as it were, what does the fresh start you're hoping for look like? How do you see beyond the mistakes that were made? How do you forgive the other people involved? How do you forgive yourself?
Owen Hunt and Cristina Yang had settled into an easy rhythm together after signing their divorce papers. They each seemed to draw strength from their reconnection and to be healing each other in the process of reigniting their emotional bond. A romantic, if also comic, breakfast for two started a hectic day in which they faced their own professional and personal challenges and those of their colleagues.
They each tried to stay on point at work while playing the waiting game of when the court judgment might be announced and when it was, what it might mean for all involved. Owen, as Chief of Surgery, was still in the awkward position of wanting to support his team while also carrying the guilt of feeling he was partly responsible for their injuries. When he encountered Derek Shepherd in the elevator, this awkward position was shored up for Owen via Derek's vehemently angry response to Owen's attempt at conversation. Owen took the high ground and assured his friend and colleague he was glad Derek had finally shared how he felt and reiterated that he hoped the judgment
worked out in the survivors' best interest.
Once that judgment was announced - $15 million to each of the survivors - they seemed shell-shocked and had difficulty taking it in. Callie Torres quickly organized a dinner, wanting to mark the momentous occasion even as it appeared morbid to most involved. In a quiet on-call room moment Owen told Cristina he was relieved the judgment had been awarded. He deftly turned down her invite to the dinner, citing Derek's anger as his reason for staying away. Cristina made clear her loyalty to and understanding of Owen when she confronted Derek and told him he had to forgive Owen because they all were being given a chance to move on, that Owen deserved that too. Cristina's words on Owen's behalf were all the more poignant given how he'd also told her in that on-call room he didn't know if forgiveness was something he yet could allow himself.
The dinner began awkwardly as no one seemed to know how to broach the subject which united them all - a plane crash in which they were all injured and two of their friends and family died. Callie cut through the tension with a champagne toast in which she spoke of how much she missed those who were gone and yet how proud she was to have all the rest of them together and thriving as a part of her life. As they celebrated, we saw Derek make a conciliatory phone call to Owen, inviting him personally to the dinner. When Owen apologized for his unavailability, Derek quickly handed off the phone to Cristina for her to make a more personal case for why Owen should join them.
Owen begged off even Cristina’s impassioned invite, stuck as he was in an emergency board meeting in response to the judgment. As the
survivors celebrated their ability to be together and feel they could finally move beyond the events of the crash, we saw a board member announce to those assembled in the hospital conference room that the insurance company had found a loophole and would not pay the damages awarded in court. As Owen questioned their options, well acquainted as he was with the hospital's cash-flow, it was announced they would have to declare bankruptcy. And with this news we saw how the attempt to close the door on the past and move into the future at Seattle Grace Mercy West would suddenly get a whole lot more complicated.
While Owen and Cristina wrestled with both crash-related issues and where their renewed personal relationship fit in amidst the events
happening around them, the theme of moving forward, forgiveness, and letting people in was prevalent throughout the rest of the episode.
A now teenaged patient of Mark Sloan's had returned to the hospital for further treatment which put Arizona Robbins, a seasoned attending, and Jackson Avery, a determined fellow, in conflict over the best way to treat a pediatric plastic surgery case; Richard Webber continued to mourn the loss of his wife Adele; Miranda Bailey had returned from her honeymoon yet seemed even more irascible than usual; Alex Karev and Jo Wilson relied evermore on their friendship; Meredith Grey and Derek Shepherd were conflicted over how to share their personal happiness at expanding their family while also experiencing their continued frustration at Derek's slow healing process; and April Kepner shared with Jackson how she missed him yet she still thinks of him romantically so isn't yet ready to be his friend.
(this review was written by : Ella1967)