Maybe we didn't realize it, but "Rise Up" was the episode we've all
been waiting for: the time that somebody - namely Erica Hahn -
addressed the big, but oft-overlooked, holes from the Denny Duquette
storyline.
But, see, here's the thing: I was totally against Hahn the entire
night. I don't think it's because I strongly dislike her character, I
just...I couldn't help but feel for Izzie and Callie and Richard. In my
eyes, there were completely correct about the whole situation and I
liked Richard for the first time this season when he defended Izzie and
I fell in love with Callie all over again when she did the same,
especially considering all those two characters have been through.
Tonight was Brooke Smith's final episode, which was shocking and sad.
But, honestly, I'm glad to see Hahn's character gone because I just
simply wasn't a fan of her like I thought I would be. (I do think
Shonda was completely right was she said that Hahn's character simply
wasn't "clicking," to paraphrase.) And I think that while her last
scene could've been a bit more decisive, I think Shonda managed to pull
off a great final scene for Brooke Smith and her character, and I
honestly think it would make sense for her character to leave Seattle
Grace.
I loved the progress made in tonight's episode, because there was a
lot. The whole Denny thing seems put to rest for good. Lexie called
Cristina on her not teaching her interns - something I felt was a great
thing to do. I also loved how Hunt got so frustrated with the doctors
being so unprofessional and uncaring. He represents a completely
different side in the Grey's universe, a side that many fans generally
see, so it's great to see it represented on the show. But Cristina's
speech to him - which was amazing in its own right for giving us more
details on her dad's death - really brought it all back.
As for the downpoints of the episode, while in my opinion there weren't
many, I do think George's storyline was irrelevant to the rest of the
episode. I just didn't get it, to be honest. Plus I find it strange
that even though George just got his promotion and a storyline was set
up in which his interns didn't respect him, we've seen next to nothing
of George since then. There also hasn't been much Meredith. So, while
the show's balance overall is certainly improving, it does need some
fine-tuning.
I also noticed that this episode had a slightly different structure -
the main title card came in the middle of the opening sequence, instead
of at the end as usual - which threw me for a loop! I was totally not
expecting that to happen. I thought we were getting a commercial, but,
what do you know? We don't! It was a nice surprise.
I loved the episode and thought it was great. I think it really paid
off the Denny situation perfectly. And though I realize it is sweeps, I
must admit that I do hope the episodes begin to transition back to the
style of "Brave New World" and "There's No 'I' in Team" - the best
episodes of this season, hailed pretty much all around. That's the
Grey's we're all looking for.
