Shonda Rhimes’ universe is a beautiful universe. At least most of the time.
If we think of a show like Grey’s Anatomy it is inevitable that the most beautiful episodes come to mind, those that have won our hearts and that we will never forget. But there are also several moments in which this series has made us angry, turn up our noses, turn off the TV.
The quality of the show has definitely dropped compared to the past, but this does not mean that the worst episodes are concentrated in the last few seasons.
We tried to make a local mind and go and fish out those 5 episodes which not only would we have gladly done without, but that have remained with us for their poor quality, for the narrative and technical choices, for the traumas they made us experience or for the annoyance that simply looking at them caused us.
5) Who is he (and what is he for you?) 13×16
When the narrator of an episode of Grey’s Anatomy it is not that of Meredith Grey, there is already something strange. If it is Jackson Avery who speaks then it is understood that the normal narrative flow of the series is being interrupted to focus solely on one character. It’s a choice Shonda Rhimes has made multiple times over the sixteen seasons of Grey’s Anatomynot always successfully.
The sixteenth episode of season 13 shows us the trip of Jackson and April to Montana, a trip necessary to perform a throat transplant on the spot on a young girl. The operation itself would not seem complex, except that, as often happens in this series, complications intervene to delay the operation.
The two surgeons from Grey’s Sloan are stuck in Montana studying an option that would allow the tumor to be removed from the girl’s throat without compromising her vocal cords.
But the reason that prompted Jackson to accept the case is also another. In a room in the snow, among dozens of strangers, a simple-looking man receives all of his attention.
Grey’s Anatomy she never dwelt too much on Jackson Avery’s past.
He only touched it, without ever going deep. This episode, on the other hand, tries to probe the memories of the young surgeon by putting him face to face with his father. It’s not an episode to throw away, far from it. It is interesting to know the point of view of an Avery who has not supported the weight of her surname, just as it is interesting to see the effect this has had on Jackson. But forty minutes is not enough to throw all this stuff into it.
The problem of 13×16 is precisely this: it is a chapter completely disconnected from the rest of the story, an end in itself, with no particular implications in subsequent episodes. It aims to be intense and profound, but only skims the surface. Which is why we had already included it among the episodes we would have gladly done without.
4) Do you know who you are? 10×17
Even this episode of the tenth season is an introspective stuff that detaches itself from the rest of the story. To speak this time is Cristina Yang in one of the latest episodes concerning her.
The story travels on two different universes, in the true sense of the word. Cristina’s choices take shape in her head, consolidate in her imagination. In both cases, Yang is thrust into Owen’s arms after a complicated surgery. In the first universe, Cristina decides to marry Owen again, to have children and a dog with him and to form the family unit that Hunt has always dreamed of. However, this option shows us Cristina’s life under the guise of a mother, with her career put aside and her housework taking over. An unhappy life with too many regrets.
In the second case, however, Cristina gets closer to Owen with the promise of being together without starting a family. Although she is happy because she can devote himself to surgery at full speed, Owen becomes more and more gloomy and depressed, until he becomes an alcoholic who loses his job.
This episode claims to show us the future of the Crowens in forty minutes and to convince us that, in reality, there is not a single possibility for both of them to be happy together.
Following the narrative thread is not easy. The continuous time jumps, the time that passes so quickly, the plot that takes shape only in Cristina’s head, make this episode rather demeaning. Even more because it is the one that marks the end of the Crowen forever.
These continuous suspensions of the normal unfolding of the plot are sometimes a little perplexing.
3) These arms of mine 7×06
We are at the beginning of the seventh season, the doctors at Grey’s Hospital are struggling to recover from the shooting and a television crew enters the hospital corridors to tell how life goes on after such a traumatic event. So far, so good, except that the entire episode is a documentary about Seattle Graceon the activities of the surgeons and on the new security system that has just been installed.
The most delicate intervention is that of a woodcutter who has lost both arms on the job and the television crew follows the maneuvers of Dr. Shepherd, Torres, Hunt and Sloan in this rather delicate case.
The point of view is alienating. The viewer is used to having a narrative voice that takes him to the heart of the events, following the point of view of the protagonists. In this case, however, the filter of the camera and the documentary that assumes the hinge of the narrative cause bewilderment and confusion. It’s like watching a Real Time documentary about a gang of strangers. Without empathy, without a narrative voice, the episode also sacrifices moments of great dramatic tension to the detachment with which a documentary must approach the subject matter.
These arms of mine fall miserably.
2) A song to be reborn 7×18
We are still in the heart of the seventh season, in one of the dramatically more promising episodes of the entire series.
It is the episode of Callie Torres’ accident, a tragedy that keeps us in suspense until the very end. Losing a character like Torres – which then happened later – would have been a huge blow to fans of the series. Callie was one of the longest-running leading ladies of Grey’s Anatomy and also one of the most loved ones ever. His accident was a trauma for many.
But even more traumatic was the episode that told of it. Such an emotional charge had to be faced with a different impetus and, above all, with traditional methods Grey’s Anatomy. Instead this installment is anything but traditional. The entire episode is a musical, the thoughts of the characters are expressed through singing. From surgery to hallway chatter, from pain to discussing personal matters, everything in 7×18 is rendered in music and in songs. And, although the performance of all the surgeons of Grey’s Hospital to the tune of How to Save A Life she’s pretty cute too this was certainly not the episode in which to show off the musical skills of the cast.
For me, it’s notall the Mara Maionchis hidden in each of us shouted it.
1) How to save a life 11×21
It’s the episode of Derek Shepherd’s death. Need to add more?
We could spend hours and hours discussing the procedures that were not applied to save the life of the show’s most popular character. We could be here talking about how Derek died, of the gigantic plot holes that have robbed us of sleepof Shonda Rhimes’ bad narrative choices, of the reason why no one has ever thought of doing a CT scan on poor Dr. Shepherd and a thousand other things. But one thing will never change: Derek Shepherd died in 11×21.
After eleven seasons in which he had made us fall in love and make our hearts beat.
This episode is the most terrifying of all in Grey’s Anatomy. And anyone who has seen it knows very well why.
It is the installment with the lowest ratings everthe one that made many decide to pull the plug on the show.
The fact is that there is a Grey’s Anatomy before this episode and a Grey’s Anatomy after this episode.
Nothing was as before, the series has lost its main character and also that momentum that has always made it one of the most loved by the public.
