If you are not laughing, you are crying.
ALTHOUGH we are already five episodes into season nine, there is no denying that Shonda Rhimes has the Midas touch with this series. And when she decides to get the waterworks going, she goes full throttle.
If viewers thought season six’s bloodbath ending, with a grief-stricken husband going on a shooting spree at Seattle Grace-Mercy West, was traumatic, she upped the ante with a plane crash in season eight. Of course, this was to write-off Eric Dane (Mark Sloan) and Chyler Leigh (Lexie Grey) – much to the distress of fans.
But there was drama (and tears) aplenty on the relationship front, too, for all the fifth-year residents. Derek (Patrick Dempsey) was still furious with Meredith (Ellen Pompeo), who had his Alzheimer’s clinical trial pulled, despite her well-intentioned motives.
The cracks in Cristina’s (Sandra Oh) and Owen’s (Kevin McKidd) relationship reached breaking point when he, still unable to forgive her for aborting their child, had an affair. And that’s not forgetting Owen’s own troubles as the new chief of surgery where his decision to withhold news of her husband’s death causes irreparable damage to his friendship with Teddy.
On a happier front, newlyweds Callie and Arizona enjoy sharing the parenting duties with Mark, who couldn’t be a prouder dad of baby Sofia. And let’s just say the prim and proper April Kepner (Sarah Drew) gives in to her sexual inhibitions – thanks to the exam stress. Personally, I couldn’t think of a better choice than the delectable Jackson Avery (Jesse Williams) – especially when he is shirtless.
And it is these intertwined storylines that had viewers hooked on the eighth season, which ended with Meredith, Derek, Cristina, Mark, Lexie and Alex flying to assist in surgery at a hospital in Boise, but they never made it to their final destination – the plane crashed in the woods.
In the season now on M-Net, with the aftermath of the crash, everyone is bearing the scars, fears and heartaches and it is testament to Rhimes’s writing prowess. Viewers have become so vested in the characters and their respective life trajectories.
A healthy dose of drama, laughter, tears, romance and heartache makes for addictive viewing. Well, that’s my diagnosis.
SPECIAL FEATURES: A journey home with Kevin McKidd, deleted scenes and in-stitches out-takes. – Debashine Thangevelo
WIN! WIN! WIN!
Tonight and ABC have eight copies of season eight of Grey’s Anatomy to give away to lucky readers. And they are throwing in a bonus copy of Desperate Housewives (season eight).
To win, simply answer this easy question: Who was the new chief of surgery in season eight of Grey’s Anatomy?
E-mail your answer, as well as your contact details, to: [email protected] by no later than 5pm tomorrow. Please put the following in the subject field of your e-mail: ‘Tonight/ ABC Grey’s Anatomy competition’.
Winners will be contacted within a week.