The season finale of Grey’s...
Grey’s Anatomy – “Unaccompanied Minor” (B+)
Grey’s has been the master of the season finale over the last couple of seasons, and honestly, I didn’t envy the writers before this one. There was no way they could ever match the intensity of a main character dying or a shooter in the hospital, they’d have to do it another way, and their options were limited. What we ended up getting was a much more scaled back, character based affair lacking some of the bigger moments present in previous finales, but overall “Unaccompanied Minor” hit more than it missed.
I think maybe the biggest moment in the finale was Owen kicking Christina out. (Meredith and Derek were big too, I’m getting there). This marriage has been in trouble since its inception, and I think of all the big developments in this episode this one is the most likely to stick. The storyline was comprised mainly of one on one scenes between Sandra Oh and Kevin McKidd and I thought both actors did an exceptional job of carrying the drama. Sandra Oh was especially convincing in showing just how little Christina wanted a child. It’s heavy subject matter, and it’s not a storyline with an easy resolution, so it should be interesting to see where these two land next season. I mean if Christina’s living with Meredith she might just end up with a baby anyway.
As for Meredith and Derek this week, I found their storyline left me wanting more. Nothing really got resolved in this episode. The FDA didn’t get involved with the trial, Meredith got suspended in a very wait and see type fashion, and Derek cast doubts on their relationship, but didn’t go so far as to break it off like Owen did. Everything seemed more like a stall tactic than legitimate plot development, and it took a lot of the bite out of the story.
I did like watching Meredith and Zola though. I’m not sure how long this fight with Derek will last (they won’t ever completely break up) or how they’d ever justify him ignoring the baby, but it may be fun to watch Meredith play single mom for a little while. Just from the few hours she spent alone with baby Zola in this episode it would clearly be fun to watch, particularly because of Meredith’s background with her mom. Her character really lends itself to the baffled new parent storyline.
Of course a lot of the best parts of this episode came from the supporting characters. I’ve expressed my love of Henry and Teddy many times in the past, so naturally I was thrilled to see them finally get together. I loved the scene right before they kissed where Henry angrily sent her away while for the first time bluntly expressing his feelings. I sincerely hope that Scott Foley becomes a regular part of the show next season.
I was also quite happy that Kepner got Chief Resident. I know a lot of people don’t necessarily like Kepner and wanted the job to go to one of the original cast members but honestly I think the writers made the right decision. Neither Karev nor Meredith, the two original residents still in the running, would have been a good fit for the job. Story wise there are a lot better uses for those two than watching them adapt to the Chief Resident position. Meredith has a kid now and Alex is an outcast who needs to somehow win back his peers. Let’s watch them deal with that. Kepner really gets the most out of the storyline. She’s a sensitive, socially awkward girl who’s being thrown into a position where building relationships and making hard choices is the key to success. Personally, I can’t wait to watch that.
And as for the charge that she’s not likable, I couldn’t disagree more. Early on, when she was in her brownnosing phase, sure she was a little annoying. Most of the Mercy West hires were. But over the course of this past season the writers have really fleshed out her character, giving her backstory, desires, emotions, and because of that she’s turned from an annoying suck up to an underdog character worth rooting for, at least in my opinion anyway.
As for the whole Mark, Avery, and Lexie love triangle I’m going to veer away from popular opinion once again here and say that I’m happy they’re keeping Avery and Lexie together, if only for the time being. I liked Lexie’s little speech to Mark about still loving him but wanting to be happy. By no means do I think this issue is closed – she did say she loved him after all – but just like I said last week, Avery’s a stand up guy and if their relationship is given some time to develop maybe it won’t be Mark and Lexie who are meant to be together, it’ll be Avery and Lexie.
My big criticism of this episode is that with all the major plot developments going on the crashed jetliner subplot just seemed really jammed in. Early on I sort of enjoyed the non-action of the storyline as it ran contrast to the past year’s season finale, but as things started to develop with some of the more prominent characters it didn’t seem right to devote the kind of screen time they did to the families of the victims. While it was a nice story, it was virtually standalone, and I care a lot more about what’s going on with the regular cast than I do a group of characters I haven’t seen before and likely won’t again.
Overall though “Unaccompanied Minor” was a good episode. It didn’t pack the same kind of dramatic punch as last year’s finale, but trying to top a gunman in the hospital would have been a mistake anyway. Instead the writers did what they needed to do, providing a toned down offering full of plenty of great character moments and exciting possibilities for next season.
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