Grey's Anatomy

*SPOILERS*

For those of us who follow Grey's Anatomy (which I have since the pilot even though I believe it may have peaked, I'm pretty invested).  I watched the season finale where they killed off Lexie within the first 15 minutes and thought that was bold, but then spent the summer rationalizing why the show wouldn't kill anyone else off.  Yeah, I was wrong.  There are certain characters who seemed to make the show bigger just be being around.  I was surprised at the momentum the show kept when George died, I will never understand how Meredith survived being "dead" for basically a day after she drowned and suddenly came back (I know, I know... symbolism).  I find myself pretty uninterested in the new batch of interns, but at the same time, there is something to this show that I connect with emotionally.  Something about it from the beginning has been able to elicit emotions better than almost any show.  I think they also used to use music in a wonderful way but I haven't heard that in the recent seasons.

There is one moment in an episode from Season 2 (Ep. 24, Damage Case) where a tired doctor from another hospital fell asleep at the wheel, killing a pregnant mother and injuring her family.  There were sub-plots and other things going on, but the tired doctor kept asking to see the family of the woman he killed so he could apologize.  When the father of the girl comes in, I think most people were ready for a tirade or physical attack, but what we got, was, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful displays of mercy/forgiveness I've ever seen on tv.  All the actors did it exactly right for me, and Kate Havnevik's "Nowhere Warm" plays throughout the scene that never fails to bring tears to my eyes.  So whether or not I love every episode or every character, there are some moments that take my breath away and allow me access to emotions that most tv shows do not.  I have been feeling fewer moments in the later season and I was hesitant to get my hopes up for them to provide a real, emotional reason for another main (some would say vital) character to exit the show.

Obviously, the big story this season has been the fact that Christina Yang (or, more specifically, Sandra Oh) is leaving at the end of the season.  I know I'm not the only one wondering how they could possibly explain a split between Meredith and her after she returned to the hospital following their plane crash.  Well, I am writing this post because I am not often shocked by tv shows and generally a character's exit is predictable (death, transfer, randomly never shows back up).  I was shocked by the plane crash.  I was shocked that they killed George in sort of a weird way.  I cannot, however, think of a show that has surprised me like this past show, maybe ever.  They brought back the one character whose absence I think left a glaring hole, but who also apparently offended much of the cast.  (Not that I have any idea whatsoever what goes on behind the scenes).  To help with Christina's exit, they did what I thought would never in a million years happen and yet was the only thing that would make any sense....  They brought Burke back.

I have missed his character on the show since he was let go and I don't think they settled things well between Christina and him.  I was, however positive that the one thing that could never happen was that he would show up again on the show.  I have not yelled at the tv (well, computer) often in my life, but when I saw him, I couldn't help it.  It was the exit I assumed Christina would never get.  It was the closure that was about seven years coming.  It was all worth it.  I wish he could have stayed on the show, simply from a character perspective.  But the bold move of not just mentioning his character, but letting us all see their reunion and the way he understands her as a surgeon and knows basically the only things to say to get her to leave... For me, those moments are why I cannot give up on this show.  It was awesome and it was gutsy and it was a bold move and I loved every second of it.  I could think of no other reason for Yang to leave... but Preston Burke knew how to do it.  So, Shonda Rhimes and Grey's Anatomy, as a fan from the beginning... THANK YOU for that amazing moment!!!!!