| My Review of 6.21 - "How Insensitive" |
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| Written by Admin |
| Sunday, 09 May 2010 21:59 |
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Ratings this week were up a little compared to the previous week's. Hope it continues all the way to the finale. Read on for my full review.
Note: Just a friendly reminder to please refrain from making references to spoilers in the comments here. Thanks.
For the second week in a row, the ending of the episode left me blown away and at a loss for words. It took me by surprise as I didn't expect it to happen in this particular episode. I was kind of half-paying attention to an Arizona-free episode until being hit by a world of hurt in the last few minutes. Gah... nothing quite prepares you for it, even if we saw it coming.
I kept the expectations low for this Bill Harper episode since the last one he wrote was "V-Day Massacre", which was really light on Calzona. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the Callie/Arizona dialogue. I liked how the patient-flirting storyline flowed into the last scene, in the way that provides a context for Callie to bring the issue to the forefront again. That was the most tasteful, mature, yet heartbreaking breakup I've seen on television in a long, long time. Well done, Bill Harper and others, well done. I don't have much to say about the other storylines in this ep, so you're in for a long loooong discussion on Callie and Arizona, heh. And oh, by the way, this is the sappiest review I've ever written. Don't say that I didn't warn you if you end up choking on your own vomit.
First, to recap Callie's patient storyline...
Callie's patient case involves Jamie, who suffered a knee injury from being mowed down on her bike by a guy. Callie examines the knee while Jamie eyes her with a predatory glint and starts to flirt unabashedly with her:
Jamie: This really blows... Callie: Yeah, that's one messed-up patella. Jamie: Plus I'm out 20 bucks. Callie: What do you mean? Jamie: My friends say there's always an upside to an injury. I said, she's on crack, but she said, "Watch! The doctor will be hot". I said, "The doctor will be old and gnarly. And now you show up. Which means, I owe her 20 bucks.
Callie, being her affable and at times clueless self, doesn't even realize that the patient is flirting with her until halfway through the conversation, and lets out a nervous and amused chuckle when she finally gets her receiver in tune.
Later in the day, we find Callie, Percy, and Lexie in Jamie's room, looking at some X-rays. After Lexie explains to Jamie what needs to be done, Jamie turns to Callie and picks up where she left off before:
Jamie: Are you going to do the operation? Callie: Yup. Jamie: You'll hold my hand through the whole thing? Percy turns from looking at the X-ray and stares at Jamie while Lexie starts to look amused. Callie: <chuckles> I think it's better if I'm holding the scalpel, but..I can't hold your hand right now. <grabs hold of Jamie's right hand in both of her hands> Jamie: Fine. <smiling like a Cheshire cat> Lexie and Percy exchange looks, as in "what's happening here?" Callie: Okay.. <chuckling> Do you have any other questions? Jamie: I can't think of anything, but uh, I don't want the hand-holding part to end, so can we sit here a minute? (Geez, this girl's a professional!) Now Percy and Lexie's eyes are just buggering out at the blatant flirtation from both sides. Callie: <chuckles almost gleefully> You are so bad. I will see you in the OR.
Outside of the patient's room, Percy calls Callie out on the flirting and asks if they should've left the two of them alone and that it was getting a little steamy in there. Callie does her patent "hoho" nervous chuckle and denies it, saying that she is in a committed relationship and that it was chit-chat. Lexie chimes in and says there that was "steam....it was steamy chit-chat", and with hand-holding, Percy adds. Callie, keeping her cool and in a matter-of-fact tone, launches into a whole spiel about patient sensitivity training:
Callie: Yeah, physical contact is an important part of establishing a patient's trust. Bailey did patient sensitivity this morning. Did she teach you nothing? Percy: So there's no flirting going on... I was just imagining this.. Callie: Yeah sure, she was kind of flirty and I was flirty back, because I'm trying to put her at ease. Talking to the patient the way the patient talks to you.. makes them feel understood. (yeah, Callie, you are making them understand that you are flirting right back) And...safe. And <realizing that she is wasting her time by even dignifying their insinuations with a response> ...you're morons! <walks away and turns back> ...oh, and a little pervy, geez! Lexie and Percy just look at each other with knowing smiles.
Yup, over-explaining - a sure sign that one is guilty. And Callie did that for a minute or two too long... as if Lexie and Percy will believe her now... Lexie and Percy's facial expressions are the best part of this scene. Awkward comedic scenes are a Grey's specialty, hands down.
Near the end of the day, Callie is checking up on Jamie after the surgery...
Callie: Okay, so I'm not going to be here in the morning when they let you go. So if it hurts before your follow-up, give me a call, okay? And if it's oozing green stuff, call me. Jamie: <eyeing Callie as if she's ready to pounce> Can I call you if it's late at night and I'm kind of drunk and I run across an old John Hughes movie? Callie: <flustered and stutters> <Sigh>... wow... um... I don't uh..I don't think... Jamie picks up a Sharpie from her bedside table, grabs Callie's left hand and proceeds to scribble her phone number on it. Jamie: Here... Just.<Callie tries to protest and turns around to look out into the hallway nervously>....use that.. Callie: Um. Jamie: ...if the spirit moves you. Now.. get out of here, I'm on drugs. Callie: Uhhh.. <still incoherent> Okay... <clears her throat> As Callie leaves.. she looks at the number on her hand and looks back at Jamie with a smile.
While this storyline was unfolding, my thoughts were screaming for Arizona to find out about this, because there'll be hell to pay! Little did I know, this was a lead-in for something else far more gut-wrenching.
Callie returns home to find AZ on the couch with a laptop in front of her. As Callie comes through the door:
Arizona: <excitedly and in a bright voice> HEY! We scored! My cousin said we could use her timeshare in Fiji. <Callie does not respond as she puts her keys down and takes off her jacket> So! Fiji. We can go either at the end of this month, or we could save up three weeks of time, and rearrange our surgical schedules and go at the end of next month.
Meredith's voiceover: Try as we might to keep from feeling pain...
Callie takes a seat on the coffee table, facing Arizona, and shows her her left palm with the phone number still on it.
Arizona: <glances at it and shrugs> What's that? <chuckle> Callie: This cute girl's number. <AZ looks confused, smile a little frozen now> And I can't get it off. And.. <AZ's smile fades and she pulls back a bit> I'm not - I'm not going to use it. I don't want to use it. <AZ stares at Callie with concern, brows furrowing> But I - I can't stop wondering if maybe she wants a baby.. one day. <looks up at Arizona> Arizona: <takes it in for a moment and sighs in resignation and looks away> Callie: <with deep emotion, her voice wavering and breathless> I love you...everything about you...<tearing up> but there is this one thing that I need, and I can't change it, and I can't ask you to change. I don't want you to change... Arizona: <shaking her head slightly> And I can't be the one that keeps you from having a baby. At this point, we can see that hope is gradually dimming in AZ's eyes... Arizona: I love you, too. <quietly, with resignation> Callie: <sighs> Arizona: And... we can keep going, [but]... Callie: I don't know where we're going! <blurted out in an almost desperate and panicked tone and shakes her head a little> Arizona: <stops talking and looks into Callie's eyes> Come here. <puts her laptop aside>
Callie moves to sit on the couch beside Arizona and Arizona, in one swift motion, moves towards Callie (as she inhales audibly), grabs her face and kisses her deeply. Callie reciprocates and grabs onto her shoulders before holding AZ's face in return.
As they break the kiss, AZ face nuzzles Callie's one last time and rest their foreheads against one another:
Callie: God, what are we going to do? Arizona: <after a moment> Well, I'm going to get my stuff together. <Callie sobs and whimpers> They wrap their arms around each other tightly. Callie: And what? We'll just... Arizona: <trying to sound brave> We'll see each other at work. <buries her nose in Callie's neck> Callie: <passionately> I'm so sorry. I love you! <eyes closed> Arizona: <eyes closed, sniffles> Me too, me too.
They continue to hold each other tightly, not letting go, with Callie stroking the back of AZ's head, as the scene fades out.
........... Sigh. I needed a long moment to recover after watching that. It was one of the most exquisite breakup scenes I've ever seen, achieved with the perfect combination of writing, acting, and music. I was moved to tears over the heart-wrenching beauty of the moment just as much as over the actual breakup, perhaps even more so.
The breakup was done with so much integrity, grace, subtlety, not to mention courage, which combine to make the scene all the more poignant and effective than some melodramatic tear-fest and cringe-worthy overacting. The fact that they both love each other too much to ask the other to bend, and being equally devastated over the breakup just magnifies the heartbreak for us.
What struck me about this exchange is the authenticity of both of their characterization, and the way it highlights how differently they deal with things. (If not for the baby issue, they complement each other quite nicely.) Much credit goes to the writing and acting, in that both Callie and Arizona's behavior and reactions were consistent with their characters' to the (bitter) end. Callie's the one who wears her heart on her sleeve, and that shines through here in her panicked hyperventilating and her blurting that "she doesn't know where they're going". Also, while everything she said moved the conversation in one direction, she couldn't bring herself to actually pull the trigger.
Arizona, on the other hand, was also in character. She may be all sunshine and butterflies with her patients and acquaintances, but she is definitely less emotive of the two and more controlled. But trust that she was no less devastated than Callie was at that moment. I can see her being the type who values holding it together in a tough situation in order to do what is called for. She's more cerebral and understated with her display of emotions in general. From the look in her eyes and her facial expressions, she was resigned to the inevitable outcome (and no doubt has seen it coming for a while), and knew that she had to take the lead. Plus, she was already going in that direction when she said, "We can keep going", because she was about to say "but" before Callie cut in. Have to admire AZ - she's definitely one who will execute what is necessary when she's made up her mind. Saying that she's going to get her stuff together right after breaking up with the love of your life is just about the hardest thing to say. My point is, I'm relieved that they didn't suddenly turn AZ into a blabbering and tearful mess (as that seems to only apply to authority figures).
After the breakup, you can see Callie falling apart a little more than Arizona, who is trying to keep it together by facing forward, with the "getting things together" and reassuring Callie that they'll see each other at work. I don't know if others saw it as well, but right after AZ says, "Me too, me too", she jerked backwards slightly as if she was was trying to pull away and end the hug, but Callie's left hand pressed her back into the hug and held her firmly in her arms. I interpret it as AZ trying to move away before she could break down; she was probably down to her last shred of self-control. And Callie didn't want to let go of her. And the way Callie was stroking the back of her head so tenderly and holding onto her hair was incredibly moving. The entire sequence has a very dignified feel to it.
As usual, it's the subtle little things that JCap and Sara do that add so much to the quality of their scenes. These are a few things that stood out for me:
Verbal - Callie and her heaving when she speaks. - AZ's voice breaking at the word "baby" when she said "I can't be the one that keeps you from having a baby" and when she said "We'll see each other at work". - Callie saying "I love you" with every fiber of her being while hugging AZ. Probably the most heartfelt expression of love in recent memory, as far as I'm concerned. It's emphasized with some barely perceptible body movement as she said it.
Non-Verbal - AZ burying her nose in Callie's neck as if to inhale her scent for one last time, trying to capture it in her memory. - JCap's amazing ability to control her eyes. Can see the hope dimming when she realizes what is happening at that moment. - Callie's agitation coming across through her body trembling, her head tilts, her gesticulating hands. - All the pain and sorrow that AZ's been keeping in check, she let out in that goodbye kiss, the way she initiated and physically launched herself into that kiss. At that moment, AZ pretty much had her mind made up and knew it was going to be their last kiss. I think Callie knew where it was going but probably hadn't fully accepted the inevitable just yet, with her "god, what are we going to do". And what a kiss it was - a mixture of love, longing, and sorrow. - AZ having dark nail polish on for the first time (the look throws me off a bit). Random coincidence? I think not. The writers/wardrobe department wanted us to see how intertwined their lives are (were) at the moment they are breaking up, just to twist the knife a little more in our Calzona fangirl hearts. And as AZ leaves that night, she'll be taking a little piece of Calliope with her.
On a separate note, I am relieved that the writers remained consistent with AZ's preference to not have kids. But what the writers have in mind to get them back together is anyone's guess. I think it'll be AZ who changes her perspective, but I hope that it's done in a realistic manner, much like this storyline has been so far.
I find it interesting that AZ is looking at Fiji and planning a vacation, almost reverting to her poundcake-evasion ways. She would be inclined to sweep the impossible situation under the rug and hope that it might go away quietly (irrational as it might be), because let's face it, she's not the one with the urgency to find someone to have a baby with down the road, so she's in no hurry to address the issue, especially one that she knows will likely have no positive outcome. So she's kind of not talking about it again and half being in denial about it.
At the risk of sounding maudlin, I just wanted to say that at its core, this is the unfolding of an good, old-fashioned epic love story. Two people who love each other to pieces who face an insurmountable obstacle. They break up even though it's tearing them apart. They continue to pine for each other because they can't imagine themselves with anyone else. In the end, they find a way to be together. And guess what? It's a lesbian love story. On primetime network TV. This is amazing representation for the community.
I am so grateful to see a lesbian relationship that is written with such care and presented in such a loving and respectable manner, at least from what we've seen thus far. Yes, it resulted in a breakup at this time, but think back on how frustrating it was when they had no storyline after the chicken pox one and were reduced to playing sidekick to their respective friends (i.e. matchmaking). We learned hardly anything new about them for a while and saw no growth in their relationship. Glad to see that the baby storyline picked up steam in the last two eps. AZ was quickly becoming frivolous and a lightweight in her supportive sidekick role to Teddy for a few eps in a row there. I feel like we got the old AZ back in the last two. Also, I'm relieved that the conflict turned out to be one in which neither party is at fault (attributed to balanced writing and great acting), which leaves their relationship untainted. Neither of the characters comes out bruised and battered, which often tends to happen in a love triangle where one party has feelings for 2 people at once or even cheats. That inevitably taints the relationship, and to me, nothing is ever the same even if they re-unite. In this case, Callie and Arizona have a chance to get back together (which I'll address in a bit) and be stronger than ever before.
Overall, I'm quite pleased with how the baby storyline has been handled thus far, and the last two eps encompassed more substance than I ever let myself hope for. Their breakup, in particular, is one of those scenes so powerful and complex that in the end, the depth of emotion that we were able to experience matters more than the outcome of the scene. I guess I'm trying to say that to be able to feel so much love between two characters on screen is so rare and extremely gratifying, even if they broke up.
As sad as the breakup was, I'm quite optimistic that they'll reunite by the end of the season. There are just too many signs for them not to. First of all, when the spoiler that one couple will break up came out, quite a few people speculated that there was a possibility of a breakup occurring a few eps before the finale and then have them back together by season's end. I personally expected them to break up by 6.22 (given the timing of Kristin's 2 spoilers) so they'll have time to reunite. And look what is happening. Plus, Shonda expected people to freak out over this most-loved couple, which is why she made a point to reassure us all that it's only a blip as soon as the episode ended. This, along with some other things (without getting specific about spoilers) leave me quite calm and optimistic. To me, it's having the best of both worlds, in that the angsty storyline has given us the opportunity for Sara and JCap to showcase their amazing ability yet we still get a good ending. And as for the very unlikely (almost remote) possibility that they don't get back together by season's end, I take comfort in the fact that it's clear that they are the love of each others' lives. I haven't seen a couple written so much like they are destined for each other from the get-go and being treated with such care on the show (can't opine on MerDer because I haven't ever paid much attention to them).
While I'm optimistic that they will reunite in the finale (click on the latest spoiler post where I added more thoughts on why) but a little fearful of how it will all go down in a way that doesn't do any injustice to the storyline. With only a couple of eps left before the season is over, it'll probably have to be a big event that sometimes changes one of their minds. And it'll likely have to be AZ who bends a little, but I just want this to be realistic and not some silly contrived reason just to throw them back together. Also, will such a change of heart due to the extreme circumstances be permanent? They've done such a good job with the latter part of this storyline that I would hate to see it resolve in a nonsensical manner. In any case, I'm extremely looking forward to the last few episodes. Hope to see some pining between them on next week's show.
Random thoughts:
Interesting to see if AZ leans on anyone or keeps it all in. Callie has Mark. Who does AZ have? She and Teddy are kind of new. Bailey?
On a shallow note, I adore the hoodie that AZ was wearing. She really likes these thin hoodie things (and she looks cute in them). <end of shallow moment>
Chyler has amazing comedic timing. Lexie's expressions never get old for me, especially those in her scenes with Callie this ep.
Enjoyed Cristina's storyline with the little girl. Quite touching that she gave up a surgery to stay with her. I like that they showcase Cristina's complexity from time to time so she's not just a robot or "cardiothoracic whore" for comedic effect. And ugh, Huntlet doesn't deserve to be one to hold and comfort her after what he's done. The scene where Cristina realized that the girl's mother didn't make it was powerful.
Bailey ending up being in the guess-the-fat-guy's-weight pool was a nice touch. Lexie's ensuing indignation at her hypocrisy was equally hilarious.
So they're trying out the Lexie/Alex pairing now, which I find more interesting than Lexie/Mark. Maybe their antics are just more amusing to watch 'cos they are more alike and more competitive with each other from being in the same peer group.
I can't think of a more perfect song they could've chosen for the scene. Andrew Belle's "Make it Without You" will have a special place in my heart.
Necklace update: Both Callie and Arizona wore them quite visibly in the episode.
Comments (74)
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And it certainly helps when there are amazing Callie/Arizona scenes to write about.
One can only hope (and pray and hope and pray) that prof Rhimes won’t throw a Greek tragedy at us next, rather than a romantic poem... in which case I’d have to drink from a goblet filled with poisened wine, stab myself through the chest with a silver dagger and be hurled off Juliet’s balcony – all that in a very dramatic gesture, of course, one that would have Shakespeare pale beside me. 
However, keep up with the posts ladies, i'm ready to now join you all in the nuthouse to get me through the summer.
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. The black nail polish thing still really gets me.
great review Meg, as always. I'm optimistic that we'll see them dealing with seeing each other around in the next ep or two, all leading up to a reunion in the last few moments of the finale.... Hope the season ends with the two of them jetting off to Fiji!