Grey's Anatomy has lost it's way.
In times past the drama was compelling because, although the story lines may have been far-fetched, the complexity of human emotions mixed with difficult situations was exposed in all it's rawness. Izzie and her terminally ill Denny drew us in because it was just about that-- A doctor falls in love with her patient and experiences unspeakable grief at his death. The story of Meredith and her mother suffering from Alzheimer's was just about that-- The strange conglomeration of love and helplessness many of us feel toward our parents and children. And in my opinion the peak of the shows greatness, when Meredith is in the O.R. holding on to that bomb embedded in the patient's chest while chaos is going on all throughout the hospital, with Anna Nalick singing "There's a light at each end of the tunnel, you shout/ 'Cause you're just as far in as you'll ever be out," and "Life's like an hourglass glued to the table..." This was about what it was about-- How fragile this skin and bones and blood is that we all inhabit, and that inhabits us.
People love hospital dramas because a hospital is a built in metaphor for the condition we are all in. Hospitals need no help in reminding us how bad The Fall was for humanity. Their very existence speaks to part of the great (Christian) story, which is that we are all terminal.
So when extra little metaphors started creeping in, I began to feel a little nauseous. I'm not sure when it began, but it found it's lowest moment last night. Dr. Torres, dealing with the dissolution of her marriage to George and trying to move on, is standing in the pit waiting for an ambulance to come in. When it does and the two victims come out, holding a wedding dress, I almost lost it. The two were in one of those contests were the last one holding the dress wins a $100,000 wedding package. Do you get it? Callie struggling to let go of her marriage, these two women struggling NOT to let go of a wedding dress (and by extension, proving the legitimacy of their love for their future husbands?) Vomit. Enough already.
If only life were that simple. But it's not. Never have I been going through a difficult situation in life when a customer miraculously appears in my store with a similar situation that helps me sort through my issues, giving me the miraculous "Aha!" moment we are all looking for. The truly shitty things in our lives remain with us, trudged through, dealt with, put on the back burner, then allowed to simmer again when all our other ducks get put in a row. If we are lucky enough, we have our Christina's and Izzie's and George's who walk beside us, reminding us who we are and that we are all, this side of glory, in jacked up places, and helping us put one foot in front of the other. Cute metaphors are few and far between.
But, the prophet was right about one thing... I am loyal. Many shows have been revived to their glory days, and I'm still holding out hope. Watching and waiting.
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4 comments:
the only good part of the show was the juxtaposition of Izzy and Christina. Can't stand Meredith's story line right now. Disappointed in alex/grey part 2 and George and Izzy feel flaky.
And Dr. Hahn is a poor addition to the show.
Josh,
I'm in agreement with everything except for your Dr. Hahn assesment. I think her being there makes it a lot more possible to explore storylines that none of the other characters would give us. She puts off this strange asexual vibe, which is little different, but I think it might help the writers move away from having to get a character with their pants down in the on-call room before they let us know their story. I also love the possibilities her presence gives to Christina's character.
But if these metephores were as frequent in our own lives as they are on Grey's Anatomy would they even be worth mentioning? These rare moments, to me, are like stumbling on a treasure. They are pieces of the complex puzzle that we call our lives. I like to think that these moments are little clues from God pointing us in the right direction. The fact that these moments are so rare make them all the more beautiful and precious.
oh and I agree, Meredith's story line is getting a little old!
Anonymous,
I agree. The frustrating thing about Grey's Anatomy, though, is that they are decidedly NOT rare. They pop up every single episode. It's no longer special. It's "Ok, what mirror-image-situation can we use today?"
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