Grey's Anatomy: Staring at the Sun

Everyone rallies around George when his dad is admitted to Seattle Grace with a growing list of health issues. And Meredith transforms from “dark and twisty” to “bright and shiny.” We’ll see if it sticks. Meredith and Derek are both surprisingly chipper. As their relationship begins anew, they agree to take it slow. And by slow, we mean taking bubble baths together. Well, there’s “regular slow” and there’s “sudsy slow.” A de-bubbled Dr. Grey declares to her friends that “dark and twisty” Meredith has left the building and “bright and shiny” Meredith is here to stay. If it’s true, we think this could be a sign of the apocalypse. George’s dad is admitted to Seattle Grace after passing out and breaking his clavicle. Turns out Mr. O’Malley also has cancer in his esophagus and stomach. Bailey bans George from the case but she’s nice enough to let him pick the intern he would like to treat dear old dad. George picks Cristina, who must break the news that Mr. O’Malley needs an aortic valve replacement before the cancer treatment can begin. It’s one thing after another and George looks like he’s the one who’s sick. George wants to handle his family situation solo but Callie isn’t ready to give up on their relationship. She steps in to explain the risky heart procedure to the O’Malley brothers when George can’t. George wants to know if Burke is truly capable of operating on his dad. Cristina claims he is, but George knows she’s lying. Bailey suspects something as well after witnessing one of their exchanges. Meredith is surprised when the Chief shows up during a visit with her mom. Richard heard that Ellis hadn’t been eating, so he brought her chocolates. This isn’t going to be a habit though. Richard gets some marriage counseling from Derek and Addison. We say again, Derek and Addison were giving marriage advice! Bottom line is that the Chief wants to make his marriage work with Adele, who wants him to resign. We don’t know if that’ll happen, but the Chief does make it clear to Meredith that he can’t keep visiting her mom. Izzie shadows Alex for the day. Their patient got pectoral implants to impress his girlfriend. Sensing a vibe, the patient suggests that Alex make a grand gesture to impress Izzie. Against Sloan’s orders, Alex lets Izzie take out the patient’s drainage tubes. Izzie is thrilled to be doing real medicine again. Alex tries to kiss her, but Izzie pulls away. Aren’t those awkward “try to kiss someone who doesn’t kiss you back” moments just the worst? Izzie and Alex seem to rebound nicely though. A little girl named Mia is admitted after her devoted nanny accidentally ran her over with the family SUV. The girl’s injuries are severe. Her bickering parents are more interested in assessing blame than in the health of their child. The girl’s mother fires the devastated nanny even after Mia keeps asking for her. Meredith is not a fan of Mia’s career-oriented parents. Bailey tells her that all parents do the best they can. Derek operates on Mia. All goes well but it’s going to be a long recovery. We loved it when we saw the nanny back in the picture, singing to the little girl at her bedside. Her parents were there, too. Looks like mom and dad’s “best” just got a little bit better. At the end of the day, Addison tosses her rings from Derek into Puget Sound. Bailey sings a lullaby to her baby boy over the phone. Mer-Der realize they can’t keep up the “bright and shiny” act, but the bubbles baths are still all good. And, as Burke and Cristina lie in bed together, Cristina ominously announces, “George knows.” What’s he gonna do with that information? We have NO idea.