(Season 5, Episode 11 – “Sympathy for the Devil” 
)
Gee, it’s good to see Tyne Daly again. And just think, if they do a crossover show with Private Practice, she can hang with her “daughter,” Amy Brenneman (’cause, you know, they played mother-daughter in Judging Amy).
This was a good episode. Not just good, but great! I was gripped by all of the stories, some of which carried over from last week, including the boy needing a liver/intestine transplant and the death-row prisoner needing brain surgery. Yeah, we pretty much see where this is headed in the first 30 seconds. But it doesn’t play out quite yet. We’ll have to wait for next week, when the story is continued.
At first, I didn’t get why Derek was so hyped about doing surgery on the prisoner. He is, after all, going to die in five days anyway. But as Derek tells Meredith, “He’s trying to cheat the system. We’re not going to let him.” Meaning he’s going to get that execution one way or another. And, frankly, Derek is still bruised by his father’s death at the hand of a robbery-gone-bad.
So … the prisoner wants to give his organs to the kid. He wants to save a life before he goes. And is that so bad? That sounds good to me.
The whole story with Meredith being freaked out over meeting Derek’s mom, Carolyn, was funny — and fulfilling, in a weird way. Meredith wasn’t afraid to ditch the pink ponytail and fake smile and be herself. That’s cool. Plus, the ponytail got Cristina talking to her again. Well, briefly anyway.
I love the casting of Tyne Daly as Derek’s mom. They even look alike. She gave birth to five doctors, and logged 25 years as a Navy nurse. She’s pretty much seen it all, so I’m sure Meredith being herself was no shocker for her, even as Meredith put it, “I’m not happy and bubbly, I’m dark and cloudy, because I’m the type of crazy person who feels bad for serial killers.”
And it’s all good, because Carolyn tells Derek later, “You see things in black and white. Meredith doesn’t. You need a spoonful of that. You need her. She’s the one.” Aw, that’s sweet. And that last part was about Derek giving a family heirloom ring to “the one.” I see a nice friendship between Carolyn and Meredith in the future.
Izzie is still talking to Dead Denny, who’s just annoying with his hanging around and uttering little quippy comments here and there. But she finally tells him that she wants to meet his mother and go on a date and, for God’s sakes, she wants him alive. “Are you breaking up with me, Izzie Stephens?” “I think I am,” she says. And then Dead Denny sits down to talk with Alex.
I was frustrated over Callie’s patient who wanted to be taller. Really? You’d do a medieval torture surgery in an Asian country so you could be taller?! Hey, my husband is five feet tall, and I love him just fine. And I really liked it when short-guy’s brother yelled at him and said, “No one knows how short you are except for you, dude. No one cares.” So true.
The story with Major McBadass asking Cristina on a date was also sweet, especially when he showed up late and drunk – because he was scared — then got in the shower with all his clothes on, telling Cristina about his “best surgery ever.” So she gets in the shower with him, fully clothed. I’m guessing maybe they didn’t stay that way for long. He’s probably the only guy who’s the perfect match for Cristina.
More fun stuff:
– Sloan telling Derek’s mom that he’s sleeping with Meredith’s little sister. “Which one is she?” says Carolyn. “The one with the juice box,” says Sloan.
– Carolyn grilling Lexie on her past: crimes, sexual partners, etc. Oh, I like Carolyn. I like her a lot. She manages to read every one of the docs on first glance.
– Meredith telling the prisoner, basically, how to kill himself so the kid can have his organs. And it looks like this story will be continued next week. And I can’t wait!
What do you think? Did you love this episode as much as I did?
Clacked by Jane Boursaw 
on Jan 16, 2009 @ 20:09 EST5EDT
I really don’t like Meredith. I figured that out this episode. I cringe at her storylines. After knowing what Derek went through with his father, she can’t just shut up and go with the program? Either way, the mean prisoner is going to die. She can plug the pie hole and support her love through silence.
The whole death row thing, and yes, I am for it, is just an ugly story. I would have bought it if he showed even mild regret for what he had done. Instead he looks back at it with pleasure and excitement. Bastard deserves to fry, but they would have given him a shot, like we do our beloved animals. Boo to that. Yuck. I would not have given him even mild satisfaction of getting out of the execution, because that’s all he cared about. And the story was even worse because there is no way in the world a man awaiting execution is going to be left alone in the hospital. Stupid.
While I am all for the Cristina/McKidd storyline, the date scene sucked. Why does it have to move at lightening speed? The have barely spoken one paragraph to each other, and he’s drunk and crying in her shower, fully clothed, and all of a sudden she gets it. I don’t buy that story either.
Tyne Daly makes an absolute perfect mother for Derek. Highlight of the season so far.
The “short guy” story, while being about a short guy, was really more about society in general and our obsession about that one thing we dislike being the cause for all of our problems. I felt so sorry for the brother, stifled all his life for fear of pushing his psycho short brother over the edge. We do manage to exploit our worst fear into becoming the one thing that drives everyone away – it’s an ugly part of the human condition.
Eh – I didn’t love the show, not by a long shot. Sometimes I feel the characters are just a tad too cartoonish. I felt greatly for Derek, his mom, Callie and McSteamy. Oh – and Alex – his character is friggin awesome. He’s McSolid. He is rarely ruffled, and yet the idea of taking a childs organs can really dig into him. They’ve given him amazing character development. Love it!
I made a cooment on TVsquad about how I’ve missed Tyne Daly on TV. I was a “Judging Amy” fan. She had such great chemistry with Amy Brenneman on that show. I miss that show, and I said that to a friend last week when Amy Brenneman finally started getting a story last week on Private Practice. I wish Tyne Daly could have more involvement with the show. She really was just perfect. She was barely on (cause she is amazing I don’t know if you can get too much)I hope she makes more visits – and she looks better than she has in years.
Plus I liked her small interaction with Kevin McKidd’s character. And god, Sandra Oh is really amazing. Just her looks tonight. And at the end her face said so much that she need not say a word.
Sloan really has improved as a character — they are starting to give Eric dane more to work with — but damn being shallow for a moment he was so hot in this episode
Yeah I’m really liking the whole serial killer story line and how it is mixing with the kid. I understand Meredith and I am glad Dereks mom understood where she was coming from.
Really enjoyed this episode. Still waiting for the payoff to the whole Denny situation so I’m withholding judgement
just my thoughts
TV is really incestuous isn’t it? We have Tyne Daly playing Derek’s mom over on GA, and her brother Tim Daly over on Private Practice making out with Addison when the show first started, and now sleeping with Amy Brenneman’s character, who used to play Tyne’s daughter. Gotta love those casting people! Weirdness aside, Tyne Daly is great and we do need to see more of her.