The Season that "Grey's Anatomy" Became Riveting

This season, Grey's Anatomy have taken a turn from the humorous, witty comedy that it had been the last two seasons to the serious, occasionally funny drama that seems to have overflowed into real life. It started with the death of Denny Duquette, who was wonderfully played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and the resignation of Dr. Isobel "Izzie" Stevens, who is played by the ambitious Katherine Heigl. Then, it went from the appendix removal of Dr. Meredith Grey, the show's title character and main protagonist, to the shocking budding romance between Dr. Alex Karev and Dr. Addison Montgomery. As Meredith, Ellen Pompeo brings a childlike quality to the character, even though she is nearing 40. As Alex, Justin Chambers has a bravado that can easily be taken down around the right woman. Last year, Alex was in a relationship with Izzie, but she broke up with him for Denny. Now, Izzie continues to pick up the pieces of her life after her prime involvement in Denny's death, and Alex is slowly moving closer to Addison, who is played gracefully by Kate Walsh.

It seems that the show's creator, Shonda Rhimes, had to choose between letting Denny live or leting Denny die and bringing back the the character of Mark "McSteamy" Sloan as a series regular. She chose McSteamy. Eric Dane is smooth as Mark, and he is also one of the best characters on the show. His interactions with the different characters make for different reactions from them and sometimes, it can be very comical. But, the overall feel of the show is still solemn. The character of George O'Malley, who is played by a more distant T.R Knight, has transformed from a puppy dog softie to a hardened, indecisive man who seems to easily snap at his supposed best friend, Izzie, who has become more condescending and passive aggressive herself, more than anyone else. And that says a lot because he snaps at nearly everyone. George's road to ruin began when a tryst between him and his beloved, Meredith, went wrong. T.R's downward spiral began when he was called a homophobic slur by co-star Isaiah Washington, who plays the abrasive Dr. Preston Burke.

Speaking of Dr. Burke, his romance with Cristina Yang, who is played by Sandra Oh, is like a rollercoaster ride. She backed away from the relationship when he got shot trying to return to the hospital to check on Denny. Then, he had to undergo surgery, which was performed by neurosurgeon extraordinaire Derek Shepherd, who is played by Patrick Dempsey, and Burke still ended up with a tremor. Cristina insisted that they kept mum on the tremors and their conspiracy led to Burke's chances of becoming chief diminishing dramatically and Cristina becoming shunned by everyone except for Meredith.

Meredith has endured struggles with her mother, who has Alzheimer's disease, her absentee father and the men in her life. For a while, she was juggling Dr. Shepherd and a vet named Finn. In the meantime, Meredith, Izzie, Alex, George and Cristina's superior, Dr. Miranda Bailey, who is played by the grand Chandra Wilson, has been battling issues with her credibility as a doctor after the Denny Duquette incident and since she gave birth last season. The Chief of Surgery, Dr. Richard Webber, who is played comically by James Pickens Jr, has told Bailey that she is his favorite resident and he wanted to have her as the up and coming Chief, but she would have to wait a few more years.

The past few weeks have brought some landmark episodes of the show. Meredith found her mother lucid, but learned that her mother was disappointed in her because she was happy. Meredith avoided her mother and confronted her mother and avoided her mother, until her mother didn't remember her anymore for she was no longer lucid. Then, Derek found her underwater in the tub and thought that she had been trying to kill herself. During that episode, a ferry crash brought out the best in Izzie, George, Alex and Meredith, who also displayed her maternal instinct. Cristina, however, was left behind with her new fiance, Dr. Burke, who now holds surgeries over her head. By the end of that episode, Izzie's confidence was at an all time low, George was trying to keep his promise to a worried mother. Alex had made a connection with a pregnant woman and Meredith took a spill off of a bridge and into the water.

The last episode that aired (on February 15th) was probably the best in the show's entire history. However, there is a perplexing moment in which Meredith comes out from underwater and then goes right back down again. Did she purposely go back down? Did the cold make her go back down? Whatever the reason, she was saved by Derek, her knight in shining hair gel, but it is seemingly too late because she wakes up in a room with Dylan "McBomb" Young, who died last season in an explosion, and Denny Duquette himself.

Izzie has gotten her confidence back after saving her patient by drilling holes into his head while he was trapped under a car, with the assistance of Dr. Webber and McSteamy. George managed to find the little boy that he had promised to find, for George's new wife, Callie Torres O'Malley, who is played by the charming and spunky Sara Ramirez, is doing surgery on the boy. Alex finally found a way to help the families of the ferry crash victims identify them. Cristina made it clear to Burke that Meredith matters more to him, and Derek learned that he couldn't always save Meredith. In the end of this episode, everyone pulled together to save Meredith but failed.

What will the next episode bring in this new landmark season? Will there be more episodes as great as the previous ones? I guess that all we can do is wait and see, and hope that these writers are on it. Though we all know that Meredith won't stay dead, how will she find her way back, if she ever does? Grey's Anatomy has found its strength. Let's hope that they keep it.