‘Grey’s Anatomy’: The McDaughter brings a case of holiday whiplash
I’ve always been an easy sell when it comes to holiday episodes. There’s nothing like a “Felicity” Thanksgiving, and “The Office” always has the best Christmas parties. I’m a sucker for big makeshift-family dinners and people playing in the snow and a miracle or two.
So I guess it’s no surprise that Thursday’s “Grey’s Anatomy” episode, “Holidaze,” tugged on my heartstrings quite a bit. I’ve been rather cynical when it comes to reviewing “Grey’s” so far this season, but after this episode, I do believe that the writers are getting back on their feet. They’ve had a lot of obstacles to work around this season — and by “obstacles” I mean “maternity leave” — but they seem to be finding their groove again.
As the second episode with some major time-lapse this season, “Holidaze” covered six weeks of Seattle Grace time in only an hour of real time.
There are definitely some positive things about an episode in warp speed. It gives viewers the opportunity to follow the “patient of the week” all the way through their hospital stay. This week we met Kelsey (Danielle Panabaker), a young woman who had to have her heart removed from her body due to an aneurysm that developed during a transplant. Maybe it’s just that holiday spirit, but I loved watching her relationship with her boyfriend develop from a brand-new infatuation to an engagement ring the morning after she finally got a new heart.
We also followed Derek and Sloane through their development of an instrument to treat the untreatable AVM in Arizona’s pediatric patient, Nicholas. I liked that they sped us through this process, because when things like this are drawn out too long, they lose their impact. Again, I got the holiday warm-and-fuzzies when Derek, Arizona and Sloane donated their own money (hard-earned, as there were no Christmas bonuses this year … surprise, surprise) when the project went over budget.