Five Minutes

Calzona Review 10x01 and 10x02 "Seal our Fate" / "I Want You With Me"

Callie and Arizona are in a very dark place right now.

Arizona did the one thing that spells out BETRAYAL and this is a definite no-no  in any kind of relationship, and definitely for a marriage.

Blame it on PTSD. Blame it on their lack of communication, but no matter what it is, betrayal is betrayal.

My tears did not stop during the sneak peak. Little did I know the peeks would be no match for the tears I shed at the premiere . Nothing would ever prepare me for Callie and Arizona fighting without any trace of humor involved.

It was  straight drama. No trace of the usual light and funny musical score, nor funny lines during break up talks. No tenderness even. Just plain anger on Callie’s part and guilt and shame on Arizona’s part due to the seriousness of the deed.

It was our first time to see a 100%  angry hurricane Callie. Sara even referred to her current state of mind during filming as aided by listening to Roar and Titanium.

The fandom has long been aghast over this cheating storyline but the show is not ours, not our brainchild, we have to go where Shonda wants us to go.

Let’s analyze the whole scenario.

Richard does the narration and his rich voice  adds so much to the drama soon to unfold.

The episode picks up where the  Season 9 finale left off, and we see Callie angrily walking away from Arizona, with Arizona looking on.

Next scene, the board is gathered at Mer’s hospital room, and we see Callie not even joining the discussion about the E.R. and could not bear to  look at Arizona.

Arizona was cheerfully talking with Bailey and the others about Baby Bailey.  She seemed to feign cheer, though, but you could already gauge, with how the camera alternately showed Callie’s and her reactions, that she was slowly becoming nervous and conscious about Callie’s actions.

Then when Jackson announced that the airport is already open (after the storm), and he put Dr. Boswell in a cab, prompting Cristina to ask who this Bowell was, Callie outed Arizona right there “She’s the woman Arizona slept with last night.”    Boom.

And we see a flustered, stunned, humiliated Arizona as Callie walks out of the room. We all didn’t see that coming. Score for Callie.

Throughout the episode, we see Arizona trying to talk to Callie, especially when she chanced upon Callie, staring and holding her wedding ring, probably trying to process how Arizona could betray her, even if they were married and had a child.  Her efforts to engage Callie proved futile, as Callie shot her down, “ I said…Not now..”

Callie did not want to work with her but they were forced to do a surgery together.

It was wonderful though, when Callie acknowledged to the intern In the OR, even if she was seething with anger, that Arizona was an excellent general surgeon. It importantly showed she retained professional respect for  her. That was the only pleasant point I saw from these two in this ep.

What was noticeable was Arizona’s remorse throughout the episode, but that she seemingly does not realize the gravity of her deed. Especially when she talked to Karev about likening their relationship status to a bone, that this event  will make it better, like a bone, you have to break it in order for it to heal correctly. And finally admitting as Alex suggested, to being “such a slut.”

When Callie went to Mer’s room to leave Sofia for a while, you could notice she was not wearing her ring nor necklace anymore. Saying her wife’s an S-L-U-T . I was crestfallen when I noticed this, but it makes sense that she does not see the sense of wearing symbols of commitment, when that commitment is broken.

Callie getting drunk was the funniest scene of all. She downed that single bottle of wine in one straight massive gulp, it was like she was drinking water. And Derek comforting Callie was so adorable.  

The 2^nd most heartbreaking  scene (before I mention THE MOST heartbreaking one) of the episode is when Arizona comes home to an empty apartment. Gradually, it was dawning on her that Callie had left  and brought Sofia with her. Which brings her into manic panic mode. She storms off to the hospital  and demands the nurse to page  Callie 911 because Callie would not answer her calls.

I could understand that kind of panic, not just that Callie has left her, but that Sofia was not there either. This was their home, and it appeared they were not going to be home for the night. It was heart-wrenching to see her act of desperation.

It was no surprise to see her rush to MerDer’s place as soon as Mer told her where Callie and Sofia were.

The argument that ensued brought out so many painful lines that any Calzona shipper would hate to hear:  That Callie was a baby snatcher. That Callie had to convince her into having a child. That Arizona had to talk her into marriage, which was a mistake.  I could hear Calzona hearts breaking from all parts of the world. Especially mine.

Then we see Derek making a diversion for the kids , to look at the stars in the sky and to go to the swings. I wanted to kiss Derek right there. So cute.

Next scene was in the hospital lounge, where Callie informed Arizona  that Sofia’s in daycare and they would still be staying at Mer’s and will have to split days with Arizona to take care of Sofia, Arizona looked like she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. It was becoming an “arrangement” and it was painful to see her reaction to what Callie was saying.

Thinking of Arizona, going home to an empty apartment, without the two loves of her life, it must have felt very lonely and unbearable, leading her to visit Merder’s that night and ask to see Sofia just for a minute. She did see Sofia that afternoon, but I guess that thought of not seeing Sofia and Callie that night,  at a time of guilt, shame, confusion, was too much for her.

Callie was still angry. She did not want to allow Arizona to see Sofia, she had to wait for her assigned time, which I think was driven by anger and probably  to spite Arizona.  It was like revenge , like "hey, you cheated, don’t dictate the time schedule seeing this child."

In this scene, the famous FIVE MINUTES scene, where Cristina delivered that famous line and made her more-loved by Calzona fans, was THE most heart-wrenching scene of all. Arizona was practically begging Callie to be allowed for just a minute to be with Sofia. Even just taking her out to the front porch would be okay. Callie was adamant. It was a no-go. And she even berated Arizona that she’d have a harder time putting Sofia to sleep with Arizona coming and going.

I don’t wish to pick sides here. I will proudly  wear the badge of "Team Calzona" for always. I understand Callie’s anger more than anything. I say she has every right to be angry and whatever she does, Arizona will have to deal with it. And we see that she is dealing with it, even reducing herself to begging for time with Sofia, which is as painful and humiliating as can be.

But my heart goes out to Arizona in this scene. It was in this scene that I realized and confirmed that Arizona loves Sofia as much as Callie does, even if it was Callie who gave birth to the child. She is A MOTHER. And she had done a terrible deed, for sure. But in no way should she be barred from seeing her child. She had every right to see Sofia. She's Sofia's mother, too. And her mistake was done against Callie, but not against Sofia.

From the very beginning, when she saved the preemie Sofia’s life in the OR, to the time when she could not bear to watch the crucial surgery of Sofia by Dr Stark, to this scene in MerDer's house, you could connect all three events together, and they had one thing in common: That Arizona loves Sofia very very much.

It touched me deeply how she was so happy to finally be allowed to hold Sofia (thanks to Cristina) and be in her presence even for just five minutes.

That scene with Arizona and Sofia on the front porch, with the camera zooming out and with those touching lines “I love you so much, and I miss you every second, cause you’re my girl.” That made me get spine down my chills, or the other way around :) and made me cry buckets and buckets of tears enough to flood Seattle. For the whole Calzona fandom was in tears for many days after that.

We were all stunned. Never has the Calzona storyline been this heartbreaking. Yes, we had the leg drama and all, but nothing ever prepared us for THIS.

Kudos to directors Rob Corn and  Chandra Wilson especially. That Arizona-Sofia scene with the camera zoom out, then transitioning to sunrise was perf.

Let this go down in Calzona history as the most heartbreaking episode of all. We are so afraid of what happens next.  

I keep the faith, that the days of "it always comes back to the leg" are over. Now, it will always come back to the BONE. The Ortho Metaphor. 

And the Calzona relationship needs to be broken, in order for it to heal correctly.