Rhinestone Butterflies

Episode Review 10x09  Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word

Callie-centric episode.  They had us at Callie-centric. 

We waited for this episode with so much anticipation.

Shonda was right. It blew our minds and its ending rocked our brain. Sara said in an interview it will have an interesting ending. We picked our brain for the longest time how it will “blow the minds of Calzona fans”  --positive or not. 

Majority leaned on the negative, after all, we live in Shonda’s  roller coaster universe.

And now, having seen it, I can honestly say, that  this episode surpassed our expectations. 

Gave us Glimpses of Hope

This episode gave us a glimpse into the vulnerable Callie,  that led her to make an important decision to forgive and rebuild. It gave us a glimpse into the answers to what we have questioned; a glimpse of how we dream Calzona to be. 

It was a Calzona episode that blew our minds, and an ending that really did rock our brain.

It gave us hope. It gave us something to think about.

It made us look at Calzona in a very new way, a way  we've never seen them before. 

Fresh, with so much hope for the future.

It made us cheer on our heroines amidst their flaws and trials, and we were there hoping with them, we were with them all the way as they trudged on through their challenges.

And it made us hope with them. Made us believe that the dream is possible.

In every scene, they made us believe again in a relationship that  disregards sexual orientation.

That turns a blind eye to gender. The couple was treated like any other couple who had their own set of challenges.

Now I understand Shonda. 

Calzona  were not exempt from the problems  regular couples face. Problems that do not exempt any kind of relationship.

And they went about their business, moved on, went on with their own processes, as any heterosexual couple would.

I love Shonda for showing this.

Yes, she didn’t spare us from heartbreak, because that’s what love is--fraught with heartbreak.

But neither did she spare us from seeing a glimpse of how a same sex couple can also enjoy life: pick the same houses with yards with swings and pools; celebrate being pregnant, share the same joy, kiss the tummy of your wife, love the baby in the tummy--it's all  the same. 

Fighting the same way. Cheating the same way. Reconciling in the same way.

Same sex couples aren’t exempted from the good and neither from the bad. 

There was no trace of judgment at all. While I was watching, Calzona never felt like a different couple at all compared to heterosexual couples. And I realized that this is what makes the Calzona couple a groundbreaking tandem. They were one of the first couples ever portrayed on TV, as normal people in a relationship, without much ado about their sexual orientation.

And that is even more supported in this episode.

Now I  understand  Shonda. And many will love her more for this more than ever.  

**

Stacy McKee and Jeannot Szwarc did not fail us. It was so wonderfully written and wonderfully directed.  

I am really tempted to offer an ode to Stacy Mc Kee.

I almost want this piece to be a praise piece in her honor. She over-delivered and that  is an understatement. She ably  tied up the disjointed ends of the hullabaloo going on with the Calzona story.

She showed the utmost familiarity with both Callie and Arizona as individuals and Calzona as a couple, including the tiny details that only the truly invested Calzona fans will be familiar with.

She was able to show their growth, set the stage for the next step, and gave us a view of how Calzona can be in the future.

I cannot lie. My hair is standing on end as I write this. And I’m very near tears all this time as I reflect on everything about this mega fantastic episode. That’s how this episode affected me. It made me cry but in a very magical way. Many twitter friends actually call it the best episode ever and I agree, it is by far the best Calzona episode so far. 

Only Stacy McKee has skillfully tied this all up in a most cohesive manner that  makes perfect sense especially to Calzona fans. 

Pre airing, I was confident that this Callie-centric episode was left  in the hands of Stacy, my favorite writer of Calzona episodes. I just knew in my gut, I could trust her with this, and amazingly, she made it the best Calzona episode ever.

***


Callie did the voice-over for this episode and  it was best to savor every second of it.

"Doctors never mean to screw up, you make a bad call and the unthinkable happens.

Its not like we do it on purpose, its not like we want to hurt anyone but sometimes we do, sometimes we make mistakes. And when we blow it.. We're sorry. Not that being sorry really matters, not anymore. No apology in the world matters now." 

We've always known kind-hearted Calliope Iphegenia Torres as a badass surgeon, Superstar with a Scalpel.

Yet throughout  this episode, we got to see her as very human. Vulnerable. 

And  contrary to how we have always held her in high esteem as almost invincible in orthopedic surgery, the spotlight was on her vulnerability throughout the episode.

Pantyhose Shopping 

The shopping-for-pantyhose opening scene was refreshing. It was a welcome change from the usual hospital/apartment/house scenes we usually see.  

From this first scene, Callie was plagued by crap and this was to be for the episode's entirety.

We saw her as fumbling Callie, visibly distraught. 

In a rare instance, we see her lose her  temper with a saleslady who couldn’t quite get what pantyhose  Callie wanted. "no shimmer, no footless tights no freaky little toe socks, I just want pantyhose. Basic nude.  I used to buy them in a grocery store…is that really so hard to understand???"

Callie’s scream reached how many decibels. I've never seen Callie scream this loudly.  It was obviously  not a good time. It was a very tense time. She’s being dealt crap and she’s trying  to deal with it.

Then being the Callie that we know, immediately says sorry, realizing her indiscretion.

She yelled, but realized her wrong, immediately retracted. Callie knows how to be sorry, knows when she is at fault.

"I'm just under so much pressure"  and as consolation, buys all the pantyhose, including the ones with the rhinestones.

We know why she is under too much pressure,  Callie was sued. It has been widely publicized weeks before and we have been worried too. 

This first scene alone showed great promise and  right at that moment, a little voice whispered to my ear: "pee-breaks would be out of the question  for the remainder of the hour." I could not afford to  miss a second of this ep.

It was impressive how this pantyhose scene smoothly alternated with  flashbacks in the O.R, flashbacks showing  past altercations with Arizona, where she seemed to have hurt Arizona.

In  a flashback O.R. scene, yes,  agitated Callie didn't spare our beloved living legend Bokhee. She also yelled at her.

Just from these dynamic switches to flashback scenes, we already knew  this episode as promised, is starting to tie up all the  hanging scenes that we saw in the past.

We see the scene of one month ago where Callie is handed notice of the lawsuit in front of her colleagues. 

This marks the start of Callie’s lawsuit calvary.

Baby Talk

Then we see an important flashback of Mer’s baby shower,  we discover how Callie took on the case of snowboarder  (no haircut) Travis Reed, as recommended by Cristina as he was Yang's first solo valve replacement surgery..

And then we are thrilled to see the first  of the many Calzona scenes in this ep with the very notable Arizona question:

“Excuse me, where is the onesie decorating station?”

The line that tells so much about changes we have been seeing in Arizona. The girl who didn’t even get Mark and Callie about onesie decorating (with glitter pens)  during Callie’s baby shower, is now looking for it and is aghast as to remark:

“What kind of baby shower doesn't have a onesie decorating station?" 

"I already figured out my design, there was gonna be a star and a moon and its gonna say McDreamy. Get it? That's cute right?

Oh look at her (Mer) shes all  all glowy and pregnant with sausage feet.."

Aww, Arizona is on cuteness mode here. And please let's take special note of Stacy McKee's amazing prowess for Calzona detail. The Arizona we knew then who wouldn't even consider having kids, now wants another one.

Then in her perfect baby-mode, Arizona drops the  heartwarming bomb : Let's have a baby (With that perfect Arizona magical smile.)

Callie: What? Wait wait what?  (In her Signature Callie "wait-what" astonishment ) Are you serious?

AZ: We've had such a hard year since the crash wouldn’t it be nice to have something new and happy to think about?

Callie: Yeah

Arizona: And I could carry this time and that way, only one of our feet will be sausages.

Callie: Arizona 

Arizona: You want it?

Callie: Yes! Yes! Oh my God, Yes!

Now this scene gave me a jolt. I wanted to cry.  Callie was surprised, and I was doubly surprised. They were planning to have a baby!!! Wait, I had mixed emotions. Happy that they wanted to, but sad that it obviously did not happen.

So this is one of the major answers we were looking for.  And I could not wait for what was to happen next. 

Ortho Goddess Meets Mr. No-Haircut Snowboarder Olympian

Callie is overflowing with happiness about their decision to have a new baby and in her scene with Cristina she couldn't hide that she was happy.

Travis Reed wants Callie to build him a new hip the Petersen resurfacing hip joint which he needs to be built for the Olympic qualifiers in December. Said he heard it got his colleague back in the mountains  in no time.

He was wise enough to  boost hesitant Dr Callie Torres' ego, reiterating that Callie is the first ortho surgeon to grow cartilage out of nothing.

 “the reason we are who we are is that we’re not scared of firsts.” and that line finally convinced Callie to do research on it. 

He sure knew how to hit the bullseye in appealing to Callie's badass motivation for innovation. . 

No settlement 

Back to the present, we see Callie not agreeing with her lawyer to admit to negligence because it would be safer for the hospital, and less risky, it was going to save them money if they settled, than if they lose the case. She insists and is confident she did not make a mistake and refuses to settle.

Her lawyer was convincing her to settle but Callie wouldn't budge. She was confident about  her stand. 

"I am not admitting to negligence because there was no negligence. Post op infections are common recognized risks"

Seeing that he couldn't convince Callie otherwise, the lawyer reminded her about their appearance tactics for the court date:

Lawyer: "Let the jury see your face you wear a suit dark, not bright, skirt not pants,minimal jewelry, heels, panty hose

Callie: Pantyhose?

Lawyer : Professional but feminine. You still have  your wedding ring?

Callie: Yes

Lawyer : Wear it. Juries respond better to married women with families….

Callie: I don’t have any pantyhose, I need to go shopping

Callie in Curlers

Next scene we see anxious Callie (in her apartment) in curlers getting ready for her court date when Arizona comes in to pick up Sofia.

Arizona was concerned about and supportive to disheveled Callie,

Arizona: Are you okay?

Callie:I have no idea

Arizona: I know you're supposed to have Sofia tonight but if it'd be easier for you to spend some time alone or if you'd better not be alone, you just tell me and whatever you need, that’s what we’ll do

Supportive Arizona. And I could not get over it

"Okay, thanks,"  Callie was somehow amused and analytical.

Then Arizona's eyes dart to Callie trying to get her panthyhose on. Then  her eyes land on the wedding ring 

The sadness and questioning in her mind was too conspicuous that Callie asked, "What?"

Arizona: Nothing.

And then she  couldn’t hold it any longer,

Arizona: You put your ring back on

Callie: They told me to

(Then we see Arizona trying to hide being crestfallen)

Arizona: Anyway, good luck today

Callie: Thanks.

I've noticed that in every "present" scene, Arizona was not shown wearing her necklace. I was thinking about this because of the previous episode. Even if it wasn't shown, it doesn't mean she isn't wearing it. It might be inside her shirt. But still, they never showed it so we'll have to observe again next week. 

Superfriend

Next scene, lawyer and Callie are on the elevator, vulnerability etched all over Callie’s face.

There was a media frenzy as soon as the elevator door opened and Callie was visibly affected. Who wouldn't feel sorry for Callie. At that moment, she seemed like she felt so alone.

And on cue, Chief of Surgery slash friend Super Owen was there to the rescue!  He not only successfully fought off little person Bailey (who punches pretty hard)  for this first shift to support Callie in the courtroom; Super Owen also managed to shield Callie from the court paparazzi!

I'm really keeping an eye on the good friendship of these two. They're becoming one of my new fav friendships (aside from Mercallie and  Apzona).

I label this as a rare scene in Greys Anatomy history, where we see badass Ortho goddess Callie at her weakest and most vulnerable.  It was soooo much of a relief Super Owen was there.

At the Courtroom with Mr. Annoying Litigator

As she entered the courtroom, Callie

smiled nervously at the jury

Owen: You can do this. I will be sitting right behind you, okay.

Oh Super Owen, I'm loving you so much!

Owen and Alex are sitting right behind her and it truly is touching to see them support Callie.

Then a string of crap befalls Callie as she notices a tear in her stocking and in comes patient Travis in a wheelchair, who couldn't stand at the “All rise” prompt. Hands down an obviously winning  touch to convince the jury.

Then Mr. Annoying litigator proceeds in trying to establish evidence that Dr Callie Torres did a surgery she didn’t understand at the cost of Travis losing both his legs because of a careless mistake made in surgery.

Leaving a sponge in the patients body.

Grilled by the lawyer,  Tinkerbell Jo pushed the reasoning that Post op infection is  common  but the lawyer twists it and asks if it is also  common that it leads to double amputation.

Callie 's tears visibly welling up in her eyes. 

Nope, I wasn't the only one irritated with the complainant's lawyer. I'm sure all viewers were.

Bathrooms and butterflies

During a recess from the proceedings,  Callie is in the bathroom, in distress because of the run in her pantyhose, and Mr. Annoying Litigator who was making her sound awful. 

Callie was at breaking point.  Then wonder of wonders,  who enters  the bathroom...  we couldn't have guessed,  Dr Arizona  Robbins MD. 

Oh my gosh.  It's  deja vu. Callie in distress brings back  distinct memories of what started it all.  The Calzona story started  in a bathroom scene in 5 x 14.  Really, Stacy McKee. You surely know how to touch a raw nerve in Calzona fans.

Callie in distress, and fast forward to the present, Callie completely distressed and Dr Robbins, seeing how affected Callie was, was very supportive, and wanted to make Callie feel better.

Az chanced upon her and seeing the distress in Callie's face,

Arizona :Oh hi, sorry, I’ll come back

Callie: No its okay 

She let Arizona stay and of course, I was so curious about what they'll talk about. 

 

Callie was freaking out, lamenting how the lawyer was making her sound awful and she was evidently very affected, it rocked her confidence.

And in the middle of the distress of  every fan watching, Arizona offers the ultimate relief:

Seeing Callie distressed, you  could sense the concern in Az’s face. After all, she knows Callie well more than anyone else, 

Quick thinking led her to say:

"I think I have something that can make u feel better. So Sofia drew this in the car this morning. And she said it’s a jellyfish and a  wrinkled mermaid. I'm not sure which is which but u should have it. Then when you feel like screaming you can look at the jelly fish and it’ll calm u down"

Whose heart wouldn’t melt with the sweetness of what Arizona was saying? 

And who wouldn't love the unrecognizable  jellyfish in Sofia's masterpiece? 

   I don't know, but I'm sure it did get through to  Callie.

Arizona is Callie's sunshine. 

She has always been there at Callie’s darkest moments. Even up to this moment when their marriage was far from okay. 

After all the sad moments they went through, here she was again, saving her from distress. Being her sunshine once again.

This obviously made Callie feel better

"I’m surprised you're here. Thanks.

 (In the most sincere way) Thank you I should get back"

Then Arizona notices the fancy design of Callie's newly worn  pantyhose

Arizona: Uhm Callie, are you sure you wanna wear rhinestone butterflies in court? 

I mean its your choice, its  a strange one, But I suppose lots of people like butterflies. So, they’re cute!"  

Yes this person bothered by the rhinestone- butterfly design was the same person  who had butterflies on her scrub cap way back in the 5th season, and  which reminiscently also bothered Callie then.  (Wow Stacy, this butterfly business is going full circle. And may I tell you that I love it.)

And we are more than surprised and amazed to  see the most heartwarming scene  we’ve never had for the past 13 straight episodes of Grey's Anatomy.....

Callie and Arizona started  laughing with each other.

I needed somebody to hold me. I could not handle it. As I write, silent tears fall down my face. Chills are nonstop as I do my rewatch. We have waited for this for so long. How can we not be emotional? Tell me how.

Never mind if Callie was at a vulnerable point. Maybe she needed to be to make this scene happen. I hope it's not bad if I think that It's a blessing in disguise that Callie got too affected by the case and by that annoying lawyer, because that made her vulnerable and allowed for this touching encounter to happen. 

It was a rare time that she needed someone there, and that person happened to be Arizona, who was most able to cheer her up too.

Arizona was there at the  time Callie needed support the most.

And they were laughing!  All the chemistry, all the love shining through because only Callie and Arizona get Callie and Arizona perfectly. 

And it is worthy to note that this is plain clean fun. A simple humorous comment, had elicited such pure joyful feelings of two people who had adored each other ever since.

I was in Calzona heaven.

Sperm donor flashback

Then as we hear the laughs in the bathroom,  we segue to this very sweet but revealing scene when Calzona, while laughing together,  browse through choices for their sperm donor. I couldn't resist quoting their dialogue, because these are happy scenes. Tender  moments.

And these are not the usual 30-sec Calzona scenes that always leave us wanting for more. These are the real deal.

Callie: Are you kidding me?

Arizona: No more ridiculous than vetoing every guy under 6’3”

Callie : We are not choosing our sperm donor based on his taste in music.

Arizona : Oh look at this he’s cute

Callie: That’s a super cute baby he would make

Oh, He’s a college dropout

Both: Pass!

Oh they are so cute, I'm melting!

Callie: Now this one says he’s a mathematician with a graduate degree, and he runs marathons (singing)

Arizona: Picture?

Oh  okay,  they both grimace

Callie: I still like the ivy league poet, smart and creative

Arizona:  okay.  You think I'll like being pregnant?

Callie: Yeah its best. Oh except for the nausea, and the stretch marks and the peeing, and the lack of sleep, the exhaustion, oh and the no booze

Arizona: No booze? Oh and I will miss you most of all  

Arizona was sweetly funny in this scene. I loved her confirming how attached she was to booze. 

It was so nice to see Callie and Arizona overjoyed with this plan to have a baby. Now it's clear to us that after the crash, after the amputation, they did have happy times especially when they decided to have a new baby. These are moments that are so sweet, we can well say they were on their way to fully recovering from Arizona's amputation. Now season 9  doesn't seem so confusing anymore. Now it makes sense. 

This takes away our confusion about  the disjointed episodes of Calzona during Season 9.

This confirms they were on their way to being truly happy. 

 I'm thinking all this happened after 9x19.     We all know how sweet and tender they were during that 9x19 opening scene in the (you guessed right again) bathroom. 

Daddy's home

Segue to the scene where Callie in her breakfast counter having wine,  notices she was still wearing the ring.

Let me note that this ep has a wonderful way of connecting scenes with either lines, laughter  or images that are linked to each other. In this case, the wine glass linked the flashback scenes to the present.

She takes the ring off. 

Oops, that hurt. 

Just a while ago we saw their sweet  sperm donor search flashbacks and now, with the same white wine image, it seems Callie is mulling over how she should take off the ring because in her book, her wife still cheated. 

They had fun in the bathroom, yeah, but still, she cheated, they lead separate  lives now, and she does not need nor want to wear the ring.

 A few seconds after, as we expected, (but apparently Callie did not), Daddy Carlos  arrives and mija hugs him with a daddy bear hug.

Daddy was there to support his “baby” and didn’t want to belittle the case. You could see that Callie felt a sense of security having her beloved daddy there.

Callie: You really had to come all this way

Daddy: Of course I did. My baby's in trouble. But first, Wheres my grandbaby? Abuelo needs a hug

Oops, Callie is taken aback.

Daddy: Dont tell me she's already asleep

Callie: No  she's not here, Arizona's gonna bring her by in an hour (hesitant to break it to her dad)

Daddy:  don’t understand. Whats going on

Callie: We split up, its bad. I don’t wanna talk about it

Daddy: When did this happen

Callie : A couple months ago

Dad was insistent but Callie did not want to talk about it

Callie: I fought so hard just to get you to accept this. Mom hasn’t spoken to me since the wedding.. Just apparently I marry people who cheat on me. Its pathetic. I am pathetic.

Daddy: When that O'Malley kid cheated on you I was ready to knock his teeth out and now I wont hit a lady but I can make it happen. I know people, just say the word.

HAHAHA

This WAS too funny, Daddy Carlos was unintentionally providing much comic relief to this episode with his gangster lines

Callie: No dad, God, no.

Daddy: Look at me, mija look at me, nothing about you is pathetic

And Callie’s tears welled up in her eyes and so did mine. She needed her Daddy to remind her not to lose courage despite all these unpleasant things happening in her life.

Having a Baby

Then its time for the most important  flashback:

Pizza-bearing Callie comes home, Baby Sofia is playing in the living room. Callie then rushes to Arizona who was been alarmingly yelling for her. 

May I just mention that the way Callie ran to the bathroom to see Arizona, you could see how concerned she was. That is also known as real love in its unadulterated state. 

That’s how she has always been, especially  after the plane crash. She's always been so loving and protective and concerned about AZ. The love Callie has for Arizona is beyond words. Always consistent and I missed seeing this post Bitchwell.

"Are u okay? Is everything all right?"

And AZ smiles, beaming, holding up the pregnancy test stick “We're having a baby”

And all the chills down my spine came back

Callie’s elated precious reaction brought  tears to my eyes. They were both so happy. 

Then comes the moment I've waited for for so long. They hugged each other. All traces of happiness in their eyes, in their strong hugs, they were just so excited and happy about that baby in Az’s womb.

Then what the Calzona fandom never expected, the best loving scene of the episode, Callie squats

“Hi sweet baby”

and kisses Az’s tummy. I counted. She kissed it lovingly three glorious  times. 

And I felt all the love in the world flowing through my veins, I was so overwhelmed and all the tears fell.

I don’t even need them to be in bed or even kiss. This was even more intimate. And it was filled with love. This has become my own   favorite tender moment of Callie and Arizona. (well of course we want kisses but come on, for now, this is more than enough. I'm not demanding. Well yes I am, but not now.)

My thought: If I could just collect all the happiness and store it in a bottle.

I wanted to keep it forever.

Yes, this lovely loving scene again took place in the bathroom.

I think I can sum this up as, Bathrooms are an integral part of the Calzona love story. 

Cristina Testifies

Then in roller- coaster scene mode, we are transported to the scene where the board discusses strategy and Callie informed them that with regard to the lawsuit, shes not settling., Az came in, wanted to sit beside Callie, but changed her mind probably with the way Callie looked at her

Mer agreed to not settling, while Cristina, who also took the stand in court, recommended that they settle because the patient had a good case.

I will just brush over how the complainant's lawyer tactically capitalized  on Yang’s use of past tense in referring to Callie being the best ortho surgeon. They had a professional  difference of opinion about what to do with the patient first—save the leg or perform heart surgery. In the end, Yang testified she agreed to Callie’s decision.

Soon enough through  flashback, we learn   Travis’ legs turned for the worse, both legs seemed dead. The infection might have spread.

The Plantains stronger than ever

Then forward to present, Callie becomes worried they might lose the case, then she comes across Richard Webber who touchingly comes to court to support Callie.

Yes, trust Stacy  to give that extra amount of support, she wont leave this out, the Plantains are going strong as ever.

The court scene was getting more tense than ever, as testimony after testimony seemed to be in Travis’ favor, making Callie more worried than ever.

The pool, the yard and the swings

So roller-coaster scene flashback, time for a good one. 

This flashback is one of the best ones It shows Calzona as a growing family. 

There was a new baby, so it was  time to get a new house. Yes, that would be ideal. And to me, this was my most fervent dream for Calzona.

This is what I so longed to see them in. This was the dream. To live a happy normal life in a  child-friendly home, in a quiet neighborhood -- the perfect home for Callie and Arizona and their soon-to-be two kids.

A:Oh and a pool a pool, Callie there's a pool!

C: Yeah?

A: Oh I can just see us playing with the girls in this yard having a picnic, swinging on the swings,

C: Oh what makes u think we’re having another girl (Callie busy texting while talking)

A: Can you get off of that thing for five seconds and look at this place?

Callie was following up on the clinical trial on Petersen hip joints

Then we are again linked by “ I got it” line to the present day court scene

Mr Annoying Litigator continued on with his grandstanding in court, determined to pin Callie, with Travis on  the stand, as they ventured to prove that Travis trusted Callie to do this surgery but what he got was a “  a botched surgery, an infection, a heart surgery" With the loss of his legs,  it was the end of Travis’ world.   

They even used Callie’s apology as evidence. 

With all the evidence presented, they seemed to be winning the jury over, until Dr Callie Torres presented her  side.

Daddy's mad

Segue to the next scene, where Az picks up Sofia from Callie’s apartment and Daddy Carlos from a distance is  eyeing Az like a hawk ready to pounce. 

The Good Man in a storm was nervous because Daddy seemed mad.

Of course, who could forget how Carlos gave a piece of his mind to George and Mark?

 We’ve long dreaded this encounter between Arizona and Daddy Carlos, and it is really funny how it played out. Soo hilarious.

Arizona sensed the menacing stare of Daddy and expressed nervousness to Callie.

A: Hey your dad’s making me a little nervous (Oh Arizona, don't be a little nervous. Be VERY NERVOUS)

C: You should go now. Definitely go now 

Callie was trying to avoid any confrontation that was already nearing boiling point, and it just wasn’t wise to let Arizona  stay any longer.

Every scene with Daddy Carlos in this episode was either comforting, wisdom-filled  or funny. Unmistakably a much-needed presence in this very intense turning point episode.  

Bravo to Hector Elizondo for ably playing Daddy Carlos in such an excellent way.

 

C: Thank you for not sayng anything to her

D: If my grandbaby hadn’t been  standing right there, I would’ve said plenty.

C: Dad don’t start right now I have to be in court soon I have to take the stand today

D: Your mother and I were married 38 years, you think its been easy? You don’t think we've had troubles?

C: Don’t start comparing

D: What happened to her good man in a storm baloney? It's not right. She should be here everyday trying to fix this

C: Its not like that

D: The hell it isn’t. She hurt you, Now she's  too much of a coward to face you now she’s running away .....

C: Shes not running away. I kicked her out. It was my choice we  split up, it was mine, so let's just drop it, okay?

Callie was obviously stressed out, as she was about to go to court. She didn’t really need this kind of discussion right at that moment, but daddy wouldn’t let up. He was determined to get his message across

D: You chose to break up your family?

C Dad, not now

D: Did u even try to work things out?

They Lost the Baby

Then we are transported back to the present day court scene

Callie justified leaving the sponge, it was not a mistake

And we see a flashback of a really moving scene where Arizona talked  to Callie right after her surgery, and told Callie she missed their  OBGYN appointment because her  surgery took long. 

Arizona didn’t look very happy and I sensed something was wrong

C: The ultrasound's just a blob at this point so do you have a picture of the blob?

A: There's  no picture. And no heartbeat.

C: What?

A: She took the ultrasound and she looked and she looked but there was no heartbeat

We lost the baby

I could not help but cry. They lost the one thing that made them happy again.

So I guess this solves part of the issue of why she cheated at that time.  She was in pain. But I feel this should not be justification for the cheating. Callie felt the pain too but didn't have to cheat. 

So we are now curious to know what else was wrong with Arizona then, and also, what makes her act like how she is acting at present--easily having sex without emotional ties. Why the usual need for intimacy. Why the  loneliness. This I hope to get answers to in the coming episodes, 

The Effect on Arizona

It was clear that Callie was not distracted by this thing. She did not know of this before the surgery, unlike when she did the first surgery on Derek’s hand, where she was obviously distracted when while doing it, she gave  Alex approval to amputate Arizona’s leg

This time, there were absolutely no distractions, she actually even missed going to the doc’s appointment with Az.

Callie even made the use of the analogy of cooking vs surgery where she justified that she had to attend to the legs first, rather than let Yang do the heart surgery. 

She just picked which disaster to tackle first because if she hadn’t treated it, he would’ve lost the leg for sure.   

Then as if being related to this court scene, we see a flashback of Callie and Arizona arguing

C: I cannot believe you are trying to pick this fight right now

A: I am not trying to pick a fight.  Im trying to tell u how I feel

C; Okay well I feel like crap too. It wasn’t just your kid

A:  I know. I know that

C: We’ll just wait. We don’t have to try again right away, all right? we can wait a while before we try.again

A:  No, no, you're missing the point. I cant take another loss, Callie.

And here we see the effects of all the misfortune that came upon Arizona. We could just imagine the turmoil, the depression going on inside of her.

A: I cant handle it. I cant. I cant think about this right now. Its hard, its just too hard.

And here we see that the decay of the relationship that started after the crash, is slowly creeping on them again. 

They tried to rise above the misfortune of the leg, but this recent loss was too much to handle at that moment. Especially for Arizona. 

The pain of another loss was too much for one person to bear, the second of which came just a short while after the loss of the leg.

I feel Arizona was trying to make up for the lost leg by trying to get a child. She lost something, She wanted something back from the universe. 

So she suggested that they have a baby, to somehow make up for the devastating loss. But she never expected that this effort for a new one would result in another loss.

C: What are you saying? You don’t want another baby? Answer me.

A: I don’t know.

Callie on the Stand 

Then flashback to the day where Travis asked her girlfriend Whitney to bar Callie from his room he didn’t want Callie near him. He was too angry, and took it out on Whitney, whom he was yelling at.

Callie gave him a piece of her mind,

"Don’t you dare take this out on her. You have every right to get angry but Whitney has nothing to do with that. 

You want to take your crap out on somebody, you take it out on me, I can handle it. You need somebody to blame, then blame me. Go on. Yell all you want. This never should have happened to u. 

And if there is any way that I could magically change things, believe me I would.

I wish there was something I could do. I wish I could fix this. I tried. I tried so hard and I'm so sorry Travis. I'm so so sorry"

Why do I feel she could have been saying the same thing to Arizona.

She explained on the stand, that she apologized because she understood what Travis felt, saying she went through the same thing with her wife

"She lost her leg last year, and it’s changed us, it's cost us in ways that I cant even begin to understand. I wouldn't wish this experience on anyone. 

And now it's happening to my patient. Of course I’m sorry. I still am. I'm so so sorry this happened to you Travis. THAT MAKES ME HUMAN, THAT DOES NOT MAKE ME NEGLIGENT. And if I can't feel for my patients without getting sued, I guess I'm just gonna keep on getting sued because that’s who I am. I wont apologize for that."

Callie was repeatedly being convinced by her lawyer to settle. It was not strategic to take on this court battle. It was less risky for the hospital, it was cheaper to settle than lose the case.

  Callie never considered to settle.. Callie knew the truth. She did not have to settle because what she had was the truth. It was her defense. It was her most solid defense. 

If she did settle, she would have been untrue to her principles. She would have done a disservice to her own person.

It was almost easy to see that the jury had already almost made a decision about this case. Who would not side with a man who lost both his legs, ergo ending his career, losing his means to have fun. Losing himself.

Even if  Callie’s apology to Travis,was approved by the judge to be considered as evidence, Callie debunked all this by simply being true.

It was true she was not negligent. She  was just being herself in feeling for her patients. She is Compassionate Callie. That’s being Callie Torres and her strong defense monologue based on truth and compassion swayed the jury to see that she was being pure about all this. 

That she wasn’t covering up for a lie. And was just being true to herself when she apologized, that was one thing  no one could take away from her.

Callie Torres' character never ceases to amaze. She is not 3D. She is badass, she is supremely talented  but she is human. She feels things. She is true. She has a good heart. And she stands up for her own  truth.  

Signed, Sealed,  Delivered

Then we see the compromising scene of the letter from Germany which informs Callie of the cancelled clinical trial on Petersen’s joint, because it is found to be the source of infection.

Friend Mer was quick to ask

M: Whats the postmark on that?

C: Three weeks before Travis’ surgery

Mer convinced her,: "you did what you could with what you  knew at the time

You didn’t act irresponsibly or maliciously. You worked off with the information you had at the time. And an act of God happened. The letter fell behind the book case and just as easily got lost in the mail.  It could’ve just as easily gotten lost in the mail.  But it didn’t

Accidents happen. ... This one happened in your living room, not in the OR."

C: You know what,I was distracted. I wasn’t paying attention.I should’ve followed up when I never heard back

M: That envelope is not a magic cure, its not going to grow  his legs back. But what it could do, it could sway a jury, make a jury think differently about you and that could end your career not because you were negligent and not because you did anything wrong but because you feel bad? You feel guilty? Lets not confuse emotion with fact. And the fact is, you did nothing wrong

C: Yes I did.

The Verdict

Then she receives the call that the court had reached a verdict, and yes,  in dramatic fashion, with everyone who supports Callie present in the courtroom, Callie won the case. 

She was vindicated in victory. She keeps her career. There is no need to stop her career for something that cannot grow back Travis' legs. Telling the whole  truth was not necessary.

But Callie was not guilty. She just did not see the envelope. She did not lie. If ever she had negligence, it was that she was just not paying attention to her correspondence. She wouldn’t have done the surgery if she knew the clinical trial was stopped.

Callie only knew of her neglect of the letter, way past the time that she did the surgery not knowing its possible effects.

Being the good-hearted, well meaning , true person that she was, she felt guilt, she didn’t like herself for missing that letter, for seeing it too late. But going to the court and admitting this would just not be practical. As Mer convinced her, she did not do anything wrong.

Callie’s expression, with her voice over in the background, was such a brilliant way of expressing the drama of the victory.

There seemed to be a trace of sadness. But it was more important to pick up the learning that she should be getting from this. She knew she could have done better, she could have been more tidy with her things, so that the letter wouldn’t have been misplaced. 

But that’s reality. People make mistakes. There are certain levels of truth that we suddenly encounter, which will lead us to think hard and decide to reveal or not. There are half-truths, sins of ommission, white lies...

Mer was right. Callie did feel bad, but feeling bad about it and telling of it would not give Travis his legs back.

This is where half truths in the realities that we face come in. Sometimes, things are just not plain black or white as much as we want them to be. Sometimes, life throws us a challenge where we have to choose a grey area to get through it.

.

This is a tricky situation, but when you do really think about it, she did not do it on purpose, and she was not negligent in the O.R. She did what was supposed to be done. She was just not tidy with her stuff, or maybe just clumsy. Just the same, she should forgive herself for the clumsiness.

And Callie does her voice over:

"We’ve all done things we aren’t proud of. I understand that. I know nobodys perfect

But how do you live with it. How do you get up every morning and face the world knowing you could’ve done better, you should’ve done better. Is being sorry enough? Can an apology actually heal our wounds? Ease our pain? Can it undo the hurt that it caused?”

Daddy's Wise Words

And we see Daddy and Callie discuss the merits of working on a marriage. Marriage which in reality, takes and needs a lot of effort and hard work from both parties to maintain.

C: I really don’t think so, dad. Its not enough, Just cause  she said she’s sorry

D: You're married you took a vow. You don’t walk away from that. Things get hard, you work harder. You have a child together for God’s sake.

C: She cheated on me

D: I cheated on your mother

C: What? Im sorry What (Yes, the magic word again)

D: A long time ago, we were young, I was stupid. Your mother found it in her heart to forgive me.

C: Why? Why would she do that?

D: She believed we were stronger than one mistake. And I thank God everyday she did. Because otherwise, I wouldn’t have you. 38 years we shared a life. And it all started after  that one mistake. Now this thing with Arizona and you might never work out. You might not be able to fix it. But how will you ever know if you never try?

And this is what convinced Callie. 

It was his father’s important secret. And it was his father’s golden advice.

A secret we have all been so curious about. It is this important revelation, plus the result of the case, and the important advice to try, as he and her mother did. 

This is what finally answered every Calzona fan’s wish.

Callie was willing to try again. Arizona made one mistake. Maybe they can rise above it and rebuild their marriage. She was willing to forgive. Her parents were stronger than one mistake, maybe she and Arizona were, too.

As she made a mistake related to correspondence concerning her research and was absolved for it, maybe Arizona deserves to be understood and forgiven too.

Callie Torres' heart is at work again and she  is compassionate enough to welcome  Arizona back  to her life and together, work again on the marriage.

May it just be mentioned that as Callie was speaking to his dad, I could not help but notice how Sara obviously put so much hard work into this episode. Every expression that she showed in this ep was spot on.

Every minute facial expression, every gesture was genuine. I can never speak enough about Sara’s acting ability. The woman is a thespian goddess.

If you'll come home

Callie made her way to Arizona’s hotel room (number 2406) and like it was unreal,

I had to rewatch the scene five  times because I couldn’t believe it at first.  

Arizona in a robe answers the door  and I was  too overwhelmed,  to see Callie invite Arizona back home. 

At this point, I don’t think there was a dry eye in the fandom.  

C:You did something impulsive, …it seemed right at the time, and uh, you made a mistake. One mistake. I did something like that today.

A: Okay.

Calzona was overwhelmed as we are. She had that bewildered look, trying to process everything

.

C: Look I have something to ask. And uh, you should probably take sometime to think about it. I don’t need an answer tonight but I’d like to know, if you’ll come home.

And yes, there is a Santa Claus. Yes, dreams do come true. Yes, life  for Calzone fans, I mean Calzona fans,  is beautiful again. I was in heaven.

Sure, Arizona had that weird stunned maybe guilty look. I don’t know if I was to expect her to do a 30 second  jig, but really, Arizona was pensive and I was watching her reaction. Like she didn’t know what hit her. I couldn't quite read her reaction to be honest.

She went inside  the room, sat and lay down on the bed, staring at the ceiling, and said the most celebrated line of the ep.

"You should get dressed now, and leave."

And it was pandemonium in the Calzona fandom.

Everybody wanted Leah out, and poor Leah, who was shown for 3 seconds,  covering herself with a white blanket, also seemed to not know what hit her, standing there looking at  pensive Arizona. She had that wounded look in her face.

What about Leah

Even if I was bursting with joy at what happened, the practical part of me was thinking of how people will think that Leah was treated unfairly by Arizona. 

On the other hand, She knew what she was getting into in the first place, and here it was, her dreaded moment, hitting her like a ton of bricks.

This separated woman whom she was having casual sex with, was   now being invited back to their home by her wife and easy peasy Leah will be left out in the cold…alone again.

It's not impossible for people to judge Arizona. Leah may feel used, but Arizona  was clear from the beginning. That she should not expect, that she had to keep her expectations in check.

Leah agreed. But we do not know how a clingy person reacts when the object of her fancy seemingly  enjoys awesome sex with her, and then suddenly wants out.

My Calzona sense tells me that something here might spell trouble for the couple.

There is  a lot of speculation on what will happen next, and the common one was that Leah might just create problems with Callie and Arizona, because the main thing that is feared most by everyone is when Callie finds out about the Az-Leah affair.

Sara Ramirez said in an interview that the interesting part is how she finds out about the affair.

"I wasn't expecting to see it unfold this way. I don't want to say what it is because it's worth waiting to see. Emotionally, it's everything you can imagine a person would feel finding something like that out. "

And when asked about Leah’s possible reaction to the new Calzona development,

“ It's possible that Leah will be carrying a lot of feelings around about what went down between her and Arizona”

Choosing happiness

So right now,  I suggest to myself to just bask in this sunshiny happiness and forget about the worries at this time. This is a rare episode that makes us happy, might as well enjoy it. I decided to allow myself to be happy. Why deal with  future worrisome stuff when you can deal with them later on.

Might as well just take it one day at a time. Be happy because we have something to be happy about.

It's  interesting how Calzona scenes in this ep are a mix of happy and intense scenes, credit goes to Sara and Jessica’s acting prowess and versatility. They  just delivered brilliantly. In every scene, you knew both were at their acting best.This was a purely Calzona episode, and they were  well- prepared for it.

Most of all, no offense to the whole cast, I  loved that this was an all-Calzona episode. It just goes to show that if ever Calzona gets a spin off-they will be able to stand on their own. But I know this is wishful thinking. A girl can always dream.

Future thoughts

Will Arizona move back to Apartment 502?

I dread Callie knowing about Leah

I dread how Callie will find out about Leah

Has Arizona stopped wearing the necklace? I hope she puts it back on and moves back to Callie’s apartment

There will still be bumps but what this episode did was give me so much hope. 

After 13 episodes where no sweetness was seen from the two, and all season 10 eps were breaking our hearts, this is our prize and we love it so much.

Now we see the silver lining when all has been  bleak. There is a silver lining and we all owe so much to that wonderful thing called Pantyhose. The kind with rhinestone butterflies. 

Yes, we’re mature enough to know it won’t be smooth sailing, there will still be that bumpy road ahead, but this episode keeps our faith alive.

There are still a lot of questions to be answered but this episode starts to answer them. We need more answers, we need to know a lot more about Arizona's recent actions.

I hope we will know about them soonest. And the most important thing is, we saw a glimpse of  hope. 

I’ve never wavered, I never changed my mind and never will.

No matter what, one or two or three mistakes after, I will always believe that Calzona is Forever and Ever, Calzona will survive. 

Hashtag CalzonaStrong.  Hashtag CalzonaForever.

Twitter: @GAFan8