The Ex-Factor

Calzona Review 11x07  Could We Start Again, Please

The old Grey’s feelings are back. This episode on second chances, whose SLs were  reminiscent of the earlier Grey’s seasons  was  just  as impressive as this season's recent episodes.  This makes  Season 11, in its 7^th episode,  one of the best so far, in my opinion.

Apart from the Calzona scenes, let me just rave about 11x07. After the ep ended, all I could say was: this is why Grey’s Anatomy is  such a fabulous TV show. 

Each scene was engaging.  Emotional. Full of intense drama, and with bits of humor to balance the stressful story lines.

Now about Calzona, the  mindset should be, that Calzona have split and we have to fully accept and internalize that.

Although it is my fervent wish to see Callie and Arizona back together someday, I need to admit it was refreshing to see Callie and Arizona  separately.

I was learning to not be dependent on having to see every SL with Callie to have to  involve Arizona. And we didn’t see every SL of Arizona to have to involve Callie. Except for their eye contact in the last scene, (that was the only Calzona scene in this ep), we saw both of them busy with their own lives as surgeons. And that was not a bad thing.

The opening voice over itself will surely grab your emotions 

“They say life doesn’t give you second chances.  But we do. Surgeons do. You break a bone, we put it back together.  You bleed, we make it stop.  You flatline, we resuscitate you.”

To Tell or Not to Tell

They pick up from where they left off last episode, where Arizona was taken aback by Dr Nicole Herman’s bombshell of an ender—the breaking news that she had a brain tumor.

In this first scene, Arizona was discussing  her decision with Dr. Herman.

Dr Herman: Well, what did you decide?

Arizona : I didn’t. I was up all night.

Dr Herman: You had ample time

Arizona: You can’t drop a bomb like “I have a brain tumor” and expect me to decide anything. I need to know more

Dr Herman: You don’t need to know anything that you don’t already know

Arizona: Why the pills?

Dr Herman: I’m getting a migraine, youre not helping

Arizona: This, this  is what I mean. Is it a migraine or is it the tumor? What kind of tumor is it? What does it mean? Are you gonna get tremors during surgery if you’re talking to me about a procedure  and you slur your speech, I need to know more!!!

Dr Herman: You don’t get to. Of course I m  not gonna do anything to endanger my patients. I’m handling my situation responsibly but it is my situation and you are not entitled to it, or, you are, entitled to my knowledge, my years of discoveries and mistakes, and dead ends and blood and sweat and innovations that you don’t have to go through. That’s the deal. The chance to take my work into your future. Just you.  So could you please make up your mind

“But as much as we give people second chances, surgeons don’t usually get them”

Dr Herman: Surgeries are cancelled. Round up my service, I have an appointment. Don’t ask what it is cause of course,  I’m not going to tell you.   

“Because of the kind of mistakes we make, are sometimes impossible to recover from.”

Sleepless in Seattle

Next scene, Callie and Mer  were awaiting a patient from an ambulance and Callie looked tired, listless.

Meredith: What’s wrong with you

Callie: Ah, I was up all night.

Meredith: Me too

Callie: Sofia’s been acting out. Asking questions about me and Arizona. I don’t know what to tell her how to tell her so I’m not sleeping , I’m miserable. So why didn’t you sleep?

Meredith: Oh, you don’t wanna know.

Callie: What’s goin on?

Meredith: Derek and I were up having sex all night.

Callie: Yeah, I kinda didn’t want to hear that.

The paramedics informed them of the patients--a  husband and wife who jumped two stories from a burning building

There were two patients in one gurney. The wife on top of her husband.

She was presumed dead.

Paramedic: We couldn’t find a pulse

Paramedic Nicole: And we tried to pull her off but the husband just held on. He was agitated,

but he didn’t let her go. We had to stop him. We were afraid we were gonna hurt him

They think he was trying to break her fall.

He Let Her Go 

In the emergency room, they tried to extricate Hattie from her husband Norris’  clutches,

Meredith: Norris,  she’s gone

Norris:Gone? What do you mean gone?

Meredith: Norris, she died

Norris: No

Meredith: She’s gone, I’m sorry. You did everything you could. You helped her through the hardest part. You held her, you protected her. And she died in your arms . and Im sure she couldn’t think of a better way to go.

Maggie: She’s no longer in any pain, Norris but you are, and she wouldn’t want you to be. You have to let her go now so we can help you., okay

Norris: She’s mine, I can’t

Meredith: Norris, Norris, Im so sorry, it’s time.

And as they examined Norris, Meredith, checking vital stats of Hattie, excitedly discovered and announced she had a pulse, barely palpable but there.

It was noticeable that Callie's face was focused on in this particular scene.  Her reactions were documented on screen. When Norris would not let go, when Norris at last let go.

Note: 

It felt like a parallel to Callie and Arizona's relationship. 

We cant help but see Callie in Norris.  Callie did not let go of her wife. She was her "savior" and was always there to catch Arizona every time she fell.

Norris was like a human trampoline for his wife. He loved her that much that he protected her fall. Just like Callie, she never let go of Arizona during the hard times, the challenging times.

And as Norris clutched  on to Hattie, this would not make him heal. Just like Callie. She held on, and it did not do her any good. She felt consumed. And Arizona felt that Callie was giving her things that she did not need . 

So as soon as she let go of Arizona, the healing process was now possible.

We hope that as it did well for Norris to let go, it will be advantageous too, for Callie  that she did let go. Both Hattie and Norris became better off. 

This is what we hope too for Callie and Arizona.

Where is Dr Herman?

Arizona was with Emily, the patient  and her husband Corey. Looking at the ultrasound.  

Emily: Why isn’t she moving?

Arizona: Emily, Corey, I’m Concerned that the baby might be bleeding into the tumor itself and it’s causing her to be anemic.

Emily: Oh my God.

Corey: Will she be all right?

Emily: Where’s Dr Herman?

Arizona: She had an appointment with another patient

Corey: She can do something right? She said she’d  do everything to get the baby to term and that was the point of having fetal surgery

Arizona: And that’s still, that’s still the point. Dr Herman will likely perform Intrauterine Transfusion. I will apprise her and I will come back and talk to you about moving forward. Sit tight, okay?

Corey: Okay

So outside the room, Arizona desperately tries to reach Dr Herman on her  mobile phone and Graham asks her, “Where is Dr Herman?”

Arizona: I have no idea but she better pick up because Emily Jensen’s baby is gonna die

Arizona needs Alex

Arizona: I paged you three times

Alex: Keep your pants on I’m consulting on three babies here

Arizona: I have  a mom whose fetus is bleeding into her ICT she needs an Intrauterine transfusion. It’s inserting a six inch needle into an umbilical vein without rupturing membranes or inducing bradychardia. I’ve never done one and Herman’s AWOL

Alex: So ? You deliver, take the baby out, I’ll repair the ICT myself.

Arizona: Alex it’s been 28 weeks. The whole point in seeing Herman was try and get her to term

Alex: Yeah it would be great if she were here but I know how to save this kid.

So Arizona on her phone:

Arizona: Herman, Robbins, again, the Jensen baby is anemic…. I will give you thirty minutes, and if I don’t hear from you, I’m gonna do a C-section and resect the ICT

So Arizona said she ‘s going to book an O.R and asks Alex, “can you be ready in 30 minutes  if  need you?”

 And Alex agrees… dependable Alex Karev. He’s got Arizona’s back.

No-Show Herman

Arizona is on watch . Staring at the clock. Thirty minutes are up. She has to do the surgery herself.


Herman was still incommunicado.

So Arizona decides to do it.

Arizona: Time’s up, lets get the baby out

Alex: You’re making the right call

She calls Herman again for a last time before surgery

Arizona: Hey, It’s Robbins again. So you’ve left me no choice. For all I know, you could be dead, so I’ve made my decision about you. I am telling Chief Hunt as soon as I get out of surgery

She had made up her mind. She can’t keep Herman’s secret this way,  with Herman bailing on her in important surgeries like this. It was irresponsible. And like she held no accountability.

In the O.R., Arizona delivers the baby and hands the baby to Alex for intubation.

She was torn between attending to the baby and the mother (exteriorize the uterus). She turned to Graham, “Can you handle this? Use these to deliver the placenta and then close it”

Graham: I’ve only done a million C-sections

Arizona chose to attend to the baby, and addressed Graham,  “…just come find me when you’re done.”

That Other Shoe

 Next scene, Callie and Mer are doing their own surgery on Norris

Callie: He was a human trampoline for his wife, pretty amazing

Mer: Better than burning to death I can imagine

Callie: I can imagine throwing my wife out a window …Ex-wife. Everyone keeps saying that things will get easier. And I’m sure everyone can’t be wrong but man, ugh, I am  really ready for the easier parts

Meredith: I think Derek and I are made with the easier part 

Callie: Yeah you mentioned

Meredith: We keep calling  these timeouts, you know, and we were so busy time outing, forget where we’re even at. I don’t know he seems  better at home, at least. I keep waiting for the other shoe to drop but maybe there is no other shoe.

Callie: There is a shoe. You know what your timeouts are? Band aids. They cover the mess, they stop the bleeding for  a little while, but you’re just ignoring the damage, and then …..(ripping sound) good times. Trust me, there is gonna be another shoe.

Sage advice from someone who had been there, done that. 

Callie spelled it out clearly. As if to give a recap on what went wrong in her marriage. 

The Calzona  marriage was dependent on Band Aids. Through time, the damage had gotten worse but eased by temporary relief and temporary remedies. As advice to Mer, Callie said that eventually, the band aid  won't be any good, and will give way. 

April Helps Out

Arizona: This is nice, just like old times

Alex:  You won’t  let me  get used to the new times.

Then Dr Robbins gets a call to be at OR 6, where she left Graham with Emily, the patient

Arizona: Graham, it’s a simple C-section

Nurse: He says it’s urgent

In O.R. 6, Graham was in panic. The patient was bleeding and lost a lot of blood.

Arizona: Damn it, Graham,…it looks like the placenta Its probably invading deeper structures. Ugh, didn’t you see that? Why didn’t anybody stop him? Call Hunt or any trauma surgeon that’s on-call. Graham move. Move!

Then it wasn’t Hunt who came to the O.R. but Trauma surgeon April Kepner. The other half of Aprizona.

Arizona was concerned for her pregnant friend. She didn’t want April to witness the bloody event in this O.R.

April: I’m here….placenta percreta invading the …. bladder, right?

Arizona: I paged Hunt, where’s Hunt?

April: He’s busy

Arizona:Well, I didn’t want you to see this

April:Oh please,  where do you need me

Arizona:Get in here and start clamping

April: The ultrasound didn’t detect this?

Arizona: No, even Herman didn’t

So when the patient was losing liters of blood fast, Arizona, April and Graham were in panic

April: Oh, how do anyone of us even have babies?

Arizona: That’s why I didn’t want you in here

It was touching to see Arizona concerned for her friend who was pregnant with her first baby and this experience in this surgery might scare or traumatize April. It was cute to see Arizona protective of her friend.

They're All Busy in the O.R. 

Callie and Mer work on a surgery on Norris

Meredith: I see no other injuries. The bowel is intact.

And Owen informs them about the emergency board meeting about Amelia and Mer had to go ahead to talk to Derek and Callie agreed to finish up. She knew her friend’s need to talk to her husband and Callie covered for Mer.

Then next scene, Robbins is called from the O.R as Karev needed her

April: I got her. Make sure your baby’s okay. Go

Arizona: I cant leave this

April: I got her. Make sure your baby’s okay

And we see Arizona make a mad dash to Karev’s O.R.

Arizona: What happened



Alex: I finished. It went well. You were on a twist with this kid so I thought you wanted to update the dad with me.

Arizona: Oh Alex his wife…

Corey: Is the baby Okay?

Arizona: Yes surgery went well, her vitals are good. She’ll likely stay in the NICU for a while but she’s looking good.

And he asked about his wife

Corey: Had Emily seen her?

Arizona: She’s still in surgery. There were some complications during her C-section

Corey: Wait she’s still in surgery?

Arizona: We’re doing everything that we can, I have to go back

Corey: Everything that you can, how serious is this?

Arizona: She lost a lot of blood

Corey: Where’s Dr Herman? Dr Herman had a plan. Now you’ve got my baby in critical care , my wife is bleeding to death. I don’t even know who you are.  

Arizona: I have to go back

Arizona was keeping a brave face, she was taking charge of something that wasn’t hers to handle, that she wasn’t equipped enough to handle.  This was Dr Herman’s responsibility, but since she was the protégé, although had not had enough training, she was trying to handle it well.

But as she arrived at the O.R., April and Graham were in stunned silence. Emily did not make it.

And Arizona was distraught.

Too much tension in this ep for Arizona’s patients. Very critical and yet her mentor was nowhere to be found. It was devastating.

So in the board meeting, Callie was there but  Arizona wasn’t as she was  tied up with her surgeries.

It was noticeable that we never had any Calzona scene the whole ep except for the  scene at Alex’s house. Not even the board meeting scene had both of them.

Alex Offers Help

Arizona: How’s his baby? …

Alex: She’s good, she’s stable, Let me do it

Arizona: No I have to tell him . how Alex, how do I tell him that his wife is dead?

Alex: Where the hell’s Herman? She should’ve been here.

Arizona: It’s not helping. I was here. Emily was my responsibility and I lost her.

Alex: So let me do it.

It was sweet of Alex to offer to do that difficult task of telling the husband of what happened to Emily. Alex has really got Arizona’s back professionally and personally.

Herman, Finally

Then surprisingly, they saw through the window , Herman  talking to Corey, Emily’s husband. She seemed to be handling the conversation well.

Dr Herman : Placenta percreta  is very difficult to diagnose. And in cases as difficult as Emily’s, it’s usually insurmountable.  If your baby had come to term, It’s likely Emily would have died.

Corey: No

Dr Herman: Corey, this is what you have to understand. If I’d done the surgery we planned, It’s likely that down the line, we would’ve lost Emily and your daughter. Dr Robbins did everything within her power for your wife but she saved your baby’s life. Your baby is alive because of her.

And it was time for a Herman-Robbins confrontation

Arizona: I’m not sure what that was about, but it doesn’t  change anything. I can't do it, I won't do it. You abandoned me, you left me no choice but to take that baby, you made me…

Herman enters and locks the bathroom as Arizona continued her rant

Arizona paused as she overheard Herman cough inside the bathroom

Dr Herman: Go ahead, finish your thing?

Arizona: I uh

Dr Herman : Oh no, no, no, go on, get it out

And Arizona hands Herman a tissue

Dr Herman: Thank you

Arizona: What? What’s happening?

Dr Herman: Yesterday my doctors decided I need some aggressive radiation therapy. Immediately, so that’s where I was today. It just hit me a little harder than I expected. Everything I said to that man was true. You saved a baby that we would have lost. I watched you. I logged in to the hospital interface, I monitored your progress. All day.  You made the right call. You made all the right calls

Arizona: It’s not. If you had been here, you would’ve …

Dr Herman: No. The only thing I could’ve done, is perform an intrauterine transfusion try to keep the baby in,a little longer, get her  closer to term and maybe, maybe we could have detected the percreta earlier but it doesn’t mean we could have diagnosed before her that you didn’t do.

Arizona: I wanna know how to do it, the intrauterine transfusion. Cause if theres a chance that I could have saved that mom, I wanna do it. For next time.

Dr Herman: I could show you tomorrow. 

Arizona nodded.

Dr Herman: Unless you’re planning to have a conversation with Chief Hunt

Arizona shook her head in disagreement.

Dr Herman: Okay, I’ll see you tomorrow. Go home.

Everybody Lived There

In Alex’s house, the attendings were chilling with their beers. Maggie, Mer, Alex and Callie were lightly chatting about Alex being the new occupant of Ellis Grey’s house, while Jo was in a room, separated from them.

Callie: Well it smelled a lot better when I lived here. Now it just smells like Karev.

Maggie: You lived here too?

Mer and Alex: Everybody lived here.

Callie: I practically lived here with George, right? George was my ex-husband. He was in that resident class

Alex : O’Malley (toast)

(Callie mentioned George and had that sincere respectful look on her face when they raised a toast for O’Malley)

Maggie: I’m sorry, “your husband?”

Alex: Yeah she just ....

Callie: Yeah I did him once

Alex:True

Meredith: I did him too. I did do George though. Once.

Callie: Oh God, We’re all related through sex. We all have sexual relations. That is horribly weird.

And they were all laughing happily when the doorbell rang

Alex went to the door and surprise,  it was Arizona with her luggage.

Everyone was looking at her, and of course we wanted the camera to pan quickly to Callie.

Callie was all these in perfect sequence: surprised, sad, faintly pleased, then quietly guilty

Arizona: Hi I probably should’ve called first but someone told me to go home but I wasn’t really sure where to go

Meredith: See? Everyone lives here.

Alex: Beer’s in the fridge. Hard stuff’s on the counter

Arizona: Thank you.

Notes:

Callie’s Reaction

Seeing them separated  set me off balance. But it is expected.

At  first, that comment Callie made about throwing her wife out a window,  was unexpected and uncalled for. I did not get that.

She was sympathetic last week.  And now she seems angry. And yes, it did hurt to hear her say EX-WIFE.

But after dwelling on it for a while, maybe she was trying to convince herself that she hates her wife? Maybe she was trying to let go and this was her way of coping? Maybe this is what she needed to love herself?

Maybe this was Callie's way of handling the break up-- lashing out.

At first, it was disappointing, but after some thought, I thought we could give Callie that leeway to feel what she wants and say what she wants. It’s her right. She may be going through a process.  And this is part of her process.

Arizona meanwhile is thirsting for Herman’s knowledge and so far, had withheld information. She had been  seeing Herman not able to fully fulfill her duties but she had not reported her yet.

Good thing the baby survived,  although the mother did not. If something happened to the baby, that would have been a double whammy for both Herman and Robbins.

In my opinion, by withholding this info, Arizona is treading on dangerous ground.

Arizona as Fetal Surgeon

It was nice to see Arizona dashing to from one O.R to another. She was hardcore fetal surgeon all throughout the episode.

She was as she was last week, very determined and almost blinded by her passion to succeed at this.

We are seeing her commit a sin of purposeful omission by not telling the hospital about Herman, when it was her clear duty to do so.

And this  is obviously  ripe for a big conflict later on.

Arizona’s choice

The good man in a storm is doing things in a not so “good man in a storm” fashion. This is not the Arizona that we know her to be.  The Arizona of ordinary  times, would definitely report this kind of situation to hospital authorities.

Let’s face it, that patient and baby were in danger, because of Herman’s absence. The patient’s husband was asking for Herman  but she was not there.

 Good thing Arizona made the right decisions in doing the surgery but still, even if the chances were slim, Herman could have made a difference if she were present. Her absence was a glaring one for a sensitive surgery as this.

And in this last conversation, (even if earlier, she was dead set on telling Hunt about Herman), she still chose not to tell on Herman.

She wanted to learn EVERYTHING that Herman could teach her but at what cost? This was endangering patients. Herman was not in the right condition to be depended upon for surgeries. This was dangerous territory that they were treading.

And Arizona was trading this for the knowledge that she sought. For the advancement of her career. Because (she felt) this was all she had. 

Now this is a major issue.

She was taking matters into her own hands for her own benefit.

This was in all angles, just not right. And we might have to expect to see her take the consequences for  this later on.

Sometimes, people get irrationally driven to achieve something and get blinded by that desire.

In effect,  they purposely “overlook” the clear consequences of that action. And taking this last patient as an example, it just was not ethical at all to keep  Herman’s condition a secret.

Arizona’s decision to keep it secret was unethical. That is clear and simple.

Their Support System

Their support systems were intact and we see them both supportive too of their friends.

Callie was supportive of Meredith whom she knew had marital concerns.

Arizona was concerned about April being in the OR and witnessing the voluminous amounts of blood from the patient who just had a baby.

And Alex’s support of Arizona was evident, not only when he helped her with the baby’s surgery but also when he offered to talk to Corey about the loss of his wife, and letting her stay in his house.
  

Last scene

It was disheartening to hear that Arizona was at a loss on where to go. With the stressful situation at work, Arizona was probably too problematic to even think straight and in her moment of vulnerability, her first instinct was to seek refuge at Alex’s.

It was dramatic. When Callie, who was merrily drinking and laughing, saw her ex-wife and overheard her condition, there was surprise, then a hint of being pleased to see her, then there was guilt and sadness.

It was a touching scene. The room was silenced when Arizona arrived. The laughing stopped. It was awkward.

So as Arizona went inside, the silence remained and Callie continued to drink her beer as the scene faded out.

The closing voice-over went:

“It’s hard to give second chances.  It’s even harder to ask for them. A chance to do it again, knowing what you know now, what you’ve learned, a chance to do it completely differently. A chance to right our wrongs, to try and correct our mistakes. A chance to try and start over. From scratch.”

No second chances as of the moment for our estranged couple. Each one is starting over. From scratch. Picking up the pieces after the fallout. Each one coping in her own way and as best as each of them could.

This Calzona setup was fresh. At least we see their characters develop separately.

Each character going through her own stages and  challenges. This time with their own support systems and without each other.

This is the bitter pill we all have to swallow, the initial stages of post break up. Their  withdrawal symptoms, their means of coping. Each person is unique. Callie chooses to free herself in this way, so be it.

She drinks merrily at the end scene, so be it. She wants to be herself. This is her own individual journey of loving herself. I accept that.

Arizona is immersing  herself in work. Is holding on to every bit of learning that she could get 

from her mentor to be a success.  She wants to succeed, to have a sense of gain ---knowledge and achievement-- so as to feel she still has something left after the break up. That is her way of coping. Even as she risks not telling the hospital about Herman’s secret.

This is the path that they are taking and we have no choice but to take it with them, and as always, we just have to trust the journey.

It is exciting to see how each one’s journey  will surely lead  to the really worst scenarios and they will be without the other.

We should get ready for that. This episode is like the warning signal.

So let’s brace ourselves for the winter finale.  As Shonda tweeted, let us all “hold hands” 

We expect a whole lot of drama and conflict.

Remember, this is the storm before the calm. Hold tight.

Bring it on.

Still #CalzonaStrong

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