Calzona Review 11x20 “One Flight Down”
“A surgical residency
is all about training for the worst. But as prepared as we might be, we usually
don’t see disaster coming. We can try to
envision the worst case scenario, to foresee catastrophe, but when true
disaster strikes, it often comes out of nowhere. And when the worst really does happen, we
find ourselves completely blindsided. “
It was expected that this was going to be a serious episode. We had been aware of
the press releases of a plane crash and how Meredith and Arizona were
experiencing recurring PTSD.
But more than anything, this episode was rich. Rich in
emotion, in expression of thankfulness for life, of not taking life for
granted, and a touching display of friendship
among the characters, and how they were concerned about each other.
A testimony to how
they have become more bonded with each other over the years as surgeons, as true friends, as family.
“I need Robbins”
A small plane went down, right smack at a busy street in
Seattle, and in effect, a car came crashing through the window of a whole prenatal yoga class, and Richard Webber had a field day regaling
people of having witnessed the sensational event (from afar, actually) and how he came out of it unscathed.
While Jo and Stephanie were thrilled at the bone crushes,
burns and fractures they were likely to face
in treating their patients, and while Callie was coolly attending to a victim,
Meredith however, had unwanted flashbacks of the tragedy that beset her, her
husband, her best friend, her sister and her friends,
some time back.
Meredith and Arizona had severe trauma when they saw and
treated the victims of the plane crash. It all came back to them. It was PTSD
at work.
For Meredith, the screams in the trauma room brought back those same
screams of painful memories in the woods and how her person only had one shoe.
Meredith was visibly
affected when she was in the presence of the traumatized patients. At that moment, she was at a loss. Seemed
like she needed someone who could understand her and what she felt.
It was touching to see Meredith seek out Arizona—the only
person who could understand what she felt.
Alex asked Mer if she needed a consult but Mer
straightforwardly replied: “I need Robbins”
All those who were with her on that plane was not in the
hospital. Mark and her sister Lexie were gone. Derek was missing. Cristina was
far away . The only person who shared
that same tragic experience with her was Arizona, and at that moment, she needed only Arizona.
Where did she find her? In the supply closet, sitting on the
floor breathing heavily as if having an anxiety attack. Many an Arizona fan
would have surely wanted to run to her rescue and comforted her. Namely me.
And Mer joined her.
They both had felt the PTSD recurrence.
So they shared their feelings, they breathed heavily together and they
convinced each other that they were all right.
Arizona: There…there was a plane crash
Meredith: I know
Arizona: But We’re
okay. Cause it’s not us. It’s not us, so..we’re okay.
Mer : We are okay ..
we are..we’ re okay
Arizona: Did you see
the guy out there? His leg is severed beneath the knee. Did you? Did you see
him?
Mer: I did. We’re
okay. The girl. She can’t find her
boyfriend.
Arizona: We’re okay
Mer: We’re okay.
“It’s not my place…not anymore..”
When Alex sees Callie coming into the trauma room, it was
endearing how he was concerned about his friend and his mentor Arizona. It’s
always impressive how Alex, despite his abrasive shell, always manages to show that he is a man with
heart.
Alex: Have you seen
Meredith or Arizona today? They okay?
Callie: No I haven’t.
Alex: There ought to
be some rule. People who have been in a plane crash shouldn’t work on one
Callie: Haha that’s
not a bad idea.
Alex: We should uh,
you know, look out for them today, you know?
Callie: Yes, oh uh no,
no um I can’t. I mean I want to but I can’t be that person for Arizona. It’s
uh..it’s not my place, you know..Not anymore.
Alex: Right, yeah
okay.
I’m a little confused here. I had always been in that
mindset that Callie was already in that stage where she is friends with Arizona
and that she’s there for her when the going got tough. Especially during
Herman’s time. Even Arizona had also
shown that she’s there for Callie when Callie had problems with her patient.
But how come this time, she says it’s not her place? Not
anymore?… This led me to think.
Not that she isn’t there for Arizona. She actually had that
automatic agreeable expression when Alex brought up the idea of looking out for
Mer and Arizona, but somehow, she seemed to change her mind.
Maybe it was because this situation was different. Unlike
that time when Arizona was emotionally affected about Herman, and Callie was there for her with
no hesitation.
This was a plane crash incident and the wounds of this
issue may not have been actually healed yet, even if
they mentioned it jokingly last episode.
They mentioned this in jest last episode although as a friend pointed out
to me, we could sense there was still that hint of resentment in Arizona’s tone
during that time.
I was thinking, maybe Callie did not want to have to face Arizona at the time because it might bring back bad memories?
Arizona and Alex’s friendship
When Arizona bumped into “hovering” Alex, she was irritable.
“Are you kidding? Of
course I’m not okay”
Since a whole prenatal yoga class was victimized by the plane
crash, Arizona and Alex were busy with
the mom patients. And as Arizona gave Alex a rundown of the patients, her
behavior was not the usual Arizona attitude. She was clearly agitated, even laughing awkwardly, totally not normal
for such a situation. The PTSD was most
probably causing this. Alex was persistent…
Alex: You don’t really
seem okay. You need a hand?
Arizona: No. I’m just
in the weeds here.
Alex: Yeah you need a
hand
Not only did Alex tell close friends to look out for Mer and
Arizona. Good ol’ dependable Alex was there looking out for Arizona all through
this ep. So good to see the Arizona –
Alex friendship as solid as ever.
Callie and Mer’s Friendship
Callie chanced upon Mer in the locker room
Callie: You okay?
Mer: I’m fine
Callie: Cause you
know, there was a plane crash and just thought maybe …for about a year after the
plane crash, Arizona had nightmares. And if I’d come home even 10 minutes late,
she’d freak out so I just wanted to see
if you’re doing okay.
And Meredith expressed that she was not worried that she had
not heard from Derek …
Callie: It’s the plane
crash, Meredith. The plane crash is making you worry
Callie’s concern for her friend was admirable when she said
to Bailey : “You’ll call me if she, just
call me…”
Wrong notion
Alex went to the scan room and was looking for Callie. Yet
again, another display of concern, this
time from April . And some (wrong) details of the plane crash were shared in
the ensuing dialogue.
April : Hey are you
working with Arizona today? Is she doing okay?
Alex: Yeah well she
keeps yelling at me to do crap so I guess that’s normal. Anyone know how Mer’s
doing?
The next dialogue reveals the misinformation of their peers
on what truly happened about the leg amputation, and it made Alex guilty when April said, “Callie had to amputate”
And Alex had to add defensively, with private guilt, “She would’ve died, if the leg didn’t
come off, it would have killed her.”
Alex already had an encounter with Arizona but hesitated to
bring up the topic. He became guilty after hearing April say that Callie had to
do Arizona’s amputation.
To repeat, Jo said it again in a conversation with Stephanie,
as if to emphasize the wrong info that they had:
Jo: Did you know that
it was Torres who sawed off Arizona’s leg?
Stephanie: That’s what
happened?
Jo: Yes and it’s so
weird because now we know them….they’re
like real people and they were in a plane crash..
Alex hovering,lurking creeping
Arizona: I don’t need
help. I need you to stop hovering.
Alex: I’m not hovering
Arizona: Yes you
are. You are hovering and lurking and
creeping.
Alex: look I’m just
trying to help you.
Arizona: No Alex, you’re
not. Meredith asked you to watch out for me. Because she thinks I’m coming
apart but I’m not coming apart. But you hovering doesn’t make it any easier.
What would make it easier is if you got out of my O.R and let me do my job!
So Alex left.
Alex’s admission
Then Arizona, in another scene, made it up to Alex..
Arizona: Alex, I’m sorry that I snapped at you . I know that
you were trying to make me feel better but…
Alex: I was making me
feel better. It’s just, I wanted you to
be okay, all right? I’m sick of feeling bad.
Arizona: Why? Why
would you feel bad?
Alex: Do you know it
was me who cut off your leg? Callie was stuck in surgery and your circulation
collapsed from sepsis and she decided you had to lose it. But I made the cut. I’m
the one who did it. Just ..I don’t know if you knew that or wanted to but it’s
true. Are you pissed ? I mean you can be pissed. I get it.
Arizona: Thanks. For
telling me.
I was staring at Arizona’s reaction. Her focus was not on
Alex having had made the cut. She was not even mad at Alex. It felt like her leg being gone was not an issue
anymore. It
seemed she was now thinking of how she
had always blamed Callie and made her
suffer for it.
That beautiful confrontation
Arizona caught up with Callie and confronted her about Alex’s
admission…
Arizona: Why didn’t
you tell me?
Callie: Hmm?
Arizona : About Alex.
And my leg
Callie: Freakin Karev.
Arizona: Don’t be mad
at him
Callie: But he’s an
idiot. I was trying to protect him. Why did he have to…
Arizona: After all
this time, you let me hold it against you…I …why?
Callie: I made the
call. I mean no matter what, it was still me. Making the call to take your leg,
and I knew that you were going to hate me.
(Pause) I didn’t want you to hate Alex too, I wanted you to have
somebody
Arizona stares, with that fully appreciative look, like she was taking in all
the sincerity from her ex-wife’s words,
she nods all of three times and uttered a meaningful “thank
you”
This 48-second highly charged scene was pure happiness for me.
Let’s analyze their emotions:
Arizona
To Arizona, at first, it was puzzlement, and a bit of guilt. It was a big WHY. But no
doubt, she was touched by Callie’s noble deed. Callie was self-sacrificing and it seemed Arizona
noted all that in her heart. The fact
that she hurriedly confronted Callie upon Karev’s revelation, means she was
that moved.
She was questioning why Callie even had to do this, and
maybe there was also a bit of guilt about what she put her ex-wife through. By
her words “after all this time, you let me hold it against you”
She had been short with Callie all that time. That
thought that her wife cut off her leg was rooted inside of
her. To anyone’s mind, that was a hard
thought to live with, if not somehow mentally destructive to the image she painted her wife with. The
shade of resentment would always be in her subconscious. And true enough, in
their joking moment at the gallery, things were funnily delivered when Arizona made
talk of cutting off the leg as compared to cutting off a penis, but as a friend
told me, we could still sense some form
of resentment from Arizona in that scene
from last ep.
But this, this revelation of Karev, this changed everything.
Let’s take a peek at Arizona’s mind:
She held it against Callie because Callie made the call and
actually cut off her leg --
but
Callie did not cut off her leg.
She
even let Arizona resent her for something she did not do.
Any mere mortal’s heart would melt if someone did this very thing to
her. Ever since Callie’s promise to not cut off her leg was broken, Arizona accused
Callie in her heart , mind and in her
actions.
But this noble wife of hers, did decide to cut it off TO SAVE HER LIFE and was even willing to take
the blame for cutting it off, and even cared enough to see to it that Arizona had
someone to support her.
The appreciation was written all over Arizona’s face. Realizing that someone in this world loved her that much, enough to even bear her
resentment, just so she could be cared for and not be lonely.
Callie
Callie meanwhile, of course, was pissed at Karev. This was a secret that was not intended to be revealed. Knowing Callie, the selfless being
that she is, she was already content with letting this piece of truth be kept
secret for life.
It was a closed book/closed issue for her. The only important thing for her was
that Arizona was okay. That Arizona had
someone there as a friend .
Never mind if Arizona hated her for making the call and cutting
the leg off. All that mattered to her
was Arizona’s well-being, because if she hated Karev too, she wouldn’t be left
with anyone from that time till the present. Callie was practical enough to
focus more on Arizona having someone who could serve as friend and
confidante.
Callie and Karev were two of the most important people in
Arizona’s life. Callie knew that if Arizona had even the slightest resentment
toward her, she would need a support group and it was better for her to
shoulder all the blame than see her wife not have anyone. Not in her condition.
And even up to the time that Arizona already had seemed to
have gotten over the leg issue, and had learned to go back to living a quality
way of life, still, Callie did not plan
on revealing the truth, she saw no need for it.
She was not the type to count and make known whatever good deeds she has done for ex-wife,
even if they were fighting or even if
she was hurt by Arizona during the cheating, the irritability, short- temperedness. That was all negligible
to Callie. She did a noble, selfless deed in secret, and she was okay with
whatever good that brought her wife. No use telling everyone.
This event props up Callie Torres’ kindheartedness and
loving nature all the more. She truly is THAT KIND . That selfless. That giving.
Consistent as ever.
Seeing Callie spill out the details to Arizona, just made me
feel like curling up into a ball and think deeply about how to handle such an
emotion-filled scene.
It was too much for my heart and the tears were sure to
fall. That look that Callie gave Arizona, if you stare at the earnestness in
her eyes, you could feel all her love and sincerity for Arizona. All the love
in the world was expressed in that one look. Like she was willing to sacrifice
herself, for the welfare of her loved one.
And all that was expressed, even if they were broken up.
Worthy to note too that the look that Callie had toward Arizona was not normally the look of
someone who had already been estranged from her wife. I mean what the hell.
That was a loving look of someone who still loves her wife. Romantically or
not, I couldn’t care less.
Love was there. I believe myself cause I watched this scene 20 times. I would engage anyone in a debate if anyone
would say there was no love in that look. And I'm not even qualifying it as romantic. It was not.
I am not even going
to mention how deeply I felt for Arizona when she took in all that Callie was
saying. In her eyes and expression, was
so much gratefulness and heart. Arizona
gave Callie that touched,
thankful look as she listened and said thank you.
I wanted so much for them to hug right that moment. But I
guess both were taken aback by their conversation and maybe felt the awkwardness. But judging from their facials, what stayed
were: Arizona’s thankfulness and feeling of comfort, and Callie’s
unwavering loving concern.
Friendships
It was notable that in this episode, friendship was emphasized.
Aside from the superbly sensitive acting that we saw from Ellen Pompeo
and Jessica Capshaw in that supply closet scene, it is rare that we see
Meredith and Arizona bond. And it was good to see them share something that
none of the others present in the hospital would understand.
I truly appreciate
this emergence of a new friendship. Merzona is an important friendship. Bound
by pain and tragedy. Nobody else could
break through the bond created by tragedy. It was a bond only they could share.
The Merzona friendship was refreshing to see, and it was a unique deep kind of affiliation.
I really hope to see more of the Merzona friendship in future episodes.
Also, friendships with Callie and Arizona were as strong as ever --Aprizona , Merlex, Merlie..
The retro storyline
I do not wish to talk about how surprised I was that this
admission about who cut off the leg had
to happen now after two seasons of being
ignored. Like this is so season 9. That Arizona never really knew about it
after all that time.
But anyway, I will not ponder on the reasons why this was suddenly brought up again, even as I assumed
long ago that they may have left this for the audiences to just accept as a given, and that it
was not meant to be a literal thing.
It is safe to assume that maybe they were trying to answer
this two-season-old issue and maybe, to
finally tie up the loose ends in the stories, that people have been talking about.
Maybe too, this is the way that the show can tackle issues
between Callie and Arizona.
But I won’t talk about this perceived lapse during the the
past seasons. Nope, I won’t talk about them (wink), and will just let things be.
I would rather support how this story is going. At least they are trying to fix everything that
had long been questionable.
Survivors
I need to quote the closing voice-over because as much as it
is relevant to Grey’s characters, it does sound very familiar to Calzona most
especially, after having been through so much in life and love, but
both of them have been strong for it and survived..
“Why do bad things happen
to good people? We ask that question so often, it becomes a cliché. But that’s
because bad things do happen to good people. Constantly.
You just have to hope,
that when it’s your turn, you’ll know what to do…how to cope…how to persevere.
But the truth is, you don’t
know how you’ll react to your worst case scenario…none of us do…not until it
happens. “
Moving forward
With the way all of this is going, I need to say that we
have been seeing a string of episodes that are carefully addressing the issues between Callie and Arizona, especially the major ones. This episode also was an answer to that two-season-long
question perennially asked by the fans—about
Arizona not knowing that it wasn’t really Callie who made the cut.
All these episodes are slowly but surely leaving no stone unturned in
resolving Calzona issues since 11x05. All the
imperfections in their relationship, all their personal , social and career growth, all the points of arguments and
resentment are slowly being addressed,
in every way that makes strawberry syrup out of our hearts.
Sanest question would be: why would the show even tackle
such scenes and dialogue that resolve their conflicts? Why make them express their
care and concern in words and facial expressions if they weren’t meant to be together in the
end?
For me, I think everything is going fine and right on track
in this so-called journey.
We are being witness to love between these two beautiful human beings in
these episodes. Not romantic, but love of the more lasting kind.
Friendly reminder that the next episode is an episode we
will not forget. And that Shonda Rhimes wrote it. Too scared and yet cannot
wait, so good luck to us.
Mr Cop is coming back in 11x22, again, good luck to us.
Excited to see how Calzona progresses from here.
Till then.
#CalzonaStronger
Twitter:
GAFan8
No comments:
Post a Comment