Elevator Superheroes

Calzona Review 11x23 “Time Stops”

Time stops and so did many things come to a full stop at the hospital when a  tragedy struck Seattle. 

Ambulances with 13 DOA’s, a wedding postponed, the chief of surgery decided to quit and  do something else; and interestingly, in an elevator, a woman was saved from paralysis and her baby  delivered by a certain beloved estranged couple…

For our GSMH doctors, all emotions and personal concerns were put on hold. Because it was a time to save lives.

“Time stops when you’re in the OR. You step up to the table, you evaluate the patient. You pick up a scalpel, and then you go into a bubble. It’s just you and your surgery and nothing else matters. Not time, not pain, not exhaustion. It happens in real life too. When something big happens, something tragic, you freeze. You retreat into your happy bubble, for what seems like a second, until you look up and suddenly you realize, it’s a whole new year.”

Welcome Chicks and Ducks

It was “welcome the new interns day” and Callie and Arizona were one with the other surgeons, excited to be amused by the entry of  newbies at GSMH.

Callie in her anticipation, was gorgeously blunt,   “I can’t wait to see the beads of sweat in their freaked out little faces”

And Arizona was her  lovely perky self  with their perky label for the newcomers, “It’s happening! The baby chicks and ducks are here!”

Uber amusing to watch was when everyone in the gallery who watched the chicks and ducks' being briefed by Webber,  memorized Webber's orientation speech. Even Callie and Arizona were reciting the words to themselves.  Yes, at one point, even if we did not get to see it, they were interns, too.

It was a regular day, the doctors not expecting the chaos soon to erupt.  And Arizona was on Owen’s case of getting back as Chief… “ How much longer is Richard gonna be interim chief? Because I want to expand my department and he has kind of a different approach to the budget.  So when are you coming back?”

But Owen had other things to do and was done with being chief.

Tragedy

When tragedy struck, where a tunnel collapsed and buried 20 vehicles in the rubble, it was all hands on deck at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital with Callie expressing her worry, “No we don’t even know what happened, but it is big. I guess we’re probably not making it out of here in time for the wedding.”

They had not known  what kind of accident happened at first, but the doctors  were ready for the ambulances. When these arrived though, they had no patients because they were all  DOA’s.

It was a  rare situation. They were all ready to help out, but there was no one to help. The ambulances were all bringing in dead bodies which the doctors weren’t even given the chance to save.

Common patient for Calzona

When at last, live patients were brought in, it was wonderful to see  Callie and Arizona share a common patient.

Their  patient was  Joan, who fractured  her neck and was due to have a baby. Callie was going to work on the fracture after they deliver the baby, and yes, Arizona was the one to oversee delivery of the baby.

Joan, together with her fiancé had been crushed in their car and Keith was still at the scene of the accident because he was badly pinned and severely injured, that a team of fine doctors were sent on site to save him. He couldn’t be  extricated from the car.

Joan had said she made her fiancé Keith take the tunnel when Keith  wanted to take the bridge. She was guiltily confessing that she  constantly told Keith what to do. They met each other nine months and 3 days ago. They were going to get married the next week.

Joan’s case was tricky because any slight movement in her neck would cause her paralysis

Meanwhile, Keith wanted so much to get out of that crushed car. Because Joan was  having their baby, and I took note of his loving statement while pinned by a crushed car:  “I really love the little things, it’s like I’m home. She’s like my home. I should really tell her that.”

Two minutes for the sliders

A welcome breather from all the tension in the hospital   was when Arizona was in the midst of all the wedding food from Catherine and Richard's postponed wedding, and when Bailey chanced upon her, she needed gastronomic advice, “Oh hey, I heard Catherine Avery had all the food from the wedding sent here, you know, for the staff , and I have two minutes. How many sliders do you think I can eat in two minutes?”

And she also needed advice about picking out the new chief of surgery,  “Do you think that Catherine’s gonna help pick out the new chief?  I mean why wouldn’t Hunt just do it? God it would save us so much trouble. The 12-page resumes and the phone calls and the polite vetting and who would want to be chief, would you? I should just do it right? Oh. Those crab cakes look really good.”

Teamwork by Dr Torres and Dr Robbins

Patient Joan was left with the interns and she overheard from their chatter that Keith was left under the crushed car and that “he was too far gone,”  which led her to have difficulty breathing. So when  a reckless panicky intern moved her collar, it proved wrong for her fracture and dislocated it which left the interns and Stephanie in a helpless situation and they needed super ortho surgeon Dr Torres in a jiffy. And of course ace fetal surgeon Dr  Robbins rushed to the scene too! Well, well, well!

Callie was aghast,  “What the hell happened in here?”  How the hell did she dislocate?

To add to the delicate situation, Arizona needed to get the baby out of her and needed to bring her to the OR fast.

When they were on the elevator on the way to the O.R, Joan was fine until she felt the pain of the contractions but she had to keep very still,  and that was the most tricky situation for Callie and Arizona. 

Forgive me for feeling that what’s best in this kind of situation was that they were together at a very intense moment. Oh yes, Steph was there too, but it was time for Calzona to shine.

Arizona was making her push and told her she was doing okay. Joan’s words brought tears to mine eyes…

Joan: I can’t. He’s supposed to be here with me, with us and he’s gone

Callie: Joan we know it hurts but we need you to keep going okay?

Arizona: Head’s out!

Arizona: Joan you did great

Joan: Keith was supposed to cut the cord. He was supposed to hear the first cry

Arizona: Hold your baby everything is fine. Mom, say hello to your son

Joan: This isn’t how it’s supposed to be. It’s not part of the plan. Keith should be here. Keith should be here. Keith should be here.

And Arizona,  together with Callie , witnessed the successful almost miraculous delivery of Joan's baby, while being held still, lest she be paralyzed. It was marvelous silent teamwork from our heroines. 

The closing voice over poses a challenge.. 

“How do you step back into the world? It’s scary. Time stood still. And now it’s speeding by. You are looking for a lifeboat. Something to give you hope. But are you really ready to leave your happy little bubble and step back into the big, blinding, bloody terrible world? Are you ready to achieve the impossible?”

Notes:

Working together

Seeing Callie and Arizona working together on Joan the patient was an absolute thrill. A warm blooded normal Calzona fan would  definitely be staring at their every move and glance and stare.

Hey, this has been rare this season, and seeing them together in one frame has already become a treat. However, Callie and Arizona were all-business. One could notice that they were “too professional” for us  people who were wishing to see  any kind of  communication between them. Even a meaningful glance would have been great. But nope.

No pleasantries, no looking, no conversations, no consulting with each other. They were just focused on  Joan and their treatment approach.

Elevator scene

So as some people had been  saying, we had been hoping for an elevator scene and they gave it to us, but not in the way we liked. And guess what, that is all right for now.  

However, Callie and Arizona were too focused on the patient to even talk to each other or consult. Both very serious about their doctoring, for it was such a  tense moment.

It was surreal to see Arizona and Callie cooperate  to make Joan deliver a baby and save her from paralysis. There was no one else they could rely on but themselves. 

We were treated to an intense elevator scene and we were just awed  watching them. Like their best talents merged. Our very own elevator superheroes.

As a diehard Calzona fan, of course I was hoping that somehow they’d talk, but because of the gravity of the situation, I quickly forgot about my own personal wishes and focused on Joan.

What I liked though was that both of them  knew each other’s skills so well. They trusted each other’s capability, that they worked in sync on Joan, without any difficulty. 

No conversation was even needed. I could feel in their silence, was that respect for each other's talent and skill.

What’s more, they were successful in being elevator superheroes for Joan because that’s how talented they are.

Promo pics reveal they communicate with each other in the finale and I’m intrigued to see that.

Funny we get so excited with them just talking or staring at each other. 

I guess we  learned  to not ask for much nowadays. Just a simple conversation would already make us happy.

Words of love by Joan and Keith

I had been closely attentive to Keith and Joan’s words for each other. They love each other a lot and were about to get married. But as with plans, they don’t always push through as people want.  They  had a baby but Keith was now in a situation where their beautiful dreams turned into worst nightmares.

 I was seriously trying to find how this loving relationship, literally “crushed” by a real life catastrophe was going to survive. I was looking for a  similarity between their relationship and Calzona’s. And yes, it did sound similar.

But I think it will be more fitting to think about it in a sense that they will see this as a wake-up call. And it was destiny that such a rare condition for a patient due to  deliver a baby and at the same time need careful crucial monitoring on her spine or else be paralyzed.

And so,  here I go with my  “meant to be” monologue:

It was fate.

Callie and Arizona were meant to work on that patient together.

They were meant to be together in that  elevator.

They were meant to both share that rare  moment in their work life, where  one was saving a life and one was  part of the miracle of giving life.

Of all the cases in the hospital, both were meant to be there and meant to hear about a patient’s love and concern for her  fiancé,  of plans they made but were stunted.

It was as if the whole situation was sending  them both a message.

Joan and Keith had love for each other. Keith gave in to Joan’s wishes most of the time. They both had dreams and both had full appreciation about each other.

Joan and Keith were having realizations of how much they loved each other, now that they were in very delicate , life threatening predicaments.

Now having just delivered a baby, they were supposed to share this very happy moment which they both looked forward to, but these plans were derailed by a sudden painful twist of  fate.

It would be a happy thing to think about if only Arizona and Callie will realize that if ever they still do have that kind of love and care for one another, that maybe they should not waste time and linger in their own independent moments and realize that what they have is still lasting love for one another and that they should not take for granted that they were still both there. Still present. Alive. Healthy enough to again paint dreams together.

As with everyone else who is batting for the Calzona relationship, I am  really hoping for a positive Calzona cliffhanger. It looks inevitable but we never really know where  Shondaland will bring these storylines.

Curious about how this patient situation will affect them.

And I do have high hopes that this can bring them to have much needed  realizations about their own halted relationship.

I hope they realize this : should they be waiting for something bad to happen for them to voice out their love just as Joan and Keith did?

Maybe, just maybe, something good between them will happen in 11x24, and finally make us happy after a painful eighteen episodes of them being apart.

With lots of hope, here’s wishing for the best for them in this finale.

I hope something starts in the finale. Something good.

So that when Season 12 begins, it will be the start of a new journey--a smoother, more hopeful journey of two people who have always had love for each other and have always been meant to be.

Here’s to hope that everything will finally lead to Callie and Arizona to love each other forever.

Happy Finale to you.


Keeping the faith till the end.

Twitter:

@GAFan8

Coming to Terms

Calzona Review 11x22 “She’s Leaving Home”

Still finding it hard to let it sink in that Derek Shepherd has passed on. That sad reality had also affected  Callie and Arizona, and this episode gave us  a  glimpse of how they had been coping and coming to terms with it.

It was an episode where Callie and Arizona did not have scenes together but we did see how they spent their lives as one year passed by, via the time jump, because Mer had been gone for that length of time, trying to learn to cope with Derek's passing.

Interestingly, both remained single,  getting by with their own activities as the seasons passed—from Easter to Valentine’s Day of the next year.

This ep also opened our eyes to what's going on in  Callie and Arizona’s psyche, and how they felt about their friends, how they associated with them and how they supported them. Both had been concerned about Mer being gone. 

I thought it would be an episode where they would at last have a scene together. It was a double episode, after all.  I was almost so sure we would have at least one scene of them together, but nope. Good thing though, Sofia was there,  so that made things bearable.

When a Man Flirts with a Woman

As expected, Dan Pruitt was back at the hospital and I didn’t know why I was watching him with a hawk’s eye all throughout. No I wasn’t possessive. I was just…observant. I even saw some “professional” hand- holding and I am still deciding if that is okay….uhmmm

It’s just that Callie did say she was bored with him and did not want any second dates with him. He was a closed book as far as we were concerned, but here he was again, so it must be fate.

Callie recognized Dan when he was brought in  for a fractured cervical spine.  Action guy that he is, he fell off a building under construction while on a case.   They needed  to stabilize his spine.

Callie was embarrassed  when confronted by Dan himself, on how she found him boring, all tackled in a light manner..

Callie: Haha I never, I never said you were boring

Dan: Don’t deny it, I got the whole story out of a resident. You thought I was boring that’s why we never had a second date

Callie: Which resident told you this?

She wasn’t able to extricate information from this cop about who his informant was,  with Dan still going on with the  joking reference to his being boring

He was flirting and joking with Callie,  but Callie  was pokerfaced when she told him he needed another series of surgeries in his abdomen.

Dan: Come on don’t make it that easy, give a little back. I can take it you know

Callie: Dan, I can’t make you any promises about your leg. I’m going to do everything that I can, but I am not confident that we’ll be able to save it. There’s a very, very long road ahead.

Dan : Well when you sling it back,  you don’t mess around. But silver lining, this means you’ll have much more time to fall in love with me. Hahaha your face, priceless

My personal Calzona  flirt-o-meter was at red alert levels. Dan had that full-on flirting game going on.

It was a pleasant feeling though that Callie had been brushing off all advances by Dan all the way.

She Made a Scene

This monumental Arizona scene just showed us how Derek meant to Arizona and it was just classic. Nobody disrespects the board around army brat Robbins.

Arizona was at the lunch counter queue with Maggie and Alex, talking about how Meredith still did not reply to their calls nor had left any messages. She was concerned too about Mer, she was a friend. They have that special bond of the plane crash tragedy.

Arizona: Is there no word at all?

A doctor was complaining about taking so long (two hours)  in getting a neuro consult. That the board had to get off their asses and hire a new neurosurgeon already.

Seeing that Arizona was already losing her patience, Maggie gave fair warning of its triviality…

Maggie: Don’t make a scene, it’s not worth it

Arizona: I know

But Arizona’s anger was building up. No one dares belittle the loss of their greatest neurosurgeon within earshot of member of the board Arizona Robbins without getting bruised..and Arizona blew her top

Doctor: It’s bad management. How hard is it to find…

Arizona : Really? Really? You think we just need to get off our asses? We should do you that solid. Cause the loss of our friend and colleague is all about YOUR needs...YOUR  schedule!!!? You think that we should be sensitive to that? How about you take a minute to think about the PERSON… the TALENT…. the LIFE that we lost? How about you think before you start complaining that Derek Shepherd’s death has been inconvenient for you!!!

And knowing that she didn’t keep her word on keeping her temper in check, she had to admit to her colleagues before she left… “I made a scene.”

All I could do was cheer her`on. That’s my Arizona. All praise and admiration for a person who knew how to defend the hospital board’s mourning state, of which Derek was a member, and whose  members (which included his wife and close friends) were reeling from the loss.

All that was needed was a little respect. 

That’s our Arizona showin ‘em…

It was Arizona’s character’s tribute to a most beloved friend and  colleague.

Callie Gives In to Amelia

Meanwhile, in the OR with Callie and Amelia,  Callie said that he and Dan were thinking he was a candidate for a viable bionic prosthesis.

Amelia overruled Callie’s plan to use Derek’s method and Callie, having notable empathy for a friend who had just lost his brother,  was understanding about Amelia’s decision to use her method.

Christmas and More Flirting

Then Christmas time came and Callie and Dan discussed Christmas…

Dan : You have plans for the holidays?

Callie: Yeah my ex and I are splitting Christmas with our daughter. So I get Chritmas Eve this year and she gets Christmas day

Dan: Callie,  I have to say something

Callie was trying to fend off his advances

Callie: Dan

Dan: Let me say this. I think that I was meant to meet you

Callie: No. Dan,  Dan,  Dan,  let me say this. When a doctor cares for a patient for an extended period of time , that care can often feel to the patient like uhm , affection….

(Dan laughs)

Callie: What? What?

Dan: I meant as my doctor but please keep going,  this is great

Callie: Oh my God

Dan: That first date sucked , I get it but it got me to you. And I think I  need you for this. I couldn’t survive this without you, so thank you. Merry Christmas, Dr. Torres

And as Dan raised his hospital cup, so did Callie with her imaginary one. “Merry Christmas”

Allow me to stretch symbolism when there really isn’t any, just for the fun of it. This scene,  for me, had meaning. For Dan, raising his real cup, symbolized his real feelings toward Callie. While Callie, raised her imaginary glass, because she  did not really have any feelings for Dan.

This forced excuse for a symbolism makes me feel so much better and compensates for not having any Calzona scene in this ep. Insert tongue-in-cheek emoji.

Seriously though, it seemed that Dan’s words were somehow half-meant. Like he was just evading rejection, so he said those things were just referring to Callie as a doctor, when in fact, he was actually trying to express his adoration.

And Callie “wrongfully” shutting down his advances clearly showed that Callie was aware of his flirting but was not entertaining it and keeping it all professional.

That Sad Christmas Tree

Meanwhile Arizona was hanging out celebrating Christmas Eve  at Alex’s with the singles posse Maggie and Jackson,  feasting on pizza and Maggie’s bourbon milkshake.

Focus was  on the  Christmas tree, an unfinished non-masterpiece by Arizona.

Arizona: It’s better than no tree. Alex was  like “why bother?”  and  I said “ you have to have a tree at Christmas otherwise your soul is just curdled and you’ve given up on joy”  so I got a tree. I started decorating it  and then some woman went into labor so I gave up

Maggie: To Zola

From Sofia

Arizona: Sofia keeps asking “Mommy , maybe at Christmas we’ll see Zola? Shouldn’t we get her a present?” And I don’t I don’t know what to say I mean I don’t  know if they’re ever coming back. So I caved. I got a gift just in case

Jackson: That’s the spirit

Here in this scene,  we infer that even if close to  a year has passed, Arizona was still staying at Alex’s place. Of course she could afford to stay in her`own place but she had chosen to live there.  She probably felt she needed company? Or that it was just more fun to live with 

And it was adorable for Arizona to think of making Alex’s place more Christmasy. It was cute to see their closeness as  friends-- the bond was solid.  

And that Sofia does miss her friend Zola. Because their kids are not just playmates. They are family. They are like sisters. So this bond between the Robbins-Torresses with Mer and her kids remains strong as ever.

Callie is Meredith’s close friend, and Arizona shares her own bond with Meredith.  Meredith is close with both of them.

It was so heartwarming yet sad to see Callie and Sofia spending Christmas Eve together. It was such a sweet, happy scene.... oh  if only Ar-- ....... hmmm sigh....

As if not to address what we had been feeling,  most noticeable was how Callie lingered a bit, as she looked thoughtfully at the Christmas stocking labelled  "Arizona", and yet left it in the box. 

The set of three stockings meant to be hung, -- only two out of the three stockings that was named after each member of their family, would be hung-- because this family was not complete. 

However Callie felt,looking at  that stocking, I just hope she missed her wife.. 

Arizona and  Her BFF’s Hubby

Another interesting and important scene, which was like a continuation of that Christmas chat,  and which we rarely see, is the scene where Arizona supports Jackson who was worried about her wife who went off to a war zone with Major Owen Hunt for their own internal reconstruction.

It was refreshing and comforting to see Arizona be there for Jackson. He was after all, her best friend’s hubby. Not only did she comfort him, she helped him understand what April felt and why he was acting this way. Because maybe, as a fitting parallel, she compared April’s situation to her past situation and how she coped with it

Jackson : She should never have gone. She should never have gone to a freaking combat zone

Arizona: I know. I know it’s hard

Jackson: It’s not just hard. It’s…

Arizona: She lost a leg. You know with everything that happened with you and your baby , maybe she lost her leg and maybe she’s learning how to walk again and you have to let her do that.

Jackson: Why? Why do I have to do that…she lost a leg then I lost a leg too. But guess what, I still get up every morning. I face everyday

Jackson explained he was worried because their phone conversation was cut off and there was gunfire

Jackson: I don’t even know where she is…

This worried Arizona and her face was a face of a worried best friend.

Somehow she was able to give Jackson some clarity about  April’s actions. But I think Jackson was also able to give her something to think about. – Jackson “lost a leg too” and for him, life went on. Callie did have a stake too when Arizona lost her leg.  And Callie went on living and loving her, despite all the sorrow that incident dealt their relationship.  There was something there somewhere that Arizona can think about too…

Callie’s Success with the  Robotic Leg

Callie was holding Dan’s hands. And they were looking at each other eye to eye. Why does this feel uncomfortable for me

Callie : okay go slow, concentrate, okay

Callie was elated. Dan was able to walk with the robotic leg!  She was cheering with delight

Callie: It’s great! That was the best first run of any patient I’ve ever had! You did it!

Dan: No you did it! I would never have done this without you.

And Callie burst into tears

Callie: It was you and it was me. The reason that your brain can tell your leg what to do is ..it all started because of these..these uh  badass little sensors made by  an amazing neurosurgeon who..you’re right. We don’t know why we meet the people that we meet ,but  I wouldn’t be here without him. He was a brilliant surgeon and he was a good friend. And he would love  this. He would’ve loved it.  Okay, anyway you wanna go again?

Dan: Absolutely

The smile that was on Callie Torres’ face was priceless. So much joy. We witnessed  Callie’s deep seated longing for the sensors to work—we all saw how happy she was.

Not only was this project successful. It was a testament to her friend and colleague’s genius. She was both sentimental and extremely delighted  about it. She and Derek had been collaborating on this for a long time and seeing it finally come to fruition successfully was just pure happiness for her.

But up to this last scene with Dan, although there was progress in their closeness, there was still that hint of detachment from Callie. Personally, I felt that she was still keeping it all-business.

Although we have seen that she had gradually softened and opened up to Dan over the span of almost one year, even to the point of telling Dan about personal stuff like splitting time with her ex  for their daughter on Christmas.

Also, somebody told me that it would have been so much better if those  words of Dan were said by Arizona "I would never have done this without you". The robotic leg could have been tested for Arizona and been successful for her, but instead, it was a success for another person, because as Arizona said before, she did not need to be fixed. 

Incidentally, hearing Callie speak of Arizona as “ex” really has that painful  effect on one lonely Calzona heart.

Yes,  Dan and Callie’s closeness grew over time. But still, Callie was single. And that could mean a lot of things. They had built a friendship over that time and maybe Callie could only see him as a friend. With his consistent flirting, one would question why through all those months, Callie did not fall for him.

Or we never really know, maybe this may progress too into something more.

On the other hand, Arizona was single too, over that one year period. They both had become used to being apart and living their own lives. Sharing their support with friends, spending happy  times with colleagues who had become family to them.

There is no dependence on any other individual. Both are growing,  coming into their own. Which is  admirable.

Arizona is still focused on her career, we did not see her have any kind of love interest at all. She is focused on her daughter, and her friends whom she supports and who support her too.  

Callie had been dating, but nobody had felt right yet for her. And Callie had been enjoying her own friendships too, especially Mer, Alex and Maggie.

Whatever happens, I just want to stick with the belief that if ever Dan and Callie develop feelings for each other, it will all only be for that  realization  about her relationship with Arizona.

If this is a necessary bitter pill to swallow for Callie and Arizona to realize that they are each other’s one true love, then so be it.

Nobody really knows what’s in store for Dan and Callie.

And there had been much talk  that all these uneventful episodes are leading up to a probable Calzona cliffhanger. Whether this would be positive or negative, we do not know.

No other choice but to enjoy the ride while hoping for a Calzona scene next episode.

One thing though. I just realized that Callie and Arizona have been apart for seventeen episodes already, and much as we have been patient, I am already craving for them to finally get back together.

In my opinion, it is time.

I’m all for completing the individual wholeness and for each one to grow on their own first before they can be right again for each other, but here’s my unsolicited opinion: I am already restless for them to get back together stat.

We have waited long enough. Maybe it is time for us to see them together again. Next season though.               

They have to be together. For the good of all mankind.

Two more eps before hiatus.

Just breathe.

Calzona Always.

Twitter:

@GAFan8