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.

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