They are Legend

Calzona Review 12 x 01   “Sledgehammer”

Did you cry and chuckle and cheer in the season 12 premiere of Grey's Anatomy? Well i did. Very much so.

Stacy McKee did not fail me.

Her lines moved me...shook...me, brought me home...relieved me and best of all, made me laugh out loud.

Whatever antidote she used to bring out all the important emotions from our hearts in a single hour, well it was most effective. And that my dear, is what you call: genius.

Very smooth execution of story flow and seamless direction by Mr McKidd deserves a looped round of applause.

As a Calzona loyalist, i must admit that Shonda did not disappoint  in giving my babies ample screen time in this episode.

Of course i know that with an ensemble cast, they all get their turn in the spotlight, but surely it is a good sign to see Calliope and Arizona in almost 75% of the scenes. My Calzona soul is well pleased.

Why? Because it is the first episode of the season.

So what? Because it just means that the Calzona characters are respected enough to be a huge part of the premiere. Probably an implication of the producer's and network's respect for their drawing power and formidable fanbase? Maybe.

Yes, ABC, you're on the right track. Start the season with more Callie and Arizona and you can never go wrong. Pardon the bias. It's normal.

The tone of Meredith’s voice-over signified change. In everyone’s lives, including Calzona’s...

"So you might be thinking, Ive been here before. This is familiar. This is old hat . Maybe youre wondering, 'why are we here?' But i promise, you’re about to find out that everything has changed."

State of Calzona in 12x01

Callie and Arizona at the season premiere, are leading lives separately and as friends.

In case you did not notice, (which i highly doubt), Callie and Arizona got ample amount of focus on this episode. They both amazed and enthralled us individually. Each had their own touching (Callie's) and amusing (Arizona's) stories.

This time, in their individual situations, i chose just to look at their personalities at face value. Nothing yet of how this all will lead them back to each other.

Nope.

None of that yet.

I would rather enjoy them become their real selves. Now as ex-wives, they are going through life normally. They are good to each other and are facing what life deals them, on their own.  And they are fine.

Tackling the topic of bullying by reason of homophobia is very very close to home for this blog. And it is commendable that Shonda chooses to tackle bullying this season because it is a reality that needs concerned attention.

Moreso, it is related to the Calzona story.

I could not get my goosebumps to stand down when Callie, in all her sensitivity and curiousness about the injuries sustained by two teens Jessica and Aliyah, and their matching tattoos to boot, sought to get to the bottom of the story.

And surprise, it was an issue so close to home that it unleashed the venom of the Callie Torres Badassness.

Callie’s Cause

This episode gave us snippets of the Callie Torres character in full bloom. She is a friend (to Owen). She is badass. She is principled. And she will defend you.

Callie was badass since the beginning of the ep, after Avery seemed to avoid conversation with them about April: “Should we clear Trauma one to remove the giant bug from Avery's ass?”

She was a dependable friend as she gave advice to Owen who was like a high school lad nervous about asking Amelia out.

She gave wise words to Owen who seemed to be just  “overthinking”.

Callie’s patients were two pedestrians hit by a train on their way to school.

From the time Ben informed them of this, Callie was affected. Mainly because the victims were just kids, and injuries included a broken pelvis, and insides split apart.

Callie had said  they had to treat her internal injuries first before she could stabilize the  pelvis and extremities

The patients made  Callie curious . She knew there was something amiss. And both patients were concerned with each other. And both had hearts drawn on their arms. These conversations between Callie and Jess were so moving that they split the insides of my heart:

Callie:Honey, tell me what happened out there
Jess: We just wanted to be together , dead or alive

Callie:Youre only 15. You want to die?
Jess: It's more complicated than that. We weren’t suicidal

Callie: Jess, Im gonna tell you something personal about myself okay?
I like men...romantically sometimes. And i like women too. Its a big big part of my life. Can I ask you something personal about yourself?

Do you like ...girls? Do you like Aliyah?
Jess: I love her
Callie:What were u two doing out there ?
Jess: It's not that we wanted to die. This was just the only way we could stay together forever.

Callie: No. No Jess there are so many other ways. Killing yourself solves nothing
Jess: My parents, they’re sending me away…. They take you in the middle of the night and they change you.
They’re gonna make me change my mind about Aliyah.

Maggie: Your parents are doing this?

Sincere  understanding was etched in Callie's face. She willingly opened up about herself because she knew well enough that this young girl needed that sense of belonging. Jess needed to feel that somebody understood and accepted her and that she is okay as she is. She was feeling all this. It was familiar.

She had informally taken it upon herself to be counsel for this girl. She was her defender and was full of compassion for Jess who was undergoing such turmoil for  a reason that was familiar for her.

When Jess’ parents came, Callie was protective, asking that the parents be advised that they can see Aliyah after surgery.

Overheard from  the parents of both teens  was a demeaning little sentence: “They think they are in love with each other. They wanna grow up and get married”

As Callie and company  left after  informing Jess’ parents of their daughter’s multiple fractures, and Callie overheard Jess’ mom blaming her husband for giving Jess  a heads up about what I assume to be a conversion camp for gay teens, it was all Callie needed to hear.

Callie: I’m sorry but I’m not sure you understand what those places are like. I know you’re trying to help your daughter but that kind of camp is horrible. It will not give her the kind of support that she needs and I realize that you care about Jess but..

Mom: Care about her? We love her. She's our child. Our child. Please this doesn’t concern you

Callie: Jess' fear of that place is why she stepped in front of a train to begin with. She doesn't feel safe

Mom: We are not doing this now.. ..You have no right to talk to me other than about my child's medical care

Callie: She’s right to feel afraid. Those places are harmful. They will damage her mentally, emotionally. They are tantamount to child abuse.

Mom: You are here for one thing. One thing only and that is to attend to my child's  injuries ,  to help my daughter. That’s it.
So you can either shut up and do the job that you are here to do or I will get rid of you. Where do you think you’re going?

Callie: Like you said. To help your daughter.

Uh oh, Callie’s maad.

As they were in the OR, Callie spat out her thoughts to her colleagues:

Callie : That woman was bullying her own child. And you know, don’t  even get me started on her husband, he is useless. Useless.

Karev: Poor kids got no one in her corner

Maggie: What would make someone do that? Why would people act like that?

Callie: Karev?
Karev: Why you asking me?
Callie: Cause you’re a bully.

Just when we were about to fall into an emotional stupor, count on Callie Torres to add a touch of humor.  But here comes important information about Callie’s history, (the girl who sat in back of the class and ate her hair),  that is revealed in these lines:

Alex: Don’t go projecting all your stuff on me just cause you got picked on as a kid.

Callie: Oh no, nobody picked on Callie Torres
Maggie: Really?
Callie: Yeah, I was an easy target. I didn’t look like other girls. I didn’t act like them. I had to learn how to stand up to people like Karev.
So, I learned to fight. Tell you something though, once you start to punch your first bully, the rest start to fall in line pretty quickly

That’s tough Callie for ya.

Callie was human enough to react and fight for the kid who did not have a voice. And in effect, she represented the silent sector who could not love as they want, because they are discriminated against, by the very people whom they thought would support them-- basically FAMILY.

Being different from the norm is difficult enough as it is, and having to deal with it by yourself is a challenge in itself. But the very people you expect to be your primary support system, may not always support nor understand

Callie getting to the root cause of the injuries, defending Jess and fighting for her, was just admirable. And though we do know how active Sara the actor is in her advocacies, it is wonderful to see her character Callie Torres taking action on the small screen, to defend this kid from her mom who, in the guise of  thinking of the child's best interests, is actually already bordering on bullying, because of not respecting their child’s wishes and feelings.

Callie called Child Protective Services against the parents who were to bring Jess  to that camp designed to "transform" her from her current orientation, despite her dissent. How Callie stood up to the Jess' mom was pure badass Torres in action.

Not that we condone disrespect to parents of patients. This was a different case because  Callie stood up to Jess’ parents mainly because 1) the child opened up to her, which Jess could not do  to her close-minded parents 2) Callie understood how Jess was feeling because liking girls was right up her alley.

Callie understood her and felt for her. And she could see the glaring injustice dealt upon the helpless child by the very parents who were supposed to understand and support the child.

She wasn't the type to overstep the doctor-patient relationship but this case called for special attention and action. And badass as she is, she had taken on this case seemingly as a personal mission, beyond being Jessica's doctor.

Again, this added another dimension to Callie Torres that is well worth our admiration. She keeps impressing us, I could not help but cheer her on. Cute though that Maggie, after the mom thought it was her that told on them spewed these biting words, “Stop filling her head with your faithless inappropriate nonsense. You repulse me. You’re disgusting.

 As fate would have it, Maggie accidentally finished off the issue in true Maggot Pierth fashion.

Mer was trying to knock some sense into them. That there was a proper way to conduct themselves and not this way.

Callie, though,  was determined about her stand. For her , that woman deserved it. For her , it was personal

“You know what? Grey has a point. Next time leave the thumb away from the fist when you clench. That way you avoid bone damage. See?”

Is that badass or is that badass? ‘Nuff said.

Arizona the Legend

Arizona's roommate-search situation provided the comic relief in the episode and yes, it was hilarious.

Funny due to multiple reasons but much as we learned more about Callie,  we also learned new things about Arizona:

1) that even if she was an accomplished surgeon with two specialties, her patients had not paid her much. Maybe she had taken in a lot of pro bono cases because tiny humans aren’t the kind of patients a peds surgeon with Arizona’s heart can refuse. Tthus, she needs to share rent.

2) The Calzona house of my dreams had already been sold.  So Arizona, right after housemate Alex  decided to move to a new home with Jo, had to look for a place to live.

3) that nobody wanted to live with her, not even her bff April (a new surprise fact from Stacy)

4) that she is concerned about her best friend April that even Jackson found it somehow intruding

5) that people didn’t believe that she is an honest to goodness amputee.

6) Best of all,  that she is a legend and might be immortal.

On Arizona’s Renting Capability

I wish not to overthink about Arizona’s income capability and her net worth. I would just go with the flow that she does need to share rent with someone.  Neither do I want to think this is more about not wanting to be alone.

I will submit  to the script that Arizona is  an established esteemed surgeon who is part owner of a hospital, who could not afford rent. I’m fine with that. Maybe it is a story writing license in keeping with the Grey’s tradition to have the doctors as roomies. It gives them a more down to earth image, and makes them more relateable to people. That even high net worth single doctors need  roomies. They share apartments too.

Her dialogue with Stephanie was comedy all the way when she was puzzled at the lack of interest of hospital people to be her roommate:

Arizona: My flier's  perfectly placed. It's clear. Aesthetically pleasing.

Stephanie: Why do you need a roommate? You have a house.

Arizona: Had a house. Callie and I sold it. Now it turns out i need a little help in the rent department. You'd be surprised how many patients can’t afford my fees. I mean what am i gonna do? Gonna look the parents in the eye and tell them i can’t treat their teeny tiny little sickly babies?
Hey! Do u need a place to live?

Stephanie: I already have a place

Arizona is a Legend and Maybe Immortal

We were surprised with the new revelation that Arizona was not a very likeable roomie.

And that she is in fact, a legend. This has got to be the most hilarious thing ever. I think this will be one of the funniest if not the funniest scene in S12.

In Stephanie's words:

Is it because i have a kid? Or is it because im a boss like people dont want to live with their boss?

Stephanie: Did you hear DR Torres stabbed a white supremacist in the face?

Arizona: What aren’t u telling me

Have you ever been assigned back to back NICU shifts Edwards? And I'm not talking for like a weekend. Im talking for months of long terrible quiet nights all alone in the NICU watching over 27 incubators full of fragile dying little lies. You know how hard that is. Do you have any idea?

Stephanie: You are kind of a legend with the interns and residents.

Arizona was flattered maybe? But scoffing.

Arizona: Go on
Stephanie: You’re one of the Seattle Grace five
Arizona: I survived a plane crash uh big deal and a car crash and a shooting
Stephanie: You might be immortal.
You've mastered one of the most exclusive specialties basically overnight and then you took Herman's job and her eyesight .

Arizona: Okay that’s just…

Stephanie: You have screwed dozens of interns and you got them all fired. You speak really fast. Like superhuman fast.
You  have a weird name

Arizona: It's not true. I only slept with one intern and i have an awesome name
What? What else?

Do people have a problem that i only have one leg? I mean do people actually go there and talk crap about a one-legged person. Because that’s just discrimination against amputees.

Stephanie: They say you have two legs and you are only pretending that one is amputated. For the parking space.

We were one with the baffled Arizona.

But we were certainly floored by the hilarity of Steph's words.

Later on though, someone did take a tab from Arizona's flier and I couldn’t be happier.

So Arizona, has gotten a roommate in  hot new intern Andrew De Luca. She was skeptical at first on what DeLuca’s intentions were, but we discovered he wasn’t exactly popular with his fellow interns, so that makes a cool roommate pairing-- A Legend and an Outcast. 

Perfect.

In the Grey’s universe, being roomies is where the significant friendships are molded. Not to mention the countless funny roomie moments that are sure to happen.

So I’m expecting a lot and really excited to see the roomie adventures of  A and A.

Truth be told though, Arizona is truly a legend. Amputee or not. Affairs or not. She is the good man in the storm. And yes, she is A LEGEND.

I don’t need to make a list to substantiate this. You should know why.

And in the best three seconds of the ep, the good man in a storm high fives with her badass “friend” Callie Torres. A true legend and a hero, herself.

Arizona: Is it true? Callie punched a. Homophobe?

Pierce punched a homophobe.

Arizona: Ooh unexpected! Yes!

Team Badass scored. And it was high fives all around. And that Calzona High Five was the scene that made me happiest inthe season premiere. 

One line that stood out in this ep came from the dad who turned on his wife, for his troubled child’s sake. Thank goodness he saw the light,

“I don’t care if she's gay. I care if she's loved. I care if she's happy. And that is what u should care about. What is wrong with you, that you dont!”

And that sums up what Callie Torres has sought to achieve. And all is well.

So let’s not care if they’re separated. Let’s care I they’re loved and if they’re happy.

Things look good for the season. Let’s see where this roomie story goes.

Let’s see where the dating story goes.

Let’s see where this story of “friendship” takes us. *Wink*.

I am Mer when she says in the closing VO:

“My answer is you.  The thing that has changed is you.”

So many changes. ‘Tis the time for new beginnings.

Let’s go with them and dive in… see where the waves take us.

High five.

#Calzona5ever.

Twitter:

@GAFan8

The Sun Will Rise Again

Calzona Review 11x24 “You’re My Home”

“I remember in school someone  telling me I came from a broken home. That’s what they used to call it when your parents got divorced. Even though getting divorced was the least broken thing they ever did. When I heard that as a kid, I wondered if broken homes were where the broken people lived.

It was silly. I mean I was just a little kid. But to this day, I still wonder.”

Calzona In sync

As Meredith voiced these words about broken homes, as if as a fitting parallel,  we saw Callie and Arizona on screen, together with Steph, together attending to Joan and her baby, pushing the bed from the elevator on the way to the O.R.

Callie: Still feeling those toes, Joan? Good.

Arizona: You guys, let’s stop. Let’s stop for a sec

Joan (patient): What’s happening?.

Arizona:  There’s just a little bleeding which is normal after a delivery, but we’re gonna get you checked before you get your spinal surgery. Gonna take her

Joan:No, no what are you doing?

Arizona: Just for a while

Joan: No please, we were crushed in a car.  My fiance’s dead. You’re not taking my baby.

Callie: Joan your baby’s doing fine, we just need to check you out

Arizona: Okay you need to take him to the NICU and page Karev

Yes, Arizona was handing the baby over to Stephanie, which means she will be left with just Callie and the patient. Goody 

Joan: No (crying)

Arizona:It looks like uterine atony. We need to move fast.

Callie : We move fast,  we paralyze her

Arizona: We move too slow, and she bleeds to death

And the two slowly push the bed together, ever so carefully, but not too slow. They were in sync. They were a team. At last they looked at each other and talked to each other and it was such a big moment!!!---them talking to each other…about a patient…

Here I go again with my shallowness because even seeing them  just talking to each other about a patient  makes my heart pound … yes this is what it all has come to… happiness in the smallest things Calzona.

The camera work in this scene was superb. Like they were showing how Callie and Arizona were doing this together, and how they were pushing the bed. And most important of all, the camera focused on their stride, their shoes—Callie taking steps backward, while Arizona moving forward…seeing those lovely  pumas and Arizona’s prosthetic shoes … and  they had  a shared mission. They were going to save this woman’s life  as a team.

In the O.R., my hopes of only Callie and Arizona there with the nurses were dashed because Amelia was there. But I love Amelia so that’s okay.

Before they put Joan under anesthesia, Jo caught up with them in the O.R and after she announced that Keith was there at the hospital and was alive, Joan was elated although it made her pressure drop and they had to perform surgery

When at last the catheter was working, and  they successfully stopped her bleeding.

Workplace dating policy

This conversation happened in the O.R. And i did notice that Arizona and Callie were at the right place and time when Amelia made her unforgettable speech on workplace romance:

Amelia: So an intern opened her collar?

Callie: Stu--

Arizona: Wait, was that the intern we thought was an attending?

Amelia: You mistook an intern for an attending?

Arizona: Yeah he was pretty much running the trauma

Callie :Like a boss. Like a hot, hot boss. Somebody should get into that

Arizona: (Chuckling) Maybe you should get into that

Callie: You know what? You should get into that

Amelia: I don’t think so.  Have started a strict no workplace dating policy

Arizona: I hear you

Amelia: It’s all too…you know..They see you , all of you , then you come to work and they see you here too and you try to keep it professional and get things done but suddenly you’re thinking “I was naked on you before,” or “I wish you were naked now” “hey, remember when you were at my very rock bottom and I went down the rabbit hole and dragged you in with me and bared the darkest part of my soul in the midnight hours, so now let’s have a budget meeting.” It’s a solid policy. Trust me.

The wisdom from Maggie

This line from Maggie, who was dealing with her parents’ breakup, was a very important line as she spoke with Jackson and Meredith in the O.R., and I just had to take a moment to write it on here:

“You don’t just shrug your shoulders and call it quits. You find a way to work through it. You don’t just give up and throw it all away like it was nothing”

Cough cough, pay attention to this, Callie and Arizona.

Then with Joan being rushed to the O.R, Callie was there first and Arizona arrived to learn it was a Leaking carotid pseudoaneurysm

Arizona: And what about her right side, did she get her motor function back?

Callie: I’m worried about brain death at this point. She can easily throw a clot and have a massive hemispheric stroke

Arizona: Well it’s a good thing that you caught it

Callie: No Edwards. Edwards did

Mer’s good advice

I  could not help but single out this scene with Mer calling Catherine and Richard out on their petty arguments, where the words were strikingly relateable to Callie and Arizona…

Mer:

“…But the both of you are very very much alive, and breathing and driving each other crazy. And you yell and you argue and fight, and you both should be thrilled to be able to do those things.I would give anything to be able to do those things.  And none of those things are reason enough to not be with the person that you love, especially when there just isn’t enough, there will never be enough time. And you both know that  and whatever it is that’s coming between you two, will you just please figure it out?

Touching as it was, how I wish Calzona heard all this.

And as if to stress the point further, the scene between Keith and Joan could have opened the characters’ eyes to being thankful for what they had at present and making the most of what was existing. Learning not to take things for granted just because of the shallow unimportant matters. The new perspective was inspiring.

My baby, is my baby okay?

He’s doing just fine

Joan: And Keith, is he…

Keith: Im here

Joan: You’re here

Keith: I’m right here

Im looking right at you

Notes:

After watching the finale four times, i noticed some things.

I noticed the way Callie and Arizona worked with each other was just the same as they cooperated during the Gary Clarke epi. There was tension in the situation and they had to work well together.

It was teamwork-- especially when the camera focused on their stride and shoes, moving in sync, with each careful step.

And all was well. They finally talked to each other after working together on the patient giving birth on the elevator, in the previous episode.

I was slightly uncomfortable when they talked about the hot new male intern and Arizona ribbed Callie that she should get into that. And Callie in turn ribbed Amelia to get into that.

First, as a person who roots for the Calzona reconciliation, it hurts that Arizona was egging Callie on to have a date with another person and that was just a damper on my Calzona spirit.

However, in a different view, it was a good thing to hear Arizona fully accepting of Callie's bisexuality.

When before, she had her qualms about Callie also being into men, this time, we saw her supportive of that fact and that is a good sign of progress.

This talk then paved the way for Amelia's hilariously serious "speech" about romance in the workplace and i would like to think that there was a reason that it happened with Arizona and Callie in that same room.

This did not happen randomly, i would think. It was awkward but it was meaningfully funny.

It allowed us a tiny bit of an eavesdrop into the minds of these docs who work together, in this case Callie and Arizona, and that they try to keep it professional, yet they know each other as intimately as possible, and just brush that aside when work beckons.

At the wedding reception, seeing Callie dance to her heart's desire swinging her arms high up in the air, it was refreshing, it was invigorating. Like it was an antidote to all the tragedy, it was a way of coping, which was inspiring, and setting up for a fresh start.







Seeing Arizona being the dutiful best friend to April at a difficult time, as they shared a similar tragedy that April had been trying to handle, which was losing an unborn child—Arizona consoling her was heartwarming.

She was able to weather her own storms and was now capable of being strong enough to help her friend April to get through her challenges.

And as season 11 closed, we saw a great big progression in the characters and relationship of Callie and Arizona from the pilot to the finale

In Catherine and Richard's wedding reception, i was hoping Callie and Arizona would at least sit close to each other, or at least talk, but we did not see any of that.

Much talk had been made about the missing vase scene that didn’t make the final cut, and it does lead one to think that whatever the plans for Calzona for this season may have to be seen next season.

This ending voice over was as relevant to Calzona as it was to the other main characters…

“You can build a house out of anything. Make it as strong as you want. But a home..a home is more fragile than that. A home is made of the people you fill it with. And people can be broken, sure. But any surgeon knows, what’s broken can be mended…what’s hurt can be healed. That no matter how hard it gets, the sun’s gonna rise again.” This season, we saw Callie and Arizona break up, and it came to a close with them still broken up.

I never expected they would not get back with each other this same season, but we saw the season end with them as just friends.

Even if their marriage was broken, they were not broken as individuals.

In fact, we have seen them on their journey of self-rediscovery, of strength in the face of challenge, of facing the new possibilities of career advancement and new love.

This season we saw Arizona take on the baton from the best fetal surgeon in the country, therefore we saw her with a new specialty and she had been badass at it.

Callie had finally seen much success from the brain mapping project she started with Derek.

And she saw it work in Dan, her new friend.

It was an episode that symbolized new hope, new strength. That after a long journey of pain, strength was to be found.

Whatever their fate will be, I am still hoping fervently that they continue their growth as individuals to finally be right for each other. And happy together.

The journey may have twists and turns. But no matter how dim hopes may be, I have confidence that the sun will shine on the Calzona love story once again.

Shonda expressly says new romances are in store for both.

That makes my heart break but if this is necessary in this road to growth and wholeness, then I accept that with a broken but open heart.

It is comforting to know that Shonda is a giant fan of Calzona and she roots for them, so I take confidence in that. It pays to have the creator of the show on your side, shipping along with you.

I'm so stoked to see the drama and the funny moments unfold in Season 12.

Good and ready for a brand new season. Just six weeks to go.

Ready for new lives, new loves, and ready for Calzona to finally be ready for each other, and reach their happy ever after.

Calzona Forever in Season 12 and beyond..



Twitter:


@GAFan8

 

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