Season 3 of Grey's Anatomy began with Meredith helping an emotionally wrecked Izzie out of her prom dress and ended last night with Meredith helping a bawling Cristina out of her wedding gown.
Shonda Rhimes, as she puts it, likes symmetry.
Below are excerpts from her blog, in which she discusses the events of last night's finale, "Didn't We Almost Have it All," and what's in store for us in the fall when Grey's Anatomy returns for Season 4, now that she's "burned everything to the ground" in the third campaign ...
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This season was very important to me. It wasn't as light as Season 2 and for good reason. Our characters were in a darker place. I needed to put Meredith's mother to rest, Izzie's grief to rest, and the race for Chief to rest. George needed to grow up on a monumental level and then come full circle to where he was when we first met him in the pilot.
Meredith had to finally try to face the fact that she's damaged when it comes to relationships. I wanted to put Bailey on a path of questioning her standing as The Chosen One. Both Burke and Derek needed to hit a relationship wall, each in their own ways. Then there's Cristina.
Oh, the Cristina of it all.
What Season 3 is about most of all - for all of our women - is the idea of "having it all" is a myth. And that was true for Cristina more than anyone. Slowly, over the course of the season, we've watched as hard-nosed Yang sliced off little pieces of herself to accommodate Burke.
From helping Burke hide his tremor to Colin Marlowe telling her she's not the woman he knew to prepping for the wedding, she slowly morphs from kickass surgeon-girl into a woman we don't quite recognize in that wedding dress with penciled eyebrows.
I wanted you to have the feeling in the finale that she's become this painted doll - beautiful, everyone's fantasy bride, but a painted doll all the same. No longer our Cristina Yang. There's that wonderful moment where she begs Bailey to let her cut because a part of her knows she's becoming someone she doesn't recognize.
And then, just as she's lost almost all of herself standing there in that gown ready to walk down the aisle, Burke is telling her that he can't marry her. Because even Burke realizes that this Cristina is not his Cristina. It's devastating.
I hope you noticed that in the beginning of the episode Cristina talks about a heart as a purely anatomical thing ("it pumps blood") and then Burke's vows are all about the heart as an emotional thing ("I promise to lay my heart in the palm of your hands") and it's so sad to realize that they have completely opposing views of the world.
I feel for Burke and you should too because he knows that, in a way, by leading, pushing, cajoling her down this path to being together, he's done this to her - he's changed her. That the only way to save her from disappearing completely is to set her free.
And then in that wonderfully painful moment (how much do we love Sandra Oh and her incredible talent?) in the apartment, Cristina turns to Meredith and says "He's gone. I'm free. Damn it."
And it's so nuanced and layered and so tragic because she's relieved and terrified and heartbroken and suffocated all at once. Watching her journey back from this is going to be amazing next season.
George and Izzie and Callie: you all have your opinions, very strong opinions, on how you feel about this love triangle. I'm glad â" strong opinions mean you care what happens.
In the finale, Izzie's declaring herself and Callie's fighting for her rightful territory. That moment when Callie casually lets Izzie know that she's not only been named Izzie's boss but that she and George are trying to have a baby is very interesting.
Callie's saying "don't mess with me" in the only way she knows how. About the baby thing - for the record, I am very strongly against anyone trying to have a baby to save a relationship. It's crazy because it never works and I highly recommend you don't do it.
Plus it goes against every feminist bone in my body. But it is also human to delude yourself into believing that you're not having a baby to save your relationship, that instead having a baby is a way of taking your relationship to the next level.
And Callie gives that great speech about her hormones and her body.
I've been there and I know that it is real, this sudden baby rush that happens and, if you are firmly into your career, it freaks you out. Callie's just being as honest as she knows how to be with George.
Because she can't bring up Izzie again - not when the last time she brought it up, George called Izzie a supermodel thereby suggesting that Callie was, wellâ¦not.
Continue reading the rest of Shonda's blog here ...
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131 Comments
May 18th, 2007 2:27 PM
Burning down the house is an understatement! But, as frustrated as I have been this season, I can only hope for the best. I have faith that season three will bring new life, but hopefully no new interns.
May 18th, 2007 2:27 PM
this is soo sad. i don't know what i'm gunna do w.o greys anatomy! foreaals!
May 18th, 2007 2:29 PM
I don't understand why they made EVERYTHING go WRRONGo! no lie; it makes me upset esp cristina and burke but i saw that coming. but meredith and derek.. mer could have at least smiled to him at the end.. theres no hope..........
May 18th, 2007 2:35 PM
Meredith and Derek are the heart and should be the relationship anchor on this show. They are why I and everyone else started watching this show. You ended season 2 and 3 the same way. Please! You are messing with your viewers and that is when it becomes un-interesting.
Seriously, after all they have been through, yet again they are broken up?
Seriously????!!!!!
May 18th, 2007 2:45 PM
Grey's Anatomy! What an interesting show. What I (and many thousand others) would hope is a more positive relationship between the African American male and Asian female. This speaks volumes to the positive social impact the show has upon the world.
May 18th, 2007 2:58 PM
To end a season like that means 2 things, either Shonda is totally fearless or is too sure of herself which is just too bad, becos you have upset many fans Shonda and i hope you realise that.
Firstly, i hate the idea of lexie even if der is not going to have anything to do with her, simply becos i just dont want another new face on the show and especially not another grey. this also means we will see more of her father and the love he has for her. Secondly people will start comparing her with mer, which i think is not fair at all. The fact that she looks like the kind of person that has too much confidence is another problem. Derek i have to admit after the last epi, has every right to be fed up. I hope they will be able to resolve this issue without bringing a third party into it. Mark deserves to be happy, i am thinking he and izzie will make a good pair. I think george will eventually repeat his internship, its just one year is'nt it? i am also proud of him for sticking with his wife and making an attempt to make their marriage work. I am happy bailey didnt get the chief residence becos at least we will get one person in the show that will still have a healthy marriage. I am guessing she wouldnt have that if she becomes very busy, so the way i see it, the chief did her a big favor. What i dont understand though is callie getting the post, becos she never even had any intern allocated to her, they were all bailey's interns, and does that means she now has the right to order bailey around? I have to admit alex and ava really touched my heart last night,but she is married and the fact that the father of her baby is there would have complicated things even more if she stayed. No matter his reasons for leaving, i still think Burke made a very huge mistake letting christina go, people like her and mer need to be pushed to be able to she what is right in front of them, is he even coming back for season 4 at all? becos working in the same hospital with christina will be very uncomfortable for both of them. Adele seems to like mer, maybe she can be her next fake/surrogate mommy, i am also happy for the chief. I noticed at the begining and end of the epi der was shown walking towards mer on the corridor, what does that mean. I am guessing that is the begining of season 4? lastly, before i rest my case, i am once again going to stress... I HATE THE IDEA OF LEXIE GREY!!! Grrrrr............
May 18th, 2007 3:13 PM
i can't even express how dissappointed i was in last nights epi.. it totally made me lose all hope in everything! there is nothing for me to look forward to for next season.. i was the biggest fan of grey's before this season.. i took off work Thursday nights just to watch it.. and after this entire season, i don't even know if i'll be watching next season.. especially if MerDer are not back together in the very first epi.. i'm done.. that is ridiculous.. we waited forever for them to be together.. we watched Mer mourn for him and we didn't even get a few good episodes of them HAPPY together.. the few that they were happy in, we only got a few minutes of screen time with them... =(
May 18th, 2007 3:14 PM
We need Meredith and Derek to be ok. I guess with all the other caios that life has to offer, to have one relationship that works, that shows it's ups and downs but still prevails......we need them to survive!
May 18th, 2007 3:23 PM
Tiffani Thiessen is in talks with ABC to guest star as Derek's psychiatrist sister in season 4. Maybe she can help all those damaged people, especially mer and alex.
May 18th, 2007 3:38 PM
I so agree with all the other disappointed fans that love Mer/Der! I can't believe they have broken up (according to Shonda's blog). I actually had alittle hope before reading her blog. Whats everyone else thinking? Can this really be the end for these two? I pray not! I can't imagine going into season 4 with these two not together. I do realize this is tv show...but I am so depressed! I have felt so sad all day! I feel we have nothing to look forward to next season, especially if Mer?Der are NOT TOGETHER! I felt so sorry for Der when he poured his heart out to her and she said nothing. If she can't commit to him, she will never be able to commit to anyone! As much as I love Mer, SHE NEEDS TO GROW UP before she looses Der!
I need some words of encouragement from Mer/Der fans!!!!