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So Derek and Meredith, as promised and hinted and prayed for by countless fans, might actually stay together. Might, because TV writers are cruel, and there are plenty of potential soap-opera obstacles in their path.

Still, the prospect of hope loomed large in Thursday's Grey's Anatomy season finale, "Freedom." And for Grey's Anatomy - which has ended many seasons by yanking happiness out of its characters' grasp - this truly counts as reinvention.

According to the Boston Globe, reinvention and recalibration have been the recurring theme of this season on ABC, between the Grey's Anatomy mood shift and the five-year time jump that marked the end of Desperate Housewives.

It's an important prospect, at a time when some of the network's biggest hits are showing signs of age - and network TV as a whole is fighting harder and harder for viewers. A hit only deserves to be a hit if it still has the capacity to surprise.

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For Grey's Anatomy fans who began the season wondering if Dr. ­Erica Hahn (Brooke Smith) was gay, last week's season finale offered an answer â€" she might just be, after Dr. Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez) made her move.

The two-hour episode â€" which culminated with Callie planting a kiss on Erica outside of Seattle Grace â€" had people asking: For the love of The L Word, could EriCal eclipse MerDer as the Grey's Anatomy "It" couple?

Creator Shonda Rhimes tells Entertainment Weekly that we may not have seen the last of this budding (and much buzzed-about) Seattle Grace romance.

Is there a future for Callie (Sara Ramirez) and Erica (Brooke Smith)?

"Callie and Erica have an undeniable chemistry," says Shonda Rhimes.

"Watching the story unfold is something the writers are looking forward to. I wanted to illuminate their relationship in the same way we try to do all relationships on the show â€" ­funny, sweet, honest, and a little bit dirty."

As for Brooke Smith, she doesn't think Dr. Hahn was coming out of the closet in the last few weeks leading up to the finale.

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With last night's fourth season finale, "Freedom," creator and executive producer Shonda Rhimes feels she's brought Grey's Anatomy full circle at last.

Here are excerpts of her thoughts on this two-hour episode - which should go down as one of the most memorable in Grey's Anatomy history ...

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So that was Season Four.

Right after we finished filming the finale of Season Three, I sat down with the Grey's Anatomy writing staff and I pitched them the last scene of Season Four.

That's how I do it. I start at the end.

When Season Two concluded, I pitched the image of Cristina tearing off her wedding dress and crying in Meredith's arms. For this season, I knew I wanted more hope.

I knew I personally NEEDED more hope.

So I pitched Meredith Grey standing on Derek's land in a field of candles telling Derek where the living room could be, where the kitchen could be, where kids could play.

Because I wanted them together. I HATED them being apart. It made me sad. It made me sad in a way that was bad for me and for everyone around me.

In the season finale, "Freedom," Meredith Grey finally "got there."

But I also knew that, in order for Meredith Grey to stand there in that field of candles, she had to get there. On the inside. Now I'm not an oogey inside person. I don't do warm and fuzzy and I certainly don't believe in therapy.

For other people, it's fine (yay, therapy!). For me, not so much. I write - that's how I deal with my insides. And Meredith, she performs surgery. That's how she deals.

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The head writer of the May 15 episode, Debora Cahn, talks about "Losing My Mind" in detail on the show's official writers' blog. Here are excerpts of her thoughts on the most recent Grey's Anatomy episode - the last before the season finale ...

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I had fun with this episode.

The Bailey and Tucker fight was fun. It was satisfying. It was satisfying to write a fight where there's no good guy and no bad guy and no mistake, just two people who love each other and want to make it work and can't. Because it's really friggin hard to make it work. Love, good intentions and good actions don't always help. It's just hard.

The Andre thing was really fun.

We were putting together a story about a woman who was lonely and sad, and because of her tumor, crazy, and the crazy manifested itself in her fabricating a man to be in love with. She'd have this whole big happy love affair with a man who didn't exist.

Meredith, Derek and their clinical trial patient in "Losing My Mind."

Then Shonda Rhimes walked right in the writer's room and said, "Okay, fine, she can be in love with a guy who doesn't exist, as long as he shows up at the hospital after she falls into an irreversible coma."

That's when I become filled with self-loathing.

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The head writer of last week's episode, Joan Rater, talks about "The Becoming" in great detail on the show's official writers' blog. Here's what the writer herself has to say about last Thursday's terrific Grey's Anatomy episode ...

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I'd like to share some thoughts on ["The Becoming"] but first I'd like to say ... OH MY GOD!!!! I just saw some stuff that was shot for the upcoming Season Four finale (that Shonda Rhimes wrote) and it's soooooooo good.

I don't mean to torment you and I really wish I could tell you all the cool things that are going to happen, and you should know the great restraint it's taking me not to give you even the tiniest little hint of what's to come (keep an eye on that champagne bottle from tonight's episode) because I have a big mouth and am really bad at keeping secrets so I can really relate to Izzie in this episode.

But enough about me and the Season 4 finale because first we have to get there and getting there is really what "The Becoming" is about.

Becoming who you want to be, who you know you could be if you weren't quite so screwed up or preoccupied with kissing when thinking about surgery.

All of our doctors are trying to become these people they see in their head, the versions of themselves who are strong and successful and happy, their best selves.

Izzie wants to be a good doctor and keep the news of Ava confidential - but also wants to be a good friend to Alex, who is changing his life for this baby that doesn't exist.

Alex Karev wants to be a good parent, but he himself didn't have very good role models, so he's scared that he won't be able to do it.

George is trying to be okay with the fact that he has to repeat his intern year, and Cristina is really trying to make the best of a bad situation with Hahn.

And then there's Meredith Grey.

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The head writer of last week's episode, Stacy McKee, talks about "Piece of My Heart" in great on the show's official writers' blog. Here's what she has to say about last Thursday's terrific Grey's Anatomy episode...

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Okay, before I start the blog, I have a confession to make. About the character of Addison: I love her. Not vagina monologue kind of love â€" but love nonetheless.

I love her sense of humor. I love her friendships with Callie and Bailey.

I love how Addison Montgomery has always known exactly how to call Derek out on exactly whatever it is he needs to be called out on.

I love how good she is at her job. I love that she's basically Sloan's McDreamy â€" even if his feelings aren't reciprocated. I love that she loves potato chips.

I love that she walks the hospital halls in heels that any normal woman would twist her ankle in... I love Addison. And I love that this was her Grey's Anatomy episode to come back to Seattle Grace for a visit.

The nice thing about bringing Addison back right now is that â€" she's been gone a while. She hasn't been privy to most of the Seattle Grace shenanigans since her departure.

So she's uniquely qualified to walk back through the doors at SGH and call things like she sees them. She can react the way we're all secretly reacting to Derek Christopher Shepherd pining away for someone OTHER than Meredith Grey.

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The head writer of last night's episode, Zoanne Clack, talks about it in great detail on the show's official writers' blog. It's funny and insightful!

Here's what she has to say about "Where The Wild Things Are," which marked the first new episode of Grey's Anatomy in more than 100 days ...

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Okay, before I start the blog, I wanted to mix this up a little in the spirit of the episode. Let's have a contest. 10 points for whomever tells me why Bailey's carrying her baby around all the time. 25 points if you can tell me the name of the crazy tumor that Phillip ends up having (no cheating by going back and looking!!! We're on the honor system here!). 40 points for the guesser of the theme of this episode.

And here's the motherload, the "medical mystery" if you will: there are lyrics to a song referenced within this blog (which also gives another clue to the theme). 80 points for the person who can name the song (and an extra 20 for the artist).

Did I mention I'm SO GLAD WE'RE BACK????!!! So glad prime-time network TV is back and can fill my TIVO with sweet, yummy non-rerun fictional candy again.

So what's been going on in the 6 weeks (tv time) since we've been gone? I've heard a lot of speculation out there, but Meredith is absolutely. Not. Pregnant. Not even close.

Hasn't even had sex. Meredith Grey. Our beloved, "have-sex-instead-of-problems" / "meet-your-soul-mate-and-sleep-with-him-after-picking-him-up-in-a-bar" Meredith.

She's traded sex for ... therapy? Therapy? Our Meredith? She senses there's something wrong, something really wrong. But she can't put her finger on it. Or can't admit what she's already put her finger on. Therapy is interesting because it's the one place you get to talk about yourself incessantly and someone actually LISTENS.

They're actually paid to listen to your drivel. And occasionally give you mind-blowing assessments of your behavior. But Mer's not quite taking full advantage of that. But it looks like there's some movement at the end… we'll see what she does with that. Maybe it'll help her actually start acting like a human being around Derek. They haven't spoken in the entire six-week interim. Mer's been totally avoiding him and he's been avoiding her. But they can't keep that up. They can't handle that.

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Grey's Anatomy returns tonight with "Where The Wild Things Are."

To mark the occasion, a woman who needs no introduction - Grey's Anatomy creator and executive producer Shonda Rhimes - has some words for all of you regarding the show's return tonight in her guest column for TV Guide ...

I like to call these five upcoming episodes Grey's Anatomy, Season 4, Part 2. Because for us, for the stories, it really does feel like a whole separate season. I came back to work after the strike with a whole new purpose, a new dedication. And a sense of hope.

My best friend, Oprah... OK, in my head she's my best friend, but in reality she barely knows me. But, secretly, I like to pretend I'm Gayle King because Gayle is the person who makes Oprah laugh, and who doesn't want to be the one to do that?

Also, I secretly wanna be Angelina Jolie. Because of the babies and the Brad and the fabulousness, but I don't have the legs. I lost my point. My point is that Oprah would say I have renewed my spirit. For me, that means I'm starting to enjoy this again.

Really enjoy this. Feel the rich possibilities.

So this season â€" Grey's Anatomy, Season 4, Part 2 â€" is the season of hope. For Meredith and Derek. For Izzie. For George. For Bailey. For Callie.

Shonda Rhimes previews Grey's Anatomy "Season 4, Part 2."

Hopeful things are happening. Meredith and Derek are going to get together for good. That's right. For good. Now, if you think I'm going to tell you how it will happen, you're crazy. 'Cause it is yummy stuff. It is special. I spent a lot of nights lying in bed awake thinking about this.

These characters are my friends. They are people I know well who happen to live inside my head. I worry about their shortcomings and I celebrate their victories and I so, so want them to be happy. But more than happy, I want them to be brave. These Grey's Anatomy episodes are about bravery.

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Grey's Anatomy finally returns tomorrow, for what will be the last episode we'll see until the writers' strike comes to an end. It's extremely sad, but at least "Lay Your Hands On Me" is shaping up to be rather interesting.

One reason? Rose. The character introduced a few episodes ago, and played by the lovely Lauren Stamile, has done nothing but spark controversy. Here is an interview Lauren recently did with E! Online's Kristin Veitch ...

E!: I heard your mom and dad met just like Rose and McDreamy.
Lauren Stamile: Yes! My mom is a nurse, and my dad is a doctor, and it's actually kind of cute, because you know how they wear the surgical masks? Well, my dad saw my mom's eyes, and that was it. Very romantic.

Lauren Stamile (Rose), Patrick Dempsey (Derek), Ellen Pompeo (Meredith).

E!: So, what was it like the first time you met Patrick Dempsey?
Lauren Stamile: I met him in my last meeting [with the producers], and I didn't realize how nervous I was until I met him! He's definitely one of the most charismatic and charming people I have ever met. I wasn't ready, I don't think. I was laughing and red and embarrassed and probably ridiculous looking.

E!: How very Rose-like of you!
Lauren Stamile: Yeah, I was so very much myself during that audition. I wasn't sure at first if that was good or if that was bad. I guess it wasn't too bad.

E!: So, how jealous are your friends that you're smooching McDreamy?
Lauren Stamile: Very! [Laughs] I would be, too, if I were them. My family is very excited. I can't quite believe that's really my job!

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With Grey's Anatomy characters struggling with various issues these days, what remedies would work best? To help answer that question thought, we'd thought we'd ask a local professional and avid Grey's Anatomy fan! Yes, it's a slow news week!

Campbell Phelps, MSW, LCSW, possesses a Masters in Social Work and a certification in Urban Leadership. She has a clinical background in treating co-occurring disorders, mood and anxiety disorders, and severe persistent mental illness. Campbell is also on the inpatient Psychiatric Consultation Liaison Service at a prominent hospital int he Northeast.

We could continue Campbell's professional bio for another three paragraphs, but you trust she's an expert by now, right? And, as with one of our previous medical experts, we're intimidated by her credentials. Alright, let's get to our interview ...

Grey's Anatomy Insider: What medications would you prescribe for various characters? Name the medication, character and reason for recommending it.

CP: Unfortunately I cannot prescribe any medications but if I could... I would get an emergency psychiatric evaluation on Meredith Grey. She probably suffers from a personality or psychotic disorder with how often she talks to herself! She would benefit from Thorazine - usually prescribed for people with severe disruptions in thought and perception. Maybe we could get her to stop twitching her lips a bit too....

Even Meredith Grey herself would admit she needs help!

Dr. Alex Karev is just too darn angry... he needs something for his poor impulse control, whether it be sexual or aggressive. He needs to stop just wanting to have sex with everyone without a commitment. Recommend Seroquel, to help stabilize his mood.

Cristina Yang... she needs valium or some other type of muscle relaxant. She is way too up tight and needs to chill out or else she may seriously (there IT IS) crack.

And lastly... poor little Lexie Grey. She should probably just borrow some of her sister's medications, as psychotic disorders are usually hereditary.

The rest of the bunch are fairly normal ...

Grey's Anatomy Insider: How often do you and your co-workers say the word "seriously" on a daily basis?

CP: We seriously say seriously all the time. Seriously. No, I'm dead serious (this is another common phrase).

Grey's Anatomy Insider: What celebrity should make a guest appearance on Grey's?

CP: So I took a poll on this one. Most votes went to Brad Pitt or George Clooney. Although one vote was for Colin Firth (random?). We think Brad would just jell with the rest of the cast and possibly give them a reality check. Plus we are hoping that he will get it on with Izzie or Miranda.

Grey's Anatomy Insider: You're also a fan of MTV's The Hills. So we gotta ask: Are you on Team Heidi or Team Lauren?

CP: Team Lauren all the way! Are there even people on Heidi's team?