Grey's Anatomy: Gotta Have Faith(-a-faith-a-faith...)

I hope you, like me, enjoyed tonight's episode of Grey's Anatomy, because it's the last one we'll see until the strike is resolved. And wow, it's been a month since the last new Grey's. Which was only emphasized by the fact that tonight's installment picked up the morning after the last episode left off, leaving me scrambling to remember what, exactly, had happened the day before. On the plus side, Chandra Wilson (fresh off her People's Choice Award win for favorite scene-stealing star) finally got her Emmy showcase episode tonight. In fact, she was the narrator! (Needless to say, a huge improvement over the usual painful narration.)

Bailey: Unfortunately, Chandra Wilson's showcase was Bailey's nightmare, as her son was crushed by a bookcase after Bailey may have left the baby gate open in her rush to get to work in the morning, leaving Tuck with serious internal injuries, and ultimately ending with Tucker moving out. Okay, I have to mention the Bailey/Hahn confrontation (when Hahn wouldn't let Bailey into the operating room), because the face-off between the two strongest women in the hospital was In. Tense. (Hahn clearly never learned not to get between a mother bear and her cub.) I loved Bailey's warning to her afterward: “You’re new here…you don’t know me. And if what you did today ends up saving my son’s life, I’ll thank you for it. But if I never have to look at you again after that, that’ll be alright with me.”

However, as often happens on television dramas, the crisis served as a catalyst for soul-searching all around. First and foremost, of all the people I never expected to turn to faith, Bailey allows a patient of Dr. Hahn's who claims to be a healer (played by the very recognizable and always great Glenne Headly) to help her son, who can't breathe on his own after surgery. Meanwhile, everyone watches from outside the room, exchanging meaningful glances while a moving song plays ("Broken," by Lifehouse). And I may or may not have teared up a little. Shut up--it's Bailey's son! And he was totally healed!

Meredith and Derek: In less uplifting news, Meredith and Derek are off again after George accidentally spills the beans about Derek's kiss with Rose. (What's that? You forgot they were on again? Yeah, me too.) You know what? I'm kind of with Meredith on this one (and you guys know I wouldn't make that decision lightly). Yeah, she's all dark and twisty and damaged and whatever, but the dude's building them a house when they've only been dating exclusively again for one night, and he just kissed someone else? Plus, she's got a good point on the trust thing, since he didn't tell her that he was married the first time they were together. I mean, maybe she's looking for an excuse out, but it's a pretty good excuse is all I'm saying. Aaaand, of course, he immediately asks Rose out to dinner, basically proving Meredith's point that he just wants someone who wants what he wants, and not Meredith in particular. Here's hoping they stay off again.

George: Oh, man. Oh man, oh man. I think the definition of awkward is having your husband's clueless mom show up with a bunch of hand-knit baby outfits after your husband left you for a co-worker. Or maybe it's accidentally telling your ex-lover's mom about his adultery, his failed marriage, his failed intern test, and everything else he's been keeping from her over the past year. Ouch. And yes, Mrs. O'Malley is upset. Especially since Catholics don't believe in divorce. Props to George, though, for recognizing that he isn't the guy he wanted to be, and for refusing to bail out and let his mom take care of him. Be an adult, George!

Potential Couples: Potential Couple #1: Alex and Izzie. I mean, he called her a "bright yellow light." Plus, the healers agreed that she "brightens him up." And it seems like he might need some emotional support in the near future, since his childhood trauma story arc appears to be slowly floating to the surface, despite some blocked chakras.

Potential Couple #2: George and Lexie. God, I hope this is just a friendship. But he did kind of ask her to be his roommate, and she did crash on his couch, and they do seem to have a bond... Oh, dear. Can George not be single for a little while? I liked single George!

Potential Couple #3: Hahn and Sloan. First, I love that she and Callie are new BFF, allowing them to mock Sloan together. Second, I like that someone is learning from the mangled remains of failed relationships that are scattered about the hallways of Seattle Grace. Especially with incidences like the confrontation with Bailey, it's important to be able to leave yourself at the door with a job like Hahn's, and a relationship with Sloan (pretty though he may be) would only make that more difficult.

Also of note:

• I wonder if Cristina's subtle emotional journey from robot to living, breathing human during the course of the episode will raise her in Hahn's esteem, or lower her?
• I really loved the character detail that Lexie was so afraid to refuse Meredith's sisterly peace offering (a gross breakfast) that she knowingly ate something she's allergic to. It's just so...descriptive of her mental state.
• Okay, I really, really hope that Izzie's whole "I want what Cristina has, with the goals and the self-awareness" speech leads to Izzie actually having what Cristina has, because she has become weaker and weaker as a character as the years have gone by. Brief moments of self-discovery and strength (founding the free clinic, for example) are all but forgotten at this point, and it's a bummer, because she used to be pretty cool. (Remember that locker room scene when she stripped down and eviscerated Alex for putting up copies of her lingerie ads all over the place? What happened to her?)

At any rate, it's been a season with some serious ups and downs, but it ended on an up note, so here's hoping the strike is resolved soon, so we can see what happens next!