Joana

I think it's safe to say Maggie will be getting a lot of screentime with the whole love triangle business. And to be honest, even without it they'd probably find a way to have her babble on about whatever for large chunks of each episode. It's just something we'll have to deal with. At least we'll now be free from the all Callie/Penny/Arizona/Sofia drama that swallowed up a huge part of the previous season and ultimately didn't go anywhere. If they don't come up with some similar nonsense, it should now open up a lot of space for other characters to be in the spotlight a bit more. I hope they'll use that chance.

"Deluca gets a bigger storyline" actually means "Deluca gets a storyline", given how his entire purpose last season seems to have been to look really pretty on screen. And hey, why not. If they're going to keep him around, they might as well give him something to do while he looks pretty. And OMG, he really does.

They had already done the "Meredith reunites with a long-lost sister" story once, it didn't stop them from bringing Maggie in. I wouldn't put anything past them at this point. Hopefully not, though. What makes me think that Owen's sister will show up in some way or another is that it's a pretty huge retcon that wouldn't really make sense if they're just gonna leave it like that. There were countless other ways to make Nathan his nemesis if that's what they were after.

Yeah, they'll need to explain her absence somehow, otherwise it would just be too weird. Unless we're dealing with a really short timespan here and they've compressed two episode into one single night or something. I agree that her reaction would be very interesting to see. I guess she would more than anybody else really have the most reason to figure out what the hell happened there exactly.

I really don't know which current character could be Arizona's love interest. Amelia would have maybe made sense back in the day, but that ship has long sailed. Maggie? God no. April? LOL. Bailey? Well, for the lulz, why not. Unless it's someone really minor, like that hot biracial (?) intern who appeared in a few episodes. Heh, why not her. I just hope it's not something totally outrageous, like Owen's sister with a new face after the accident and amnesia. And who also happens to be the new chief of ortho.

I think every one of them got a fairytale ending, or at least the show thought so. The character they always insisted the most on "keeping it real with" was Miranda, so it wasn't that surprising she'd end up with a husband who "didn't shake her core", a child she wasn't sure she wanted and a demented MIL she needed to take care of. Still, she was quite consistently portrayed as the cynical one and skeptical about the prospects of romance, so the fact that she cared enough about someone to allow to be uprooted from her Manhattan socialite lifestyle and be burdened with looking after a sick elderly person she wasn't even particularly fond of... In the universe of SATC it must have been a huge deal. She found true love!!!!11 Of course, in reality Miranda would be one those women who wake up one day after 10 years and wonder what the hell they had done with their lives. Charlotte got exactly what she wanted, a rich guy who would worship the ground she walked on and treat her like a princess. She wouldn't be as likely to get that from a stereotypically good looking guy. And really, Harry's physical appearance was only a problem in the context of all those (increasingly more) impossibly good looking guys they dated/slept with over the course of the show. Had he appeared in season 1, it wouldn't have been a huge surprise if any one of them had hooked up with him. As for Samantha, it was kinda annoying how the show kept on insisting of that image of Samantha as a sexual beast who doesn't do emotions. She's had several monogamous relationships and there have also been several guys she seemed to have a deeper connection with even thought it didn't turn into anything substantial. So, letting Smith hold her hand or whatever wasn't exactly as groundbreaking as they were making it out to be. Also while I do understand why Smith would be hung up on her - she helped his career a lot, she's obviously experienced and knows what's she's doing in bed, she's fun and easy to get along with, it's not difficult to see why he'd want to stick around, at least for a while. Also, he's a recovering addict and such people usually crave stability in their lives. Her motivation is much more difficult to figure out. Sure the sex was great, but we've also seen guys who'd screw her brains out only for her to lose interest fairly quickly, so it must have been something way more than just physical attraction if "he meant more for her than any other man in her life". And we never really got to see it develop. Most of all it just looked like the writers decided it's time to pair everyone off.

I could have sworn there was a reference to Miranda's "long day in court" once? Maybe I've confused it with another show. I don't think even the writers knew (or cared) what kind of lawyer she was. The show never really bothered to dwell into their professional lives. In the beginning it was fine as the focus was on other things like friendship and dating. They also seemed to have rather realistic backgrounds - Miranda was what seemed a fairly run-of-the-mill lawyer, Samantha owned a PR firm (but didn't know the entire New York celebrity scene), Carrie was a writer (OK, this was one was always iffy as her "work" seemed to consist of sitting herself down in front of a laptop and typing up a dozen or so sentences in one go) and Charlotte worked in a gallery. Later on they were all made to be *successful* so that their increasingly glamorous lifestyles would be justified, but we were never really showed how they got there. They just never seemed like they had to miss out on or sacrifice anything. The writers tried to "get real" with Miranda and show her as a busy single mom trying to balance between her career and motherhood, but it still felt awkward. Like, she would complain about not having the time to wash her hair while having brunch with the other three. Come on. Although, at least we saw her work, whenever Samantha was shown at her workplace, she'd be screwing someone. I think they also tampered with Charlotte's backrground a bit, in early seasons it didn't feel like she was coming from huge money.

Oh God, season 5 is horrendous. The Atlantic City episode is pure nonsense from start to finish. Samantha is at her pathetic worst there, anyone who calls her a strong, confident woman should watch how she acts in that episode. Although, it's not as bad as her saying "No man wants to fuck grandma's pussy", but I guess that was season 6 already. Although, my "fave" episode is the one where Miranda goes around looking like a hobo for days because she doesn't have the time to get her hair done (hello, Magda, hello, Steve, hello any other babysitter she could easily afford with her lawyer salary), which she complains about while having brunch with the girls, until Samantha of all people offers to babysit for her. Honestly, I think the entire storyline was just an excuse to put a vibrator next to a baby. Anyway, season 4. It has is its brilliant moments mentioned in this thread, but it's mostly ruined for me with Carrie/Aiden storyline. I just don't know where they were going with it. She decides she wants him back on a whim, because... he got fitter, dressed smarter and had a better haircut? Then she whines and insists and persists until her forgives her. Yay. Except that she loses all interest in him seemingly the moment it happens. She spends most of the time looking annoyed with him. She starts complaining about "missing her space" the second they move in together. She looks thoroughly unenthusiastic about him when asked to describe him by a new acquaintance. She refuses to wear her engagement ring. SHE INVITES BIG TO HIS CABIN. Remind me again, why is it that they broke up? I guess what they wanted is to show that someone can be perfect - just not perfect for you, and that's a valid point. It's just that it felt so flat for me because I never got the vibe that Carrie was all in and that whatever happened mattered all that much to her - except that she now needed to buy the apartment.

Not to mention that he was actually willing to make a compromise when he thought she was having a hard time quitting and going through withdrawal symptoms (when she was actually feeling bad about sleeping with Big), as he had come to really like her by the time. The dude was bland and boring and they obviously weren't a match, but she really was awful to him, especially the second time around. Inviting Big to his cabin? God.

Yep, S3 is when the show became too big for its own good. After that it wasn't about the dynamics of dating and friendship, it was about four women being faaaaabulous and living glamorous lives. All realism flew right out of window pretty soon. And Carrie became unbearable. Like it was said in previous threads, her affair with Big and the subsequent reaction to it was the turning point. That she acted like she was actually the wronged party and Natasha was somehow the bad guy in the whole story was seriously off-putting, and since people's reaction to it was inexplicably not nearly as negative as it should have been made writers think they could get away with pretty much anything. Carrie was always self-centered and oblivious to an extent, but after that she literally becomes unable of thinking or talking about anything other than herself.

I agree with this. The fact that she cheated in itself didn't bother me that much - not that I condone it, of course, but I could understand why it happened. But the thing, she was so oddly unapologetic about everything that it really made it difficult to feel sympathy for her when the whole affair blew up in her face. I remember when she talked about it to Miranda (I think) who said "What about Aidan?", to which Carrie responds "Yes! Thank you! What about Aidan?!" Uhm, that should have been your first thought. She really did some shitty things she wasn't called out for nearly as much as she should have been. Alongside those examples already mentioned here, I'll add the time she invited Big over to Aidan's cabin, because "he felt lonely". COME ON! How clueless can you be? The writing became quite uneven as the show went on. Sometimes the whole episodes were just terrible. The one stand particularly stands out for me was the one when they went to Atlantic City on Charlotte's birthday. There was a new WTF??!! moment literally every 30 seconds. On the other hand, what the show did become better at over time was showing the friendship and bond between the 4 of them. In the beginning it really looked like four random women thrown together and you'd wonder why they're even bothering with each other. I still wished they had shown more interaction between the other three independently of Carrie, though.

IMO the way she acted when they got back together for the second time was an even bigger turn-off. It was such a revolting storyline and her behaviour in that relationship made no sense whatsoever. It nearly killed the show for me and I cannot even watch those episodes in reruns now. And I'm not saying it as someone who's on Team Aidan - actually, I thought the dude was boring as hell and I wouldn't want to be with him either. But how she treated him was all sorts of messed up. It's weird that SATC has changed so much over time that those early episodes seam like an entirely different show, but Carrie's and Big's relationship remains consistent. They keep acting the same way literally down to the ultimate episode. Looking back to it, it's so bizarre that such a dysfunctional mess became a love story for the ages. And Carrie's character in general became a lot more difficult to handle as the show went on. She was much more down to earth and relatable in the early seasons, or at least her self-centeredness doesn't come through as much. And all the squealing... Oh.My.God. "S-CRRRUH-NCHIEEEEH!!!!!"

Ditto. Not that I hate them or want them gone, but I don't think we need to see more of them. Especially as I can't see it being anything other than the same old rehashed "I love you! No, wait, I hate you! I can't live without you! Get the hell out of my sight! Let's try to be nice to each other for baby's sake! But I actually do really love you!" merry-go-round. Also, more screen time means more drama, and those two have had more than their fair share of it. Just let them be.

I don't think they will even bother explaining it. Just like they never bothered to explain why Callie would move to NY permanently when her girlfriend got a year-long fellowship there. We'll just have to take it at face value and that's it.

Arizona was literally nowhere to be seen in the first half of the season. She got more to do later on, but most (if not all) of it was stupid, like her slutting around and betraying April. Even the custody battle storyline ended in the most absurd way imaginable. I'm not happy. I'm sure she'll be getting a new love interest next season and I think the best for everyone would be a low key relationship with some random doctor (or, *gasp* someone who doesn't work at that hospital) and who will be referenced to and shown sporadically. Whoever it is, I hope it's not the new chief of ortho, it would be silly. IMO, Cross is at this point a much more interesting character than DeLuca, whose only purpose is to look pretty on screen. Not that I'm complaining about that too much, but still, there was really, really no need to make him a regular. I was hoping that Stephanie would leave, but it looks like it's not happening. Now watch her spend the entire S13 being pissed at Amelia and the world for losing the life of her life, that she knew for about 15 minutes.

I too think something must have happened between Chyler and Shonda, and not just because Lexie was eaten by wild animals, which is horrible/hilarious enough in its own right, but generally because of the way her death was treated. She died unceremoniously shortly into the episode, Meredith cried a bit, and that was it. Nowadays no one even remembers she existed. And on top of it all, Meredith got a replacement sister. It didn't necessarily have to be something overly dramatic, perhaps Shonda had something else planned for Lexie and was annoyed that she had to change it. I don't think she's the devil personified as people sometimes make her out to be, but I also believe stuff like that is not beneath her. To this day I'm convinced that Gizzie must have been her revenge on Knight and Heigl, as literally nothing else makes any sense. What was the story on Kim Raver's exit? I could be totally imagining things, but wasn't Shonda saying she could come back any time and be welcomed with open arms or something like that? Because in retrospect, there was something off with Teddy's departure. It felt weird. Not quite a plane crash or disappearing in parking lot, but still.

That's probably true. This couldn't have been the "beautiful payoff" that Kevin McKidd was talking about, right? I guess she was about to stay, they would make up and it would pave the way for the possibility of their reunion in the next season. I still think it's absolutely ridiculous Arizona would come up with such an offer in the first place. The entire custody storyline seems to be done by three different writing teams with no communication between each other.

Wait a minute, I obviously didn't read it right the first time. That was the plan all along?! No wonder she wanted out.

There must have been at least some uncertainty regarding her status for the next season, otherwise I really don't see why Penny would be given so much prominence. It's entirely possible she first decided to stay and then changed her mind at the last moment, hence the nonsense in the season finale, but I don't think it came out of nowhere.

I think he's been relegated to "LOL, can you believe Callie was once married to a guy!" status in the eyes of the show. It's really annoying how disrespectful they can be to the former characters. Like Meredith pretending she didn't know who Alex was referring to as his great love. I mean, I don't think he and Izzie were destined to be together either, but she was a huge deal to him. And going back to Callie, uhm, Erica Hahn? OK, they didn't last long enough for her to count as a huge love story, but she was kinda important for Callie, for all sorts of reasons, and she's totally the show's dirty little secret. And don't get me started on how everyone pretends Meredith never had a sister before Maggie (and Amelia).

Perhaps he thought she was drunk and DeLuca was taking advantage of her? That would at least partly explain the rage. If not, Jo had better run for life or she would not like what was coming, the way he acted. The worst they could do is retcon it, with DeLuca only having a bruise or two and the whole thing quickly forgotten.

I don't think Penny was at any point meant to stay beyond this season. Her purpose was to create drama for/between Meredith and Amelia, and to provide an exit for Callie in case Sara Ramirez decided to leave the show. I assume they were aware of the possibility well in advance. And since switching hospitals yet again for whatever reason wouldn't make sense for Penny, they had to come up with this fellowship grant that somehow magically transformed into a permanent move to NY. Basically it was a very weak premise and the lack of on-screen chemistry between Callie and Penny certainly didn't help, so the final outcome couldn't have been any good. I do think something happened in the meantime that messed up the storyline even further. If it had been known that Sara was definitely leaving before the penultimate episode was made, she would have probably ended things with Penny on an at least somewhat positive note instead of treating like her crap, breaking up without even looking at her face and blaming her for losing Sofia. That way it certainly looked like Sara was staying.

The return of Sara Ramirez will definitely not depend on Arizona's relationship with other characters. I fully expect Arizona to get a new love interest next season, but I wouldn't hold my breath for something spectacular. Chemistry is something that's either there or it isn't, and at this point I really, really doubt they'd bother casting a bunch of women until they find the right match for her. They'll probably pair her off with whoever is available. Maggie was obviously a joke (although it would be kinda hilarious), but I wouldn't be surprised if they chose someone from the current cast. There's a hot intern/resident who appeared in a few scenes, maybe it will be her.

It will be... Megan Riggs. With a new identity. And a new face, as she got badly burnt/injured in the crash. No one will recognize her at first. She has amnesia, but will remember everything once she sees Nathan and Owen.

Yay! Looking forward to it! And then Maggie gets heartbroken, disappointed in manfolk and she finds comfort in Arizona. It would also solve the problem of getting a love interest for Arizona without having to hire a new actress. Bring it on!