Joana

Like I said in the spoilers thread, I don't really understand all this "going to lawyer" business. If they have joint custody, like the show has implied so far, wouldn't it actually be Callie taking it to court in order to get a permission to take Sofia out of state? And if they don't, Arizona is fighting a losing battle but she at least has to try and do something other than depend on Callie's goodwill, because what if she eventually decides she's staying in New York? Going to see a lawyer ASAP independently of her conversation with Callie would be the best possible thing to do in that situation. In essence, I'm not really sure what that is that Arizona sued for. Unless, of course, it was actually Callie and we didn't see it.

I certainly did. And I actually think it's a valid issue that should have been explored much earlier and not played out in such a sudden and contrived manner.

I don't think it makes her a monster, but I do think it's a betrayal of her character. Up until now she has treated Arizona as an equal parent in all senses. When Arizona cheated and she was deservedly furious with her and kicked her out of the house, she still had enough presence of mind to acknowledge that Arizona is Sofia's mother and didn't even consider denying her to spend time with her, on the contrary. And now, she's acting like Arizona is a friendly aunt who is free to visit whenever she wants and it'd be nice to know what she thinks about Sofia's possible schools. I guess that's what bugs people the most, I know it bugs me. She's simply not even acknowleding Arizona's position in this case. She must know what it would be like to be separated from her child for a year, that's why she's taking Sofia with her in the first place. But Arizona's feelings about being separated from her child are totally irrelevant to her. She's not even saying "Hey, I know this must be devastating for you, but I really, really want this thing with Penny to work and I feel like this move is something I have to do. Can we at least try to talk about what we're going to do with Sofia and figure out a way for both of us to spend as much time with her as possible? And I promise I'll make this up to you in every way I can". That would be considerate. I'd understand where she's coming from. But she didn't even give Arizona an opportunity to voice her opinion about it and it's not OK.

That's something that hasn't made sense to me since the beginning of this storyline. If they have joint custody, Callie can't be so casual about moving and taking Sofia with her - wouldn't she be legally obliged to consult Arizona? She seemed surprised Arizona even wanted to have a say in that matter. If they don't, then there's really very little Arizona can do about it and certainly any lawyer would tell her so. It's confusing.

Because it really is stupid and unrealistic. A couple of episodes ago she wasn't even ready to say she loved her and was so unwilling to let Sofia meet her that she lied in her face about it. Now she's leaving everything behind and burning bridges in the process so she could follow her - someone she wasn't sure was worthy of even trying to maintain a long distance relationship with. Moreover, the whole thing is not some romantic vacation. Penny is going to be really busy and won't have much time on her hands. Callie is only going to work part-time, what is she going to do in the meantime, sit around all day waiting for Penny to come home? If they were married or in a longterm comitted relationship and Penny got an actual job somewhere else, the decision to move away with her would be perfectly plausible. This simply isn't.

That's what I keep saying. She's been one of the most prominently featured characters this season, involved in two major storylines, and in the end she just straight up leaves, like nothing? Uhm, OK. What a waste of everyone's time. Also, I'm confused. Did Arizona sue for full custody? Did she really think she'd get it? In what universe would she even stand a chance and what half-respectable lawyer (assuming she didn't go to some loser desperate to make a buck who'd take on any case) would agree to represent her?

So the court is giving sole custody to one of them in the next episode? Well, it can't not be Callie, it's not even remotely debatable. This makes me even more certain that Penny will eventually walk away alone because she sees how much Arizona cares for Sofia and she doesn't want to break a family apart and so on.

Make some room in that corner! :D I mean, I totally see why people would be annoyed with her, she's come out of nowhere and is being pushed down everyone's throats and given an insane amount of screen time while the oldtimers barely get a line per episode. But still, I think that all things considered, she's really just a decent, sensible person. I keep thinking that she'll eventually call it quits with Callie because she doesn't want to be a part of that mess. It's just that, in that case, I see no point in bringing her in in the first place. It certainly wouldn't be to bring Callie and Arizona closer together again, that boat has long sailed. I wonder if the writers realize how unsympathetic Callie comes across. I could actually believe that they doing it on purpose so that viewers wouldn't care if she left, but surely they could have thought of a more appropriate exit for a character of her stature? Actually, the fact that Callie is all confident and has people on her side while Arizona had a public meltdown and didn't ask anyone for support (which was odd) makes me think they're going to do the exact opposite and the court's decision will be favourable to Arizona. Meredith instantly siding with Callie was so dumb - they're not that close, they're drinking buddies more than anything, and Meredith has actually been in Arizona's shoes before. I thought this episode was really boring. I cared about very little stuff here. Bailey and Ben zzzzzzzzz. Amelia and Owen, OMG. Stephanie and Kyle - they barely know each other, stop acting like it's some dramatic love story for the ages. The old cliche of walking in on someone naked and them jumping up and standing in plain sight for everyone to see their junk is really tired. And we know that everyone on TV has a big penis so it's not much of a revelation that Owen does too. I must say I appreciated that the old guy chose not to reveal his feelings for the doorman. It was heartbreaking, but that's how it really goes in life and it was really refreshing that for once they didn't go all soapy on us.

Speaking of Lexie, it's odd how basically everyone who's ever starred on this show (with the possible exception of Erica Hahn) gets referenced more often than she does. I think she was mentioned only once, and indirectly at that, since Maggie arrived. It's like, Meredith got a replacement sister, so let's all pretend the earlier one never existed.

This episode made me pretty sure that Penny will eventually decide she doesn't want to be a part of the gigantic clusterfuck that's about to ensue and she'll call it quits with Callie. So, what happens next? Callie obviously stays. Will she and Arizona now hate each other? Was the whole point of bringing Penny in just to make it absolutely clear they're never ever ever getting back together? Or is it going to be just the opposite and this whole mess will make them realize they still have feelings for each other and now can finally reunite as they have earned it in Shonda's eyes? Both options are dumb.

Preach! It was downright bizarre how she was behaving. Like I said, I kept thinking there must be a reason why she was being so irrational about it and thought she was going to say she had witnessed a similar incident as a child and a friend or a relative got killed and this case brought all the memories back, or something like that. But no, it was just because she cares so much. BS. And not only that - she was so unprepared for her to meet Sofia that went and lied to her face about it. And now she's moving across the country for her and they're all going to live together. That story is so contrived.

Obviously it will matter a lot in court (and from the look of it, she doesn't and is going to lose the case), but I don't think it's that important in the context of their relationship. If Callie treated Arizona like a caring ex-stepmom (which was a realistic possibility), telling her that she's moving and taking Sofia but she's free to visit any time would be more than thoughtful on her side. But, the show went out of its way repeatedly to show that their both mothers, so I don't see how they'll ever be able to look at each other the same way now it's clear that their views on Arizona's role as a parent differ that much. When April had that huge argument with Jackson and slammed the door in his face, she at least acknowledged that he's the father and is going to have full rights once the baby is born. I don't see any such upside here.

A conversation about what? They did talk. And Callie made it perfectly clear she had already decided she's taking Sofia with her. What else was Arizona supposed to do, other than simply accept it and give up? I agree that everyone clutching their pearls when Jo said she had a gun was absurd.

It's obvious Callie doesn't treat Arizona as equal when it comes to parenting rights. Sure she'll let her be involved and voice her opinion, but when it comes to things that really matter (like whether Sofia gets uprooted and taken across the country for a year), she gets the final say. If that was Arizona who wanted to follow her love interest and take Sofia with her, I'm completely sure Callie wouldn't entertain that thought even for a second. And now that it's established, it's a point of no return in their relationship, so I really hope this is not how they intend to pave the way for their reunion, as it would be completely ridiculous. I wish people wouldn't be obliged to pick sides in the next episode. I think it's reasonable that some would (Owen, April, DeLuca), but I don't see why, say, Meredith or Bailey would have to be involved. I didn't care for the whole "Guns are bad, mkay" shtick. And yes, I rolled my eyes at everyone treating it like some huge unfathomable tragedy they had never witnessed before. Obviously it was very sad but I'm also sure they've seen kids actually die in gun violence. Maggie was such an asshole to the babysitter. At least she acknowledged it and felt bad. She was acting so over the top that I was sure she was going to reveal she experienced a gun-related childhood trauma of some kind. I was never particularly interested in Bailey and Ben as a couple and this storyline certainly isn't helping. I wish they split up for good. And I can't believe Bailey used to be my favourite character on the show. She hasn't been the same for a long time, but OMG, she's hideous now.

It's true, half of the time she seems annoyed with him for whatever reason. Ever since he decided to change specialties they've had a more of a mother/son relationship, minus the icky incestous angle obviously.

The only way I'd ever be fine with it is if they realized their feelings for each other in the final scene of the final episode of the final season.

I'd definitely prefer Bailey/DeLuca over Meredith/Alex. Likewise with Bailey/Arizona, Callie/Maggie, Ben/April, Meredith/blonde intern, Jackson/Owen, Alex/Amelia, Jo/Stephanie or basically any other pairing not including Richard.

I used to loathe him for being a jerk, but the current Dear Abby/galpal version of him is every bit as bad.

I've just said that in another thread! Writing Jo out would be the easiest thing in the world. She got a better offer somewhere else after taking the boards and that's it.

I think that if Nathan's love interest turns out to be someone other than Meredith, the Meredith/Alex pairing is definitely on the cards.

This is so stupid. OK, they're at least talking about it, I was afraid Callie is just going to be served with court papers. But still, how long has it been since their conversation about moving to NY if Callie has already managed to find an apartment AND possible schools for Sofia? Why didn't Arizona approach her the very next day? Ugh, all of this is so contrived.

And that's what makes me pretty sure that they in fact do not have a legal custody agreement of any kind. If they did, Arizona would be assured that Callie cannot just make decisions about Sofia's future on her own. There would be no need to take any drastic measures as this situation wouldn't have even occurred. Callie would have to check with Arizona if she's fine with Sofia moving away. Otherwise, if Callie decides to treat Arizona as Sofia's friendly ex-stepmom, like mentioned earlier in the thread, there's nothing Arizona can do about it - except take it to court. I think it would be interesting to explore whether Callie really sees Arizona as Sofia's mother and completely equal with her in all the aspects of parenthood. Also, does she think Arizona sees herself that way? Does she think Arizona wants to be seen that way? I hope they take that route in the following episodes and not some BS that either gets resolved in 5 minutes (Meredith/Jo) or drags on forever in circles (April/Jackson).

The problem is that she presented it as a done deal. She wasn't trying to check back with Arizona if that's what she meant or how she felt about it, she simply informed her on the decision she had made. I thought there would be an actual misunderstanding of some sort. Like, Callie meant to discuss it with Arizona and for whatever reason didn't get around to doing it. Arizona then hears it from someone else, thinks that Callie is shutting her out, freaks out and goes to see a lawyer. Sure, it would be contrived as hell, but you could see where they're both coming from. Now they just look bad. And I don't see it as a misunderstanding but rather a regular pattern of their communication. Callie doesn't listen to what Arizona is trying to say, she just makes an assumption of her own and runs along with it. Arizona has a problem with something, but she doesn't state it in a clear and understandable way. It's getting so, so tedious.

How can "You can make a long distance relationship work" be understood as "Yeah, go to New York and take Sofia with you"? I am genuinely puzzled. Yes, Arizona should have absolutely said that she's not OK with it instead of going straight to the lawyer. But Callie didn't misunderstand anything. She made up her mind on leaving with Penny and chose to interpret what Arizona said accordingly.

Every single child on the show is like that. I absolutely dread any storylines involving dying children/children of dying parents since you just know they're going to be wise and mature beyond age and more level-headed than any adults around them. Ugh.