funnygirl

But Meredith's therapist is supposed to be in episode 10, so by then she'd have hearing back unless she just so happens to know sign language, which I doubt.

Not true. Directors sign onto projects all the time without a script present, so long as the idea is in play. And the writers probably had this planned out while they were breaking story over the summer, so it's very likely that when Debbie approached Denzel to direct, it was just with the general idea. Especially because he might have a busy schedule and they might have needed to lock him in early.

Yeah, I think the red headed actress is playing a patient's family member. In one of the photos she posted, she's with an older man with his head wrapped in a hospital bed. And Penny and Amelia are in her pictures as well, so it looks to me that Penny is on Amelia's service and that woman is part of their patient case.

That's a matter of opinion. For me, I didn't understand why that episode focused so much on a random one-off character during such an important episode. I would much rather have had that screen time go to Amelia finding out about Derek, or something of the like with his family. It's just like with this season, where I would much rather see the screen time and character/doctor story development go to the residents the show has been employing for 3 seasons now: Jo, Stephanie, and Ben.

Grey's is nothing if not annoyingly predictable. And it's only a matter of time before both Meredith and Amelia embrace Penny with open arms, who has got to be one of the most unappealing character additions in the show's history.

I wish it was a sign of Penny leaving town, but unfortunately the actress was spotted in set photos for episode 14. Damn.

Grey's doesn't need any more babies. They don't show or mention the one's they have, now.

It's possible that Nicole is directing episode 15.

Same. And to tack onto your idea, I'd also like to see her actually trying to balance her demanding career and motherhood. They gave her three children, baby Ellis essentially a Hail Mary consolation prize for killing off Derek, and yet we don't see and barely hear about the kids at all. I much rather see Meredith coping with the idea of falling in love again, questioning whether or not she could or even wants to, and being a single mother. Her "sisters" aren't going to be living with her forever, at some point they will fall in love and move on with their beaus. Unfortunately we get the played out disaster. It's the show's go-to now because why spend time developing thoughtful arcs rooted in realism and giving these actors something to really chew on when they can spin their Wheel of Disasters and produce more episodes for shock value?

I don't foresee the show skipping through too much of Meredith's recovery, physical maybe but she's bound to have emotional trauma from this as well, because the season needs more story arcs that will sustain some if not most of the next 16 episodes. They are already dragging the Owen and Nathan drama out, to which the TV Line article said that we won't start getting some info on what happened between them until episode 14, or something ridiculous like that. So, yeah, I predict they are going to milk Meredith's trauma for all it's worth.

Yawn.

I can't speak on Heigl, because I don't know what she's up to, but at least Knight (in theatre), Dane and Leigh are all working with material that actually gives them something to do. Their current roles are far more meatier than 90% of the current Grey's cast/characters, so I'm sure they aren't complaining. And Grey's isn't really that notable, it's just the show that's still kicking and doing well in ratings for it's age. But in terms of quality? Not so much. But to the big wigs, quality doesn't matter. It's all about the numbers and dollar signs. For actors, it's about the work. It's about the art form. Passing through a scene with one or two lines an episode sure pays them really well, but for those that are in it for more than just the money, it has to be frustrating when you want to work with some material but can't because the writers are giving it to the 5 new actors they decided to bring in at the start of a new season.

Apparently an ambulance explodes, so I'm guessing Meredith's injuries have something to do with that. Her poor kids, though. They only come around when something horrible is happening. Kind of like Shonda.

Well we know Jessica Capshaw has signed on through season 14, so I'm sure the storyline baton will be passed back to her come season 13. Congratulations to her and her family!

Well that was pretty boring. I'm disappointed that Amelia broke her sobriety. As much as I'm enjoying Arizona and Richard's budding wingmanship, I wish that at the end Amelia called Richard to keep her from doing something she shouldn't. I was happy that Jo stood up for herself to Alex, even though I think he is very much sincere in his proposal but really does have crap timing. I do think she'll say yes, though. Also, I'm already tired of the Owen and Riggs mystery, I really wish they just laid it out there. The fact that the episode ends with Meredith revealing that Owen had a sister is not really gasp worthy. And so Riggs is probably a widow now, just like Meredith, and here is where they will bond and fall in love. Contrived contrived contrived. This show is running out of interesting stories to tell. I did appreciate Dr. DeLuca's shirtless eye candy.

I think the ferry boat scrub cap is a more affecting way of making sure Derek isn't forgotten, rather than Penny.

Jo's speech to Penny at the end pretty much says it all: Jo has been working on that patient (the show) for years, and Penny comes in and just takes the surgery (screen time) and runs with it.

That's a low blow for the dish rag. But yes, Penny is essentially a wet noodle that is taking precious screen and story time away from the characters viewers actually tune in for.

I still think it's messed up that a plot device is getting more screen time and is already on the path of growing as a doctor than Jo (and even Stephanie) have ever been afforded, and this is only the plot device's second episode. And I'm not even the biggest Jo fangirl! But she's right there, the character is already ON the show and we only know bits and pieces of her and clearly this season they've started on showing her at least feel like she's lower on the doctoring totem pole, so how about we start building Jo up professionally instead of focusing on some other random character they decided to bring in? It's frustrating. And I feel bad for Jo. (but not for Camilla, because she is getting paid for like a day's work. nice gig!)

Haha my goodness, and here I thought that we finally went one episode without Maggie talking about vaginas or vagina-esq topics. This storyline has lasted longer than Jo in Ortho.

This about sums it up. But by judging people's reaction to Meredith's behavior tonight, Shonda's plan to elevate Penny while having Meredith be extra-harsh seems to be working. And even though Meredith put her on her service for the rest of the week, I'm sure there is still more propping of Penny to go until we hear Meredith say the magic words, "I like her", and then POOF she becomes a permanent part of the cast. Personally, I think Meredith's worst offense tonight was her hair. Other than that, I thought the episode was lackluster save for the Richard/Maggie stuff. And it's unfortunate that most of the other main players on payroll had nearly nothing to do. Nathan Riggs, is he supposed to be American or not? I felt like Martin's native tongue was fading in and out, and I don't know much about him so I'm not sure if that's just him or if he's supposed to be one thing or the other.

Ellen Pompeo says Denzel directing Grey's was "the best thing that's happened to me in 12 years" She also mentions how she's in every scene of the episode he directs, which is episode 12.09.

Why the show scrapped Jo working with Callie in Ortho, I'll never know. That was a great dynamic that would serve both characters some nice story time away from the uninspired storylines of whatever the Jo-Alex-Meredith issue is and Plot Device Penny. Callie would finally have someone to mentor, and Jo would get to learn and excel as a doctor in a specialty that has very few women. The only teacher-student in specialty going on right now is Amelia and Stephanie. This show used to have almost everyone paired off, and when you have a pairing that they set up for a few episodes, why not capitalize on what they know works? SMH at these writers.

But you guys, Meredith being hurt this time around is the perfect opportunity for "Perfect Penny" to save the day!

I'm right there with you, except in a recent interview with TV Guide or Variety or one of those, Debbie Allen mentioned that they're filming episode 9 and alluded to Penny/the Penny story still going on. Whether or not Meredith has hoisted her up on the pedestal by then remains to be seen, but I get the feeling Penny is going to take up a good chunk of this season's screen time. Lucky us.