cycworker

Ok, I'll grant you the piece about the salary. But I stand by what I said re; creative directions. You are totally right that Mer is boring, but Ellen's ego doesn't get that. And Shonda's fed it. I tell you, I've read the comments in too many interviews with Pompeo to be convinced that this isn't at least in part about Ellen wanting to prove that it's GREY"S Anatomy. Doesn't mean that she has to be in every story - just that if you aren't connected to her, you aren't relevant. Alex is her person. Amelia & Maggie are her sisters. Richard is essentially her dad. Jackson is Maggie's man & Richard's stepson. If you don't have a tie to Meredith, you don't belong in her Universe, of which she, as The Sun, is the centre. This show is done in two years.

Quite likely that these moves are about recentering the show around Meredith. Ellen has been ranting, since Patrick Dempsey was let go, about how "Nobody says Viola can't carry a show. Nobody says Kerry Washington can't carry a show." She wants this show to have Meredith as The Sun, surrounded by worshippers. Arizona and April aren't part of the in crowd. Add in the fact that Vernoff is determined to put Maggie with Jackson, and that's the end of April. Why she thinks writing April out will make people more accepting of the couple - especially if they kill her off - I have no idea. And a big part of me thinks they have to kill her off, because I can't see her leaving Harriet & I can't see Jackson letting her leave with his child. Jackson doesn't want to be his father. Now, all THAT said - Teddy is coming back. Some think April could go work with Teddy because the military work was so helpful for her. That could be a read herring & April could die before she goes. And who was Arizona's best friend, pre-April? Teddy. I could well see the idea of Arizona & Carina in Italy - if Sofia didn't exist. And if Arizona hadn't had multiple scenes hinting that she's not over Callie. Couple that with Teddy coming back? Arizona & Carina split because Carina really isn't interested in going to Italy with Arizona if it means Sofia is coming along, and Arizona realizes she doesn't feel enough for Carina to leave Sofia again. So they use Teddy as a vehicle to get Arizona to go to New York so that Sofia can have both of her mothers in the same city again, knowing Callie is single and she realizes she does miss Arizona 'enough.' I think Vernoff just doesn't have the energy of inclination, in a show that's being centred creatively around Meredith, to write a real relationship for Arizona, given that the first thing she was hit with from fans upon her hiring was calls for her to get Sara back & give us Calzona back. So she's doing what she sees as the next best thing - giving Calzona their happily ever after, just offscreen. I think KV has just always seen Arizona primarily as "The One" for Callie, as opposed to valuing the character in her own right.

I don't think these firings are due to Ellen's salary. I do think that they could well be due, in part, to her ego, though. She has made multiple comments about wanting to be the centre of Grey's, in the same way that Viola Davis & Kerry Washington are for HTGAWM & Scandal, respectively. Arizona & April aren't part of Meredith's circle. Ergo, with the show now to be solely focused Mer as The Sun Cristina declared her to be, planets not part of her universe are no longer worthy. Maggie is of course part of the three sisters. So she gets April's man. Vernoff is a fool if she thinks JApril shippers are going to get on board for Maggie/Jackson because April leaves, or worse, dies. In fairness, I genuinely don't think Vernoff ever pictured Jackson & April together. The fan's desire for that above all else, in her mind, leads to, 'Get rid of April.' It's too bad, because I'd rather try her with Owen than have her leave. And I really didn't want to try her with Owen. Same problems with Arizona... she's not connected to Mer (even though she owns a part of the damn hospital), and Vernoff only 'gets' her in the context of her love for Callie.

@UNOSEZ - who is Hellmouth? Is that a nickname? The only intern I don't like is the one April is sleeping with, and I'm not sure if I would've disliked him regardless, or if it's because of April. I think Richard's improved... I know we didn't really see it this week but I like his evolving relationship with Maggie. And I think there's value in having an elder stateman/wise sage/quasi father figure on the show. I never thought I'd say it, but I am warming up to the idea of Maggie & Jackson in spite of myself. I want Arizona to be a good friend to April & try to help her. I predicted after the last episode that they'd have a blow up because April was hurt that Arizona failed to notice what she was going through - people not noticing or truly valuing April is a recurring theme - and now I suspect it's more likely to be a situation where Arizona does confront her with her concerns & April blows up, rejects the support/help.

Same. I took 'five minutes from being a teenager,' more in the sense of '9-is-the-new-12' than that they'd actually age her to 12ish.

I am really, really torn. I like Riggs. And frankly, I had reached a point where I was decidedly pro Riggs & Meredith. I guess, though, that between Martin Henderson only having a two year contract, and the return of Krista Vernoff - who was clearly brought in to right the ship - it makes a fair bit of sense. Riggs has been a mess of a character for quite a while. Heck, most of the characters are a mess at this point as a result of the disaster that was season 13. KV is doing a good job cleaning things up. The really tricky thing is that I like Amelia. I am still not sold on this notion of making everything that she's done since she arrived in Seattle the result of this stupid tumour. It feels like a "KV doesn't like these two together" cop out. Now, I admit, if it got me Owen with Teddy - especially if they left together - I could quickly get over it. The thing is, there aren't really any suitable men on the canvas for Amelia. In general this show is now suffering a lack of decent male characters with whom to pair the heterosexual female characters.

Thank you! That's interesting. I had no idea. So basically, much like other more formal professions (nurses immediately come to mind in the part of Canada where I live) you have to work X amount to keep your membership?

Forgive the post above; I don't know how to delete it. I really enjoyed the premiere. Don't think Alex & Mer are going to end up together, thank God. I'm really starting to like her with Riggs, and I think that's where they're leaning. Don't believe he loves Megan; he's just trying to do the 'right' thing. I have to say I loved the way Meredith & Megan interacted. God, have I ever missed Teddy. I could genuinely be happy with Teddy & Owen leaving together. That said, I don't want Amelia to die. And I actually do like her with Owen. I am not going to be able to put up with Carina DeLuca for very long at all. She irritates me only slightly less than Minnick. Bailey felt like Bailey for the first time in a long time. I still don't care about Jo & Alex, but Jo, as a character, doesn't irritate me nearly as much as she used to. I can't get on board this Maggie/Jackson thing, and it's not just because her dad is married to his mom.

I had no idea about her daughter. Does she talk about it on her Instagram? Is this her oldest? Forgive my cynicism but if her child has an intellectual disability she's likely getting occupational therapy and such (my cousin's son has Downs) which I would think she'd want to have medical for; if she leaves Grey's she'll give up her health insurance coverage. If she does want to leave I don't think they'd kill her because she's Derek's sister & they wouldn't want to go that route with her.

My point is that she hasn't changed her mind; she's just scared. Amelia wants children. She does. And I think Owen is going to be able to help her get past the fear.... he'll stand by her until she gets to that place where she is mentally healthy enough. Owen's going to get to be the genuinely strong - in a good way, not in an arrogant, macho way - one. He will successfully be there for her. I truly think Owen and Cristina are done, for good.

Well, I don't know if that's fair, either. I definitely agree that this isn't the same as Cristina. But when Amelia was talking to Owen about wanting several kids, and when they started trying... I don't think she was lying. But when she did think she was pregnant it brought back all the trauma of her baby's death. And then that boy she was treating died suddenly. She is an addict, things have tended to not go well for her (in part due to her own self-destructiveness) and she has no faith that this time things can be different. Derek's gone. Her fears have got her spinning out of control, jumping to worst case scenarios. Truly, in a lot of ways, the Amelia story is the most character driven thing on the show right now. I totally get where she's at. The level of fear she's at - it's irrational. She's the woman in the razor wire. Now, if you guys are right and Owen does end up sick, the cheap plot device to bring Amelia out of Stephanie's apartment & ready to open up to Owen about what's going on, so they can deal with it together. The thing is right now she's afraid to let herself believe that Owen will understand her fears & that they can work through it. The biggest flaw in the story? There are times when they seem to be writing it as though Owen doesn't already know Amelia lost a child. There has been at least one episode where Owen & Amelia talked about her baby. Might even have been two. One was in the chapel, when JApril were going through Samuel's death. And then I'm pretty darn sure that when Owen came back from the Middle East, and he found her at the house, with the Oxy, they also made a reference to it then. So Owen should be starting to piece it together. A friend and I were talking about Owen, and Shonda's beliefs about characters in general. I said that I saw this story as potentially being a way to redeem Owen and she reminded me that Shonda doesn't think about characters that way - as needing 'redemption arcs.' She likes her characters messy and full of shades of grey (no pun intended) so Owen's (or Arizona's, or Amelia's) mistakes/flaws aren't things she sees them as needing to be redeemed for, so much as things that make them three dimensional. We settled on it being less about redemption per se & more just giving us a reason to root for Owen again, and to remind us that he's not all one way. If he can be unselfish in supporting Amelia with this situation that will go a long way toward making me like him again.

@BaseOps - any thoughts on why Sara & Shonda are referring to it as time off? And Jerrika Hinton on her FB page said I think we're all (cast & audience - family included) a little in denial and just hoping she'll be back soon. Why would those things happen if this is a TR Knight/Heigl/Washington/Oh/Dempsey exit? I'm frustrated & confused.

Still nothing re: Sides.

I agree with you re; Owen & Arizona and Jo. Loved Owen at first, love Arizona. Hate Jo, because I just don't care for the actress playing her. And I, too, wanted Owen/Cristina to be over ages ago. My problem with the Owen/Amelia pairing is the opposite of yours, though. I haven't liked Owen since at least Season 8. Amelia deserves better. And I love Caterina S. as an actress. As time has gone on, I've liked Kevin McKidd as an actor less and less. For me, he's completely failed to make Owen in any way sympathetic.

I loved Season 6! I found Season 5 very uneven. It gave us the introduction of Arizona, my favorite character, so that was good. Erica left, which pleased me to no end. But the Dead Denny stuff was too much for me.

I totally agree. To be honest, I think it's even more important, with Derek dead, to have Callie/Arizona and April/Jackson find a way back together. People who watch shows like Greys need couples to root for. I honestly believe that had Derek not died, we may well have gotten Calzona back together in the finale. More likely, though, given JCap's contract status, a cliffhanger that would be resolved based on whether or not she ended up re-signing, Shonda wouldn't have wanted to rub salt in the wounds of the MerDer fans that close to the episode where Derek died, though... and she really didn't have time to do the C/A reconciliation justice. And I don't know that I think the Jackson/April thing would have happened had Derek lived. She's realized she has to bring these other couples up to a higher level of importance... MerDer & Crowen were always the 'A List' couples and both are now gone. They'll have to start investing more heavily in the other couples we're familiar with & that are popular, as well as working to increase the rooting value of pairings like Bailey/Ben & Webber/Catherine. Yes, the show needs to truly become an ensemble, now that the two 'A List' pairings are over. But that can't mean asking us to make a serious investment in new pairings for core couples who have been together 6 seasons (Calzona, JApril, Balley/Ben). People like homeostasis. They crave stability, equilibrium, familiarity. Couples like Jackson/April & Callie/Arizona provide that for the audience. They do start filming Wednesday - I was chatting on Twitter with Karin Gleason and I asked her. I didn't ask her about the sides, because I didn't want to say anything that could get folks who read & post them in trouble. There's a rumour they're not posting them at the same place anymore because they didn't like how much folks figured out re: Derek's death.

I have NEVER liked Jo, and i'd love to see Alex with Maggie. I want Callie/Arizona back together. I'm intrigued by what happened between Jackson & April in the finale. Ultimately I want them together, too. I loved seeing Arizona comforting April; she really DOES know what April's going through. A parallel between these two couples is far more sensible than the idea they had of paralleling the Calzona journey & the MerDer one. Even Callie/ Meredith... it was always a stretch to me. I like Stephanie. I hope they continue to use her character. I like Ben & Bailey as characters, but I have minimal investment in them romantically. I love Webber & Catherine. I have very, very mixed feelings about Owen/Amelia. I actually find myself wanting to like it, but I can't bring myself to invest, because Owen has been so ruined. It drives me nuts that they try to portray him as a good guy, when his is clearly NOT a good guy. I love Amelia/Caterina S.

Thanks, @Deanie87 - way to make me feel really old! LOL. I definitely remember both actresses, and both of those shows. Yes, both actresses are still alive. According to Wikipedia, Benton is 65; Canova is 61.

If anything I was thinking that baby was overdue. Meredith conceived in late March. Derek died March 26th. They stupidly showed us the date on his phone or dashboard in the car. I don't remember where it was shown, but I saw on Tumblr they showed the date. So the episode was NOT a full year; it was 11 months, and maybe not even 11 full months. There was no real reason to recast Zola. They didn't recast Sofia so they have now made the age difference between those two children larger than it should be. And there is no real reason to age Sofia at this point, because we see her at Christmas anyway, so she wouldn't change that much between then & Valentines Day.

Season 12 will depend what they give us in the finale, in my opinion. Some may not like Maggie - confession, I like her a lot, so I may be biased - but the implications of Maggie's existence were a good pull for the next year. I believe they need to do something to give the Calzona fans hope in the finale. Also set up something interesting for Jackson & April, as well as Alex & Jo - maybe go ahead and lay more groundwork for a situation where Alex moves away from Jo & towards Maggie.

It is really sad how much they've mangled this character. When he started I really liked him. He was a nice balance of bad ass and vulnerability. But everything you say is true. The only thing I can say is that if Owen has to be on my screen at all, and he has to be paired with someone romantically, I'd sure has heck rather see him with Amelia than Callie. And there's that, too. The depth of my love for McKidd is equal or greater to my disgust at Owen.

Me too please!

I have spina bifida, too. And while mine is severe enough that I need a wheelchair, I have a friend who can walk. It depends what type it is, where the issue is, etc.

@Windspirits - Maybe it's because I don't want it to be Calzona, but I think the pet adoption side is Jackson & April. Shonda had said they were still going to do the 'learning more about each other/exploring their differences' angle with them. Callie and Arizona know each other, for better or worse. ;) But seriously, I think they'd know the basics re: each other's backgrounds at this point.... that side read more like a couple in the 'still learning about each other' phase.

It isn't a two part premiere. They just decided to read both, and they're shooting 2 first for some reason. I'm guessing it has to do with someone's - probably Dempsey's - scheduling needs.