S12.E22: Mama Tried

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Callie and Arizona are at odds over Sofia's future, and Stephanie questions the status of her relationship with Kyle. Meanwhile, Alex and April work on a pregnant teen that is readmitted to Grey Sloan Memorial.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Promo:

[Chicken Wing]

Huh. Honestly didn't see that coming. Eh, whatever.

[choclatechip45]

I thought for sure Callie would be getting custody I am very happy they awarded it to Arizona.  I loved how Bailey stuck up for Arizona on the stand made a lot of sense given the issues she had with Tuck. I also loved how she switched to Arizona's side after her testimony.

[DropTheSoap]

That was horrible. The only good that came out of Greys in court was an appearance by Anne-Marie Johnson. 

[Chicken Wing]

I must be turning dyslexic because I keep reading the episode title as "Mama Tired."

[sarkygal]

I'm just going to play Andra Day's Rise Up on loop for an hour or so. This episode should be SaRa and JC's Emmy submission for sure. They made me feel real, painful things over a fictional child. Horrible story line, but kudos to the acting. Where do we go from here?

[maraleia]

I hate what Shonda and Betsy Beers did to Callie this season with the Penny romance story and now this. I'm glad they at least had the sense to write it so Arizona got custody of Sofia because Callie hasn't seen reason for months now.

[candall]

I started watching it, but then I couldn't stand the suspense and ff'ed to the end--from the point Arizona tells Callie:  "I would never have let anyone say those things about you."

Mm-hmm. Callie jerking her hand away from Penny and wailing about how could this ever have happened?  I think there's an answer for that, if she thinks really, really hard. 

[arilliope]

6 minutes ago, Chicken Wing said:

I must be turning dyslexic because I keep reading the episode title as "Mama Tired."

haha! better than me, I kept reading it as "Mama Triad"

[kdm07]

I'm just glad that Arizona got sole custody. The stuff Callie's lawyer was saying to her about her nights out had me shaking my head.

I did chuckle at Bailey acting like a lawyer on the stand.

[BabyBBQKendall]

Writers, no matter what you throw at it, fetch Kyle/Stephanie isn't happening.

[Nilknarf]

My heart was broken for both of them, but most of all for Sofia. Both of her mothers obviously love her very much, and she would have been impacted by losing either one. 

I really didn't expect Arizona to win custody but I have to say it makes sense in terms of a young child needing the stability of the extended family she already knows.

Nobody truly won this case, even though Arizona "won" custody. It's just incredibly sad.

[Kate213]

They really need to stop overhyping these episodes.  It was just ok,  although the acting by JCap and SaRa was great.  Callie chose to go the dirty and aggressive route and it certainly didn't pay off for her.  Now she's lost custody of her daughter and done irreparable (at least in the real world) damage to her relationship with her daughter's other mother.  Glad they actually said that Arizona adopted Sofia, although that makes it all the more puzzling that Callie's lawyer went the "adoptive parent is not a real parent" route, and that Callie ok'd that.  Loved that Arizona called her out on what she allowed her lawyer to say.  Even though the episode was slanted to make us think that Callie would win in order for there to be a "shocking twist,"  as far as Sofia's stability it makes much more sense for Arizona to win. 

Bailey was great, especially her "Objection, speculation!"

I'm still shaking my head that Callie deemed Penny to be worth all of this, although judging by her pulling away when Penny tried to comfort her, Penny and her will be done next week.  I hope she doesn't try to blame Penny for losing Sofia, as much as I dislike Penny, that is all on Callie.

Don't care about Kyle/Stephanie.  Bet he's the death that's coming.

[LexieLily]

8 minutes ago, kdm07 said:

I'm just glad that Arizona got sole custody. The stuff Callie's lawyer was saying to her about her nights out had me shaking my head.

I did chuckle at Bailey acting like a lawyer on the stand.

And the things Callie's lawyer was claiming about Arizona having the audacity to do 92 (!!) emergency surgeries in the last six months. I doubt all 92 of those were on Arizona's scheduled days with Sofia. They could have been when Callie had Sofia, or during the daytime hours when Sofia would be in school. Likewise, I'm sure not all 25 days Webber won bar trivia with Arizona were nights that Arizona texted Callie to take Sof for the night. What about nights Callie asked Arizona to switch for whatever reason (I'm sure it happened!) or Callie's 27 emergency surgeries? Were some of those on her days/nights with Sofia?

[justmythoughts]

I'm so glad I got to watch one episode on the right day,usually I only get to watch it during the weekend, so I reload this forum thousands of times on my phone so I can read you guys!

Well played... did not see it coming either! It was nice... just wished we could have seem the judge saying something like: and this is so Sophia has a stablished community in here, family and friends and loosing all of these so her mom will follow her months' girlfriend for a year or so is not acceptable... if that was possible (no idea if judges can/should give reasons for their decisions).

Also, I really enjoyed Bailey. Very consistent with her character, quite feminist, consistent with her own experience as a single working mom.

 

Unexpected episode, finished battle, let's move on show, there are many other characteres and stories to tell now.

[funnygirl]

Miranda's testimony won this episode for me. She was great. 

I feel so bad for Sofia, but I'm happy that Arizona won if only because Sofia should be staying in Seattle where her home, family (framily), school, life is. I'm disappointed that Callie allowed her lawyer to go so low, it all seemed very unlike Callie which I guess has been a running theme this season. I like that Arizona called her out on it. And I'm sorry but was she trying to say that she loves Penny as much as Sofia? That is preposterous if that is the case! Part of the problem with this story is that Callie and Penny's relationship is so unbelievably wrong, is it any wonder why not many people were rooting for her to win? I sincerely hope next week is the last we see of that dull character, and that Callie chooses to stay in Seattle to be close to her daughter and continue to excel at her high level of work. 

[ChicksDigScars]

Okay, does this mean that Penny has officially broken up TWO families? One with her cooch, and one with her surgical skills?

 

Mere makes little sense this season. First, she can't be in the same room as Penny, and now she's testifying in a court of law, what a great person Penny is? I know she's moving past Derek's death, but this is the extreme opposite sides of the spectrum. And WTF with her "there aren't any nights off," from parenting. Didn't you just spend the previous night sucking down a bottle of tequila at Callie's while your kids were with your sister-in-law? Your sister and sister-in-law spend as much time raising your kids as you do!

 

i guess it's no real surprise that Shonda went with Arizona on this. Arizona is the adoptive parent, and Shonda herself has adopted three girls. And Callie has been painted with the cluelessly selfish brush from the moment this saga started. 

[WhosThatGirl]

While I think Sophia is the one who is going to suffer because of this, I'm quite happy Arizona won sole custody. I've felt that Callie's entire idea was that AZ was going to just roll over and let Sophia go with her. 

[Chicken Wing]

Quote

And I'm sorry but was she trying to say that she loves Penny as much as Sofia?

Seriously, what the effing hell? Having to choose between two people she loves? Is she really suggesting that Penny is on the same level as her damn daughter? There's no choice there.

[CookieChica]

I'm surprised but it makes sense. The fellowship is only a year, right? And then Blake has to come back to finish her residency or find a new program God knows where. It just doesn't make sense to traipse her about the country when she can stay where she knows with a whole network of people that care about her. 

I'm surprised that no one on the show mentioned that the whole reason Sophia exists is because Callie flaked the last time she was supposed to follow a girlfriend for her job. 

[Daisy]

I'm not sure how Arizona won sole custody. I truly thought judge would have split it. 

[GreysFan89]

1 minute ago, Daisy said:

I'm not sure how Arizona won sole custody. I truly thought judge would have split it. 

It's sole physical custody, you can't have joint physical custody when you live 6 hours apart.

[Chicken Wing]

1 minute ago, Daisy said:

I'm not sure how Arizona won sole custody. I truly thought judge would have split it. 

If the issue is that Callie is moving across the country, a split can't work. Sofia can't alternate living in Seattle and New York every other week, or spend half the school year in one place and the other half in the other.

[LadyJaney]

nevermind...

Edited May 6, 2016 by LadyJaney

[GreysFan89]

Okay, so first thoughts,

1. I loved Bailey! "objection, speculation!"  

2. I think there should be a spin-off of Arizona and Richard going to lesbian bars and playing trivia, I would totally watch this.  

3. Why exactly was Callie pissed at Penny at the end? Because of what she said on the stand? Because if so the person she's hugging made a hell of a cock up too, possibly worse than Penny.

4. I just know someone is gonna make a "did Arizona's leg grow back" comment, so I'm just going to put this here,

[Erratic]

Like Meredith VO'ed at the end, if you know the story of Soloman, it wasn't a huge surprise that Arizona won. However, there is nothing preventing Arizona and Callie from arranging visitation, like, say, every X weeks, Callie can jump on a plane and visit, or Sophia can go for summer or whatever. Callie had a crappy, awful lawyer, and Callie allows her lawyer to be a bitca. If Arizona truly believes that her daughter will do better with either mother, she now has the power to offer Callie a big ass olive branch.

In other news, who knew how easy it was to put a 24 week old fetus back into a leaky uterus? Huh.

Edited May 6, 2016 by Erratic

[LexieLily]

I don't know when "a year" starts and finishes in research grant-time, but I don't suppose it syncs up to a elementary school schedule. So Callie was going to, what? Take Sofia out of her school mid-year and enroll her in the NY one and then take her out of the NY one when Sof was just three months into her 1st/2nd grade? That's a lot of changing schools unnecessarily for a kid!

[Chicken Wing]

Also, I hate to defend Penny on anything, but my own mother sometimes blanked on what year I was born. I can forgive Penny for knowing innocuous details about Sofia but brain-farting on what grade she was in. :)

[Daisy]

24 minutes ago, GreysFan89 said:

It's sole physical custody, you can't have joint physical custody when you live 6 hours apart.

 

23 minutes ago, Chicken Wing said:

If the issue is that Callie is moving across the country, a split can't work. Sofia can't alternate living in Seattle and New York every other week, or spend half the school year in one place and the other half in the other.

 

thank you. i'm dumb. :)

 

then i def. see why Arizona won then. it's more than likely the whole unnecessary moving back and forth and forth and back. 

[Court]

19 minutes ago, LadyJaney said:

Gross episode, hate custody case plots.  It just chastised women for being strong and capable.  I don't agree with Arizona getting custody.  I have always disliked Arizona and think she is a self involved bitchy smug thing anyway.  So this just pissed me off more.  I just remember Callie nearly dying when she was pregnant with Sofia so it saddens me to see her daughter be taken away from her fully.  She gave birth to her and is by no means an unfit mom.  She was willing to work out a visitation with Arizona if she left with Penny.  Arizona decided to take it to court and took Sofia away from her completely.  I just felt really bad at the end.  Not good...

Giving birth dies not make you more of a parent. That's absurd. Not only are you insulting adoptive parents, you've said dad's are less of a parent too. Giving birth does not in any form mean you're more of a parent. Neither are unfit moms.

 

They both made the decision to take it to court. If Callie had won, she would have been taking Sophia completely away from Arizona. Why couldn't Callie just visit Penny? It's just a year.

 

Staying in Seattle is what was best for Sophia. Not what was best for Callie  or Arizona. It's stability. It's not about what character you like more. It's about the innocent child stuck in the middle. 

[Erratic]

Quote

 

Quote

Giving birth dies not make you more of a parent. That's absurd. Not only are you insulting adoptive parents, you've said dad's are less of a parent too. Giving birth does not in any form mean you're more of a parent. Neither are unfit moms.

 

Thanks for saying this. As a mother to a child I didn't give birth to, this episode was very hard to watch.

Edited May 6, 2016 by Erratic

[redfish]

Arizona getting Sofia...Swerve! Actually I think it makes sense. Basically Callie's argument was to take her to New York for a year and then come back, she might as well stay in Seattle at least she'll have her home/school/friends etc. Also Sofia didn't seem really keen on going in the first place and was happy of going home (or staying in Seattle) didn't Callie notice that at all? Still that sucks for Callie to lose big like that. I mean even though Arizona won sole custody I don't think she would be petty to limit access to Sophia?

The drama of the court+metaphor of the "true" mother=Callie was willing to "win" at the expense of Arizona's reputations (her dating) and prop her own rep which meant she was going to lose. And I think Arizona won it IMO to the judge that she was willing to ruin/sacrifice her own position in court to save a patient but won't make excuses for that. She said that Sofia will survive because she has TWO good mothers, she didn't drag Callie down to save herself.

Funny. This custody battle was the lesson for Jackson/April to see what NOT to do. They're trying to negotiate with as little antagonism as possible. Maybe being separated and sharing custody is making their relationship more civil and tolerable for me.

[backformore]

33 minutes ago, Chicken Wing said:

If the issue is that Callie is moving across the country, a split can't work. Sofia can't alternate living in Seattle and New York every other week, or spend half the school year in one place and the other half in the other.

 

7 minutes ago, Court said:

Giving birth dies not make you more of a parent. That's absurd. Not only are you insulting adoptive parents, you've said dad's are less of a parent too. Giving birth does not in any form mean you're more of a parent. Neither are unfit moms.

They both made the decision to take it to court. If Callie had won, she would have been taking Sophia completely away from Arizona. Why couldn't Callie just visit Penny? It's just a year.

Staying in Seattle is what was best for Sophia. Not what was best for Callie  or Arizona. It's stability. It's not about what character you like more. It's about the innocent child stuck in the middle. 

RIGHT!   When parents share custody, like Callie and Arizona were doing, one cannot take the child out of state to live  without the other parents' permission, and a plan for visitation.   If Callie had been a better parent, she would have looked at it from her child's point of view, and declined moving away with Penny.  Parents have to be willing to sacrifice their own happiness for that of their child.   Callie didn't look at what was best for Sofia - to have both parents in her life on a regular basis.  Callie was set on moving away, regardless.  That is why she lost - she put herself first.

I didn't like that lawyer who added up the number of emergency surgeries and the number of trivia nights, and said the sum was the number of days AZ neglected her child.   That was a ridiculous leap. 

[upperco]

Both a gaudy premise and showy direction enhanced evidence of one of this series' prime flaws: its chronic inability to write any story with subtlety. But, because we are aware, by now, of how this show operates, I knew what to expect and therefore wasn't alienated by this episode's shortcomings (which include the many requisite "what the--?" moments, in which logic must be disregarded).

Rather, I think this offering had a weighty emotional foundation that served the story well and helped reinforce the continuing buzz that's surrounded GREY'S' renewed sense of durability; even through contrived arcs like this, the soap is still potent and engaging -- maybe even more so now than it was two-three years ago. 

However, when Callie was wailingly wondering "why" this happened, I wish Meredith could have responded: "Because the writers contrived it during episodes 19 and 20." There is no truer answer. 

Edited May 6, 2016 by upperco

[Deanie87]

If nothing else, I did appreciate the Prince song.

And the residents at the bar scene made me realize how very much I miss lighthearted Greys.  Between the custody fights, dead husbands, relapses, miscarriages, divorces and dead siblings, God was it nice to see a scene where people are getting along and having fun.  This show needs a lot more of that. Say what you will about the newbies and the non-attendings, they can be such a relief from the depressing melodrama of everything else.

Edited May 6, 2016 by Deanie87

[LadyJaney]

44 minutes ago, Court said:

Giving birth dies not make you more of a parent. That's absurd. Not only are you insulting adoptive parents, you've said dad's are less of a parent too. Giving birth does not in any form mean you're more of a parent. Neither are unfit moms.

I deleted my original post, because I worded it wrong.  I did not mean it that way, and apologize for offending anyone.  It was not my intent to insult anyone.  I am from a blended family where everyone was brought up with equal love and respect so I don't feel that way at all.  I would never intentionally insult adoptive parents or fathers ever.  My own father just died very recently and was everything to me.  I would never question who is a parent or a parent's love in that way.  I was only speaking of my opinions of the episode itself.

What I basically meant was that I remember the episode when Callie nearly died while pregnant with Sofia and the heartbreak she felt over the fear of losing her then, and what it must have felt for her to lose her now.  She had said to Arizona that they could work out visitations with Sofia and wasn't talking in terms of full custody when she decided on the move.  Now she has lost custody of Sofia and is clearly heartbroken.  It made me feel bad more from a standpoint of being a Callie fan over an Arizona fan, and seeing how it turned out.  My opinions were about how it played out tonight and the episode left me feeling sad in general.  It was a sad episode.

Edited May 6, 2016 by LadyJaney

[Chicken Wing]

That's the thing with custody fights like this. There are no winners; only rulings. It would have been sad no matter the outcome, because someone had to lose.

[phalange]

I was happy Arizona ended up getting custody. Callie getting custody would've meant uprooting Sofia across the country, changing schools, and then changing schools again after the fellowship ended and they returned to Seattle. That's too much upheaval, and Arizona getting custody means stability. I was sure it was going to be Callie, though, since it would've made for more drama. Bailey was great as a witness. I loved her yelling "Objection!" and telling off Callie's lawyer. I actually felt bad for Penny at the end when she tried to comfort Callie and Callie pushed her hand away. Callie can't blame Penny for this; she's the one who decided she wanted to go with her and made the decision to take Sofia without trying to talk to Arizona first.

[windsprints]

Quote

And WTF with her "there aren't any nights off," from parenting. Didn't you just spend the previous night sucking down a bottle of tequila at Callie's while your kids were with your sister-in-law? Your sister and sister-in-law spend as much time raising your kids as you do!

Maybe she sucked down a lot of tequila, blacked out and thinks she was with her kids. Or she's a liar. Her kids have been stuffed in 24 hour daycare or watched by ghosts for years.

Whew, its a good thing for Meredith and Callie that Arizona's specialty is the only one that works so hard otherwise they'd lose their babysitters. Maggie and Amelia always have plenty of time to be around every morning to get the kids ready for school, pick the kids up from school, have days off to watch the kids and can take off last minute when Meredith has man drama. Odd how there were all sorts of neuro/head trauma and emergencies when a man was head of neuro. Now its Amelia and she has all the time in the world to be one of Meredith's nannies.

So when will Kyle die, next week or the finale?

[Madding crowd]

I thought they were going to say the teenage girl was trying to hurt herself. Did she say she slipped and fell on some dishes? And got those huge cuts? It seemed really bizarre. I have always felt sad while watching TV or movie custody hearings, right back to Kramer VS Kramer; because the kids are always the loser. Losing a parent is one of the worst things every. I went through a custody battle with my own parents as a child and no one wins.

Jessica looked very pregnant in this episode, even more so than April. I hope Callie changes her mind about leaving now. I would never leave my child for a potential love interest. 

[Daisy]

I have to say - I didn't like Bailey's "Objection, speculation" tirad. Nor did i like her "Oh humph would you say this if she were a man?" flaunt back. Because I think - in this case, the lawyer would, if she's trying to point out that Speciality #1 had to work more than Speciality #2. that irked me a bit. (and it was really weird, because you got the sense that she was Callie's witness but she was very much team Arizona there). 

With the whole Solomon's parable being told. I honestly thought the show was gonna do the solid and have Penny dump Callie. ie: Penny giving up what she wants so Callie doesn't have to share/give up what she wants. because if we're supposed to buy this one true love story, it is failing big time. 

[Starscream]

All I could think was that all this stupid hullabaloo was over Penny.  Penny. 

It was pretty obvious from the start that things were going to go Arizona's way, but I still didn't really believe it until Meredith said "spoiler alert."  Arizona has been portrayed as the wronged party from the start of this dumb storyline, so it's not like this outcome wasn't telegraphed.  I agree though that Callie winning would have made sense in order to make everything dramatic as possible.  Maybe she would have if Capshaw wasn't about ready to pop.  I imagine it was a bit easier to use Ramirez for big scenes when doing these last few episodes.

Most of the courtroom stuff just made me roll my eyes.  Owen was laying it on so thick that it made me want to barf.  Meredith was condescending as hell until the lawyer turned the tables on her.  Bailey came off like a pamphlet from a Sheryl Sandberg lecture.  Penny was Penny.  Callie's waterworks felt more rehearsed than sincere.  Arizona getting to defend herself so freely and make a speech about what was truly important at that moment made it clear that the deck was stacked.

I hope this show never does a courtroom episode ever again.

[candall]

25 minutes ago, Daisy said:

 

then i def. see why Arizona won then. it's more than likely the whole unnecessary moving back and forth and forth and back. 

Exactly.    As the judge said, "We're here to determine the best interests of the child--everyone in this room is on HER side."  

When two people are equally good at parenting, but one of them is going to disappear from the picture, the child will suffer distress, so whoever can provide the most stability and continuity is going to be the better choice for custodian. Given the circumstances, the judge's decision was the only sound conclusion possible.

(Now I, personally, feel strongly that adults considering life changes have the right to take into account more than what's most comfortable for their offspring.  But in this situation, Callie really needed to shoulder the burden of being temporarily inconvenienced instead of uprooting Sophia's life.)

Also, I kind of want people to stop saying Penny isn't good enough for Callie to go to all this trouble, because Penny's likability is irrelevant.  Callie's new love could have had a radiant halo and a fragrance like warm cinnamon buns and it still wouldn't justify disrupting a youngster's world of familiarity for an assignment with a one-year expiration date on the other side of the country.

[Hee.  "Youngster."  I sound like I'm ready for a Willard Scott Smucker's Jelly shoutout.]

[izabella]

I wasn't surprised that Arizona was given custody.  Callie's plan never made much sense.  What also didn't make sense is that neither she nor Penny stepped up and said, yeah, maybe we should do long distance for a year and scrap this whole plan and suit.  But that would have been sensible, which this story line never was from the start. 

In other news, that teenage girl needs to go on bed rest and just stay there.  She's not particularly good at taking care of herself or doing the sensible thing, either.  Which makes her a perfect Gray's patient.

Big hooray for April and Jackson, who agreed to respect the plan and not fight.

[Black Knight]

Hahahahaha. I can't say how satisfying that was for me. Arizona won because she took the high road throughout the trial, not trashing Callie, not cynically sacrificing a patient's life in order to prove a point about the priority of her child in her life. We didn't get to hear exactly what Callie's lawyer said after Arizona left the courtroom, but based on the way Callie and her lawyer were making grandly incredulous faces and gestures, I'm pretty sure the lawyer proceeded to rip Arizona up in absentia, and it obviously backfired - it would have just looked so nakedly self-serving, all the fake outrage. (That was what was wrong with the entire angle Callie and her lawyer went with: If all that about Arizona's emergency surgeries and switching nights with Callie and so on had really been a legitimate parenting issue, Callie would've done something about it long before now. So the judge saw right through it. Arizona's lawyer was correct when she said the judge was smart and would know the truth.) Callie and her lawyer went scorched-earth and the disgusted judge went with the woman who displayed class and integrity throughout. Never once was Callie's judgment or fitness as a parent called into question, even though her choice to rip her daughter out of the joint parenting situation she's had her whole life in order to move cross-country to be with a woman she's been with for less than a year and isn't married or even engaged to - a choice that looks even worse when put it in the perspective of Callie being twice-divorced. But AZ and her lawyer never went there: Arizona's final speech to the judge was about how Sofia would be safe and loved and happy regardless of the outcome, because of her mothers. Plural. Callie, on the other hand, spent the trial trashing Arizona and then had the nerve to tell her privately that of course she knows AZ is a good mother. Shut up, Callie, and I was glad Arizona implicitly called her on it.

Although the voiceover at the end, recounting the outcome of the story of Solomon, said that in this case there are two true mothers, I still think the original holds some truth in terms of how this went down. Callie, unlike the fake mother, didn't agree to cutting up the baby with a sword while Arizona resisted and gave up the baby to stop it, but still - Callie went scorched earth and Arizona did not. It doesn't make Callie a false mother, but it does speak to her character, and it's why she lost (although I do think the points about Sofia's life being in Seattle and how well Penny really knew Sofia mattered too - judges prefer stability and continuity).

Now the ball is in Callie's court and she can decide to stay in Seattle with her daughter or move to NYC for Penny. I suspect that it really all depends on whether SR decides to return for next season or not, so I'm actually not going to slam Callie if she decides to move to NYC. I don't like Callie much, but she loves her daughter fiercely and I think it would be completely out of character for her to move - if she moves, it will only be because SR is leaving the show and the writers don't want to kill Callie off.

There was a fair amount of showy acting in this episode - I don't mean that in a bad way, but I wanted to say that the moment that affected me deepest was actually the brief shot of Arizona as she waited for her phone to be handed to her. JC just did such a lovely subtle job there, showing how Arizona already thought she was totally screwed and was simply awaiting her doom in the form of her phone.

Edited May 6, 2016 by Black Knight

[RedheadZombie]

Up until this SL, I've always taken Callie's side over Arizona, and wasn't a huge fan of AZ.  This episode really made me dislike Callie.  First of all, a big LOL at the suggestion that Callie and Mark made a solemn decision to create a life together.  It was a drunken ONS, and a huge fuck you to Arizona.  It was just one of many things that Callie's abrasive over the top attorney came up with.

I actually cheered when AZ won.  If Callie had ever shown just one moment of reflection, or questioned her hasty decision, or even realized that she brought this whole thing on herself, I would feel some sympathy.  She was just so dismissive of Arizona and her place in Sofia's life, as well as how this impulsive temporary move would destabilize Sofia's life.

Probably the most irritating thing was they actually expected us to believe that this was something a judge would grant sole custody on.  Sole custody is increasingly rare, and involves abuse, neglect, etc.  IRL, there would have probably been a hearing where the judge reviews the divorce/custody agreement, points out to Callie that the agreement requires AZ to agree to Sofia moving out of state, and since AZ doesn't agree, the move won't happen.  A lot less dramatic of course.  And I was really taken out of the moment of Callie's dramatic wailing by how much she dwarfed little Meredith.  She looked like a giant. 

Stupid Ben had his nose stuck in that case as if he had the right.  Ugh, mind yourself Ben.  You're just the anesthesiologist.  You're not in on all the urgent decision making of the actual surgeons, family, and patient.

Why wasn't Sofia in school during all the court scenes?  Are we supposed to believe there were special weekend hearings?

I'm horrified at the thought that a fourteen year old will be raising a child, being assisted by the out of touch mother who had no clue her fourteen year old was sexually active or pregnant.  And I immediately suspected she self-harmed, then the mom all but confirmed it.  I thought Alex figured it out, but then they dropped the whole thing.

If April and Jackson aren't back together before the baby's born, I wish they would show them choosing to live the type of custody arrangement that people who put their child first (and have enough money) often choose.  And that would be the child permanently living in the designated home, while the parents rotate in and out.  Jackson has more than enough money for this to work.  It would also be interesting to show the difficulty custody arrangements have on a breastfeeding mom.

[pennben]

5 hours ago, candall said:

I started watching it, but then I couldn't stand the suspense and ff'ed to the end

 

Hee! I had to work late and I can't tell you how hard it was for me not to fast-forward or check in here to see how the case was resolved.  For a few seconds, after they left the courtroom where we didn't hear the decision and were flipping to other stories, I thought they weren't going to give us the resolution this week and I was ready to drive to California and hunt Shonda down!

Anyway, I'm so glad the case was resolved as it was.  As most have noted, Callie's plan made zero sense from the moment she decided to uproot the kid for a year.  Zero.  I finally saw the preview this morning of Callie's lawyer trying to dismiss Arizona as just having "happened" to become related to Sophia and I was furious then.  I grew more furious tonight watching the lawyer trying to cut down Arizona's fitness as a mother using her profession/her going out and then had to rewatch that scene where she dismisses Arizona of just walking into this situation as a mother. As I said in the preview thread, there should be a special place in hell for lawyers that attack like that and for their clients who allow it.

I was so happy that Arizona let Callie know how awful it was for her to have let her lawyer do that--Callie did indeed have the power to choose not to drag Arizona down, but she chose to allow the attack to happen.  I certainly don't know that I could have been as civil as Arizona was in that moment.

Finally, I'm really not looking forward to seeing Callie blame Penny for this whole mess, which we can see coming based on her rejection of Penny there at the end.  Callie alone made this mess and bears responsibility for her impetuous decisions regarding the future of her child..

[PrincessTT]

Callie's words to Arizona before they went back in for the judgment, and her "how did this happen" at the end show that she never considered the fact that she might lose. For her it was almost a forgone conclusion that she would win and showing up to court was just a formality. 

I'm glad Arizona won, and I hope that this really makes Callie look at herself and her own decision making.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I just watched another bull crap court storyline on Nashville last night and it was equally stupid. The difference is that on Nashville, Maddie knowingly put her biological father through the ringer on the stand for her own selfish benefit and was rewarded for it while on Grey's Anatomy, Callie did the same and thankfully was not rewarded for it.

So many of the things that Callie's lawyer brought up were slanted and were no indication of either parent being better or worse. One of the most egregious was comparing how many emergency surgeries they did. An emergency surgery doesn't mean that the surgeon had a day off and was told to drop everything and get to the hospital ASAP, so it's not like each of those surgeries meant that they abandoned Sofia and left her to fend for herself in a Seattle alley at 3am. Emergency surgery just means it wasn't scheduled in advance, and 99% of the time on this show the unscheduled emergency surgery was done by someone who was already at the hospital during their scheduled shift.

An important question to ask in cases like this is how far are you willing to go in order to win? How much are you willing to hurt the other person in order to get your way? Hopefully (fingers crossed) it looks like Jackson and April have learned from their mistake and seem to be working together to avoid exactly the kind of situation that Callie and Arizona are in now. I REALLY hope that's the case because I can't handle any more of April's hysterical shrieking, especially at work.

If nothing else, I did appreciate the Prince song.

I didn't. I love Prince (and I was lucky enough to see him sing that song live in March) but it felt like a cheap attempt at being topical (I'm sure Shonda thought she was giving us this heartwarming tribute to Prince but no). It also annoyed me because as usual, the music was WAY TOO LOUD on top of the dialogue. And because it was a Prince song and I am still sad about his death, I actually ignored the dialogue and listened closely to the song to see if it was (yet another godawful) cover. I had to rewind and watch again to find out what Jackson and April were talking about.

I loved that Bailey refused to take the lawyer's bait and say that Arizona must have a more unpredictable schedule because she does fetal surgeries. As a surgeon, she knows that there are emergency surgeries in different specialities, including ortho so I liked that she said you really couldn't compare the two.

I'm glad that Arizona got custody. What's best for Sofia is not uprooting her because one of her moms wants to bang someone who's moving out of state for a year. If she wanted what was best for Sofia, she would have told Penny that she could fly to New York and visit her. Or hey, since Penny says her research fellowship will be so much more predictable than being a surgical resident, Penny can fly to Seattle to visit Callie and Sofia.