As the doctors of Seattle Grace continued to grapple with the impending merger and cuts on the horizon, the fight to scrub in to surgery grew more and more competitive. But when Thatcher Grey returned to the hospital with a dismal diagnosis, the residents stood by each other, giving Thursday's episode of Grey's Anatomy its best moments.
Daddy Issues: When a disoriented Thatcher was brought into the hospital with Lexie at his side, Meredith was quick to write off his behavior as another drunken episode. But after he vomited blood at Meredith's feet, Thatcher was diagnosed with end stage liver disease, and required an immediate transplant. Lexie offered to be a donor, but was not a match. In a fit of desperation, she peeked at Meredith's medical files, learned her sister was a match, and begged her to help. "As crappy as he was to you, he was wonderful to me," Lexie said. The heartfelt request got through to Mer, who agreed to go under the knife. "If you die, it will break her," Mer explained to Thatcher. "And I'm not gonna let you do that. I don't know what it's like to have a father, but I do know what it's like to have a sister, and it's good."
Mama Needs to Cut: Convinced she will end up on the chopping block because of the limited amount of hours she's logged in the OR, Cristina went as far as urging Meredith to donate her liver for a chance at scrubbing in. And after overhearing Owen, Derek and Mark discussing a high-risk procedure, Cristina finally got her surgery: a penal implant for an elderly patient. Frustrated with the lack of mentoring she's received, she accosted the Chief and admitted that she was worried about being let go. But "if I can't learn, if I can't use my gift, I guess that scares me more," she said.
Adventures In Married Life: After a bear sighting, Alex could no longer hide his frustration with living in the wilderness, and was determined to move back into Meredith's house. But Izzie was having none of it, and made it clear to Alex that she needed to move forward, including returning to work. While assisting Owen with a cancer patient, she pushed the trauma doc to do a second round of surgery in hopes of removing the tumor, citing her own miracle recovery as reason to try. But when the patient died, Owen blamed himself for not handling the situation better, telling Izzie, "You were that one in a million, and you wanted to believe ... but you cannot be a doctor and a patient in here. You have to choose." Izzie was defeated on the home front as well: When she encountered the same bear that crossed paths with Alex, she conceded it was time the couple move.
Callie Cracks the Chief: With an army of attending surgeons at his neck -- including best bud Derek -- the Chief was ready to accept that the difficult decisions he makes will permanently make him Seattle Grace's resident bad guy. Enter Callie, who had sought him out to beg for her job back, only managed to say, "This must be so hard for you." Her moment of compassion earned her a position as an attending. --Kiran Hefa
Tell us: Do you think Meredith will ever reconcile with her father? Should Izzie have returned to work so quickly?ABC
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