(S03E09) When I first heard Sandra Oh doing the opening narration that's usually reserved for Ellen Pompeo, I thought I was delirious from the ball of food that was sitting like a rock in my stomach. But when I realized that I was fully awake, the notion of having Cristina narrate this "extended" episode (it ended at 10:08) made perfect sense, since the Yang-Burke "team" was front and center tonight, spilling their crap into just about everyone else's lives, to the point where relationships are affected, rifts are created, and jobs are lost.

But it made for a pretty riveting 68 minutes; lots of drama, tension, and a little bit of fun. It was the best episode of the season; it figures Shonda Rimes would spring one of these on us at Thanksgiving, since Grey's has a knack for pulling out their best episodes on nights when the most people are watching.

You knew that Cristina wasn't going to be able to cover for Burke much longer; George knew what was going on, and he was so concerned that he called in Burke's rival Dr. Hahn to do his dad's heart valve operation. First, can I say that Hahn looked a lot better in her civillian clothes than she did in her surgical cap and gown in last year's finale? Who knew she was that cute?

Anyway, because no one can tell anyone else what's going on, things get tense around the surgical wing. Meredith has an idea because Cristina asked her about aiding a bank robbery, but she can't tell Derek; all he wants is sex, anyway, since he's not gettin' any from Mer. George's mom and dad -- you know, the guy who's actually getting the valve replacement -- are wondering why George wants Burke, who even Hahn grudgingly considers to be the best cardiothoractic surgeon out there, off the case, so they pump Izzie for information. George's mom is so sweet; she wants George to hook up so badly, she assumes he's sleeping with everyone, including Izzie. Of course, she didn't know about Callie... or Meredith, for that matter, until Izzie blabbed.

But that wasn't what led to the episode's first "ooohhh... snap!" moment: George wanted Izzie to stay out of his whole thing with Bristina (or should I call it Yurke?), so he says to his parents, "You know why Izzie's on probation? Because the last patient she got involved with ended up dead." Yowza. George can be a bitch when properly motivated, can't he? Poor Iz just wants to feel like a doctor again, and as soon as she sticks her pretty bazoo in where it doesn't belong, she gets smacked. But the two of them will be OK... George just can't mention Denny to Izzie ever again, which is just fine with me.

Callie can't even get back into George's good graces. And when he mentions her Sloan nookie session, she automatically thinks Meredith spilled and goes to beat her to a pulp. I think Callie would have squashed Meredith like a little skinny blond bug, but cooler heads -- Izzie of all people -- prevailed. "She's a tiny woman!" she yells. Mer didn't know that it was Sloan, anyway. Eh. Still would have liked to have seen Callie at least throw a punch.

For once, the medical cases didn't hold keys to the lives of the crew at SGH. Well, except for the fact that Burke had to work both major cases -- a pregnant woman with a glass shard in her heart and an elderly man who plowed into a farmer's market because he couldn't feel his feet -- and felt the need to do them on his own, even though both Mer and Der saw him flexing his hand. The unraveling of the Bristina team came when Webber told Burke that he was retiring and Burke was in line to succeed him. Now that everything he's worked for is on the line, he starts to turn on Yang, saying she "dragged" him over the line. This led to a second "ohhh... snap!" moment, when he tells her that he's had to worry about her career as well as his. Oof. Burke can be a freakin' weasel sometimes, can't he?

The third "snap" moment? Derek: "I thought you were my friend." Burke: "I thought you were my surgeon."

So it turns out Yang ratted Burke out just before Burke decides to rat himself out. Crap. They were making a pretty good couple. Guess in the world of SGH, not everyone can be happy at once. But, we may have a new couple on our hands, as Addie is starting to think of Alex a little... differently. She appreciates his suggestion to the pregnant glass-filled lady that she should tell the baby's dad about the pregnancy, because every kid needs a dad (remember, Alex's home life wasn't the best). Hm... will we be seeing a little more Alex/Addie action in the near future?

Anyway, like I said, it was the best episode of the season so far. Crackling with tension and drama, it really reminded me of why I started watching this show in the first place. I was a bit unsure Grey's could find the dynamic it had last year while it was sorting out the whole Denny thing. But now we're clear of that and the show's on the way. When is the next event episode? I can't wait...