'Grey's Anatomy' - 'Shiny Happy People' Recap
by Michael Pascua, posted May 14th 2010 12:02AM
(S06E22) Demi Lovato may have been the big celebrity name that was advertised on the commercials for 'Grey's Anatomy' but Marion Ross, best known for being Marion Cunningham on 'Happy Days,' had the most touching story. It's good timing, with her and Betty White in the media to show how older actors still got that sparkle no matter how old they get.With all the previews for next week, it seems like this episode was the calm before the storm. Relationships may have been tested but that would pale in comparison to when you're running for your life. We never really got the conclusion of Alex/Lexie/Mark, Owen/Christina/Teddy, or Callie/Arizona so any fans of those couplings could easily skip the episode and not miss much.
The patients Harry and Betty provided Callie, Cristina, and Richard the same story about a lost love. While Richard's time has passed, both Callie and Christina have to deal with the moment. Callie continues to stew, so other than the kiss at the end, her character stayed the same. I'm still not sure what happened to the headstrong independent Cristina of yester-season, but she's now in need of Owen and when she can't have him, she's in need of Meredith. It was interesting to see the confrontation with Teddy listening in, but Owen gave no explanations when Cristina deserved to hear everything. I really hope they finish this plot line soon and let Cristina return to her surgery glory days.
Demi Lovato's character Hayley gave Alex a time to shine, with the help of the Lexie-pedia. I was indifferent with Lovato's performance, she handled the character well enough, but knowing she just came out of a surgery, I'm not sure if Hayley's body would have been strong enough to propel her out of bed in excitement. Comparing it to her performances on 'Sonny with a Chance,' she proved that she could survive past the Disney pimping. As for helping Alex, Hayley's case continues Alex's evolution of caring for patients and trusting in Lexie. I hope that Lexie stays with him because Alex would get shafted yet again if Lexie leaves for Mark.
The Derek/Meredith relationship continues to weather past the storms because they know when to separate work from love. Meredith saying how she hates Derek's job shows she understands the line. What I really appreciated was the fact that Derek continues to understand the Cristina/Meredith relationship and excused himself from the conversation. Some people can read it as Cristina being too pushy, but Derek understands.
Amber and Trish, the burn victims, got lost between the other two cases. The two paralleled the Cristina/Meredith relationship while also giving Bailey a chance to talk to Mark about men. Bailey continues to be strong and the fact that she got some action, and the very funny elevator scene in the beginning, shows that she can be in love like the rest of the cast. I'm happy to see her and Ben (the gas man) work out their troubles, where unlike many couples on this show, one misunderstanding didn't break them up.
Director Edward Ornelas was really having a fun time with blurring, focus, and different shots that framed characters really well. Meredith through the window of the door after talking to Cristina, even when Betty was being carted away, and Christina with the same window shot arguing with Owen. I have to go back and watch "Elevator Love Letter" and appreciate the angles.
As for the little touches, I loved when Callie told Mark about the Betty and Harry story when he wasn't involved in it; it was an interesting nod to the viewers. Also, the last shot of Callie and Arizona in the elevator continued the clothing trend of Callie in red, Arizona in blue. Mark continues to baffle me in how he started the episode proposing threesomes to ending the episode proposing marriage. How did you like the episode? Leave comments below.

2 Comments