['Grey's Anatomy': 'Not Responsible']

The theme for tonight's 'Grey's Anatomy' was this: Love is blind. And it wasn't just a metaphor, as Derek and Meredith's romance nearly caused Meredith to go literally blind.

Shockingly, Meredith losing her vision was one of the less dramatic things that happened tonight. The show was jam-packed full of drama, perhaps a little too much drama. For instance, there were three -- count them, three -- separate baby-related plot threads.

Meredith's fertility drugs were causing trouble with her eyes. She started off only squinting a little, leading to this unhelpful statement from Alex: "Normal people don't squint." Um, are you sure about that, doctor?

But in any case, surgeons shouldn't squint, and Meredith's vision faded at the worst possible time -- when she was holding a scalpel over a patient's head. Not good. She couldn't complete the operation, and she had to stop the fertility treatments. So much for those hopes for a perfect little McDreamy baby. Next, Chief Webber benched Meredith, meaning that she can't work in the hospital anymore. Oh noes! Will Meredith practice medicine again? Well, her name is in the title of the show, so the answer is ... yes. 'Shepherd's Anatomy' doesn't have the same ring to it.

And that was only baby drama No. 1. Elsewhere, the Mark/Callie/Arizona triangle continued, with a debate over whether Callie should have amniocentesis. Arizona non-surprisingly confessed that she wasn't into Mark as a daddy. "This is not my dream," she said. "My dream doesn't look like this."

Finally, Owen and Cristina tried to give us a break from all the baby-talk. Cristina archly commented that, Hey, at least they weren't having a kid, so they didn't have to go through any of this. What a relief! But it was short-lived. Owen mentioned that he might want a kid after all, which provoked a fight, and ... TOO MUCH BABY DRAMA. Honestly, it was baby overload. Adding Owen and Cristina to the mix was too much; Cristina had the right idea in the first place. It would have been more fun to see them not bicker about having a kid -- that would have been refreshing.

In addition to the pregnancy debates, there were new potential relationships. Avery attempted to cheer up hit on a depressed Lexie, telling her that she would find someone else soon: "And someone like you, there'd be a line [of men] out the door." He then added this: "I'm in that line." Subtle!

Meanwhile, April talked Dr. Stark out of calling child services on a patient; he confessed that it was the first time in 10 years that someone had gotten him to change his mind. Apparently, this was a very moving experience for Dr. Stark, because he asked April out -- and surprisingly, she accepted. This was the best and most unexpected thing that happened all night. Relationship issues for Meredith and McDreamy? Been there, done that. But a virgin going out with mean old Dr. Stark? This at least is something different.

April rushed to tell Lexie the news, but caught Lexie in the shower. Then, the camera pulled back for this revelation:



Yep, Lexie and Avery were doing it in the shower! The "I'm in that line" thing really worked.

The new relationships were more exciting than the old ones tonight, and the patients were more interesting than the doctors. First, there was Ricky and Julia, a pair of star-crossed lovers suffering from cystic fibrosis. Then, there was Chief Webber's wife, Adele, who suffered another accident. Love was blind in both cases. Ricky and Julia were blinded by romance; they were willing to risk their lives by staying together. Chief Webber was blinded by denial -- he didn't want to admit that Adele might have Alzheimer's. Both parties had to face the truth. Ricky and Julia split up; Webber had to ask McDreamy for help.

At last, as night fell, Meredith reflected on it all via a voice-over. "The universe ... gives you people to love, then lets them slip through your fingers." It was her explanation for the day's fights, break-ups, and hook-ups.

It's a good point, but it might not be the universe causing all of this. The writers of 'Grey's Anatomy' may have a hand in it too. There was a lot of drama tonight; too much, really. And the least successful aspects were the ones we've seen before: Meredith/Derek, the Callie triangle, and Owen/Cristina. By way of contrast, the newer elements were a breath of fresh air.

This is the inherent danger of serialized television. How many times can we get worried about Dr. Grey and Dr. Shepherd, before the whole thing begins to stretch plausibility? The characters' eyes may be blinded, but TV viewers have their eyes wide open. They can see when a show is repeating itself -- they can see the difference between authentic drama and drama that's being faked.

Other notes:

- We didn't mention Teddy, so ... Teddy! Her repeated insistence that a pair of lungs were "beautiful" was a little weird.

- Likewise, we didn't talk about Alex getting shot down by the blond hottie. Note to the writers of 'Grey's Anatomy' -- this is what happens when you stuff 1,500 plot-lines into one episode; things fall by the wayside.

- The little kid singing "I Walk the Line" was very sweet and touching.

- Alex on Meredith's eye problems: "Maybe it's glaucoma; you can get a prescription for pot." ... Good thinking, Alex!

'Grey's Anatomy' airs Thursdays at 9PM ET on ABC

Watch the full episode here: