Grey's Anatomy 6.01: Good Mourning; Goodbye

Every episode of Grey's Anatomy begins and ends with narration, usually by the title character, Dr. Meredith Grey. These narrations typically state the main theme of the episode that the writers want the audience to focus on. Tonight was the premiere of the sixth season, picking up exactly where we left off- with two of the major characters, Dr. Isobel "Izzie" Stevens and Dr. George O'Malley, in mortal peril. Izzie survived- George did not. Therefore, it only seemed appropriate to make this double-episode premiere all about grief. We begin the first episode with Meredith's narration: "According to Elizabeth Kübler-Ross, when we are dying, or have suffered a catastrpohic loss, we all move through five distinct stage of grief. We go into denial, because the loss is so unthinkable, we can't imagine it's true. We become angry with everyone- angry with survivors, angry with ourselves- then we bargain. We beg, we plead, we offer everything we have. We offer up our souls in exchange for just one more day. When the bargaining has failed and the anger is too hard to maintain, we fall into depression; despair, until finally, we have to accept that we have done everything we can. We let go. We let go and move into acceptance." The entire episode is full of situations and quotes that most people can relate to their own lives, and can encourage them to work out their problems, and in this case, overcome their grief. The show posses a quality of being extremely realistic reaches out to its audience and reminds them that we're only human. George O'Malley died because he jumped in front of a bus to save a girl named Amanda. That girl sat on a bench outside Seattle Grace Hospital for weeks. Every single day, she would wake up, go to the hospital, and sit on the bench all day. This was her way of grieving. In the second episode, Izzie confronted Amanda, telling her "...you lived, and George didn't. I know that that feels horrible and terrifying and shocking, but go live your life." Amanda replied, "I don't know how." And, brilliantly, completely relating to the vast majority of humna beings that walk the Earth, Izzie said, "Who does?" Throughout the episode, you can also see how different people deal with grief through the various characters. Dr. Miranda Bailey, George's former resident, demanded the names of every person whose life would be saved by George's organs. She tried to distance herself from everyone, especially those she had known the longest. Meredith poured herself into the activities of newlyweds with Dr. Derek Shepard. Izzie cried. Dr. Alex Karev made Izzie his only priority. Dr. Callie Torres, George's ex-wife-turned-lesbian, requested a promotion. When she was turned down, she channeled her grief through her anger. Dr. Lexie Grey, George's former roommate, took a little time, then helped a patient through the recovery of a surgery that reconnected both her arms and gave her a prosthetic leg. Dr. Cristina Yang, one of George's friends, increased her amount of time in the Operating Room (OR) and consumed herself with Dr. Owen Hunt's therapy, so that he could make enough progress for the two of them to take their relationship to a more physical level. She became a bit of an ass. These characters all represent different types of people we come across every day: our family, our friends, our co-workers, even ourselves. The second episode ends with a bit of knowledge for the audience about grief; wisdom that can help them to understand the process, "That's how you stay alive. When it hurts so much you can't breathe, that's how you survive.....Grief comes in its own time for everyone, in its own way.....The really crappy thing, the worst part, is that you can't control it.....The best we can do is try to feel it when it comes, and let it go when you can.....The very worst part is that the minute you think you've past it, it starts again.....There are five stages of grief, and they look different on all of us. There are always five: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance."