GREY'S ANATOMY: FREE FALLING / SHE'S GONE {EIGHTH SEASON PREMIERE} (TV)
Summary
The eighth season premiere in this dramatic medical series about the lives and loves of a group of surgeons at a Seattle hospital. In this two-part episode, Owen helps Derek construct his new house as Lexie's morning in bed with Jackson is interrupted by Zola. Callie and Arizona notice Teddy's unusually good mood thanks to her budding relationship with Henry, and everyone ignores new chief resident April as she addresses the new interns at breakfast. Jackson expresses interest in working with Mark on plastics, though Mark is more interested in his relationship with Lexie. Teddy offers to start fresh with Cristina and properly teach her, and Arizona reminds Alex about the peds fellowship, though notes that he is currently a "pariah" for telling on Meredith. Richard then regretfully fires Meredith for interfering with the Alzheimer's trial, while elsewhere married couple Danny and Susannah are distracted from their bickering when a huge sinkhole opens in the middle of a Seattle street and swallows their car.
Cristina vents her frustration on Alex upon learning of Meredith's firing, and Owen and Callie head for the sinkhole and learn that they must talk Danny through amputating Susannah's trapped leg, as it is too dangerous for a doctor to climb down. Teddy annoys Cristina by questioning her about simple procedures, and Derek responds coldly when Meredith tells him what happened, still angry about the trial. Alex finds a young boy, Nicky, buried in dirt at the sinkhole and saves him with Owen's help, and Bailey stops Meredith from assisting a frantic intern with a patient, sternly reminding her that she is no longer employed at Seattle Grace. She is further annoyed when Richard asks her to write Meredith a letter of recommendation, and Mark harshly criticizes Jackson's work in stitching up Nicky's father Jerry. April finds herself overwhelmed by her leadership duties in the wake of the disaster, and when Danny panics midway through the amputation, Owen lowers himself into the hole and finishes the procedure. Meredith considers focusing on Zola instead of on her career, though Cristina declares that she cannot do the same and asks Meredith to accompany her to her abortion appointment that night, upset that Owen still does not understand her feelings.
Janet the social worker finds Meredith with Zola at the daycare, though Meredith does not reveal her firing or her separation from Derek and Derek angrily questions her about the "inconsistencies" in their story, aware that they could lose custody. Bailey is furious when she and Lexie nearly operate on the wrong patient because of April's mistake, and Meredith confronts Owen and tells him that he should support Cristina's choice, pointing out that she herself was unhappily raised by a mother who did not want her. Teddy informs Cristina that she is "arrogant" and often skips small steps in medical procedures, and Alex pleads with Richard to rehire Meredith, regretful about his drunken confession regarding the trial. Jackson repairs Jerry's sutures, though Mark is still less than impressed, and when Callie brings Susannah into the hospital, Bailey declares that her case is "a Gunther." Janet, having learned of Meredith's firing, asks to meet with the couple together, but a desperate Meredith takes Zola and heads off alone.
Janet is frustrated when both Meredith and Derek fail to appear for their meeting, and Bailey convinces Richard to allow the "Gunther" with Callie's supervision. Teddy is surprised when Henry arrives, having been called by Richard for his implantation surgery a few weeks ahead of schedule. Derek, operating on Nicky, receives repeated pages about Zola, and Owen is alarmed to learn about "the Gunther": a team-building exercise in which the residents all work together on a patient, in this case Susannah. Richard takes Bailey to the research lab and instructs her to practice Henry's surgery on a mouse, and Danny frets about Susannah as Owen attempts to treat him. The residents squabble over Susannah's treatment, and Mark and Arizona debate which one of them will turn out to be "the Gunther," the natural leader. Teddy bids a nervous farewell to Henry as he goes into surgery, and Derek realizes that Meredith has "disappeared" with Zola.
Cristina characteristically takes charge and seemingly emerges as the Gunther, but then accidentally stabs Alex with adrenaline, causing his heart to stop. Arizona takes Jerry to see his son against protocol, and Mark is proud when Jackson turns out to be the true Gunther with his level-headed actions. Bailey is confused when Richard uses Henry's simple procedure as a teaching exercise, and after being chided by Teddy for her mistake, Cristina finds Meredith hiding in an empty room with Zola. Cristina quickly attempts to construct a cover story for her, and Richard throws Teddy out of the OR when she questions his choice to have Bailey assist, sure that something serious is wrong. Arizona orders a recovering Alex to make up with his friends, pointing out that no one "has his back," and Jackson assures April that she will not be fired for her mistakes on her first day as chief resident. Bailey guesses from his odd behavior that Richard has fallen off the wagon, and Cristina hurriedly fetches Alex, who demands that she forgive him for ratting out Meredith.
Derek is shocked when Richard takes the fall for tampering with the trial, though Richard points out that Meredith was trying to save Adele. Teddy admits to Henry that she "kind of lost it" and worried like a wife rather than a doctor during his surgery, and Bailey, realizing that Richard was preparing to be fired, yells at him for damaging his career, but he responds by turning his research over to her. Danny confides in a worried Owen about his fight with Susannah, and Alex covers for Meredith by claiming that he had been examining Zola during their mysterious four-hour absence. Meredith is stunned to hear of Richard's false confession, but Derek tells her that she must go along with it or risk losing Zola. Danny and Susannah tearfully reunite, and Jackson resumes work on the FDA trials, this time with Bailey. April admits that Jackson is a better leader than she is, and Owen and Cristina finally have a heart-to-heart, after which he accompanies her as she undergoes the abortion. Richard heads home to Adele, and Sofia is happily greeted by her three parents. Derek assures Janet that Meredith is an excellent mother, but Janet informs them that the confusion has led to their being reevaluated by social services, meaning that she must temporarily take Zola away, and they bid a sad goodbye to their daughter. Includes commercials and promos.
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: September 22, 2011 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:58:32
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 107343
- GENRE: Drama, medical
- SUBJECT HEADING: Drama, medical; Romance; Asian American Pacific Islanders Collection
- SERIES RUN: ABC - TV series, 2005-
- COMMERCIALS:
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- TV - Commercials - "Anonymous" motion picture
- TV - Commercials - "Bridesmaids" motion picture
- TV - Commercials - "Dream House" motion picture
- TV - Commercials - "Drive" motion picture
- TV - Commercials - "J. Edgar" motion picture
- TV - Commercials - "Killer Elite" motion picture
- TV - Commercials - "Real Steel" motion picture
- TV - Commercials - "The Lion King" home video
- TV - Commercials - "What's Your Number" motion picture
- TV - Commercials - AT&T wireless networks
- TV - Commercials - Allstate insurance
- TV - Commercials - American Red Cross association
- TV - Commercials - Applebee's restaurants
- TV - Commercials - Apple iPad devices
- TV - Commercials - Arm & Hammer Oxi-Clean detergent
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- TV - Commercials - Chase Freedom credit cards
- TV - Commercials - Coco Mademoiselle Chanel perfume
- TV - Commercials - Diet Coca-Cola soft drinks
- TV - Commercials - Droid Verizon cellular phones
- TV - Commercials - Electrolux household appliances
- TV - Commercials - Fiat automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Ford automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Girl Scouts of America organization
- TV - Commercials - H&M clothing stores
- TV - Commercials - Hellman's mayonnaise
- TV - Commercials - Hewlett-Packard computers
- TV - Commercials - Infiniti automobiles
- TV - Commercials - JCPenney stores
- TV - Commercials - Jeep automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Jennie-O turkey burgers
- TV - Commercials - John Freida Precision Foam Colour hair coloring
- TV - Commercials - Joining Forces association
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- TV - Commercials - Kraft macaroni and cheese
- TV - Commercials - Lowe's stores
- TV - Commercials - Mercedes-Benz automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Microsoft Windows 7 computers
- TV - Commercials - Neutrogena Naturals cleansers
- TV - Commercials - Old Navy stores
- TV - Commercials - Smart automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Subway restaurants
- TV - Commercials - T-Mobile wireless networks
- TV - Commercials - T-Mobile wireless networks
- TV - Commercials - The Corporation for National and Community Service
- TV - Commercials - USO organization
- TV - Commercials - Vesicare bladder medication
- TV - Commercials - Victoria's Secret stores
- TV - Commercials - Volkswagen automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Volvo automobiles
- TV - Commercials - Wells Fargo banks
- TV - Commercials - Yoplait Light yogurt
- TV - PSA - A Better Community volunteering project
- TV - PSA - Feeding America organization
- TV - PSA - United States Department of Health and Human Services exercise program
- TV - Promos - "Dancing With the Stars"
- TV - Promos - "Desperate Housewives"
- TV - Promos - "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition"
- TV - Promos - "Grey's Anatomy" upcoming episode
- TV - Promos - "Happy Endings"
- TV - Promos - "Pan Am"
- TV - Promos - "Private Practice"
- TV - Promos - "Suburgatory"
CREDITS
- Mark Gordon … Executive Producer
- Betsy Beers … Executive Producer
- Rob Corn … Executive Producer, Director
- Tony Phelan … Executive Producer, Director, Writer
- Shonda Rhimes … Executive Producer, Created by
- Joan Rater … Executive Producer, Writer
- Jeannine Renshaw … Co-Executive Producer
- Stacy McKee … Co-Executive Producer
- Zoanne Clack … Co-Executive Producer
- Tammy Ann Casper … Supervising Producer
- William Harper … Producer
- Jeff Rafner … Producer
- Linda Klein … Producer
- Peter Nowalk … Producer
- Lisa Taylor … Co-Producer
- Karin Gleason … Co-Producer
- Chris Van Dusen … Co-Producer
- Debora Cahn … Consulting Producer, Writer
- Danny Lux … Music by
- Psapp … Theme Music by
- Ellen Pompeo … Cast, Dr. Meredith Grey
- Sandra Oh … Cast, Dr. Cristina Yang
- Justin Chambers … Cast, Dr. Alex Karev
- Chandra Wilson … Cast, Dr. Miranda Bailey
- James Pickens Jr. … Cast, Dr. Richard Webber
- Sara Ramirez … Cast, Dr. Callie Torres
- Eric Dane … Cast, Dr. Mark Sloan
- Chyler Leigh … Cast, Dr. Lexie Grey
- Kevin McKidd … Cast, Dr. Owen Hunt
- Jessica Capshaw … Cast, Dr. Arizona Robbins
- Kim Raver … Cast, Dr. Teddy Altman
- Sarah Drew … Cast, Dr. April Kepner
- Jesse Williams … Cast, Dr. Jackson Avery
- Patrick Dempsey … Cast, Dr. Derek Shepherd
- Mackenzie Astin … Cast, Danny Wilson
- Bruce Beatty … Cast, Jerry
- John Cappon … Cast, ND Paramedic
- Scott Foley … Cast, Henry Burton
- Cantrell Harris … Cast, Rescue Worker
- Teresa Huang … Cast, Nurse
- Jae Jung … Cast, Tara
- Kate Mines … Cast, Nurse Gloria
- Janora McDuffie … Cast, Social Worker Janet
- Mitch Pileggi … Cast, Larry Jennings
- Amy Price-Francis … Cast, Susannah Wilson
- Arlene Santana … Cast, OR Board Nurse
- Denice Sealy … Cast, ER Nurse
- Jon Schmidt … Cast, Intern Logan
- Robin Weigert … Cast, Karen Lawrence