As of airtime, the ayes had it by a narrow margin. Below the jump, a recap of last night’s episode of Grey’s Anatomy, featuring several panty-related plotlines, doctors getting physical, a few weird patients, and a whole lot of cupcakes.3

grey’s anatomy season 3 episode 2

Voiceover: “At any given moment, the brain has 14 billion neurons firing at a speed of 450 mph. We don’t have control over most of them when we get a chill, goosebumps, when we get excited, adrenaline. The body naturally follows its impulses, which, I think, is part of what makes it hard for us to control ours. Of course, sometimes we have impulses we would rather not control. That we later wish we had.”

It’s like old times in Grey’s Anatomyland. Meredith and Dempsey making romantic faces in the elevator, Izzie compulsively preparing for her own personal bake sale to pay off med school debt, and Sandra Oh stripping down to her matching red bra and panties to gratify herself on top of her boss and tactile-impaired boyfriend. Before she can complete the strip tease, in walk Presto’s parents who wonder if this is a new hospital service. Clearly, they missed the bulletin about the four foot rule.

Oh admonishes the dude whom she bribed to guard the door (something about saving a life, in ten seconds?) and quibbles with Meredith about which of them is the sluttier. Meredith isn’t *really* sleeping with two guys, but if she can’t decide by the end of the day she’ll flip a coin to decide. A girl can’t hold out forever. Er, didn’t she do Dempsey in an exam room last night?

Speaking of hospital trysts, Addison drops in on the Chief’s office/crash pad [two doctors living in the hospital! looks like a trend] looking like the Gorton’s fisherman on a bad day to request a day off for heavy drinking. She’s out of tears and doesn’t want to talk about it. The chief explains his office sleeping by saying that marriage is hard (she says: my marriage is over), omitting the part about his wife leaving him because he won’t leave the hospital. It’s like ten thousand spoons when all you need is a knife, isn’t it?

The intern squad starts their rounds with a lung cancer patient gorging on chocolate raspberry souffle cake. They need to get her into surgery, but she’s got the munchies (and she found a Seattle bakery that delivers!). Or rather, she’s been pretty straightedge and cracks-up about getting cancer after all that repressed clean living. Now she’s on a sugar high; they reschedule and call for a psych consult.

During the walk and talk, George “ums” Bailey. Alex BYGs that Bailey should talk to the Cheif about Izzie (”it seems like a waste for her medical skills to go into baking.”) but Bailey won’t her of it, insisting that he stop talking.

It’s Dempsey time: a brain surgery to remove a sister that’s causing a guy to have no impulse control. It’s fun when the patients advancement of the plot doesn’t even need to be subtle due to a medical condition. He calls his sister stinky and sweaty and says that Dempsey might as well just mount Meredith the way he’s looking at her.

In the middle of a lecture about how the interns need to shape up to make her look good, Bailey discovers the panties on the bulletin board. Which no one took down. She interrogates her slutty girl interns to claim them, but Callie saves the day. I’m not sure that she isn’t coo-coo for cocoa puffs, but she’s really catching on to the “being nice” thing.

– main title –

During their assignments. George cleverly tries not to be clever. Bailey’s in top grumpy form, and Sandra Oh says that the Nazi’s back. Just as Presto’s mom collides with her and provides a short treatise on how hyperbolically calling people Nazis is a pretty shitty thing to do, given the whole racist genocide thing. Oh doesn’t even have a chance to mention that she’s Jewish because they’re interrupted by brilliant and dreamy brain surgeon. Mommie Dearest asks to borrow your intern for a coffee break, and he happily obliges for the chance to scrub up with Meredith.

They sneak off to the stairwell of emotional declarations and Meredith reminds him (twice) that he’s married. Despite the nice things he’s said to her, the bulletin board panty raid wasn’t funny. And, she doesn’t like being a homewrecker (on account of having her own parental home wrecked by another surgical tryst). McDempsey assures her that his home was thoroughly wrecked before she came into his life by way of a drunken hookup. Remember last episode’s flashbacks? For the record, he’s {really) ending it with Drunky McSweatpants today; just as soon as he sees her. Grey likes the sounds of this and they do their slow kissing faces maneuver, which is aborted by the entrance of old reliable Torrez.

Sandra Oh enters her beloved boss’s room to find his father quietly reading the paper. She asks for a consult w/r/t motherly coffee. He tells her not to worry about the Moms thinking she’s a racist stripper. She’s just his Mama, and everyone loves her.

Looking for his soon-to-be [?] ex-wife, Dempsey chats up the Chief, who knows a thing or two about extra-marital affairs with the ladies Grey. He sagely advises that one doesn’t leave panties in a tuxedo pocket unless you want someone to find it. File that one away from prom night, kiddies. Projecting his own issues, the Chief says to give Addison her time (to get sloppily drunk), but the dreamy brain surgeon says that when it’s over it’s over.

A scene with Impulse control guy serves to inform us that (1) Meredith needs new conditioner and is not sleeping with Dempsey [today], and (2) he would have sex with Dempsey if he could.

Elsewhere, George interrogates Callie about the panties. He hasn’t seen them yet and is all sorts of jealous. Before he can further pursue his invesetigation, he runs off to chase the Living Large Lung Lady who is competing in some kind of makeshift wheelchair derby. Meredith offers to come clean about the panties being hers, but Callie forbids it, on account of being way turned on by his jealousy.

On the way to the ambulance bay, Alex pesters Bailey. She tells him that it isn’t O.K. for her intern to ask personal questions. No more talk about Izzie. Just as well, out from the red doors comes a kid thrown from a luge [!] into a pile of yard trimmings. He’s got a little tree stuck through his guts. Yuck. Another odd impalement plotline! It’s really gross and is followed by one of those awful VW commercials where the people are having an inane conversation interrupted by a horrible collison.

—

As they’re wheeling the Lorax kid into the hospital, angry sweater guy rushes in to yell at him for being so irresponsible. Alex smashes his face into the wall. Bailey shuts him down (pay attention here) and tells him that he will not get physical again, and while he’s at it, he’s not allowed to defend his girlfriend for killing a man.

At awkward coffee talk, mom provides a highlights reel of her son’s resume. She assumes that Sandra Oh is planning for a less time-consuming specialty. You know, for after they’re married. Oh is pretty into being a surgeon; so Mom berates her a little: she’s no spring chicken, and lots of ladies would be willing to give up their career ambitions for a chance to be Mrs. Preston “Chief Wannabe (if he’s not permanately disabled)” Burke. Speak of the invalid, Burke limps by, inducing a motherly interrogation about why he’s out of bed. His excuses don’t fly and once he’s out of earshot she reveals her beef with Oh: it’s not that she don’t like her, it’s just that she’s selfish (e.g., pulling him out of sickbed.) She doesn’t think that selfish + giving make a good combo. To illustrate his niceness, sick Burke returns with a fresh scone for his mother.

In tree surgery, the doctors have lost a kidney and the Chief predicts that they’ve got a long way to go. Pretty much everyone else is in the gallery watching and grousing. Oh about Burke’s mother. If she comes back at her with racism claims; she’ll see them with claims of sexism. Meredith thinks they should all “go there”: tell the truth, go with their instincts. With this, she’s made her decision: she’s going with Dempsey. Now that she’s off coffee duty, Oh wants her patient back (ah, selfishness again). Meredith misses dirty stripper Oh; Oh misses philandering whore Grey.

Lung Lady’s gone klepto, stealing chocolates. George thinks she should be preparing for surgery, but she doesn’t like the 60% odds. She’s been stifled and wants to live a little before dying.

Back at the Grey House for Wayward Interns, Meredith stops in to check on her roommate. She finds only a kitchen full of cupcakes. The doorbell rings and it’s none other than Finn O’Donnel, dropping in to check on Izzie with a bag full of lunch. He feel her pain because (don’t forget!) he’s a widower. When his wife died, there was nothing to say, but the bringing of food actually helped. Here, Meredith sees that he’s really pretty much the best person ever. He doesn’t even want to pressure her into making a decision. But they have a quick shadowy kiss before he tells her to have a nice day at work. God, it’s like rain on your wedding day.

–

Bailey tells the Sweater guy that they’ve chopped up part of his son’s bowel and removed a kidney. He’s still in a bit of shock, but asks about the tree and the prognosis. She tells him that the branch is still in him, and that he’s still alive.

At Joe’s Bar, Izzie arrives with baskets of muffins. She was running out of room though maybe he’d like some. DrunkAddison shouts a hello to Dr. Stevens. Izzie says “please don’t call me Dr.” and Addison responds, “Please don’t call me Mrs. Shepherd.” and asks whether Izzie knew about the slutty sex. I’m pretty sure Izzie was too busy with her dead or dying Tin Man when that was going down. She says that the muffins will help. Addison thinks that she may be beyond help. Izzie too.

Once again BurkeMom blocks Oh’s visit. Meredith talks about how Finn brought lunch. A.k.a. she didn’t end it and has changed her mind. McDempsey’s out. Self-centered Sandra Oh is still on the defensive, saying that selfish don’t save lives. Across the room, George randomly flirts with nurse. Because he’s young, with a life to live. And because this scene needed some comic relief.

Before going into surgery Brain guy asks about Oh’s relationship status. He wishes that he had a boyfriend, but [surprise, surprise], his relationship was busted up by a disapproving mother. Now he’s all alone with his overweight sister going into brain surgery.

TreeBoy and BrainGay are simultaneously in surgery and all sorts of shit hits the fan while a pretty song plays in the background.

–

When we get back from the commercials, it’s night time and everyone has left the hospital to drink it up. Addison’s binging on muffins while Bailey dozes off, bored with conversation with a sugared-up drunk. Addison nibbles at the scenery, saying it’s over all because of [not actually that] skanky panties and a bad tux. Although the gay bartender finds her wildly attractive, the cab has arrived, freeing Bailey of her torture.

Cake Lady is getting her drink on too. Why not drink close to the hospital she’s trying to escape, right? She buy alex a drink. And away they go! George is still flirting with the nurse (by throwing a dart alarmingly close to her head), saying that if Callie can be bad; so can he. Meredith reminds him that Callie is “dirty sexy hot” and tells him to stop using the darts as weapons and get lucky. She flips a coin to make her choice. Sandra Oh, disgusted that George is getting lucky while she’s not (no idea where anyone got the selfish thing) decides that heads = brain surgeon. Meredith flips the coin and looks disappointed, but we don’t see the result. She claims to be taking a cue from now-dead BrainGay. Oh says that he wasn’t impulsive, he was sick.

Bailey joins TreeDad at the bar, asking if he’s O.K. (his son is going to be fine, by the way). Dad blames himself for not being a hardass and forbidding his kid for doing jackass style extreme sports on his neighbor’s steep driveway. Here, he fulfills his role as metaphor for Bailey’s internal dilemma (we knew he was around for a reason), telling her that kids spin out of control, and as a parent it’s your job to control them. He went soft when he needed me to be the father. Aha, this is a conversation about Izzie’s muffins.

{Incidentally, I actually love that they just swept these cases under the rug during the advertisments. It’s not as if we have time to get attached to a few new patients every week; so kill them off quietly. BTW, what the heck happened to that guy from the Practice last week?}

LungLady wished that she’s had a more misspent youth. She finds out that Alex doesn’t have a girlfriend and proposes a bathroom quickie. Is there anything as sexy as using the dying woman card?

By the by, Callie’s a little crazy. While all of her pals are at the bar, she’s having dance party in her undies and sunglasses all by herself in her basement lair. In walks the Chief, and now she knows how it feels to be the one being walked in on.

–

We fly by the Space Needle. Chris O’Donnel enters the bar. So does Dempsey. Awkward much? But everyone’s all smiles. Meredith thanks them both for coming. She likes them both and has decided not to make a choice. She wants to try dating them both. Kind of like a reality program. She leaves. The two dudes seem fine with it; neither is bowing out.

The Chief understands Callie’s hiding out in the dank basement illegally. Something about getting all the best case by being there first. He respect it, but he’s throwing her out. She calls him on his living in his office and he agrees to follow his own rules. Hilarity ensues as George busts in asserting his right to be jealous over another guy seeing her panties, and finds his girlfriend in her underwear having a heart to heart with the Chief.

Once she’s had her way with Alex in a bathroom stall, LungLady’s ready to go back to the hospital. Bailey stops Alex to apologize, but he tells her that she was right: he shouln’t be getting physical with a patient.

Voiceover returns and Snow Patrol fades in on the soundtrack: “The body is a slave to its impulses.”

Although he isn’t so sure, Mom knows Preston’s hand is getting better. Sandra Oh interrupts, but plays it generous and claims to have been stopping in to see if either of them need anything. As she leaves, telling him to sleep well, the quiet-so-far BurkeDad tells her to hang in there.

“But the thing that makes us human,is what we can control. After after the storm, after the rush, after the heat of the moment has passed.”

Outside Callie finds George on a bench, recovering from walking in on his girlfriend with the Chief. She admits that the panties weren’t hers. Her suitcase is packed; so I guess it means that they’re moving in together.

“We can cool off and clean up the messes we’ve made.”

Back at cupcake land, Izzie is still baking. The roommates enter along with Bailey. They exit, so that Bailey can end the episode with a heartfelt speech about how having a baby caused her to go soft. She swore it wouldn’t change her, but it did. She stopped teaching when you needed a teacher the most. She could have stopped her, but her softness was partly to blame for what happened. She wants her to come back. They’ll talk to the Chief to work something out. She’s talented, we all make mistakes, and it’s enough with those muffins.

“We can try to let go of what was.”

Dempsey shows up at Addison’s hotel, where she opens the door in a robe and carrying a goblet. He feels terrible and is not proud of what he did, saying that she you deserved better. He apologizes for the panties and the prom. They take turns saying that they’re sorry he did that. But their marriage is over. He says that it’s all his fault. On cue, a guy walks out of the steamy bathroom. Remember the guy that busted up the marriage the first time, the one the interns called McSteamy? Cleverly, he’s back. Dempsey smiles, chugs her drink, and says that he feels much better now as he leaves the room.

“and then again …”

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