Elevator Love Letter - Grey's Anatomy (2009)

Okay, so this is a movie blog, but who says that TV shows can't have good monologues? They totally can. Grey's Anatomy has excellent monologues, usually in the form of voiceovers. Today, however, I decided to actually pick a scene from Grey's that I find memorable. It was tough...but I think this one is wonderful. Hopefully it's a bit lighter that some of the previous posts...it is from a doctor's TV show after all.


If you've never watched the show...sorry for your loss. However, if you just know that the two characters in the video have been on and off since season 1 and that you're watching the end of season 6, you'll be perfectly fine. It's very much like a soap opera, except not really.

Grey's Anatomy is and has been one of my favorite TV shows. It's been a long haul so far: 7 seasons of love twists, medical emergencies and stressful situations. I rooted for Meredith and Derek from the beginning; there was just something about them that made sense, despite their obvious flaws and obstacles in the way of their being together.


Seriously, this couple has been through it all: psycho mother/sisters, ex-wives, cheating, lying, drinking, bomb threats, diseases, and stressful job environments. The odds were stacked against them from the beginning; he was her married boss (unbeknownst to her) and she was an intern working 80 hours weeks while taking care of a medically deteriorating mother.  Talk about characterization!


I'll spare you the juicy details, although if you're interested, I can enlighten you or suggest the best/most dramatic episodes, because I really wanted to pause and examine this scene more closely. 


On the top most layer, this scene is what Grey's Anatomy fans have been waiting for FOREVER.  Literally.  We finally get there and it's so freaking cute; how could it not be?


For those of you that just vomited in your mouth, I promise that there's more here than romance. Sure, McDreamy is all perfectly moussed and gelled, talking of his big-shot surgeries he's done. But, he levels with Meredith, saying that her dark and twisty-ness is a strength. In case you forgot, Meredith continuously refers to herself and her past as "dark and twisty," which essentially means she's "messed up."


This scene reminded me how our pasts are a part of us, making us stronger. Sure, it seems cliche, and maybe it is, but some cliches are completely true. What's happened is always there, reminding us of what lies ahead. For Meredith, it's her mother, the now-dead famous female surgeon. It's her father, who dumped her for a new family. It's her kid sister, who now works with her. And it's her friends, one of whom is sick in this season. She somehow takes all of this and turns it into something to propel her forwards.


Of course she's fallen backwards many times, like everyone else. She's had her nights of inappropriate sexual conduct and excessive drinking. But she's never given up. Despite everything up against her, and it's been a lot, she's pushed forward and gotten through it. And I think that's what Derek loves most about her: that she can pick up the pieces and move on.


Perhaps this is what I too love about Meredith Grey: her humanity. Some people can't stand her. She's not particularly funny compared to other characters and she's not the most mysterious either. We know almost everything about her. With that, we know her flaws, her weaknesses, her insecurities. She's very real, besides the fact that she somehow has beautiful men pining for her. 


Either way, the point is that we can't look completely backwards. We can't look completely forwards either. We'd never look to the here and now. We also can't dwell on our flaws and trying to decide if they're normal or not. Perhaps by accepting them, we become a stronger human being, like we know ourselves better. It's part of who we are whether we like it or not.