Trouble in Mer-Der land? Can we say...YES? The show starts off with a reminder that there's a strain between our favorite dark and mcdreamy couple. The interns are under the biggest stress of their careers thus far, the test, and are effectively banned from the ER. What does this mean for the hospital? A full day of oddness, and discovering of skills and confidence that even the attendings didn't know they had. SO many things happen:

Even when the interns are sneaking down to see the frostbite cases, Bailey is her usual mother hen. She shoos them upstairs, reminding them of the importance of the day.
Addison...bless her heart. Everywhere she turns, she's presented with another pregnant woman. As she says herself, «Maybe I'd have a chance if I were gay, a teenager, or a member of the AARP»
And George, stepping up, trying to do what's right for his wife, for Izzy, for himself. The Mercy West option...is it a trick, or just the thing to fix things? And Mama Hen Bailey questions him again, pointing to his career, making sure he's aware at least professionally of what he might be leaving. And Izzy, stepping up, trying to make George feel more comfortable about staying, because she's decided that the group's need of George is more important than her own, and in her own selfish way, she'll cut part of herself off just so she can keep some small part of him. She destroys him by saying she doesn't love him, but we're not left hanging long. «You have that thing everyone else wants. You already take it for granted. But I promise you, if you didn't have that thing where the one you love honors you, cherishes you, you'd do anything you could to have it.» (I think I missed part of it. Man, she's quick) You're assured with that statement that Izzy does still love George, but is putting her big girl panties on.
Alex and Ava. She struggles to explain to him the rejection she feels that her husband hasn't come looking for her when she never returned to the cabin in the woods, and she's not wanting to give up the life she's discovered and created there in the hospital. And he is suddenly confronted with the chance that she's not the perfect dream woman he's created in his mind.

The killer scene of the show, though has got to be when Thatcher shows up, drunk before the funeral, and tells Meridith, «You're not wanted...» How heartbreaking, how tragic, how completely unfair that not only is the only living parent she has turning his back on her, but she's not allowed to say goodbye to her step-mom. «The best Mom she's ever had», Christina opines.
And when Richard tries to give her assistance, just a kind word, she dumps something on him she's been feeling for a while now, that's been building. He is /not/ her father. He cannot be her father, even though the father she has leaves so much to be desired. The entire exchange, with Richard, with Thatcher, the emotional overload leaves Meridith paralyzed-Her all important test left blank, not a single mark to show for a year that she feels is nothing but a series of losses. That all gets better, though, when Meridith allows Richard to give her a hug.

The entire episode is about not being left behind. Even if you lose a parent, even if you blank during a test. Even if you have a barren womb. Even if you have a hatchet to the head. You should never be left behind. And these interns have overcome such large obstacles in their year...none of them want to hurt the others, to cause them to leave. They've discovered that family is more than flesh and blood.
First George, then Alex...One by one the interns all come and spend time with Meridith. All of them camped out on the stairs while Mer takes the test...All year, up to the end, they all stick together. And on a different level...all of the chief candidates showing up for the 'bachelor' party. They don't function as well as the interns, most of the time, but in their own way, they're a team as well.

Technorati Tags: Meridith Grey, George, Dr. Bailey, Izzy, Alex and Ava, Thatcher, bad dads, dark and twisty, Addison, tests, Grey's Anatomy