Staring at the Sun (Grey's Anatomy)

Infobox Television episode | Title = Staring at the Sun
Series = Grey's Anatomy
Season = 3
Episode = 8
Guests = Matt Winston (Frank, the Pec Implant Guy), And Kate Burton as Ellis Grey
Airdate = November 16, 2006 (ABC)
Production = 308
Writer = Gabrielle Stanton, Harry Werksman
Director = Jeff Melman
Episode list = Episode chronology


Prev = Where the Boys Are
Next = From a Whisper to a Scream

"Staring at the Sun" is the eighth episode of the third season of the ABC series, "Grey's Anatomy". The episode was written by Gabrielle Stanton and Harry Werksman and was directed by Jeff Melman. It originally aired on November 16, 2006.

Episode recap

Derek and Meredith make out in a bathtub, but Meredith stops Derek from getting too intense, telling him that they are taking things slow. She decides that she wants to be fun and they both resolve to be "bright and shiny" people.

The next morning, a "bright and shiny" Derek decides to be cordial and friendly to Addison. She is surprised at his unprecedented exuberance and he is surprised that she is still wearing their wedding rings. The rings are stuck and Derek advises her to use soap.

"Bright and shiny" Meredith strides in happily into the locker-room and announces that she is leaving "dark and twisty Meredith" for "bright and shiny". After noticing that no one is really paying any attention, she finds out that George's father has been warded after losing consciousness and breaking his clavicle. George reinforces that everything will be fine but he is clearly shaken. Bailey assigns George to scut duty as "family members do not treat family members". Cristina says that she is scrubbing in on Burke's surgery and Bailey reluctantly lets her go. Meredith is sent to the pit, while Alex is assigned to Mark with Izzie shadowing him. Bailey reminds her not to interact with her patients.

Callie has fixed George's father's clavicle and is getting along very well with his brothers. George thanks her but reminds her that they have broken up and leaves. Callie is dejected at what he says.

Bailey lets George pick an intern he wants to be assigned to his father. After witnessing Burke letting Cristina decanulate a heart by herself, he chooses her. By now, he is highly suspicious of Burke's hand and confronts Cristina several times about it. She brushes him off every time, saying that Burke is fine. However, one of these confrontations is witnessed by Bailey, which reinforces her own suspicions as well.

The Chief and Cristina perform the endoscopy on George's father and the biopsy results return abnormal. He has stage III metastatic cancer of the esophagus and the cancer has also spread to the stomach. Overwhelmed by his father's medical condition, Callie sleeping with Mark and Burke's hand tremor, he confides in Izzie and Meredith, but they are unable to provide much comfort.

His father's health takes another turn for the worse when Cristina discovers a leaking aortic valve; he will need to undergo valve replacement before the cancer can be treated. He insists that Burke does the surgery and the prospect of George's father's life in the hands of Burke has Cristina worried.

Meanwhile, George is unable to communicate with his family when they cannot understand his medical jargon and he cannot simplify it for them. His brothers' constant teasing of him makes the situation worse and he blows up at them. Only Callie is able to make them understand their father's medical condition better using car analogies.

Meredith, Bailey and Derek work on Mia Hanson, a girl who was backed over by her mom's SUV in the driveway. She suffers from crush injury to her abdomen, as well as blunt trauma to her head. Her parents, being corporate high-fliers, are unable to connect and comfort the girl. She constantly cries out for Anna, her nanny, even though Anna was the one who knocked her down. Anna, however, was fired by Mia's parents. The poor parenting strikes a chord in Meredith, who did not have the most attentive of mothers in Ellis Grey. Bailey is also reminded of how much she is neglecting her son by working. The nanny is eventually re-hired and both parents resolve to bond with their daughter.

Mark sends Alex and Izzie to run his errands for him and Addison chides him for treating them like slaves instead of teaching them. She tries to let the Chief know, but realises that he is distracted and depressed from his marriage woes. Derek is roped in to counsel the Chief, however it ends in disaster after both of them start arguing over their marriage. The Chief decides to make his marriage work and tells Meredith that he is going to stop visiting Ellis Grey. Ellis is upset that he is leaving her for Adele and frets over raising Meredith by herself. Meredith tells her she did the best she could.

Alex and Izzie are to monitor Frank, who underwent pectoral enhancement surgery for his girlfriend to prevent her from leaving him. Frank has a tendency to speak about himself in the third person. Alex is skeptical at his extravagant measures for love, but he tells him that sometimes "grand gestures" are necessary to impress a girl. An inspired Alex lets Izzie remove the tube that drains the seroma from Frank, despite her probation rules. She is extremely happy to be able to do something medical and in the heat of the moment, Alex pulls her in for a kiss. She pulls away, saying that she can't. Later in Joe's bar, Izzie expresses surprise at Alex's feelings for her and he apologises for his actions ("Alex is sorry he's such an idiot"). She offers to buy him a drink and he accepts.

At the end of the day, Bailey calls her son and sings to him. Addison is on a ferry boat, where she tosses her rings into the water. Cristina tells Burke that George knows about his hand. Elsewhere, Meredith and Derek soak in a tub, and decide that although they are not cut out to be "bright and shiny", they are still happy to have each other.

Title reference

This episode's title refers to songs by U2, Wendy and Lisa, TV on the Radio, The Offspring and Rooster.

Music

*"Not Big" - Lily Allen
*"Everybody Get Movin'" - Get Set Go
*"Time Of My Life" - The Watson Twins
*"Where We Gonna Go From Here" - Mat Kearney
*"Breakable" - Ingrid Michaelson
*"God Bless The Child" - Chandra Wilson as Dr. Miranda Bailey