Wednesday, April 15, 2020 — 6A
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
In response to the coronavirus pandemic, “Grey’s
Anatomy” halted production on their season, before
eventually cutting it short by four episodes. While it
wasn’t the ending that was planned, the Season 16 finale
of “Grey’s” was a satisfying one. Time and time again,
the longest running medical drama in the history of
television has proved its ability to pivot when something
unexpected happens. After all, the production shutdown
wasn’t the first hurdle “Grey’s” had to overcome this
season; earlier, adjustments had to be made after Justin
Chambers’ abrupt exit. It still remains unclear if the four
unproduced episodes will roll over to the next season, but
this makeshift finale had enough action and drama to hold
us all over until the start of Season 17 — which has been
rumored to be the final season.
For not actually being the originally planned season
finale, “Grey’s” sure had some finale staples: a callback to
an old “Grey’s” moment, a doctor who might die, another
doctor going into labor, a voicemail of someone having
sex with someone who wasn’t their fiance that plays on
speakerphone during a surgery. Okay, well maybe not
that one, but there is something oddly satisfying about
watching someone get betrayed and humiliated in a public
setting. What happened to Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd,
“Star Wars Rebels”) and Teddy Altman (Kim Raver, “24”)
was true soap opera craziness, and I love to see it.
Right as Webber was about to get checked out of the
hospital, our beloved Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo, “Catch
Me If You Can”) realizes that whatever is happening to him
is destroying both his mind and his body. Meredith and Dr.
Bailey (Chandra Wilson, “General Hospital”) are about to
do a biopsy on Webber when off-the-rails Andrew DeLuca
(Giacomo Gianniotti, “Backpackers”) comes storming into
the O.R. He’s figured out what’s wrong with Webber —
cobalt poisoning from a hip replacement — but instead of
using his words, he throws all the surgical instruments on
the floor to get Bailey and Meredith to listen to him.
Excuse me, sir? This man should not be allowed
anywhere near the hospital, let alone an operating room.
He’s clearly not okay. Thankfully, at the end of the episode,
as Meredith leaves the hospital, she finds DeLuca sitting
on the floor crying; he wants to understand why he’s been
going manic. After he went to jail to help Meredith at the
end of last season, now at the end of this season it appears
Meredith is going to repay the favor. Had the season
continued, one would assume that we would’ve gotten
more insight into DeLuca’s bipolar-like symptoms and
how he copes with whatever diagnosis is coming his way.
While Amelia (Caterina Scorsone, “Private Practice”)
is giving birth to her child with Link (Chris Carmack,
“Nashville”), Bailey takes Link to do the surgery on
Webber. Amelia forces Bailey to stay with her, even though
Bailey recently had a miscarriage. But being the queen that
she is, Bailey hops on the bed and sits behind her the same
way that George O’Malley did for her back in the second
season. Everything goes smoothly and now Amelia is a
mother.
This episode works as a finale because enough of our
questions about some season-long storylines have been
answered while new ones have been posed. It remains
unclear if the new season will continue these character
arcs or if some sort of “reset” must happen. Regardless,
we anticipate we will get answers as to what’s happening
with DeLuca, the fate of Owen and Teddy’s relationship,
some sort of resolution to the constant fighting between
Webber and his wife Catherine (Debbie Allen, “Grace and
Frankie”) and perhaps the answer to the scariest question
of all to ponder: will next season be the final season? Only
time will tell.
Why the makeshift finale of ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ works
JUSTIN POLLACK
Daily Arts Writer
TV NOTEBOOK
FILM NOTEBOOK
Film scenes from the Apocolypse, Part 3: ‘2012’
SABRIYA IMAMI
Daily Arts Writer
Movies are projections. Yes, literally, in the sense of
filmstock and screens and projectors and bulbs. But movies
can also be projections of ourselves — a momentary snapshot
of the internal, the introspective, the metaphysical. And
given the circumstances, we as the film beat are seeing
less literal projections in movie theaters and doing more
projecting ourselves. So what are we thinking about?
Among them are whether “When Harry Met Sally” is
actually good, our Letterboxd log histories and — of course
— the apocalypse. This series will traverse the cinematic
doomsday in its eclectic iterations. After all, why grapple
with an uncomfortable reality when you can watch movies
that hyperbolize it completely?
— Anish Tamhaney, Daily Film Editor
“2012” isn’t an apocalypse movie, not really. Yes, the
world is ending, which is technically all you need for an
apocalypse, but at its heart, “2012” is a hopeful movie
about family.
I had never seen the film before, so when I began
watching it, I prepared myself for two and a half hours of
death and destruction. There was death and destruction;
in fact, IMDb says that the body count in this movie is
over 7 billion. But what I wasn’t expecting was that the
movie revolves around some really good people doing
their best in an atrocious situation, which isn’t exactly an
unfamiliar concept right now.
Jackson Curtis (John Cusack, “Grosse Pointe Blank”)
is supposed to be taking his kids camping when he finds
out the world is ending, the Earth’s core is melting
and the crust is breaking apart through earthquakes
that authorities claim are nothing to worry about. And
when he finds this out, what does he do? Everything he
can to protect his family, even his ex-wife and her new
boyfriend. Though the draw of the movie is the apocalypse
and scenes like Jackson and his family barely escaping a
crumbling California in a tiny plane, the reason why the
film is actually worthwhile is because you see that even
in horrific, catastrophic times, there are people who are
genuinely good. Whether it’s a father who puts his life on
the line on numerous occasions for his family, a young
scientist whose mission is to save not just billionaires
but everyone, a struggling president who stays with
his sinking ship (or country) until the last moment or a
mother who begs strangers to save her children even if it
means she will die, there are people who will do whatever
they can in a truly awful time.
And yes, of course you see the opposite of that as well:
people whose selfishness comes to light in catastrophe,
but even they have hearts. You may want to hate Adrian
Helmsley’s (Chiwetel Ejiofor, “Doctor Strange”) superior
Carl Anheuser (Oliver Platt, “The Three Musketeers”)
because he seems to only want to save the people who
can pay their way into a new world or those who have
been genetically selected, but you can’t help but feel bad
for him when you see him saying goodbye to his ailing
mother. Or Yuri Karpov (Zlatko Buric, “Pusher”), who
stabbed people in the back multiple times, including his
girlfriend Tamara (Beatrice Rosen, “The Dark Knight”)
and even Jackson. But in the end, that arrogant Russian
puts his kids before everyone else, even himself, which is
admirable.
“2012” may be written off as an apocalypse movie, but
it’s actually a movie about people who are struggling to
do their best and remain good amid tragedy. The reason
this movie hit me so hard was because that’s exactly
what’s happening right now. While the coronavirus may
be showing some people’s truly selfish colors, it’s also
revealing that there are some genuinely good people
out there. Healthcare workers, grocery store employees,
teachers, people making masks to send to hospitals,
families who are staying away from their loved ones
to protect them … we rely on these good people. It’s
difficult, unbearably so at times, but these people do
what they have to for the greater good. I think Jackson
Curtis would be proud of them.
NBC
Time and time again, the
longest running medical-
drama in the history of
television has proven
its ability to pivot when
something unexpected
happens.
Whether it’s a father who
puts his life on the line on
numerous occasions for his
family or a young scientist
whose mission is to save
not just the billionaires but
everyone, there are people
who will do whatever they
can in a truly awful time.