Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer

"In your case, dying really isn't the best revenge."

Season 2 Episode 12. It's Christmas-time! Meredith and George wake up to find Izzie decorating the house and seriously, it looks like the North Pole threw up in there. Izzie is obviously in love with the holidays; Meredith and George, not so much. But they go along with it because Izzie had recently caught Alex sleeping with Olivia while they were together. Ouch!

Addison wants to catalogue-shop with Derek that night after work, but he just isn't in a Christmas-mood.

Justin, a young boy who needs a heart transplant, gets the care of Burke (obviously) and Cristina. He doesn't want the new heart and he is definitely not into the holidays. Burke asks Cristina about Christmas and she tells him that she is Jewish. And boy is he shocked. The day consists of the two of them having a philosophical battle about faith.

Alex has failed his practical. Meaning, if he doesn't pass this time, he's out. So, Meredith decides to help him out. Cristina finds them in a hallway and then Meredith passes Alex off to her. Eventually George finds Alex trying to give Cristina an exam and freaks out. The cat's out of the bag again. George replaces Cristina and she goes off to do some doctoring.

Izzie is assigned to Dr. Shepherd's service and watches him operate on a man who fell off his ladder decorating the house for Christmas. He and his family are way into the holidays, but Derek just isn't feeling it. He spends the surgery bashing the holidays and Mr. Epstein wakes up a totally different person. Izzie suggests that, because Dr. Shepherd spent the entire surgery being a scrooge he infected the patient's attitude. She tells Dr. Shepherd that he's the one who says there's a lot about the brain that they don't know. They go into surgery again, this time with Christmas carols playing in the O.R. and Mr. Epstein wakes up smiling.

Meredith is with Bailey, called in to help on her surgeries. Then sent to get her a strawberry milkshake to fight the nausea that she felt from her pregnancy. Bailey is supposed to operate on a woman with ulcers all day, but they keep pushing the surgery back for emergencies. George is assigned to this patient and is annoyed by the volume of her family. No wonder she has ulcers. Until the woman starts vomiting blood and has become an emergency herself. They get the bleeding under control and in the waiting room when the woman's mother starts complaining to Dr. Bailey, George yells at them. They have less to say now and Bailey apologizes- basically saying, 'interns, what're you gonna do?'.

Cristina gets pissed when Justin's mother keeps trying to force Christmas and happiness onto him and takes the Christmas tree in the room down. She talks to Justin, who isn't adjusting well to his new heart, telling him that he should decide to live. And wouldn't you know it, he stabilizes.

When Izzie finds out that her friends have been helping Alex study she is definitely not happy. Meredith justifies the situation by calling him 'Dirty Uncle Sal'- the one you invite because he's family, even though no one likes him. The four of them (Cristina, George, Mer and Izzie are arguing about this in the hallway). She tells them that they are all she's got, so she's gonna help her 'family'. Instead of making fun of him, Izzie helps him. She starts crying because she obviously is still upset with him.

In the end, Derek confesses to Addison that Meredith wasn't just a fling.

Meredith comes home to find Izzie laying under the Christmas tree and joins her. As does George and then Doc. It's actually one of my favorite endings.

Music:

'The Christmas Song' -Nat King Cole

'Santa Claus is Coming to Town' -Lou Rawls

'This Christmastime' -Mascott

'Back Door Santa' -Jet

'Christmas After All' -Maria Taylor

'Here Comes Your Ride' -Holidays on Ice

'Latke Clan' -The LeeVees

'Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming' -Catie Curtis

'It Came Upon a Midnight Clear' -Sixpence None the Richer

Quotes:

MEREDITH: "Enough with the ego, you big baby! I gave up a surgery for this! Now. Like I said, it hurts here, and here, and back here. Oh, and this morning? I noticed my poop was a funny grayish color."

MEREDITH: "There's an old proverb that says you can't choose your family. You take what fate hands you. And like them or not, love them or not, understand them or not, you cope. Then there's the school of thought that says the family you're born into is simply a starting point. They feed you, clothe you, and take care of you until you're ready to go out into the world. There you find your own tribe."

MIRANDA: "Do not kick me!"
GEORGE: "Excuse me?"
MIRANDA: "Are you kicking me under the table, O'Malley?"
GEORGE:  "No..."
MIRANDA: "Than clearly I wasn't talking to you."

MEREDITH: "We know he cheated on you. That's why we let you turn the house into Santa's Freaking Village. We're not big on holidays. We're trying to be supportive, because you're having a hard time. But right now, Alex is having a harder time."
IZZIE: "Why should anybody care what kind of time Alex is having!?"

MEREDITH: "Because he's Dirty Uncle Sal!....Dirty Uncle Sal. The one who embarrasses everyone at holidays and family reunions and who can't be left alone with the teenage girls, but you have to invite him anyway. Look... I have a mother who doesn't recognize me and as far as family goes, you guys are it. So I know you're pissed at Alex, but maybe... maybe you could try and help him anyway. Like, in the spirit of this holiday you keep shoving down everybody's throats."

CRISTINA: "I am a 55 year old man. I'm nauseous and I can't stop throwing up."
ALEX: "Forget it, alright. I didn't ask for anybody's help."
CRISTINA: "Look, evil spawn, you can nurse your pride -- the key word being nurse -- or you can pass your test and be a doctor. Up to you."
ALEX: "Any abdominal pain?"
CRISTINA: "Yes, from my giant fat belly all the way to my back. Oh, and I'm drunk. Hiccup. Hiccup." 

PRESTON: "You aren't in the Christmas spirit."
CRISTINA: "I'm Jewish."
PRESTON: "Seriously?"

ALEX: "Why are you helping me after what I did?"
IZZIE: "'Cause it's what Jesus would freaking do!"






Tomorrow is the day!! Season 7 is almost here!!!!!!!!