Goodbye (Grey's Anatomy)

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"Goodbye"
Grey's Anatomy episode
Episode no.Season 6
Episode 2
Directed byBill D'Elia
Written byKrista Vernoff
Featured music"Ghosts"
"Hologram"
"Gravity"
"Today Has Been OK"
Original air dateSeptember 24, 2009 (2009-09-24)
Running time43 minutes
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
← Previous
"Good Mourning" 		Next →
"I Always Feel Like Somebody's Watchin' Me"
Grey's Anatomy season 6
List of episodes

"Goodbye" is the second episode of the

Dr. Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl) taking a toll after her near-death experience
.

The episode was the second part of the 2-hour season 6 premiere special, the first being "

Nielsen rating/share
in the 18–49 demographic.

Plot

In the episode,

Dr. Lexie Grey (Chyler Leigh
), who has given her attentive care, to return home.

Ferguson's depression returns again, when

James Pickens, Jr.
).

On his way to a meeting, Webber goes through a red light, and collides with another vehicle, resulting in him becoming

T.R. Knight) saved, Amanda (Shannon Lucio
), sitting outside the hospital, and tells her to go get a life, because O'Malley did not save her so she could be miserable. At the conclusion of the episode, Stevens unites with Karev, and Webber announces that Seattle Grace will be merging with Mercy West.

Production

Krista Vernoff informed Kevin McKidd (pictured) that the therapy scene would change, 20 minutes before filming.

"Goodbye" was written by Krista Vernoff and directed by Bill D'Elia. Joe Mitacek edited the episode and Donald Lee Harris served as production designer.[1] Featured music includes Fanfarlo's "Ghosts", Katie Herzig's "Hologram", Lucy Schwartz's "Gravity", and Emilíana Torrini's "Today Has Been OK".[2] "Today Has Been OK" played while Shepherd (Dempsey) was consoling Bailey (Wilson) about O'Malley's (Knight) death, in the elevator. This song was originally played in the season 2 episode "Into You Like a Train", when Bailey was consoling Shepherd. This is the only time the series has reused a song.[3] "Goodbye" is the second hour of the season 6 premiere. It was the first premiere not to feature Knight's character, O'Malley. Knight was released from his contract at the conclusion of season five, following a disagreement with series creator Shonda Rhimes over lack of screen-time for his character. When asked to make a 'flashback' appearance in season 6, Knight declined.[4]

The scene in which Yang (Oh) and Hunt (McKidd) were partaking in couples therapy, was originally planned to be a comical moment. Vernoff commented on this: "I handed them that scene 20 MINUTES BEFORE CAMERAS ROLLED. It was actually a funny scene right up until the last minute. Sandra and Kevin had smart questions – and what became crystal clear to me instantly is that this storyline could not be resolved in a humorous way. It had earned weight. Indeed, it required weight."[3] In the episode, Meredith (Pompeo) grieves her pain through constant sex with Shepherd. Vernoff explained she loves the fact that Meredith is healthy enough to realize what she is doing.[3] At the conclusion of "Goodbye", Yang finally came to terms with the death of O'Malley. Vernoff offered her insight:

"Cristina, who as a young child, held her father’s heart in her hands as it stopped beating, is perhaps the least "processed" of our core group, the least "healthy," the least able to handle the impact of George’s sudden death. Mer is using sex, Cristina is using her frustration around her lack of sex. So when she finally gets in bed with Owen and she finally has the tension release that comes with that kind of, um… tension release… She can’t hold the truth off anymore. That’s the thing about the five stages of grief. They truly are different for everyone. Cristina clung to the Denial stage for 40 days. And then she let in the fact that George died. And as much as Mer’s tears got to me, that intake of breath from Cristina got to me even more. The sudden realization that George really did…die.

— Krista Vernoff, Grey Matter[3]

Reception

Broadcasting

"Goodbye" was originally broadcast on September 24, 2009, on the

rating and share percentages of the 18–49 demographic. The episode also received a rating of 10.9/18 in the 18-34 demographic, beating out CBS's The Mentalist, and ranking #1 in the ratings and shares for the demographic.[5]

Critical reception

Patrick Dempsey's performance as Derek Shepherd was praised.

The episode opened to positive feedback from critics, and aired back-to-back with "

Elizabeth Kubler-Ross's famous 5 stages of grief, it would have rang false, as if everyone making the show was in a hurry to move past the events of the wildly-uneven fifth season. My problem is, when you put 2 episodes back-to-back, those rhythms - the pace at which the acts build to emotional crescendos and then briefly recede - start to become too predictable, and it sucks some of the life and emotion away."[8] Sepinwall also praised Wilson's, Ramirez's, and Chambers' performances.[8]

The Huffington Post's Michael Pascua praised Dempsey's character, in comparison to his performance in "Good Mourning", writing: "Derek was set up as a real character in the second half, not just a one-sided McDreamy. First, Arizona and Derek finally fix the problem with Andy, then the two had some genuine interaction. Derek confronted Alex about his problems with Izzie. He took a moment to talk to Mark about the hospital's situation and ended the episode by confronting a very edgy Bailey. Miraculously, he had the time to have a lot of sex with Meredith."[9] Pascua also enjoyed Leigh's performance, commenting: "Lexie continued to evolve. I loved the anxiety that Lexie had with Callie. She wasn't really a doctor in any sense in this episode, just a friend to lean on."[9] Though he was impressed with the majority of the episode, Pascua had mixed feelings on the character of Stevens, attributing it to his dislike of Heigl.[9]

References

  1. ^ Writer: Krista Vernoff. Director: Bill D'Elia (September 24, 2009). "Goodbye". Grey's Anatomy. Season 6. American Broadcasting Company.
  2. ^ "Grey's Anatomy "Goodbye" Music". TV Fanatic. SheKnows Entertainment. 16 September 2009. Retrieved July 4, 2012.
  3. ^ a b c d Vernoff, Krista (September 25, 2009). "Krista Vernoff on "Good Mourning" and "Goodbye"..." Grey Matter. American Broadcasting Company. Archived from the original on October 22, 2012. Retrieved July 4, 2012.
  4. Wenner Media
    . July 23, 2009. Retrieved June 30, 2012.
  5. ^ a b c Seidman, Robert (September 25, 2009). "Thursday broadcast finals, plus quarter hour detail for FlashForward". TV by the Numbers. Zap2it. Archived from the original on September 28, 2009. Retrieved September 13, 2010.
  6. ^ "Weekly Program Rankings: 3/21/05-3/27/05". Medianet. American Broadcasting Company. March 29, 2005. Retrieved July 1, 2009.
  7. ^ Gorman, Bill (May 15, 2009). "Ratings: ABC, Grey's Anatomy Win "Finale Thursday"; But Decline Continues". TV by the Numbers. Zap2it. Archived from the original on September 23, 2012. Retrieved September 12, 2010.
  8. ^ a b Sepinwall, Alan (September 25, 2009). "Grey's Anatomy, "Good Mourning"/"Goodbye": Reviewing the season premiere". NJ.com. Retrieved July 2, 2012.
  9. ^
    Huffington Post. Archived from the original
    on August 25, 2019. Retrieved July 2, 2012.

External links

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