Grey’s Anatomy 6.05 “Invasion” Recap

As expected, episode 6.05 “Invasion” was chock-full of drama. We had the invasion of the Mercy Westers and their arrival at Seattle Grace was about as unwelcome as one can imagine. Both sets of doctors were quick to draw a separation line between them and for the rest of the episode it was all about trying to best each other, many times at the expense of the patients under their care. Alex and Reed were put in their place by a patients’ daughter. While Izzie’s confrontation with Charles had damning consequences.

Callie’s storyline for the episode had little to do with the ongoing invasion. She had an invasion of her own with the return of Daddy Torres, who brought along a priest to help cure Callie of her new-found gayness. Callie told her father, “You can’t pray away the gay!” And after butting heads a few times over Bible quotes, Callie stormed out. It was Arizona that stepped up to talk to Callie’s Dad and get him to remember his role as a father. In the end, Father and Daughter have a sweet moment, ending in hugs, smiles, and promises of grandkids.

Meredith spent the episode in a hospital bed, hiding away the pregnant belly, while the others came to visit her occasionally with updates of the out-of-body attackers. Meredith’s invaders were more internal for this particular episode. Very little Mer-Der to report.

Lexie and Cristina had their own battles against the Invaders. Lexie crossed the line when she stole the other doctor’s private notebook. But she apologized. Cristina’s battle led to a breakdown in Meredith’s hospital room during which she admitted that she misses Burke. Not romantically, but professionally. She doesn’t know what she’s doing anymore.

The most important part of the episode came at the end, when – after a fight with Charles – Izzie made a horrible mistake with a patient, causing the patient to lose her spot in the kidney transplant list and almost killing the woman altogether. The mistake cost her the job at the end of the day and despite teary begging, the Chief’s decision was final. Izzie was fired from Seattle Grace.

We then find out that in addition to leaving the hospital, she has also left Alex. She leaves him a vague note in his locker.

We already know that Katherine Heigl was granted a temporary (5 episode) hiatus from the show so she can finish filming a movie. All sources confirm that she will be back. Her departure has been in the cards for a while now and is meant to be only a short-term thing. It will be interesting to see what happens when she returns and whether or not she gets her job back.

Overall, the episode was mainly focused on the arrival of the new Mercy Westers and the changes that will emerge from their presence. There’s going to be a big adjustment period as currently nobody likes one another.

I’m looking forward to seeing a different dimension to the new arrivals as it’s an adjustment for viewers as well. I don’t really like any of them at the moment.

What did you think of the new doctors? And what did you think of the episode?

Image: Newscom