I waited a while to post this review because I needed to overcome the initial anger that would have completely overshadowed my point. A disclaimer, this review is entirely a matter of opinion. That being said, I have been watching Grey's since it first aired, and although I am upset with its creator for the events of this episode, I am not going to completely bash her in this review. After all, she is the mastermind behind this show that's causing the viewers so much grief. If anything, I offer congratulations to Shonda Rhimes because it takes immense skill to produce a show that can have viewers so attached to its characters. On the flip-side, overall with this episode, I was disappointed; Completely and utterly disappointed. I've had a week to absorb the death of a man is arguably my favorite on screen characters of all time. To put it bluntly, I sobbed. A lot. From a purely cinematic standpoint, I thought that Patrick Dempsey showed some great acting during the first part of the episode that really captured the essence of Derek Shepard. Subsequently, Ellen Pompeo's acting, particularly in the scene where she yells at the doctor about approaching her with the papers to remove her husband from life support, moved me to tears. I've heard criticism that she didn't show enough emotion through her husband's death. I respectfully disagree. Through the show, Meredith Grey has seen many deaths, and with one so sudden, it's reasonable that she would be shell shocked. Stage one of grief is denial. It didn't help that they played chasing cars during the pivotal scene. That absolutely crushed my heart. It was the second part of the episode that disappointed me. The character death that affected me the most in Grey's up to this point was that of George O'Malley. However, as he should have, George died a heroic death, and his death scene left viewers with a sense of respect, admiration, and grief. Meanwhile, McDreamy was hit by a Semi-Truck while he stopped his car in the middle of the road to reach for his cell phone that was suddenly ringing in an area that had previously been proved to have no cellular reception. I thought that it was disappointing that Derek was represented in such a careless manner to be reaching for his phone, stopping in the middle of the road. He is a brain surgeon. That was upsetting. Second, while the message about the low quality of medical care was received, it was disappointing and extremely maddening that a neurosurgeon died in the O.R because of a lack of skill and motivation on the part of the doctors that were supposed to save his life. It also bothered me that the doctors themselves for the most part carried an air of entitlement and arrogance until his death. I couldn't decide whether to be baffled by the writer's subtle ingenuity or to cry out in rage and sob in front of the television. At the time, I chose the latter. Another aspect of this episode that upset me and the other fans, was how Meredith didn't contact anyone before choosing to release Derek from life-support, even to just let his family say their last goodbyes. I do hope that is addressed in a later episode even if only to clear up if there was some reasoning behind that. Overall though, while the episode itself was not terrible, in fact it kept me captivated for the entire hour, I am still disappointed by the end of Dr. Derek Shepard, and still grieving, fictional or not. He deserved a better end. Rest in Peace McDreamy.
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