| “ | There are distinct differences between male and female brains. Female brains have a larger hippocampus which usually makes them better at retention and memory. Male brains have a bigger parietal cortex which helps when fending off an attack. Male brains confront challenges differently than female brains. Women are hardwired to communicate with language, detail, empathy. Men... not so much. It doesn't mean that we're any less capable of emotion. We can talk about our feelings. It's just that most of the time we'd really rather not. Be a man. People say it all the time. But what does that even mean? Is it about strength? Is it about sacrifice? Is it about winning? Maybe it's simpler than that. You have to know when not to man up. Sometimes it takes a real man to set his ego aside, admit defeat, and simply start all over again. | ” |
What is It About Men is the fourth episode of the eighth season and the 152nd overall episode of Grey's Anatomy.
Short Summary[]
The doctors of Seattle Grace are called upon to man up when a stampede at a comic book convention causes an influx of colorful characters in the ER-blurring the lines of fantasy and reality. Mark shows his softer side with baby Sofia when Arizona and Callie go out of town, but at work he continues to give Jackson a hard time. Ben returns to the ER, only to find that Nurse Eli has moved in on Bailey and the male doctors bond over their frustrations with women.
Full Summary[]
Derek and Meredith are lying in bed together. She wants to know what surgery he's starting with today and asks questions about it. He gets up and reminds her she left neuro. He doesn't want to do the thing where she's sad about every case he has. She's not sad, she wants to start a conversation. He wants her to start conversation about something else. He leaves the room and Meredith sighs.
At home, Richard packs his lunch. He puts a filled plate into the fridge and adds a post-it to it, that informs Adele that it's her lunch, which she has to eat at 1pm.
Alex and Jackson are sitting at the table in the kitchen. April comes over carrying a filled laundry basket. She tells Alex she doesn't mind that he puts her with laundry with hers so she washes his, but she doesn't want to do that for his skank of the week. She pulls a thong out of the laundry with a pencil. Alex is embarrassed and Jackson says they're actually Lexie's and takes them off the pencil. April is surprised to hear that Lexie wears those and walks to the laundry room. Jackson returns the thong to Alex. It belongs to Lauren, radiology, third floor. "Nice," Jackson says.
Arizona and Callie are leaving for a three day conference. Mark and Sofia are waving them goodbye. They can't leave the baby. Mark urges them to leave and closes the door. He's excited to be alone with his kid for the next few days.
Owen is standing in his office, where all his stuff are still packed. He takes the name tag and stares at it.
Derek watches his dream house, which is more and more looking like a real house. He starts working on the deck.
Alex is sitting behind April's desk, working on the computer and cutting his toenails. Jackson comes in with breakfast, and he's not glad it'll smell like feet. Alex is writing his article about the African program. He says fifth year blows. He soon takes his feet off the desk as Richard's walks in, apologizing. Richard says he doesn't have to, as he's on the top of the resident food chain and the world is his this year. If he wants to waste time bitching about it, that's his business. He asks if they've heard about anything big coming in. They find it funny he's trolling for cases. Jackson reminds Alex he has a surgery with Derek, right now. Alex soon puts on his shoes and says Shepherd is going to have his ass. Richard advises him to tell Derek he had an appointment with "Mayfield in 22" that ran long. He'll understand. Alex thanks him and leaves.
Derek has already started operating. Alex is surprised, as he was supposed to be lead surgeon on the case. An irritated Derek says he lost that right when he was late. Derek sarcastically asks Ben if he ever were late in his fifth year, to which Ben replies that he wasn't. Ben is a professional, Derek says. And respectful to the OR staff and especially attendings, Ben adds, and then comments Dr. Grey was never late. Derek says she's a lot of things, but late isn't one of them. As the nurses are getting Alex ready, Derek tells Ben Alex is trying to get as many non-peds hours as possible. Alex then uses Richard's excuse and the two attendings look at each other and back off. Derek invites him to continue operating.
Richard joins Mark, who standing on the bridge and watching Owen pacing in his office. Richard wants to spread the word his case load has been low these days, but Mark is too consumed with Owen pretending he runs the place. He does, Richard says. Derek joins them, and Mark tells him Owen's not cut out for the job. He claims he can see the fear in his eyes. He will be there for the hospital when Owen belly flops. Owen comes over. Mark tells him they were just watching the magic. Owen says he needs Mark's OR as he just got a call about a big accident at the convention center. Richard follows him.
He asks Owen how big it is. All Owen knows is that the paramedic suggested to clear as many beds in the ER as possible. The only other thing they said is that to contact the blood bank already, as they'll need a lot of blood. There was a lot of commotion in the background when the paramedic called, Owen says. This excites Richard. They're on their way to the ER, and Owen jokes he never triaged wearing a tie before.
Alex doesn't know who Mayfield is, but the excuse helped as it's the first time Derek's off his back in a whole week. Jackson comments Webber "knows things". Cristina joins them, and they walk with Owen and Richard. She asks what's coming in. Human stampede at the comic convention, Owen replies. Richard is already excited about all the crush injuries. A nurse tells Owen admin's on the phone. It sounds important. He leaves, while the other walks into the ER. It's filled with people dressed as comic characters. Meredith takes an abdominal crush injury, telling Richard it's too routine for him. Alex takes a patient with lower extremity fractures. April herself calls dibs on footprint face. Cristina wants to take the unconscious sexy zombie nurse, but Richard body blocks her and tells her this one's his.
Alex starts examining his patient, who's excited about a rare Dr. Who collector's item he earned by being part of the first 15 people that entered the convention. He's proud of the battle wounds he got while being in the middle of all the people storming in. Alex tells him he only has a few broken toes. "Do I at least get a cast for that?" he asks.
Richard is examining the sexy zombie nurse. He asks for a suture kit for a deep laceration, but he finds it isn't bleeding. Turns out it is a fake wound, part of her costume. She has two other fake lacerations, making him question if there is any real blood at all.
Greg tells the paramedics and Jackson, who are wheeling a patient to a trauma room. that all these people tried to fit in through the little door just to be part of the first 15 people that would be awarded with the collector's item. He himself is carrying one. He tells them no one noticed they were stepping on people and that Keith (the patient)'s head got stuck on one guy's costume. Jackson sees it ripped off Keith's ear. They haven't found the ear, but Keith is just happy that at least they got what they came for: they have a TARDIS! "Well, I got a TARDIS," Greg says.
Alex shows Carter the scans of his broken toes. He only has 5 broken toes, as pinky toes barely count. He'll tape them up and get them out of the ER. Carter is disappointed that he survived a human stampede and only gets tape. Alex asks him what he's dressed up as. A hobbit from the Shire, who lives a simple life but craves adventure. Carter then notices April and says she just looks like the Dothraki princess from the "Song of Ice and Fire" series. He gets nervous as April walks by. Alex is incredulous that he's got nerd chub for Kepner. Derek calls him to a trauma room.
Keith yells at Greg to give him his TARDIS, but Greg says it's his. He fought for it. Keith lost an ear for it. Derek and Alex come in, and the later escorts Greg out of the trauma room. Mark tells Keith they'll be able to construct an entire new ear and match it to the size and shape of his existing ear. It's a long process, but the ear will look good when they're finished. Derek finds Keith has no sensation in his feet, so he orders an MRI right away. Derek gets paged.
Derek meets with Ben, who's standing at a nurses' station with nurse Eli. Eli is mad because Ben's resident punctured the dura of Derek's patient from this morning during what should have been routine epidural. Ben replies Eli has no right to yell at his resident. The patient is stable and pain free, yet they continue bickering. Derek intervenes and tells both of them to walk away. Derek follows Ben and tells him should fight about Bailey on their own time. Ben didn't know Bailey is with Eli and can't believe his ears when Derek drops hints that they've been intimate. Derek tells him not to yell at his nurses and walks away.
Owen is sitting in a conference room. Before starting to eat his lunch, a hospital administrator has him looking at and signing some documents. He looks around and sees Lexie wheeling a gurney with a patient past the room. The intercom then calls a code blue. He concentrates on his documents again, but then hears Alex and Jackson discussing a scan of totally shattered C6. Richard comes in and says he used to eat lunch in this room too, as it helps to get out of the office and makes you feel like you're still part of the action. Richard is just passing through on his way to the skills lab, but asks if Owen will be eating the grapes.
Alex is scrubbing in. Derek comes in and asks about the scans. Alex tells him there's a burst fracture at C6 and proposes a good plan. Alex wants to know if the surgery counts as two neurosurgeries since he'll be operating on two different places. If it does, he has more non-peds hours. Derek gets mad and yells that the patient with the pulverized spine may never walk again if Alex blinks during the surgery. He yells that Alex is off his surgery.
Alex enters the skills lab and tells Jackson that Derek kicked him off neuro because he doesn't "piss himself every time I look at a spine". Richard pointedly reminds him Derek's wife was his resident and now he's got Alex. Tough act to follow. Jackson is practicing microsurgery techniques using the grapes Richard took from Owen as Richard tells them they both need to find the joy again. There will come a time they'll be wishing they were fifth year residents again just to get back into the OR and get their hands dirty, operating on a grape just so they'll keep themselves from getting rusty. Now, Richard only gets in the OR to supervise and to do the hard part. He doesn't get to open and close anymore. Jackson watches Richard's technique and asks if he can use for an ear reconstruction. Richard says Jackson's starting to feel the joy and tells him to pull up a grape. Alex snaps Mark barely lets Jackson touch an instrument, but Jackson replies at least he lets him be in the OR. Richard asks if Alex wants a grape too, but he remembers he needs to publish for Robbins and leaves. Richard then starts teaching Jackson.
Derek enters Owen's office. Owen is drinking scotch because he's buried in paperwork and chained to the desk. Derek tells him to finish his drink so they can go out of the office. Owen follows him.
Owen and Derek are working on the deck. Owen wonders if this was supposed to be the contractor's job, but Derek comments that the contractor does work for him after all and that this was his distraction from work. Without it, he would kill his residents - Alex is just not interested and he's not Meredith. Owen confesses he thought Derek was out of his mind when he quit as Chief, but now, not so much. He asks if it's just him or is everyone at the hospital waiting for him to fall on his face. Derek says no, they've all got money on it. Derek has got him down for 100 bucks that he'll make it at least six months. Owen says he's been walking on egg shells for weeks and he used to blow off steam at work, but now that's become a nightmare too. Derek seems to understand this. They continue working on the deck.
Mark is changing Sofia's diaper on the sofa and tells her about his surgery. He picks up his phone as it rings and simply says they're fine, just like they were 20 minutes before and the 20 minutes before that. He turns around to get Sofia's pajamas and asks Callie and Arizona if they're gonna keep this up for the three days. As he turns around, he sees Sofia has disappeared. He drops the phone and looks around, finding Sofia under the coffee table. Arizona is panicking and asks Mark if he's there. He picks up the phone. "Guess who just rolled over for the first time," he happily tells her.
Alex is rolling Owen's chair through the hallway. Owen told him he could have it. Mark calls his name. He's pushing Sofia towards him on a gurney. He tells him Sofia rolled off the sofa last night and hasn't cried since. He thinks something's wrong. Alex says he's not a pediatrician, but Mark doesn't want to tell anyone in peds as they'll call Arizona. Alex insists he has a paper to write, but Mark tells him he'll end him if he doesn't drop what he's doing by the count of three. Alex then agrees to take a look at Sofia.
Owen is telling a nurse which piece of furniture from his office gets to go where. Bailey is listening from the doorway. He starts giving her a speech to defend his decision. She stays silent, grabs a lamp and leaves with it.
Derek tells Keith the procedure went well, but his spine is still fragile. Jackson comes in and tells him they found the ear. Greg appears in the doorway and tells him he went back at the convention center and spent all night looking through trash. He eventually found it at the lost and found stuff, hooked up to some helmet. Keith only asks where his TARDIS is. Greg wanted to hear thank you, but Keith doesn't care about the ear, only about the TARDIS. He asks Greg to at least keep it in the living room so he can look at it. He finds out Greg sold it and tries to get up, but this hurts his spine. He screams in pain as Jackson and Derek start examining him. Keith can't move his feet.
Alex is listening to Sofia's breath sounds. Mark says she's usually more alert than this. He sat with her all night to make sure she was still breathing. Alex says him keeping her up all night may be the reason she's less alert. Mark points at something concerning on her head scans. Alex says it's a perfectly healthy brain of a perfectly healthy baby that didn't need a CT scan. He gets paged and tells Mark Sofia is fine. He leaves as Mark starts to comfort his daughter.
In the ER, a patient is shocked and yells that a guy threw a beer bottle at her. Alex walks in and asks Carter what's going on, as the nurse seems to think he missed something. Two paramedics wheel in an aggressive man, Jake, who starts yelling at the woman for having stepped on his lawn again. She yells back that he threw a beer bottle at her. April commands Jake to lie back on the gurney and wheels him to bed 6. A nurse wheels off the attacked woman as Carter stares adoringly at April. Alex suspects he's here to see Kepner again. Carter says he wants an exam as he's feeling sick, but Alex just wants to give him April's number. Carter doesn't want him to do that, he wants to be admitted. Alex refuses, he's not wasting a bed on a stalker with fake symptoms. Carter then claims he has chest pains, knowing Alex has to admit him now for observation.
Mark, Jackson, and Derek are looking at Keith's scans. He has an epidural bleed that Derek needs to fix asap. So does the ear, Mark says, as it's been detached for over 20 hours. Derek replies the ear is only cosmetic, while the bleed could leave him paralyzed. Jackson proposes that Derek fixes the spinal bleed while they insert the ear into the abdomen to keep it viable with the blood supply there. They could take it out later and reattach it then. Mark and Derek agree it's a good idea. Owen appears in the doorway, reminding Derek that he needed him. Derek runs after him.
Derek says he went to Owen's office, but he wasn't there. Neither was any of his furniture. "My office is where I am," Owen says and shows him a tablet. Derek remarks he's taking the not being chained behind the desk thing seriously. Owen asks if he found a new resident yet. He might have a candidate. Derek says the contractor called. The lumber for the deck is in. Owen says he'll be there and he'll get a power saw.
Alex is treating Carter, who's worried about April. He thinks she's having difficulties with her patient, Jake, the aggressive man. Alex says she's fine just as the man keeps pushing April away. Jake wants to leave, gets off the gurney and pushes a nurse out of the way. Carter asks Alex if he's sure as April calls for security. Alex calls for 5 haloperidol I.M. as he goes to help April trying to hold back the guy. Security comes to help them out, but it's not enough. Carter yells that they need help over there, but everyone in the ER is busy. Jake overcomes the restraining efforts of the security guard, April and Alex and they get pushed aside, Carter reminds himself Hobbits crave adventure. He takes his crutches and gets up. He walks up to Jake, telling him to calm down. Jake takes one of the crutches, making Carter fall down, and starts kicking him and hitting him with the crutch, as well. Owen walks up to Jake and asks a nurse to prepare an OR for a possible concussion and a broken jaw. He then throws a left cross to Jake's face, decking him and shocking everyone in the ER.
Owen gets off an elevator. Mark asks if he really punched a guy. Owen asks Derek for a consult, handing him his tablet. Derek wants to know if it's related to him punching the guy. Richard joins them, asking what he's been hearing about Owen punching a guy. Owen admits he punched a patient that was endangering others. Mark points out he's the Chief, not the sheriff, as Derek returns the tablet saying the scan looks clear to him. Owen walks away as Richard gets a page.
Richard enters the OR, where Carter has been prepped for surgery. Alex gives him the necessary information and then wants to leave to let Richard get his hands dirty. Richard asks where he's going. Alex doesn't need more trauma hours, he needs neuro hours, which is why he wants to go to the pit. Richard says he's not going anywhere and asks BokHee if she still got his playlist on rotation. She has and turns it on. Richard dances his way to the scrub room.
Ben is in surgery with Jackson, Mark, and Derek, telling the latter he couldn't concentrate during a meeting because of what Derek told him. Derek says he only said it because Ben asked it. Ben thinks he enjoys seeing him in pain. Derek advises him not to ask next time. Ben questions where Derek's reputation as a nice guy came from. Derek says he's building a deck. Ben can come over and take it all out on the deck. Mark asks Jackson to step back so he can show him a technique. Jackson replies he already saw it last week, but still Mark wants to show it again. Ben asks where Derek's resident is. Not answering, Derek asks Jackson if he's ever decompressed a spinal hematoma before, He has seen one on video. Derek allows him to perform the procedure. Both Mark and Jackson are surprised, but Derek says he's right there when he needs him. Jackson switches positions and Derek instructs him through it. Mark needles Jackson saying it must be hard to see what he (Mark) is doing from where Jackson is standing. Jackson remains silent as Derek says he asked Avery because he had his hands free. Jackson is doing good, which is why Derek is surprised he never showed interest in neuro.
Mark is scrubbing out, watching Derek filling in a chart in the OR. Jackson comes in and asks Mark to let him practice Mark's surgical trick next time instead of only observing. Right now, he's only been practicing it on fruit. Mark says that is because he's not ready and leaves. Derek comes in and Jackson asks him if he can come over too and hammer some things. Derek likes his initiative.
While working on the deck, Owen tells Ben that legal asked him to apologize to the guy he punched. Ben himself doesn't understand why Bailey wasn't ready for a relationship with him, but now she's in one. Jackson and Derek are working on the deck too. Jackson thanks Derek for letting him work on the deck too. He wouldn't want to overstep as Mark is his boss and Derek's friend. Not that he ever gets a chance to overstep with him. That's fine, most days, except it turns out that his girlfriend, a fourth year, has more surgeries than him. He's getting more and more worked up, so Owen gives him a handheld circular saw.
Back at the hospital, Alex and Richard are operating. Richard knows Alex feels like he has somewhere better to be right now and tells Alex he doesn't. Alex wants to finish his paper. Richard reminds him that they do all the research and papers to become an attending so they can operate. "Uh-huh," Alex replies, which is also what Adele says when Richard fills her in on his day, Richard says. When he does, he notices that it makes her feel uncomfortable because she forgets where he works half the time, and it makes her nervous when he tells her he cuts people open. "Sometimes, you can't even see the joyful part of your life until it's over. This is it, Karev, it's right now. You're in it!" Richard tells him. Suddenly, Carter deteriorates. They rush to fix what's wrong. It works, making Alex feel the joy.
Alex walks up to Jackson, asking if he wants to join him to the lab where Richard is going to show him his signature stitch. Jackson can't, he's supposed to be helping April and Bailey with a skills lab for the first years right now. "Grow a pair, bitch boy," Alex says and he leaves. Bailey and April walk by and they call him. He tells them he actually forgot about an appointment. With Mayfield, in 22. April feels awkward and says it's all right then. Bailey says she doesn't need to know some things and they walk off. Derek comes over and asks if he'll come working on the deck tonight. He replies he wouldn't want to miss it. Derek also asks him if they're still on for the AVM tomorrow. Absolutely, Jackson replies.
Alex enters the lab where Richard is already working on grapes. Alex tells him he finished his paper, 19 pages. Richard grabs the paper to read it. Alex asks it back, but Richard questions if he really wants to go up against the Chief. He's not the Chief anymore, Alex says, but Richard says that once you're the president, you're always Mr. President. Jackson comes in, telling them he has a surgery with Derek tomorrow while he's supposed to be in the OR with Sloan at the same time. He doesn't know who to choose. Richard asks whom he likes to work with most. Jackson digs plastics, but he would like to actually operate. Richard reminds him he's choosing between two world-class surgeons. It's not a problem, but a privilege. He should embrace it. "Yeah, feel the joy," Alex advises him, and then asks how he got out of the skills lab with Bailey. Using the Mayfield excuse, Jackson proudly says. Richard starts laughing when he hears Jackson used the Mayfield excuse with Bailey. Alex leaves as he gets paged.
He enters an exam room where Mark is waiting for him, carrying Sofia in his arms. He thinks Alex read the CT wrong because it's been over 27 hours and she still hasn't cried. Alex points out she's not crying because she likes him. He's a good dad, she's happy. He wants to see her cry? Alex pinches her foot, making her start crying. There, now she's crying. Mark starts shushing her as Alex leaves.
Ben is watching Eli and Bailey talk. Derek notices this and Ben tells him they look happy. Derek agrees, and says he guesses he'll see Ben at the deck tonight.
Alex is wheeling Carter down the hallway. Carter questions what he was thinking. He's an idiot. Or a Hobbit, Alex says. He stepped up, which he found cool. He's not the only one who thinks so, he says, as he places the wheelchair near April. Alex tells him just to say "Hi", she'll do the rest. April turns around and thanks him for what he did the other day. "I was a Hobbit," he says. April is not familiar with Hobbit and awkwardly leaves. "Not familiar with Hobbits?" a patient next to Carter says. She's the one that the aggressive guy attacked with a beer bottle. She keeps on talking about the Hobbits, sparking Carter's interest. "Hi," he says, which now seems to work.
Jackson has prepared the ear, which Mark is going to reattach. He tells Mark he may have to scrub out early for Shepherd's AVM surgery, which Derek asked him about last night. It's a big opportunity for him, as Derek allows him to take the lead during the surgery. Mark is surprised to hear he was with Derek at his deck last night and says that he should not let the opportunity to take lead on a surgery slip, which is why he'll allow Jackson to take the lead now. He can reattach the ear. Jackson thanks him as Mark warns him not to screw up.
Owen enters Jake's room and introduces himself as the surgeon who broke and fixed his jaw as he closes the blinds. It's wired shut by now, so Owen will do the talking. Owen says they want him to apologize, but he won't as he feels good about what he did. He watched the security tapes and he easily prevented at least half a dozen of people getting injured by the guy. He will say exactly that in any court of law. He grabs Jake by his jaw and tells him to sue if he wants to. He opens the door, wishes Jake good luck with his recovery and leaves.
Alex and Jackson walk down a hallway. Alex shows him office 22: Mayfield's office. He's an E.D. specialist. They realize they unwittingly told Bailey and Shepherd that they have erectile dysfunction. Richard appears and returns the paper, saying it's an excellent first draft. He tells them not to hang around Mayfield's office, as it'll give people the wrong idea. Jackson quickly leaves, covering his face with his lab coat, as Alex watches his paper that has been corrected by Richard.
Mark tells Keith his ear looks fantastic. He should have minimal scarring. Greg appears in the doorway. He sold the TARDIS, but it was the right thing to do. Their place is crammed with the stuff Keith collects and he's broke because he spends all his money on it. He doesn't realize there's medical bills to come. That TARDIS got him actual money that he didn't have before. Greg's sorry he sold the precious TARDIS, but he did it for Keith. Keith asks whom he sold it to. That guy with the comic store from San Diego that Keith hates, but he got $7.500 for it. "He ripped you off," Keith says.
Alex is in the resident's lounge, still looking at his corrected paper. He tells Jackson he basically has to start all over. He's back where he started: no paper, no neuro cases. Jackson tells him to grab his coat.
Ben, Owen, and Derek are working on the deck as Alex and Jackson appear. Alex thinks it's a bad idea as Derek hates him and he himself hates the woods as there are bears out there. Jackson tells Derek he hopes Derek doesn't mind he brought Alex. Alex apologizes and says fifth year is kicking his ass. He didn't mean to be disrespectful. Also, just to be clear, he lied about Mayfield. Derek smiles and gives him a hammer.
Then Mark appears, still carrying Sofia. He yells that Derek is trying to steal his guy, but Avery's his guy. He says Derek's only been moving into Jackson because he saw how much Jackson meant to him. He doesn't take the time to teach anyone if he can help it, but he's taking the time with Avery because he's a quick learner and he can do a z-plasty better than he could at his level. Mark then starts walking around to calm down Sofia. Owen comes over and takes Sofia so they can talk.
Owen sits down in a forklift and watches the sky with Sofia.
Mark tells Derek friends don't steal from each other. Derek says it's not stealing if Jackson asks to scrub in on the surgery. Jackson interferes and says he chooses plastics if he has to choose, though he appreciates Derek let him take the lead on the neurosurgeries. Mark realizes that it was Jackson who wanted in on neuro and promptly scolds him instead, saying that nobody uses "his boy" (Derek) to get more surgeries.
Since no one is working, Ben and Alex stop hammering and decide to get a beer. Meanwhile, Owen is still playing with Sofia in the forklift.
Richard opens the fridge in his kitchen, seeing Adele hasn't eaten her lunch. He takes out the plate and calls her, saying dinner's ready.
Owen notices Sofia is getting tired.
Jackson, Alex, and Ben watch Derek and Mark talk. Jackson questions what they're talking about. Which one of them gets to take Jackson to the prom is Ben's guess.
Derek tells Mark he has this sudden interest in education because he's not getting laid. Mark wants to know if his name came up when Richard asked Derek who should be the next Chief. Derek says Mark just had a baby, he shouldn't be Chief, and Richard didn't ask him. Mark wants to know what Derek would've said if the Chief had asked him. "You just had a baby," Derek repeats. Derek then says a few weeks ago, he knew exactly how the next ten years were going to play out. Work, family, and then he lost the trial, his baby, blacklisted by the FDA and Meredith... He misses her so much he doesn't know if he's going to make it. Mark wants to know if he told Hunt any of this, but Derek only realizes this now.
Owen then comes over and tells Mark Sofia needs a change. He knocks over a beer bottle while walking towards them. Owen, Derek, and Mark then notice the beer bottle keeps on rolling until it falls off the deck. Mark points out Derek that the deck is uneven. Derek realizes he has to call his contractor.
Cast[]
Main Cast[]
- Ellen Pompeo as Dr. Meredith Grey
- Sandra Oh as Dr. Cristina Yang
- Justin Chambers as Dr. Alex Karev
- Chandra Wilson as Dr. Miranda Bailey
- James Pickens, Jr. as Dr. Richard Webber
- Sara Ramírez as Dr. Callie Torres
- Eric Dane as Dr. Mark Sloan
- Chyler Leigh as Dr. Lexie Grey
- Kevin McKidd as Dr. Owen Hunt
- Jessica Capshaw as Dr. Arizona Robbins
- Kim Raver as Dr. Teddy Altman
- Sarah Drew as Dr. April Kepner
- Jesse Williams as Dr. Jackson Avery
- Patrick Dempsey as Dr. Derek Shepherd
Guest Stars[]
- Jason George as Dr. Ben Warren
- Daniel Sunjata as Nurse Eli
- Todd Buonopane as Greg
- Matt Doherty as Carter
- Jeremy Howard as Keith Hitchens
- Jayden Lund as Jake
Co-Starring[]
- Kosha Patel as Tia
- Denice Sealy as Nurse
- Gordon James as Nurse #2
- Nicole Cummins as Paramedic Nicole
- Brie Eley as Hospital Administrator
Medical Notes[]
Derek's Patient[]
- Diagnosis:
- Spinal stenosis
- Doctors:
- Derek Shepherd (neurosurgeon)
- Alex Karev (surgical resident)
- Ben Warren (anesthesiologist)
- Treatment:
- Laminectomy
When talking to Meredith about his day, Derek mentioned he was starting with a laminectomy. Alex was meant to take the lead on the surgery, but when he was late, Derek started without him.
Mark's Patient[]
- Diagnosis:
- Doctors:
- Mark Sloan (plastic surgeon)
- Treatment:
- Brow lift
Mark had a patient in for a brow lift that got pushed because of the accident at the convention center.
Carter[]
- Diagnosis:
- Broken toes
- Splenic laceration
- Doctors:
- Alex Karev (surgical resident)
- Richard Webber (general surgeon)
- Treatment:
- Taping the toes together
- Surgery
Carter came into the hospital after being part of the stampede at the convention center. He had seven broken toes, including both pinky toes. Alex taped his toes together, gave him some crutches, and discharged him. However, Carter came back the next day because he wanted to see April Kepner again. Alex saw through his ruse and tried to send him home, but Carter claimed he had chest pain, meaning Alex had to admit him. While he was getting blood drawn in the ER, another patient became aggressive and attacked him when he attempted to calm the patient down. Carter was taken into surgery to repair a splenic laceration.
Footprint Face[]
- Diagnosis:
- Doctors:
- April Kepner (surgical resident)
- Treatment:
Sexy Zombie Nurse[]
- Diagnosis:
- Doctors:
- Richard Webber (general surgeon)
- Treatment:
Richard attempted to treat a patient dressed as a zombie nurse, but he quickly figured out that all of her injuries were part of the costume.
Keith Hitchens[]
- Diagnosis:
- Ear amputation
- C-6 Burst fracture
- Epidural bleed
- Doctors:
- Derek Shepherd (neurosurgeon)
- Alex Karev (surgical resident)
- Mark Sloan (plastic surgeon)
- Jackson Avery (surgical resident)
- Ben Warren (anesthesiologist)
- Treatment:
- Discectomies
- Fibular graft
- Epidural decompression
- Ear re-attachment
Keith came in with his ear missing after being trampled at the convention center. While doing a neuro exam, Derek discovered that Keith had no feeling in his feet. Scans revealed a burst fracture to his C-6 vertebrae. Alex was set to scrub in with Derek on the surgery, but when Derek discovered that Alex was just trying to get more neuro hours to pad his boards, he kicked Alex out of the OR. His friend found his ear in the lost and found and brought it into the hospital. When Keith found out that his friend had sold the TARDIS he snagged, Keith lashed out, reinsuring his spine, causing an epidural bleed. He was taken back into surgery for his spine. During that surgery, they placed his ear in his abdomen, keeping it viable for another day until they could reattach it. Mark allowed Jackson to re-attach the ear himself. After surgery, Keith was told he'd have minimal scarring.
Jake[]
- Diagnosis:
- Head injury
- Broken jaw
- Doctors:
- April Kepner (surgical resident)
- Owen Hunt (trauma surgeon)
- Derek Shepherd (neurosurgeon)
- Treatment:
- Surgery
Jake, angry at being in trouble for attacking the convention attendees who were on his lawn, lashed out at several hospital workers and Carter. He was subdued by Owen Hunt, who punched his jaw and broke it. Owen had Derek look at his scan to see if he had any neurological damage. Owen then took him into surgery to wire his jaw shut.
Tia[]
- Diagnosis:
- Doctors:
- Treatment:
Tia came into the hospital after being hit with a beer bottle by the hulking patient.
Mark's Patient[]
- Diagnosis:
- Doctors:
- Mark Sloan (plastic surgeon)
- Jackson Avery (surgical resident)
- Treatment:
- Rhinoplasty
Jackson mentioned that he was doing a rhinoplasty with Mark the next day and that he might have to leave early to scrub in with Derek.
Derek's Patient[]
- Diagnosis:
- Arteriovenous malformation
- Doctors:
- Derek Shepherd (neurosurgeon)
- Jackson Avery (surgical resident)
- Treatment:
Derek invited Jackson to scrub in on an AVM with him.
Music[]
| Song | Performer | Scene |
|---|---|---|
| "Devil's Taken Her Man" | Miss Li |
|
| "Tokyo!" | Josh Ritter |
|
| "Cheap Music" | Handsome Furs |
|
| "Dear Mr. President" | Fitz and the Tantrums |
|
| "Future Starts Slow" | The Kills |
|
| "Goshen" | Beirut |
|
| "Hold On To Your Friends" | Toro Y Moi |
|
| "That Is To Say" | Opus Orange feat. Lauren Hillman |
|
Notes and Trivia[]
- This episode's title originated from the song What Is It About Men, originally sung by Amy Winehouse.
- This episode scored 8.70 million viewers.[1]
- It is an episode centered on the male characters with the women acting as supportive cast.
- This is the only episode of the eighth season not to have Meredith Grey narrate (at least part of) the voice over.
- A patient mentions the A Song of Ice and Fire series. That series of books gained worldwide fame earlier in 2011 as the television series based on the books, Game of Thrones, became wildly popular.
- Alex's line about the bears in the woods is a reference to the episode Tainted Obligation, when he encountered a bear upon leaving the trailer.
- Lexie's appearance is very brief and she's only seen through a window.
- Teddy appears with no lines.
- Goof: While Alex is writing his paper on the African project, you can see that he says that the patients ranged in age from 18 months to 18 years. This is clearly an error, as Zola Grey Shepherd was part of the first round of patients and she was said to have been six months old at the time.
Gallery[]
Episode Stills[]
Behind the Scenes[]
Quotes[]
- April: Dibs on footprint face!
- Alex: Shepherd just kicked me off neuro because I don't piss myself every time I look at a spine. The guy is a douche.
- Richard: This is my sexy zombie nurse!
- Alex: This is a bad idea. Shepherd hates me. I hate the woods. You know there are bears out here?
- Owen: Hello, I'm Dr. Hunt. I am the surgeon who repaired your broken jaw. I am also the guy who broke it.
- Richard: Once you're the president, you're always Mr. President
- Mark : (to Avery) You using my boy (motions at Derek) here - to get more surgery? Nobody uses my boy!
See Also[]
|
A complete overview of this episode's crew can be found here. |
| Grey's Anatomy Season 8 | ||||||
| #01 | "Free Falling" | #09 | "Dark Was the Night" | #17 | "One Step Too Far" | |
| #02 | "She's Gone" | #10 | "Suddenly" | #18 | "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" | |
| #03 | "Take the Lead" | #11 | "This Magic Moment" | #19 | "Support System" | |
| #04 | "What is It About Men" | #12 | "Hope for the Hopeless" | #20 | "The Girl with No Name" | |
| #05 | "Love, Loss and Legacy" | #13 | "If/Then" | #21 | "Moment of Truth" | |
| #06 | "Poker Face" | #14 | "All You Need is Love" | #22 | "Let the Bad Times Roll" | |
| #07 | "Put Me In, Coach" | #15 | "Have You Seen Me Lately?" | #23 | "Migration" | |
| #08 | "Heart-Shaped Box" | #16 | "If Only You Were Lonely" | #24 | "Flight" | |
| << Season 7 | Season 9 >> | |||||