Give Peace a Chance is the seventh episode of the sixth season and the 109th overall episode of Grey's Anatomy.

Contents 1 Short Summary 2 Full Summary 3 Cast 3.1 Main cast 3.2 Guest stars 3.3 Co-Starring 4 Medical Notes 5 Music 6 Notes and Trivia 7 Gallery 7.1 Episode Stills 8 Quotes

Short SummaryEdit

When Isaac, the hospital lab tech, has an inoperable tumor wrapped around his spine, he turns to Dr. Derek Shepherd to do the impossible, and Derek tests the Chief's authority when Richard objects to moving forward with the risky surgery.

Full Summary Edit

Derek took over the voiceover duties Thursday on "Grey's Anatomy," talking about why he became a surgeon. He said that after growing up in a house with four sisters, it was the quiet that drew him to surgery. At the hospital, he offered Cristina a chance to work with him, even though he was a "neuro god" and not the cardio god she's been waiting for.

Meanwhile, the chief introduced a new, computerized scheduling system he said would be more efficient. He had Sloan help introduce it, and Derek protested a bit, but the chief told him to embrace the change.

Cristina told Alex that Izzie had a cancer treatment coming up. He figured Izzie would show up.

A tech, Isaac, brought Derek a scan that showed a spinal tumor that Derek figured should have left the patient paralyzed or dead. Derek said, "I'd love to operate on this." Derek explained that he couldn't do it, though, because it would require paralyzing the patient to get to the tumor. Isaac then revealed that the scans were of his own spine, and he asked Derek to try to get the tumor out.

Isaac said he knew Derek would take the chance and saw that Derek was inspired, not afraid, when he saw the scans. Cristina showed up and saw the scan and wanted to operate on it. Other doctors showed up and talked about how crazy Derek would have to be to try to do the surgery. Bailey said Derek could retire on the tumor, but the chief said it was "a malpractice suit waiting to happen." Derek challenged the chief and they got into yet another debate. The chief told him, "You're not operating on an inoperable tumor."

At home that night, Derek told Meredith he scheduled the surgery. "I'm taking out the tumor."

Derek laid out a challenge to the interns and residents on how to handle the microsurgery tools. The goal was to put a pen mark closest to George Washington's nose on a $1 bill, after putting the pen through a small hole in the bottom of a cup. Cristina mocked the rest of the group as they failed, one after another. Dr. Avery landed his mark very close to the nose and Cristina went up after him, oozing with confidence. She didn't even get the pen through the hole in the cup. Dr. Avery would scrub in. Cristina was stunned.

Sloan told Derek that word was getting around that he'd "gone rogue." Derek said the schedule is showing he's doing a craniotomy, so the chief shouldn't find out. Lexie was upset that Derek didn't invite her to the skills labs, but he said she had another job for him -- to take care of him during what was expected to be a long, arduous surgery. Lexie later told Avery that he'd eventually have to take a break to use the restroom and she'd take over for him. Avery told Lexie he knew how to manage his hydration and that she was "playing nurse."

Cristina caught Lexie holding a diaper, and Lexie explained it was for the surgery. Cristina thought it was brilliant, and "hard core." Lexie put it on and walked a little uncomfortably into the operating room. Derek and the crew passed by the chief, who was giving a tour, and Derek hurried Isaac into the O.R. Inside, Derek reminded Isaac of the danger and Isaac told Derek to paralyze him if he ran into trouble getting the tumor. Isaac talked about how much hardship he'd survived -- a war, the loss of his family and country -- so he could survive the loss of his legs if he had to. Isaac left Derek with a parting thought, "Today, if you become frightened, instead become inspired."

Derek got inside and saw that it was more intricate than the MRI showed. He started talking and the doctors around him couldn't make out what he was saying. Then they realized he was talking to himself.

Cristina told Hunt she wanted to be in the O.R. wearing a diaper -- because that would mean she was in a long, intense, meaningful surgery.

After eight hours, Derek still hadn't made a cut toward the tumor. Lexie suggested he take a break, but Avery said he didn't need one. Avery asked Lexie if she was wearing a diaper and they started bickering until Derek shouted at them both to shut up. Bailey came in and told Derek that the chief was going to be doing a surgery across the hall soon, so if Derek was going to do anything he should do it soon.

Alex made a call to confirm Izzie's cancer treatment. Reed offered to cover some rounds for Alex so he could handle his "Izzie stuff," but he became angry and mocked her for the offer. He did the rounds himself.

Sloan told Callie and Arizona that Derek was proving "why you don't go rogue." He said Derek had cracked. Callie walked over to the O.R. window and said, "Ten hours staring at this man, he can't figure out what to do." That's when the chief walked up and asked what she said. The chief walked into the O.R. and asked Derek about what he was doing. He demanded that Derek close Isaac up and relinquish the O.R.

"OK," Derek said. "That's it. Let's close him up."

The chief stopped the surgery clock at 10:22:23. Derek later explained to Isaac there was no way to get the tumor without risking his life and he didn't want to cut the cord. Isaac said he understood, but told Derek, "You will try again tomorrow." Derek said he couldn't. "The tumor is inoperable," he said, adding that he couldn't fix it. Isaac told him to "go home and sleep on it," then come back tomorrow.

Derek told Meredith that night that he stood in the O.R. for 10 hours and did nothing. He started talking to Meredith about the tumor, then he took a page out of Dr. Gregory House's book and started drawing on the wall with a Sharpie. First it was a simple diagram, which was enough to shock Meredith. A little time-lapse action then showed a full scale color mockup of Isaac's spinal cord and the tumor.

Derek explained to the chief that Isaac understood the risk of cutting the spinal cord, and the chief granted Derek permission to do the surgery, but only gave him a couple of hours in the O.R. to do it because Hunt had a surgery afterward. When the chief left the room, Derek told Avery and Lexie that they were not, in fact, going to cut the cord. Instead, he was going to pick a spot and cut the tumor out. He said Isaac wanted them "to take the risk." When Derek left, Avery mocked Lexie again for wearing a diaper, but Lexie told him her diaper was "hard core" and said she'd wear it with pride.

Hunt told Cristina about a 12- to 15-hour surgery and told her to "gear up." She ran to put on her diaper when Derek came to Hunt and asked him to give up the O.R. Hunt did, leaving Cristina disappointed.

Sloan came into Derek's O.R. offering "support," and Lexie told Derek that he needed experienced surgeons to talk to, "and you can't say no because I'm in charge and this is what I'm prescribing."

Reed told Alex that he was too distracted to keep working and told him to go to the third floor to be with Izzie during her treatment. She insisted that he was making the choice to leave Izzie alone if he didn't go. He went.

Back in the O.R., Derek had a major scare after making a cut that he thought paralyzed Isaac. There was a lot of bleeding and things got tense. Cristina, watching in the gallery, was relaying the events to Meredith by phone. After a few moments passed, Derek was in the clear -- at least in terms of his patient. He told Lexie to take off his mask. When she did, he puked.

Derek sat on a stool like a boxer between rounds in a heavyweight fight, with Sloan on one side telling him to get back in there and Lexie forcing him to drink water. On the third floor, Alex waited for Izzie to show, but there was no sign of her. Back on the operating floor, the chief ran into Hunt and asked why he wasn't in O.R. 1. He claimed Callie was doing an emergency surgery, but she walked up behind the chief and asked, "What am I doing?"

The chief was angry and was about to storm into the operating room, but Arizona stood in front of the door and told him he was not allowed to go in and be a bully while Derek was operating on the inside of a man's spinal cord -- and that man just happened to be a friend she wanted to see come out of surgery alive and well. The chief walked away.

The clock continued to count past 13 hours when Derek came upon two vessels -- one that could be feeding the cord and the other could be feeding the tumor. He had to make a blind cut, risking stroking Isaac out.

The clock read 21 hours when Avery's hand started cramping. Lexie tried to massage it a bit, but Derek knew Avery was dehydrated because he stopped taking fluids so that Lexie wouldn't be able to jump in on the surgery. Avery apologized and Derek asked Lexie to take over. She stepped in.

The clock read 26 hours. Derek asked, "A or B?" Everything was out, except for the blind cut. He asked Lexie, who stalled. Avery said he didn't like to gamble. Sloan said he didn't want Derek to blame it on him for the rest of his life. All the doctors were watching and watching to see what Derek would do. He started playing "eeny, meeny, miny, moe."

Voiceover Derek repeated his earlier observation, that surgeons would usually say it was the high and the rush that got them into the surgery. "For me, it was the quiet," he said.

He made the cut.

All the doctors waited to find out if he made the right cut -- including Meredith, who was still on the phone.

Isaac woke up in his recovery room, muttering, "Oh, no. No, no. no." He was upset because he could move his toes, figuring Derek was unable to do the surgery. Derek told him he got the tumor without cutting his spinal cord. Isaac was incredibly relieved and told Derek he was "a good man."

Reed went to Alex and gave him the update on Derek and said she did all the rounds. Alex told Reed that Izzie didn't show up. "She can't be this stupid," Alex said. He cried, worried that Izzie wasn't getting the proper care.

Cristina practiced using the microsurgery tools and Hunt saw her, telling her she was standing too close. He came up behind her and showed her where she should be.

The chief, settling back into old routines, was writing the surgery schedule on the dry-erase board. Derek told the chief he was tired of fighting him. "Let's try and put this behind us and move on. I can if you can," he said.

"You're fired," the chief told Derek. "Immediately. Get the hell out of my hospital."

Derek told the chief to "go home, sleep on it. We'll talk more tomorrow."

Derek brought a bottle of champagne home, but before he could start telling Meredith about the surgery, he fell asleep.

Cast Edit

Main castEdit

• Ellen Pompeo as Dr. Meredith Grey
• Sandra Oh as Dr. Cristina Yang
• Katherine Heigl as Dr. Izzie Stevens (credit only)
• 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
• Patrick Dempsey as Dr. Derek Shepherd

Guest starsEdit

• Jesse Williams as Dr. Jackson Avery
• Nora Zehetner as Dr. Reed Adamson
• Faran Tahir as Isaac

Co-StarringEdit

• Mark Saul as Dr. Steve Mostow

Medical NotesEdit

Music Edit

Song	Performer	Scene
"Moon and Moon"	Bat for Lashes

Notes and Trivia Edit

Grey's Anatomy 6x07 Promo(00:31)
46 views

• This episode's title originated from the song Give Peace a Chance, originally sung by John Lennon.
• This episode scored 13.74 million viewers.
• Just before Chief Webber fires Derek, we see him writing on the O.R Board. He was assigning Derek to a crainotomy on a John Doe.
• This is the first episode to be directed by Chandra Wilson, the actress who portrays Bailey.

Gallery Edit

Episode StillsEdit

Quotes Edit

Lexie: Hey, I wore a diaper yesterday, yes. And I will wear one today. If it helps get Dr. Shepherd through this surgery, I will wear a diaper, 'cause my diaper is awesome. My diaper is hardcore. You wish you had the balls to wear my diaper. I'm gonna wear it and I'm gonna wear it with pride. And if I have to pee in it, oh, I'll pee. Because I am surgeon. This is America, and I will do what needs to be done. So, you can kiss my hardcore, diaper-wearing ass.

---

Bailey: You two need to stop bickering, it's unattractive.

---

Derek: You need God. Neuro God, right here.

Cristina: Godly? Your entire day consists of putting shunts in people.

---

Cristina: (to Lexie) Hey, you know what, don't try to Lexipedia your way on this. This is my tumor.

---

Bailey: Everyone had said you found the great white of tumors, but I just had to see if for myself.

Derek: And now that you have?

Bailey: You want my fellow attending answer or my fellow surgeon?

Derek: Fellow surgeon.

Bailey: This tumor is dangerous, complicated and smart, beautiful. This tumor is the reason why I got into medicine in the first place. To successfully take out this tumor would be an achievement you hang your hat on for the rest of your career. You could retire on this tumor.

---

Derek: Isaac, if I get in there and it looks too dangerous to remove, the responsible thing to do is close you back up.

Isaac: No, don't close me up. If you get in and it's too complicated, cut the cord. Paralyze me if you must. I survived a war did you know that? I survived a war where they put bodies in to mass graves where there was once a playground. I survived the death of my family, my parents, my brothers and sisters. Then I survived the death of my wife and child when they starved to death in a refugee camp. I survived the loss of my country, of hearing my mother tongue spoken, of knowing what it feels like to have a place to call home. I survived. And I will survive the loss of my legs. If I have to, I'll survive it. Okay? But Derek, there is always a way when things look like there's no way. There's a way to do the impossible, to survive the in survivable. There's always a way. And you, you and I have this in common. We're inspired. In the face of the impossible, we're inspired. So if I can offer one piece of advice to the world's foremost neurosurgeon. Today, if you become frightened instead become inspired. Okay, I'm ready now. Put me to sleep.

---

Cristina: (about the surgery) No, that is the reason I wanna be down there. Lexie gets to pee in a diaper and I don't.

Cristina: You want to pee in a diaper?

Cristina: Oh, God. No. I want to have to pee in a diaper. To be in surgery so difficult and so long that my only option is to put on a diaper and pee in it.

---

Meredith: I admit it. I'm a surgery junkie.

---

(When the Chief finds out that Derek is performing the spinal surgery on Isaac and Arizona is blocking the door so he can't come in to the operating room.)

Arizona: (standing in front of the door) No, no, whoa, whoa, whoa!

Richard: Move!

Arizona: No!

Richard: Dr. Robbins!

Arizona: I said no. Dr. Shepherd is operating on the inside of a man's spinal chord right now. Even the most minor disturbance could cause him to make a mistake on that patient- a patient who happens to work here, and whose life I personally would like to see Dr. Shepherd save. So no... you don't get to go in there and be a bully. Not today, Chief, not on my watch.

(The Chief turns and walks away; Arizona is in tears)

Callie: Okay, I totally thought that was gonna end different. (Arizona starts sobbing on her shoulder) Yeah, more like that.

---

Cristina: (to Owen) Look at your hands, they're hams. Mine are tiny little geniuses.

---

Derek: We can't keep doing this, Richard. I'm tired of fighting you. Let's just put this behind us and move on. I can, if you can.

Richard: You're fired. Immediately. Get the hell outta my hospital.

Derek: Go home. Sleep on it. We'll talk more tomorrow.

Grey's Anatomy Season 6
#01	"Good Mourning"		#09	"New History"		#17	"Push"
#02	"Goodbye"		#10	"Holidaze"		#18	"Suicide is Painless"
#03	"I Always Feel Like Somebody's Watchin' Me"		#11	"Blink"		#19	"Sympathy for the Parents"
#04	"Tainted Obligation"		#12	"I Like You So Much Better When You're Naked"		#20	"Hook, Line and Sinner"
#05	"Invasion"		#13	"State of Love and Trust"		#21	"How Insensitive"
#06	"I Saw What I Saw"		#14	"Valentine's Day Massacre"		#22	"Shiny Happy People"
#07	"Give Peace a Chance”"		#15	"The Time Warp"		#23	"Sanctuary"
#08	"Invest in Love"		#16	"Perfect Little Accident"		#24	"Death and All His Friends"
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