LG Stargirl

This is exactly why i think this season has been so much better than last season. I think the writing hasn't been all about the couples - the Calzona episode this past week being a glaring exception (although there were a couple of scenes I enjoyed in the epi).

I have loved all the flashbacks and the richness of characters' history. I'm aware that not everyone is happy Meredith is getting a lot of focus, but I truly think that has to be a minority because the ratings are definitely stable and certainly the episode "Only Mama Knows" received an incredible amount of critical praise.

In any event, Shonda tweeted she's been doing a lot of re-writing of scripts this season and I can almost specifically pick out which scenes she's had a hand in since she has a unique writing voice. I hope that continues. For me, season 11 has already been far more interesting than season 10.

ModernDayJackieO

I don't mind Meredith's screen time or focus. My problem is when you only bother to write good and cohesive storylines for a select few characters and the others get crap. That's not an ensemble and while i love Meredith and Derek they aren't the sole reason i watch. I watch for a good show as a whole not 1 episode out of 24 that are good because shonda deemed them worthy of decent writing.

Also as crappy as last season was i don't think the ratings were terrible. Shonda is luck that Grey's has a VERY loyal fanbase. There are people who will watch this show until it ends. That's not to say that Meredith being the focus isnt' good for ratings. I'm just pointing out that i don't think ONE thing,couple, or character is responsible for ratings.

LG Stargirl

I think most of the episodes this season have been great. Didn't love the Maggie centric, and the Calzona centric was just okay (a case in point of when they spent too much time on the romantic trials of a couple - I think the same outcome could've been accomplished with much less screen time) ... but I thought the other episodes have been very well done. So I think the show as a whole has been better already this year than last.

gladluvgrey

ITA that this season the writing had been better, although only 5 episodes had been aired, but it felt more solid and it's been awhile since Grey's received the kind of attention they got for "Only Mama Knows" or even this past episode of "Bend & Break".

posterity

The excuse is that I have a life. I am busy so there is no reason to watch every show Shonda may be associated with. I am not interested in PP and I shouldn't have to speculate about anything to understand character arcs.

She should not be the bridge between Meredith and Maggie since she doesn't have any strong bond, to the general viewers knowledge, with either character.

darkxtwisty

This.

I think an Amelia centric episode would be interesting as long as it focuses on her relationships with Meredith and Derek and it's not all about her and Maggie trying to be Mertina. Love Amelia, and I don't mind if she's friends with Maggie; I'm just more interested in the Amelia/Meredith parallels. Amelia is the reason Derek found out about Maggie and Meredith gave Maggie the journals. Her subtle meddling has been useful. Hope Meredith realizes she's not like the other Shepherd siblings who have been very unsubtle during their visits. Derek also is not subtle. Forcing her to attend a dinner she doesn't want isn't subtle at all. Amelia knows how to handle Meredith.

Caterina addressed in an interview that the writers are aware not everyone has seen PP. Amelia is in the process of rediscovering herself so it shouldn't be difficult to follow. There are many who haven't watched PP who love her as well.

ModernDayJackieO

I think 1,3,and 4 were good but 2 and 5 just continued to highlight my issue with Shonda's favoritism as far as the writing goes. But shonda does what shonda wants. so hopefully i like more episodes then not this season.

Spirit of the Radio

When I first started watching Grey's back in season 2, I loved the show as a whole, even as I had characters I liked more than others. I could watch a whole episode through without fast forwarding and was genuinely interested in all of the storylines, even if I had my favorites. All these years later, most of the characters that drew me to the show originally have gone and the focus of the show has shifted, which is not unusual in a show that has lasted this long. Fair enough.

But now, not every storyline interests me (and I doubt that I am the only one in that boat) and my favorite character's (Alex) storylines are non-sensically dropped or just never started nearly a quarter of the season in. (Is he an owner or not? Is Jo still jealous or not? Was Jo spilling the beans to Maggie ever an issue between them? What exactly is his role in the hospital now and for how long? Did Bailey ever say anything about the board seat? Has Mer dropped him as her person now that she is out drinking with Callie?, etc. etc.) So while the writing has been good for some characters, it has been non-existent or awful for others. I assume that just like last season, scenes featuring Alex, Jo and Jolex were cut for other characters. Par for the course for Alex, an orignal intern.

So if your favorites have been featured heavily in the first 5 episodes (with the promise of more on the way), then yes, this has been a great, well-written season so far. If, however, your favorites are getting pushed aside to make more story for other characters, then the season isn't so great. If you are one of the lucky few who loves all the characters and is interested in every storyline, then I guess your season is going pretty well too.

And if you are an Alex fan, then hey...its just like every other season LOL!

(This could probably go in a general season 11 thread, but I don't think that there is one. If so, let me know and I"ll move it. )

posterity

I completely agree. Moreover, as you suggested, many of those plots/characters being focused on are no longer of interest to me. I may have enjoyed them at one point but now their storylines are stale for me. So while in the earlier seasons it may have been easier for me to focus on something else until the storylines I am interested in appeared, it is downright challenging in the later seasons.

LG Stargirl

Hmmm, I don't know though. I've watched since March 27th, 2005 (day #1!), and if I had had a DVR on that prehistoric date I definitely would have quickly found myself fast-forwarding through Burke's scenes because I found him unbearable right from the start. Same thing goes with George's cases because I found him super snoozy. And it is especially true for George's scenes with Callie when they started hooking up in season 2 because I couldn't connect to that at all!

It's such a matter of personal preferences, which is the essence of how fiction works - no two people like the exact same characters, tv shows, books, songs, etc because of their own personal schema dictating how they relate to such things.

It's funny, a couple weeks ago I happened to run into the episode thread for the pilot 1.01. Already, people were debating whether the writing was good, stating which characters they liked and which they couldn't connect to, talking about whether they were going to continue watching or not. (It's too bad things didn't end up working out for that little pilot. ) Even at Greys very height of popularity - around the season 2 finale - there were a 101 things wrong with certain storylines ... I mean the cutting of the L-Vad wire connecting with the hospital putting on a prom was fairly insane when you look back at it. So no, Greys has never been about perfectly balanced and every character having interesting storylines all the time and every question being answered.

I feel more is definitely going to come up with Alex being on the board and his shares and how he feels about being left out. I don't think that's over. I mean hey, this whole conflict between Meredith and Derek about him working for the government when he said he would give time to Meredith for her career has been going on since the middle of s10 - and the show deals with it in short little spurts apparently. And last season this bizarre event from Derek's past - where he permanently injured a fellow high school hockey player - was briefly brought up out of nowhere and then was never heard of again.

I think really only japril shippers have a true legitimate complaint that they've gotten absolutely nothing yet this season. And, like I said, it's a personal preference matter since I haven't really missed them - but, yeah, their fans definitely have. But according to the next epi's promo their storyline has arrived now.

moonorchid84

I definitely think the writing for season 11, so far, has been leaps and bounds better then the last two seasons combined. I do think a part of that is because they are narrowing their focus in an episode and focusing on fewer number of characters. I just wish they rotated them more than what seems to be every five episodes.

And yes, as a Japril shipper, I'm irritated as hell.

As for this episode, I usually do a second rewatch but I am having a hard time even finding the will to do that. I don't even think the writing was bad (blatant favortism aside) but the big difference between this and ep 4 was we learned new things in ep 4...this was just a tired retread of issues that have been going on for over two seasons now. They finally put this ship out of its misery.

Sunny1183

THANK YOU! And Amen!

Sunny1183

I think so, too!

WalaBridget

I do like Meredith and Callie scenes as they are core cast and bonding.

Bluebyyou

Personally, I do not find Callie a sympathetic character in her romantic/sexual relationships. She just too overbearing, too needy and too quick to play the martyr. Her grasping desperation in her relationship with George made me fell sorry for him, not her, and her atrocious behavior when Arizona received the Carter Madison Grant made me feel she deserved to be left behind and she should have thanking the gods and kissing Arizona ass when Arizona returned.

And that fact that she has been on the show for ten years and has not grown and changed is not helpful either. She still thinks a child will fill her great hole of neediness when her partner fails to and announcing being cheated on to all and sundry will vindicate her insecurity. The fact that, with both George and Arizona, it just made everything worse doesn't make her stop and rethink her strategy, nope, she just keeps pushing her agenda because it is all about what she needs and damn the other person for being in her way.

That is not to say that I don't like the character of Callie. She's strong-willed, blunt and caustic, all traits I appreciate in a character, and her enthusiasm for her work is certainly always fun to watch. One of my favorite parts of the show used to be her interactions with Mark and I also enjoyed her interactions with Addison and Cristina. And, while I don't think she meshes well personality-wise with either Derek or Meredith, their interactions have still been interesting, even entertaining at times. I just don't find her enjoyable to watch in her r/s relationships.

So, while the first ten minutes of this episode bored me to the point that I put out my mini-tramp and started an exercise routine on it, once the trial separation actually started and both Callie and Arizona were mainly interacting with other people I was able to enjoy the rest of the episode.

Just My Opinion!