“Here’s to Future Days/ Now or Never”

This may possibly be the most heart-wrenching season finale that Grey’s Anatomy has ever have. With a two hour episode I can’t possibly provide you with all the incredible details, but the breakdown is as follows.

Derek awakes, the morning after Izzie’s wedding, with the knowledge of how to remove her tumor. After a heated debate that pin Meredith, Cristina and Izzie up against Derek and Karev the groups decides that surgery would be best as opposed to a cocktail of treatments. This, however, put not only Izzy’s life on the line, but her memory and personality as they all know it.

Incredibly enough, the surgery is a success and all parts of the tumor are gone. With a do not resistate hanging in the balance, Izzie wakes up completely alert and any fear of brain damage is quickly forgotten. That is, until she can’t remember what happened five minutes ago and finds herself on constant instant replay mode.

On the other side of the hospital the rest of the team is also elbows deep in drama. Hunt almost joins the army but decides instead to stay and give his relationship with Cristina and his family a fighting chance. George, however, after being inspired by Hunt and a patients tales of acceptance and purpose, decides to enlist. The whole hospital goes crazy forming opinions as to whether George is incredibly or insane and a large group of the asylum favoring crew decide to stage an intervention for the end of the work day in order to convince him to stay.

Other, more minor, dramas that occur results in Bailey bawling her eyes out to the Chief when she admits that her husband gave her an ultimatim. Either she chooses general surgery or she loses him. He fears that a future in pediatrics will keep her from her own child and husband. Unwilling to be in a relationship where she’s forced to decide she opts for general surgery sans husband and realizes that she’s now on the tough path of single motherhood.

After a John Doe patients arrives having been dragged for a block under a bus trying to save a pedestrians life and with Izzie’s life in the balance Meredith decides to take control of her own. Derek and her exchange promises to each other and declare themselves married. At the same time Lexi turns down Sloan’s proposal to start a life together but makes it obvious that she would still like to carry on with their relationship as it is for now.

So much for excusing the details right? I told you they were too good to miss! Now I hope you were paying attention because in the last paragraph I told you about a John Doe patient of Meredith and the crews who was near death. It was clear from the start for me that he recognized Meredith and I suspected that she was unknowingly working on her father. It doesn’t become obvious until right before Izzie recovers her memory that the John Doe is George. He’d been given the day off to spend time with family before shipping off and no one even knew!

Just as Izzie is celebrating her recovered memory with Karev after he completely blew up at her with words he’s sure to regret during a moment of frustration, we see that George is flat lining during surgery. And then she’s gone. Just as was rumored all season, Isabel Stevens was given her curtain call. The elevator opens to Izzie in a beautiful ball gown reminiscent to earlier seasons and she gets on pushing the button awaiting who might open the door. Hoping for Denny, but knowing better, there stands George. Dressed out in full military ensemble the pair are ready to descend into the next life together, somewhat softening the blow that both of their deaths have caused, yet reminding us that two incredible characters are no longer a part of what we know as the love and drama on Grey’s Anatomy.