Four months have passed since the end of season 11 and the death of Dr. Derek “McDreamy” Shepherd. Fans have been waiting on the edge of their sets to see how writer Shonda Rhimes will open the season that will determine whether the show will go on or not.
Whether it is the medical practice or the steamy drama among the doctors, Grey’s Anatomy never fails to disappoint. Throughout the years, controversy surrounding gay and lesbian rights has been in the headlines. This controversy seems to be in an uproar in the past few years, but in reality has been something of an issue for years; the AIDS uproar made people stop and ask questions, while popular culture such as TV shows like Glee gave voice to many afraid or ashamed to speak. In the past year, the voting in of legalizing gay marriages in all 50 states put a blanket over the idea that homophobic ideas were diminished in society. This past week’s episode of Grey’s Anatomy was an example of the problem that we still face.
The story opened up with the doctors at Grey-Sloan Memorial Hospital getting calls that two young girls had been hit by a train; one girl, Jess is conscious when they arrive to Grey-Sloan and explains that she got her foot stuck in the tracks and a girl she didn’t know tried to push her out of the way. Aliyah, who is unconscious and broken apart from the hit, needs major surgery to put her back together. While prepping the girls, Dr. Callie Torres notices that the two girls have matching heart tattoos on their forearms. Jess explains that the two stood in front of the train on purpose; they wanted to be together “dead or alive,” showing the audience that these two young girls were lesbians. Jess says that didn’t want to die but they saw is as the only way they could stay together; Jess’s parents were about to send her to a gay conversion therapy camp; Callie understands the effects that these camps have on young people. Callie, who is bisexual, makes Jess feel better seeing Callie as a smart, successful, beautiful Dr. who is okay with who she is.
As the doctors dive further into the story of the patients, medical as well as personal, they learn that the two girls are victims of bullying. In surgery, the doctors have the girls open on the table, and an emotional dialogue. Dr. Maggie Pope can’t understand why Jess’s mother bullies her child and husband the way she does, while Dr. Callie Torres points out that Dr. Alex Karev had bullied the late Dr. George O’Malley. Their dialogue continues and reveals more about how each of the doctors was a victim of bullying at one point in each of their lives. Writer, Shonda Rhimes, does this a lot in her characters, making each of their lives intertwined and personally connected to each other as well as their patients.
After surgery, Jess’s mom yells again, because Callie called Child Services. The mother yells at Maggie rather than Callie, seeing Maggie as an easier target. Maggie punches Jess’s mom in the face, leaving the viewer to believe that this was because of all the anger towards all of the bullies in her life built up. The doctors see Maggie as the “Hero of the hospital” for punching a homophobe in the face, but Maggie herself feels astonished and ashamed. Maggie tries to talk to Jess’s mom but she is so angry that she threatens to ruin Maggie’s career and call the police; Jess’s dad then stands up for everyone. He threatens to leave her and take Jess with him if she doesn’t stop the camp talk. He points out that their child would rather attempt suicide than be sent away and they need to cut the shit and stop judging her or being afraid; they needed to love their daughter for who she is.
Grey’s Anatomy has always pushed controversial topics through both the doctors and patients and shed light on issues many people hide under the table. People need to realize that the issue f homophobic attitudes and prejudices are still in society, no matter what the law now says.
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