What Goes Around, Comes Around

Last night, the docs of Seattle Grace played a little game of musical chairs — Meredith officially relinquished her position as resident drama queen to Izzie; George picked up Derek's slack as the show's emotionally unavailable husband; and McDreamy became our career-obsessed narcissist du jour as we greeted a newly soft (and manicured) Cristina.

In the words of Justin Timberlake, what goes around, comes around — starting with Izzie's long-lost daughter, brought to Seattle Grace under the guise of that old ER standby, youth leukemia. True, birth mothers give up all rights to a child when they put them up for adoption, but was I the only one who thought Hannah's parents treated Izzie like dirt, guilting her into saying the kid had cancer because of Izzie's genes, then demanding marrow and denying her a chance to meet the girl to whom she gave life?

Over at the coziest house ever, Meredith's mother issues once more took center stage. Since our skinny heroine clearly doesn't eat, Susan's weekly grocery deliveries went unappreciated and pushed Meredith to the breaking point. Susan's whole interaction with her stepdaughter seemed so underhanded. She didn't want much to do with her while Ellis was alive, and admittedly kept Thatcher away from his daughter in order to enjoy marriage without any added complication. Yet now that Ellis is dead, she tried to fill the "mommy" role? Meredith's abrupt dismissal could be deemed rude, but I think she's finally moving past that whole "dark and twisty, I can't swim, pick-me-choose-me-love me" stage and becoming confident, independent, and self-sufficient.

Good timing, too, because tonight marked the series debut of the new McDreamy, a cold-hearted, career-obsessed version of his former self. Ladies and gents, I give you a brand new hurdle for the would-be Mr. and Mrs. McDreamy, as Derek decided that the real reason he'd come to Seattle was not to escape his troubled marriage and start afresh, as he'd been preaching all along. Nope, he really came west because the Chief promised him that he would one day run the ship. Derek became a total drama queen and became an angry, yelling jerk who put his career above the girlfriend he supposedly loved. Well, I guess it can't be happiness all the time.

Meanwhile, it seems old Cristina's gone and that might not be such a bad thing. Tonight, she finally made it clear to Burke and Colin Marlowe that she loved Preston, he was the best damn cardio surgeon in this room, and that coral, was, like, perfect for a spring wedding. The scenes between the three of them were funny, but I was glad to see Cristina become serious, swallow a little pride, and ask Burke for an answer to a medical question she already knew. It proved she was finally willing to put him first (a trend which began when she endangered her own status to become his surgical aide) and that at long last, she realized her ego wasn't more important than her love for Burke — in sharp contrast to petulant Derek's refusal to answer Meredith's call.

In a bar and a hospital bathroom, two doctors became unlikely mother hens. Bailey acted as a surrogate mom to Izzie (anyone else well up a bit during the latter's powder-room confession?), while Sloane decided to get the Chief back in on the market. Interesting parallel between the navigation required in the dating and surgical games, as Sloane took Richard out to a bar in hopes of getting the boss some action (and, in classic McSteamy fashion, thereby advancing his own campaign for the top job.) It was cute to see Mark and Addison band together and keep an eye on Mr. "It's Lonely at the Top."

Yet the show's two ball-busters, Addison and Callie, barely registered tonight. Instead, we got a drawn-out routine between sinful friends George and Izzie, complete with overwrought glances at each other and at Hannah. George continued on his downward spiral, blowing off coffee with his wife to help Izzie get dressed. At this point, George and Izzie need to seriously understand that they did wrong (worse, even, than the Meredith pity sex). I know it's wrong, but in a way, I want to see them come together, no pun intended.

Meanwhile, if I were to one day wake up an amnesiac with a crushed face, please, God in heaven, let me wake up to Karev. His flirtation with Addison has derailed a bit, thanks to his fixation on the disfigured boat crash victim. Tonight, she proved she has a good pair of lungs but she still seems a contrived plot device designed to show the softer side of Alex.