Hi Friends!
Thursday has long been one of my favorite nights of the week, and this TV season’s line-up is just increasing my love for this day of the week. I went through college watching Grey’s Anatomy, and grad school watching Scandal, so it’s safe to say ABC’s “Thank God It’s Thursday” line-up means a lot to me. Let’s recap, shall we?
**Spoilers ahead!**
Grey’s Anatomy
When we last left the doctors of Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital, Cristina Yang has departed for Zurich, Avery and Kepner have reconciled their differences to raise their child, Meredith is refusing to join Derek in Washington, DC, and the new head of cardio is revealed to be Ellis Grey’s daughter (and likely Richard’s as well). So, what’s in store for us this season?
Honestly, there’s so much. I have to say, I love flashbacks to Meredith’s childhood with Ellis, so I appreciated the opening of the episode very much, particularly because I’m interested to see if Meredith realizes what was happening at that moment in time. Has she known all this time that she has a sister out there somewhere?
Also, I’m a huge fan of Amelia Shepherd. I watched Private Practice religiously, and she was one of my favorite characters on that show, so I’m thrilled she’s on Grey’s and will be arguing with her big brother for many episodes to come.
My favorite parts of this show have always been the medical parts. The drama is addicting, sure (Will Arizona and Callie have another child? Will Meredith and Derek survive his decision to stay? Will Alex and his girlfriend survive his becoming Meredith’s new Cristina?), but the best parts to me are the bloody, gory, crazy medical stories. The man found in the desert. The teens whose sex is interrupted with a gurney falling on their car. The man who dies retrieving his sons frisbee. It’s fascinating to me.
I think this season will surprise us a little. Things look different, but there is the same level of drama mixed with medicine, not to mention the potential blow-up of Meredith finding out Maggie is her sister in the next few episodes. I can’t wait to see what happens!
Scandal
Well. I almost don’t know what to say about Scandal. If you follow The Write Teacher’s on Twitter, you know I was live-tweeting the show, and you may have seen some of my initial reactions.
Bellamy Young is one of my favorites, and she is absolutely blowing it out of the water already. Dressed in sweats and drinking every time you see her, Young’s Melly Grant is going to be the star of this season. I can feel it.
I also am pleasantly surprised to find that I enjoy Olivia and Jake together. I’ve always been a fan of Olivia and Fitz, but I loved every single scene Kerry Washington and Scott Foley had together in this episode. They have an excellent chemistry, and they make a great couple. Also, Jake has a way of showing Olivia that he’s worth more than she allows him to be to her.
I actually was really pleased at the main case in the episode, which focused on sexual assault. Sexual assault has been heavy in the media recently, so I think it was a timely topic and Olivia’s speech at the end of the episode was superb. Even if this case doesn’t continue for more than an episode or two, I think it was handled extremely well. Well done, Shonda.
The addition of Portia De Rossi to the ensemble is brilliant, so I’m excited to see that, and I thought that the show handled the death of Harrison Wright quite well. It brought Olivia back from the island (though it would have been hard for me to leave that gorgeous island with that half-naked man), and it addressed the departure of Columbus Short much better than the departure of Stephen Finch (Henry Ian Cusick) at the end of season one. So kudos there.
Overall, it was an excellent launch to season four. I’m excited to see where this season takes us.
How To Get Away With Murder
It’s possible you didn’t watch this. It’s possible that, after Scandal, you made your lunch for work or got started on your laundry or your reading for school, and you didn’t watch Shonda’s new show.
This was a mistake. It was a huge mistake.
The promos for this show made it seem like the story of some law students trying to impress their Criminal Law professor (played by the incomparable Viola Davis), and it is that, but it’s also so much more. I don’t know why I’m surprised – it’s a Shonda Rhimes show.
The pilot focuses on the case of a woman accused of murdering her boss/lover, and asks each of the law students to stretch themselves in order to help prove their client innocent (even though she’s not). It lets us get to know each of the characters, and introduces several important future plots, including the future murder of an assumed to be important character (this one I won’t reveal – it’s a bit of a shocker). Clips of the cover-up of the aforementioned murder are interspersed throughout the pilot, which makes me wonder if we’ll see a little more in each episode or if those clips are our big clue until Shonda decides to reveal to us how our characters got to the point of murder.
The cast is good – my favorites are Alfred Enoch, who plays Wes Gibbons, and Matt McGorry, who pays Asher Millstone (and who you might recognize from Orange Is The New Black, where he plays the seemingly naive prison guard who falls in love with a prisoner). And, obviously, Viola Davis is amazing. She’ll blow us all away, I’m sure.
This show has a lot of potential, and I’m excited to see where Shonda takes it. I worry a little that it was set up to be so amazing that there’s too much pressure, but I think the show can handle it. I think the show, just like Scandal, can shove back at the pressure and send it flying in the opposite direction.
Overall, I loved ABC’s “Thank God It’s Thursday” line-up. Now tell me, what did you think?
Live, Love, Learn,
Melissa &