Stand By Me (Grey's Anatomy)
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"Stand by Me" is the 18th episode of the fifth season of the
American television Television is one of the major mass media outlets in the United States. , household ownership of television sets in the country is 96.7%, with approximately 114,200,000 American households owning at least one television set as of August 2013. ...
medical drama, ''
Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27, 2005, on ABC as a mid-season replacement. The series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they develop into s ...
'' and the show's 96th episode overall. Written by
Zoanne Clack Zoanne Clack (born July 14, 1968), also known as Zoanne Arnette, is an American television producer, writer, story editor, actress, and medical doctor/consultant. Clack's most notable work has been on the medical drama series ''Grey's Anatomy'', in ...
and directed by
Jessica Yu Jessica Lingmin Yu (born February 14, 1966) is an American film director, writer, producer, and editor. She has directed documentary films, dramatic films, and television shows. Yu won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Short Subject in ...
, the episode was originally broadcast on the
American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American commercial broadcast television network. It is the flagship property of the ABC Entertainment Group division of The Walt Disney Company. The network is headquartered in Burbank, Cali ...
(ABC) in the United States on March 19, 2009. The initial airing was viewed by 14.36 million Americans and garnered a 4.9/12 Nielsen rating/share in the 18–49 demographic. The episode garnered many positive reviews from critics. In the episode
Izzie Stevens Isobel Katherine Stevens, M.D. is a fictional character from the medical drama television series ''Grey's Anatomy'', which airs on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the United States. The character was created by series producer Shonda ...
(
Katherine Heigl Katherine Marie Heigl ( ; born November 24, 1978) is an American actress and former fashion model. She played Dr. Izzie Stevens on the ABC television medical drama ''Grey's Anatomy'' from 2005 to 2010, a role that brought her recognition and ...
) doesn't want to fight the brain tumor, despite
Cristina Yang Cristina Yang, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.C.S. is a fictional character from the medical drama television series ''Grey's Anatomy'', which has aired for over 16 years on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the United States. The character was cr ...
(
Sandra Oh Sandra Miju Oh (born July 20, 1971) is a Canadian–American actress. She is best known for her starring roles as Rita Wu on the HBO comedy '' Arliss'' (1996–2002), Dr. Cristina Yang on the ABC medical drama series ''Grey's Anatomy'' (2005 ...
)'s efforts to help her. This starts affecting Cristina's surgery performance so she tells everyone and Izzie is admitted at the hospital as a patient. Mark Sloan (
Eric Dane Eric William Dane (born November 9, 1972) is an American actor. After multiple television roles in the 1990s and 2000s, which included his recurring role as Jason Dean in ''Charmed'', Dane was cast as Dr. Mark Sloan on the ABC medical drama te ...
) has a big surgery going on a facial transplant and chooses Izzie and
Lexie Grey Alexandra Caroline Grey, M.D. is a fictional character from ABC's medical drama television series ''Grey's Anatomy'', portrayed by actress Chyler Leigh. Created by series producer Shonda Rhimes, the character is first mentioned in season 2 by ...
(
Chyler Leigh Chyler Leigh West (pronounced ; ''née'' Potts), known professionally as Chyler Leigh, is an American actress, singer and model. She is known for portraying Janey Briggs in the comedy film ''Not Another Teen Movie'' (2001), Lexie Grey in the ...
) to assist.
Meredith Grey Meredith Grey, M.D., F.A.C.S. is a fictional and titular character from the medical drama television series ''Grey's Anatomy'', which airs on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the United States. The character was created by series pro ...
(
Ellen Pompeo Ellen Kathleen Pompeo (; born November 10, 1969) is an American actress. She is best known for her role on ''Grey's Anatomy'' as the titular Dr. Meredith Grey. One of the world's highest-paid actors since 2017, she has made multiple appearances ...
) and
George O'Malley George O'Malley, M.D. is a fictional character from the medical drama television series ''Grey's Anatomy'', which airs on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the United States. The character was created by series producer Shonda Rhimes, a ...
(
T.R. Knight Theodore Raymond Knight (born March 26, 1973) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Dr. George O'Malley on the ABC medical drama television series ''Grey's Anatomy'' (2005–2009, 2020), which earned him a nomination for the P ...
) look over the hospital with the interns creating chaos in the hospital due to a love fight.


Plot

Izzie Stevens Isobel Katherine Stevens, M.D. is a fictional character from the medical drama television series ''Grey's Anatomy'', which airs on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the United States. The character was created by series producer Shonda ...
(
Katherine Heigl Katherine Marie Heigl ( ; born November 24, 1978) is an American actress and former fashion model. She played Dr. Izzie Stevens on the ABC television medical drama ''Grey's Anatomy'' from 2005 to 2010, a role that brought her recognition and ...
) doesn't want to fight the brain tumor, despite
Cristina Yang Cristina Yang, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.C.S. is a fictional character from the medical drama television series ''Grey's Anatomy'', which has aired for over 16 years on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the United States. The character was cr ...
(
Sandra Oh Sandra Miju Oh (born July 20, 1971) is a Canadian–American actress. She is best known for her starring roles as Rita Wu on the HBO comedy '' Arliss'' (1996–2002), Dr. Cristina Yang on the ABC medical drama series ''Grey's Anatomy'' (2005 ...
)'s efforts to help her. This starts affecting Cristina's surgery performance so she tells everyone and Izzie is admitted at the hospital as a patient. Mark Sloan (
Eric Dane Eric William Dane (born November 9, 1972) is an American actor. After multiple television roles in the 1990s and 2000s, which included his recurring role as Jason Dean in ''Charmed'', Dane was cast as Dr. Mark Sloan on the ABC medical drama te ...
) has a big surgery going on a facial transplant and chooses Izzie and
Lexie Grey Alexandra Caroline Grey, M.D. is a fictional character from ABC's medical drama television series ''Grey's Anatomy'', portrayed by actress Chyler Leigh. Created by series producer Shonda Rhimes, the character is first mentioned in season 2 by ...
(
Chyler Leigh Chyler Leigh West (pronounced ; ''née'' Potts), known professionally as Chyler Leigh, is an American actress, singer and model. She is known for portraying Janey Briggs in the comedy film ''Not Another Teen Movie'' (2001), Lexie Grey in the ...
) to assist.
Meredith Grey Meredith Grey, M.D., F.A.C.S. is a fictional and titular character from the medical drama television series ''Grey's Anatomy'', which airs on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the United States. The character was created by series pro ...
(
Ellen Pompeo Ellen Kathleen Pompeo (; born November 10, 1969) is an American actress. She is best known for her role on ''Grey's Anatomy'' as the titular Dr. Meredith Grey. One of the world's highest-paid actors since 2017, she has made multiple appearances ...
) and
George O'Malley George O'Malley, M.D. is a fictional character from the medical drama television series ''Grey's Anatomy'', which airs on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the United States. The character was created by series producer Shonda Rhimes, a ...
(
T.R. Knight Theodore Raymond Knight (born March 26, 1973) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Dr. George O'Malley on the ABC medical drama television series ''Grey's Anatomy'' (2005–2009, 2020), which earned him a nomination for the P ...
) look over the hospital with the interns creating chaos in the hospital due to a love fight.


Title reference

This episode's title refers to the song, " Stand by Me", by American soul singer
Ben E. King Benjamin Earl King (né Nelson; September 28, 1938 – April 30, 2015) was an American soul and R&B singer and record producer. He is best known as the singer and co-composer of " Stand by Me"—a US Top 10 hit, both in 1961 and later ...
.


Reception

The episode received praise from television critics for the developments of both Izzie and Derek's story-arcs and the performance of the cast.
Alan Sepinwall Alan Sepinwall (born October 19, 1973) is an American television reviewer and writer. He spent 14 years as a columnist with ''The Star-Ledger'' in Newark until leaving the newspaper in 2010 to work for the entertainment news website HitFix. He ...
wrote, "it feels like this season has finally taken a turn for the better, with "Stand By Me" being the first episode since very early in the season that I liked pretty much unreservedly." He further added, "Izzie's illness is now being taken seriously by the show and its characters, and I liked seeing Yang struggle to keep the secret, to the point of almost messing up her first solo surgery. And
Justin Chambers Justin Willman Chambers (born July 11, 1970) is an American actor and former model. He is best known for his role as Dr. Alex Karev in the ABC television drama ''Grey's Anatomy'' from 2005 to 2020. Born in Ohio, he went to Southeastern High S ...
and
Chandra Wilson Chandra Danette Wilson (born August 27, 1969) is an American actress and director. She is best known for her role as Dr. Miranda Bailey in the ABC television drama ''Grey's Anatomy'' since 2005, for which she has been nominated for the Emmy ...
did a great job acting with their eyes when Cristina spilled the beans in the operating room." He went on to praise
Derek Shepherd Derek Christopher Shepherd, M.D., F.A.C.S., also referred to as "McDreamy", is a fictional surgeon from the ABC medical drama ''Grey's Anatomy'', portrayed by actor Patrick Dempsey. He made his first appearance in the pilot episode, " A Hard D ...
's story and wrote, "Derek's story was maybe the strongest part of the episode, as his sense of helplessness slowly engulfed first Callie Torres, then Owen Hunt, a set of characters we've rarely seen spend much time together before. And that in turn led to the Chief coming in for an emotional ass-kicking, which has always been one of James Pickens Jr. specialties and gave Meredith the opportunity to make a very mature and well-phrased argument for why he needs to get." He also gave a positive review to the story-arc for the interns saying, "I also thought the interns were better used here than they've been at any point to date." ''
BuddyTV BuddyTV is an entertainment-based website, which generates content about television programs and sporting events. The website publishes information about celebrity and related entertainment news through a series of articles, entertainment profile ...
'' lauded
Sandra Oh Sandra Miju Oh (born July 20, 1971) is a Canadian–American actress. She is best known for her starring roles as Rita Wu on the HBO comedy '' Arliss'' (1996–2002), Dr. Cristina Yang on the ABC medical drama series ''Grey's Anatomy'' (2005 ...
and
Katherine Heigl Katherine Marie Heigl ( ; born November 24, 1978) is an American actress and former fashion model. She played Dr. Izzie Stevens on the ABC television medical drama ''Grey's Anatomy'' from 2005 to 2010, a role that brought her recognition and ...
saying, "Cristina finds Izzie sitting outside in the rain. She tells her that she told Bailey and Alex. She says emotionally that she wants Izzie to fight. Sandra and Katherine both are making me bawl like a baby." and added, "As Meredith voiceovers about mortality and borrowed time and whether it's worthwhile to make friends when everyone dies, all of Izzie's friends gather around her and help her into a hospital bed. Derek decides that he wants to be a surgeon after all and starts poring over Izzie's brain scans. And I look for a tissue. There's something in my eye." The site also praised the development of Mark Sloan and
Lexie Grey Alexandra Caroline Grey, M.D. is a fictional character from ABC's medical drama television series ''Grey's Anatomy'', portrayed by actress Chyler Leigh. Created by series producer Shonda Rhimes, the character is first mentioned in season 2 by ...
saying, "They are beautiful, just like Blowhole and orchids, and they can adapt to a hostile environment." ''CinemaBlend'' wrote, "This week’s episode was full of drama. We get to meet the son of Two-Face. Cristina gets her first solo surgery. Everyone finally finds out that Izzie has cancer. After almost bringing all of Seattle Grace down into his depression, Derek may finally be snapping out of it. Also, an intern is pregnant!" and praising the closing sequence added, "As the show closes, the central group checks Izzie into the hospital and begin running tests while Derek sits back at his trailer and examines Izzie’s brain scan results.
Justin Chambers Justin Willman Chambers (born July 11, 1970) is an American actor and former model. He is best known for his role as Dr. Alex Karev in the ABC television drama ''Grey's Anatomy'' from 2005 to 2020. Born in Ohio, he went to Southeastern High S ...
pulls off some very nice subtle acting as Alex helps Izzie and seems very in-control until you get a look at his eyes and see that he’s absolutely terrified." '' PopSugar'' also gave a positive review saying, "Izzie deals with her diagnosis and Derek remains in the woods, unable to face the hospital where his last mistake took a life. I loved the way this episode brings the characters together in botched but earnest efforts to support each other. That final scene with Izzie in the hospital gown, surrounded by her friends, is classic Grey's." Also praising Pompeo and Knight's story arc the site added, "Meredith and George's plotline with the interns cracked me up, both for the way it mirrored the larger stories and for the fact that maybe, just maybe, they realize this is how ridiculous they looked when they were sex-crazed, angsty interns, too."


References


External links

* {{Grey's Anatomy episodes, 5 Grey's Anatomy (season 5) episodes 2009 American television episodes