HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

"Invasion" is the fifth episode of the sixth season of the American television
medical drama A medical drama is a Television film, television movie or film in which events center upon a hospital, clinic, doctor's office, a paramedic, or any other medical topic or environment. Most recent medical drama (film and television), dramatic progra ...
''
Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series focusing on the personal and professional lives of surgical internship (medicine), interns, residency (medicine), residents, and attending physician, attendings at the fictional ...
'', the show's 107th episode overall, and the first of a two-part patient
crossover Crossover may refer to: Entertainment Music Albums * ''Cross Over'' (album), a 1987 album by Dan Peek, or the title song * ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987 * ''Crossover'', an album by Intrigue * ''Crossover'', an album by ...
event with '' Private Practice''. It was written by
Mark Wilding Mark Wilding is an American television producer and screenwriter. He was nominated for two Emmys for his work as executive producer on the series ''Grey's Anatomy'', and won a Writers Guild of America Award for Best New Series as a writer on the ...
and directed by
Tony Phelan Tony Phelan is an American television screenwriter, producer and director. He is married to television producer and screenwriter Joan Rater. Phelan is best known for his work on ABC's ''Grey's Anatomy'', for which he has been nominated for two Em ...
. The episode was originally broadcast on the
American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American Commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast Television broadcaster, television and radio Radio network, network that serves as the flagship property of the Disney Entertainment division ...
(ABC) in the United States on October 15, 2009. In the episode, the physicians of Seattle Grace Hospital must learn to co-operate with new Mercy West residents, who do not act in a kind manner to them. Other storylines include
Callie Torres Calliope Iphigenia "Callie" Torres, M.D. is a fictional character from the medical drama television series ''Grey's Anatomy'', which airs on the ABC in the United States. The character was created by series producer Shonda Rhimes and is portr ...
(
Sara Ramirez Sara Elena Ramírez Vargas (; born August 31, 1975) is an American actor. Born in Mazatlán, Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Ramírez moved from Mexico to the United States at eight years old, eventually graduating with a fine arts degree from the Juillia ...
)'s father returning to the hospital to condemn her
bisexuality Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, ...
, and
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 R ...
(
Katherine Heigl Katherine Heigl ( ; born November 24, 1978) is an American actress and model. She portrayed Izzie Stevens, Dr. Izzie Stevens on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television medical drama ''Grey's Anatomy'' from 2005 to 2010, a role that b ...
) putting her career into jeopardy after administering the wrong treatment to a patient. The episode was Heigl's last appearance before her five-episode hiatus to film a movie. It is set in a fictional hospital in
Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...
.
Héctor Elizondo Héctor Elizondo (born December 22, 1936) is an American character actor. He is known for playing Phillip Watters in the television series '' Chicago Hope'' (1994–2000) and Ed Alzate in the television series '' Last Man Standing'' (2011–2021 ...
returned as a guest star, while
Sarah Drew Sarah Drew (born October 1, 1980) is an American actress and director. She played Hannah Rogers in The WB family drama series ''Everwood'' (2004–2006) and April Kepner, Dr. April Kepner in the American Broadcasting Company, ABC medical drama se ...
, Jesse Williams,
Nora Zehetner Nora Angela Zehetner (born February 5, 1981) is an American film and television actress. Early life Zehetner was born in El Paso, Texas, the daughter of Nancy Lynne (née Nelson) and John Carol Zehetner. She attended elementary school in Richar ...
and Robert Baker made their first appearances. "Invasion" received positive reviews, with critics praising Drew's, Heigl's, Jessica Capshaw's,
Ellen Pompeo Ellen Kathleen Pompeo (; born November 10, 1969) is an American actress. One of the world's highest-paid actors since 2017, she has made multiple appearances on ''Forbes'' year-end lists. Her accolades include a Screen Actors Guild Award and a ...
's and
Sandra Oh Sandra Miju Oh (born July 20, 1971) is a Canadian and American actress. She is known for her starring roles as Rita Wu in ''Arliss (TV series), Arliss'' (1996–2002), Cristina Yang in ''Grey's Anatomy'' (2005–14), and Eve Polastri in ''Kill ...
's performances. Upon its initial airing, the episode in the United States was viewed by 13.79 million people, garnered a 5.0/13 Nielsen rating/share in the 18–49 demographic and ranked third for the night in terms of viewership The patient Sarah Freemont ( Alexie Gilmore)'s life hangs in the balance after Izzie's dialysis error. Her arc concludes in the second-half, a '' Private Practice'' episode titled " Right Here, Right Now", which sees
Miranda Bailey Miranda Bailey, M.D., F.A.C.S. is a fictional character from the long-running medical drama ''Grey's Anatomy'', created by Shonda Rhimes and portrayed by Chandra Wilson since the series' debut in 2005. Bailey has appeared in 387 episodes across ...
( Chandra Wilson) fly Freemont to
Addison Montgomery Addison Adrianne Forbes Montgomery, Doctor of Medicine, M.D., Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, F.A.C.S., American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, F.A.C.O.G., previously known as Shepherd, is a fictional character who first ap ...
in LA for help.


Plot

The episode opens with a
voice-over Voice-over (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique used in radio, television, filmmaking, theatre, and other media in which a descriptive or expository voice that is not part of the narrative (i.e., non- ...
narration from
Meredith Grey Meredith Grey M.D., F.A.C.S., (born 1977 or 1978) 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 c ...
(
Ellen Pompeo Ellen Kathleen Pompeo (; born November 10, 1969) is an American actress. One of the world's highest-paid actors since 2017, she has made multiple appearances on ''Forbes'' year-end lists. Her accolades include a Screen Actors Guild Award and a ...
) about confronting challenges and deciding whether to fight, adapt, or surrender when faced with overwhelming obstacles. The hospital receives several surgical residents from Mercy West as they enter Seattle Grace, a repercussion of the recent merger. Meredith is recovering from her
liver transplantation Liver transplantation or hepatic transplantation is the replacement of a diseased liver with the healthy liver from another person (allograft). Liver transplantation is a treatment option for end-stage liver disease and acute liver failure, al ...
surgery, after donating a portion of it to her father. In the residents' lounge,
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 R ...
(
Katherine Heigl Katherine Heigl ( ; born November 24, 1978) is an American actress and model. She portrayed Izzie Stevens, Dr. Izzie Stevens on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC television medical drama ''Grey's Anatomy'' from 2005 to 2010, a role that b ...
) tries to explain to Mercy West resident Reed Adamson (
Nora Zehetner Nora Angela Zehetner (born February 5, 1981) is an American film and television actress. Early life Zehetner was born in El Paso, Texas, the daughter of Nancy Lynne (née Nelson) and John Carol Zehetner. She attended elementary school in Richar ...
) that she should not use a certain locker, due to it formerly belonging to the deceased
George O'Malley George O'Malley, Doctor of Medicine, M.D., is a fictional character from the medical drama television series ''Grey's Anatomy'', which airs on American Broadcasting Company, ABC in the United States. The character was created by series producer S ...
( T. R. Knight). Adamson ignores her wishes, and uses the locker, leading Stevens to threatening to fight her. Shortly thereafter,
Cristina Yang Cristina Yang, Doctor of Medicine, M.D., Doctor of Philosophy, Ph.D., F.A.C.S. is a fictional character from the medical drama television series ''Grey's Anatomy'', which has aired for 20 seasons on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the ...
(
Sandra Oh Sandra Miju Oh (born July 20, 1971) is a Canadian and American actress. She is known for her starring roles as Rita Wu in ''Arliss (TV series), Arliss'' (1996–2002), Cristina Yang in ''Grey's Anatomy'' (2005–14), and Eve Polastri in ''Kill ...
) and
Lexie Grey Alexandra Caroline "Lexie" Grey, M.D. is a fictional character from the ABC medical drama television series ''Grey's Anatomy''. The character was created by Shonda Rhimes and is portrayed by Chyler Leigh. She was first mentioned in Season 2 befo ...
(
Chyler Leigh Chyler Leigh West (pronounced ; ''née'' Potts; born April 10, 1982), known professionally as Chyler Leigh, is an American actress, singer and model. She is best known for her roles as Janey Briggs in the comedy film '' Not Another Teen Movie' ...
) are working in the emergency room, when
Owen Hunt Major (Ret.) Owen Hunt, Doctor of Medicine, M.D., Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, F.A.C.S., is a fictional character from the medical drama television series ''Grey's Anatomy'', which airs on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) i ...
(
Kevin McKidd Kevin McKidd (born 9 August 1973) is a Scottish actor and television director best known as Dr. Owen Hunt in ''Grey's Anatomy'' and Tommy Mackenzie in Danny Boyle's '' Trainspotting'' (1996). McKidd played Colin in the 2008 film Made of Hono ...
) embarrasses Yang by taking Mercy West resident Jackson Avery ( Jesse Williams)' side in a disagreement. Despite her mindset that all Mercy West residents would act in the manner of Adamson, Stevens develops a friendship with Charles Percy ( Robert Baker). After months of the two not speaking,
Callie Torres Calliope Iphigenia "Callie" Torres, M.D. is a fictional character from the medical drama television series ''Grey's Anatomy'', which airs on the ABC in the United States. The character was created by series producer Shonda Rhimes and is portr ...
(
Sara Ramirez Sara Elena Ramírez Vargas (; born August 31, 1975) is an American actor. Born in Mazatlán, Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Ramírez moved from Mexico to the United States at eight years old, eventually graduating with a fine arts degree from the Juillia ...
)'s father, Carlos (
Héctor Elizondo Héctor Elizondo (born December 22, 1936) is an American character actor. He is known for playing Phillip Watters in the television series '' Chicago Hope'' (1994–2000) and Ed Alzate in the television series '' Last Man Standing'' (2011–2021 ...
), shows up to the hospital with a priest, trying to condemn Torres for her concurrence in
homosexuality Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or Human sexual activity, sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexu ...
. Under the supervision of
Derek Shepherd Derek Christopher Shepherd, often referred to as "McDreamy" for his "attractiveness", is a fictional surgeon from the ABC medical drama ''Grey's Anatomy'', portrayed by actor Patrick Dempsey. He made his first appearance in the series' pilot ep ...
(
Patrick Dempsey Patrick Galen Dempsey (born January 13, 1966) is an American actor and racing driver best known for playing neurosurgeon Derek Shepherd in ''Grey's Anatomy'' (2005–15; 2020–21). He is also known for his leading man romantic film roles, such ...
), Lexie works with Mercy West resident April Kepner (
Sarah Drew Sarah Drew (born October 1, 1980) is an American actress and director. She played Hannah Rogers in The WB family drama series ''Everwood'' (2004–2006) and April Kepner, Dr. April Kepner in the American Broadcasting Company, ABC medical drama se ...
) on a burglar and the two get in several disagreements, leading Lexie to steal her diary.
Alex Karev Alexander Michael "Alex" Karev (né Evans), M.D., F.A.C.S. is a fictional character on the ABC television series ''Grey's Anatomy'', portrayed by actor Justin Chambers. Introduced as a surgical intern at the fictional Seattle Grace Hospital, Ka ...
(
Justin Chambers Justin Willman Chambers (born July 11, 1970) is an American actor and former model best known for his role as Dr. Alex Karev in ''Grey's Anatomy'' (2005-20). Born in Ohio, he went to Southeastern High School, South Charleston, and later studi ...
) and Adamson continuously argue over the course of treatment for a patient, leading the patient's daughter to yell at them in disbelief. Angry about the revelation that Percy (who later apologized saying that they can be friends outside the hospital, but not inside) was using her, Stevens accidentally administers the wrong dialysis to a patient named Sarah Freemont ( Alexie Gilmore), making her an unviable candidate for the
kidney transplant Kidney transplant or renal transplant is the organ transplant of a kidney into a patient with end-stage kidney disease (ESRD). Kidney transplant is typically classified as deceased-donor (formerly known as cadaveric) or living-donor transplantat ...
she was scheduled to receive. After arguing over surgical cases for the entirety of the day, Yang comes to the realization that she needs a cardiothoracic surgeon to work at the hospital. After being mistreated by Kepner, Lexie begins to mock her about what is written in her diary, thus ruining her emotionally, but subsequently apologizes.
Arizona Robbins Arizona Robbins, M.D., F.A.C.S. is a fictional character from the medical drama television series ''Grey's Anatomy'', which airs on the ABC in the United States, and is portrayed by Jessica Capshaw. She was introduced in the show's fifth sea ...
( Jessica Capshaw), Torres' girlfriend, talks to Carlos, and convinces him to accept his daughter's sexuality. Having found out about Stevens' mistake,
Miranda Bailey Miranda Bailey, M.D., F.A.C.S. is a fictional character from the long-running medical drama ''Grey's Anatomy'', created by Shonda Rhimes and portrayed by Chandra Wilson since the series' debut in 2005. Bailey has appeared in 387 episodes across ...
( Chandra Wilson) reprimands her and reports her to the chief of surgery
Richard Webber Richard Webber, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.C.S., is a fictional character from the ABC medical drama television series ''Grey's Anatomy''. The character was created by Shonda Rhimes and is portrayed by actor James Pickens Jr. since the series' incepti ...
( James Pickens Jr.). Webber asks Stevens to come into her office, and he fires her from the staff, noting that Hunt, Shepherd, and Karev had concerns with her coming back to work so early. Stevens departs, writing Karev a
Dear John letter A Dear John letter is a letter written to a man by his wife or romantic partner to inform him that their relationship is over, usually because his partner has found another lover. The man is often a member of the military stationed overseas, al ...
, causing him to break down in front of Meredith and Yang.


Production

The episode was written by
Mark Wilding Mark Wilding is an American television producer and screenwriter. He was nominated for two Emmys for his work as executive producer on the series ''Grey's Anatomy'', and won a Writers Guild of America Award for Best New Series as a writer on the ...
and directed by
Tony Phelan Tony Phelan is an American television screenwriter, producer and director. He is married to television producer and screenwriter Joan Rater. Phelan is best known for his work on ABC's ''Grey's Anatomy'', for which he has been nominated for two Em ...
. Jenny Barak edited the episode's music and Donald Lee Harris served as production designer.
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 Mark Sloan (Grey's Anatomy), Mark Sloan on ' ...
( Mark Sloan) was absent from the episode. Featured music included The Myrmidon's "Clap", Traildriver's "I Want You Now", and
Greg Laswell Greg Laswell (born April 26, 1974) is an American musician, recording engineer, and record producer from San Diego, California. He attended Valley Christian High School in Cerritos, California. He has released 7 studio albums: ''Good Movie (Gre ...
's remake of " Your Ghost". "Invasion" was the last episode Heigl appeared in, before her five-episode hiatus to film the
romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a sub-genre of comedy and Romance novel, romance fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount all obstacles. Ro ...
'' Life As We Know It''. Wilding called the guest stars "a blast to work with". He deemed the theme of the episode "invasion", adding that all the character's lives were being invaded. In the episode, Stevens makes a mistake, following a disagreement with Percy. Wilding commented that Stevens was originally seeking friendship with Percy, because he reminded her of O'Malley. At the conclusion of the episode, Torres ultimately reunites with her father Carlos. Wilding offered his insight on this and the overall episode:


Reception


Broadcasting

"Invasion" was first broadcast on October 15, 2009 in the United States on the
American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American Commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast Television broadcaster, television and radio Radio network, network that serves as the flagship property of the Disney Entertainment division ...
. The episode was viewed by a total of 13.79 million people, down 0.34% from the previous episode " Tainted Obligation", which garnered 14.13 million viewers. In terms of viewership, "Invasion" ranked third for the night, just behind
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...
's juggernauts '' CSI'' and ''
The Mentalist ''The Mentalist'' is an American procedural drama television series that ran from September 23, 2008, until February 18, 2015, broadcasting 151 episodes over seven seasons, on CBS. Created by Bruno Heller, who was also its executive producer, t ...
''. The episode did not win in viewership, but its 5.0/13
Nielsen rating Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the #Nielsen TV ...
ranked first in its 9:00 Eastern time-slot and the entire night, for both the rating and share percentages of the key 18–49 demographic, beating out ''CSI'', ''The Mentalist'', '' Private Practice'', and ''
The Office ''The Office'' is the title of several mockumentary sitcoms based on a British series originally created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant as '' The Office'' in 2001. The original series also starred Gervais as manager and primary charac ...
''. Although its rating won for the night, it was a decrease from the previous episode, which garnered a 5.4/14 rating/share in the 18–49 demographic.


Critical reception

The episode received positive reviews among television critics. The ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' Carina MacKenzie's review of the episode was largely positive, though she called it "immature" of the episode's writers to have the characters in constant battle with one another, and deemed the Mercy West residents' orange scrubs unnecessary. MacKenzie highly praised the characterization of Kepner, in addition to Capshaw's performance, commenting: "Jessica Capshaw has an incredible ability to take even the most melodramatic of ''Grey's natomy' speeches and deliver them with a subtlety and an honesty that makes them come off as sincere instead of overwrought." MacKenzie concluded that Karev, Yang, and Meredith had appropriate reactions to Stevens' departure. Michael Pascua of ''
The Huffington Post ''HuffPost'' (''The Huffington Post'' until 2017, itself often abbreviated as ''HPo'') is an American progressive news website, with localized and international editions. The site offers news, satire, blogs, and original content, and covers p ...
'' praised the scene in which Yang broke down to Meredith, noting the exceptional chemistry between them. Pascua was positive of the storyline between Torres, Carlos, and Robbins, writing that it was nice to see an emphasis on the gay storyline. Adam Bryant of ''
TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...
'' wrote that Baker's character "seems like the only decent guy in the bunch", though ''
PopSugar PopSugar Inc. is an American media and technology company that is the parent to the media property PopSugar (stylized POPSUGAR) and a monthly subscription business PopSugar Must Have. The company was founded in 2006 by married couple Brian and Lis ...
'' asserted that Williams' character "proves to be most likable of the new doctors".


References


External links


"Invasion"
at ABC.com * {{Grey's Anatomy episodes, 6 Grey's Anatomy season 6 episodes 2009 American television episodes