McLycanthropy

I used to be a big fan of Grey's Anatomy. I was a first season girl, and if you asked me at any point during the arc of that season what the best show on television was, I would without hesitation snatch your arm and give you my best imitation of The Look (Patrick Dempsey fans, you know what I'm talking about), shake with emotion, and start emitting a thematically relevant adult contemporary pop song.



Greys. Was. It.



It had everything. Primarily, a strong cast of interesting characters who were way too emo for their own good, but in the most entertaining and heartwrenching of ways. The show followed a pack of fresh-faced, knock-kneed surgical interns throughout their first year at Seattle Grace, a hospital known for its hardworking, A-class medical staff as much as its uncanny knack for attracting medical cases that tied in quite nicely to what that staff was going through.



The show also boasted some kick-ass female characters: reserved, resourceful, kind, passionate, capable, and at times, whiny as hell. Girls that were strong and relatable, and original in their composition. You could really see yourself in any one of them at least once throughout the run of that first year, whether you liked it or not. It was refreshing and exciting to key in so strongly to them on a campy, yes, but emotionally honest show.



Not to mention the equally kick-ass male characters.



And Patrick Dempsey: giver of The Look. Not afraid to cry or attempt risky neurological surgery. A phantasmagoria of sensitivity, and at the same time a beacon of old-timey maleness. Bullheadedness. Torch-bearing. Occasional bouts of yelling, sometimes acccompanied by throwing punches, fits, or beautiful women into walls before tearing into them with kisses.



But then something happened:



The Second Season.



Namely, Denny. Exploding Bomb Squad Guy. And overblown, overindulgent "storytelling" all around. Not to mention the soon-to-follow Isaiah Washington anti-gay revelation.



Grey's freaking burned me. I started treating it like a bad boyfriend I finally wised up to and went all Carrie Underwood on. How could Greys do this to me? I cringed at talk of new storylines detailing more Mer/Der drama, the romance blossoming between George and Callie like a most atrociously deformed garden weed, Denny worship disguised as story arcs.



But tonight, something changed. In a dizzying state of turkey-fueled goodwill, (and my own traitorous strike-breaking), I watched the newest ep of Greys... featuring surprisingly engaging writing, honest character moments, conflict, and a guy with an exposed carotid artery that bursts when he makes a freshly heartbroken intern laugh, played by...



SETH GREEN.





I am so back.