Lexie Grey and the Cloak of Denial
I think I'm the only person on the planet (or at least the Mer/Der ship) who isn't running screaming with yesterday's press release. But for some reason, I don't assume that this means a Meredith/Derek/Lexie triangle. There are a couple of necessary ingredients for this.
As I write this, I know that I'm probably skipping the most important ingredient, that of the Cloak of Denial. For the most part, I am choosing not to panic. It's a choice. Because--hello? I have a huge emotional investment in the Mer/Der of it all, as well as about 60K words.
I have a belief that Lexie can be on the show, even for 13 episodes, and not sleep with Derek. Not kiss Derek. Not get the McDreamy face from Derek. (Yeah, even though he gave it to her in T123, but that was during the arson. Remember the arson?)
I read the writer's blog with a very cynical eye. By the time the finale aired, Shonda had been watching the ratings erode. She'd been hearing the comments about the "not a spin-off". And she has a history of using the blog and podcast to plant foilers and spoilers, to promote the next show. One key point is the subsequent exit of Isaiah Washington from the show, and various mentions that rewrites had to be done to facilitate that. We know (or at least we hope) that Shonda is not an idiot. She knows that people were frustrated and irritated and watching The Office by the end of Season 3. And what does she do? She burns it all down and asks us to leap.
Which sounds to me very much like "I meant to do that." Because of whatever rewrites she had to do, she had to put everyone back on the table by the end of the episode. So she did. Right now, we're in as much limbo as we were at the end of Season 2, at least with regards to the Mer/Der. 'WHAT' you howl 'HOW ON EARTH CAN YOU SAY THAT?' Because we didn't get hot sex in the finale, did we? No, we did not. But remember. . .we were supposed to. And at the end of season 2, we had the losing of the panties, the becoming a dirty mistress for real. This was the first time Meredith knowingly had sex with a married man, and for her it was a huge thing. That was what made her so angry with Derek at the beginning of the season, and made her so mad with her mom. So she was confused. And probably pretty irritated with Derek, because who among us didn't want to break his nose when he asked 'What does this mean?' Drop a pair, figure it out.
So, take out the hot sex from the equation. Only because for season 3, Derek and Meredith obviously took a vow of celibacy. (And see where it got them?) What's left? Two very confused people. Who aren't exactly over each other, even if you interpreted them as broken up in the finale. (And I maintain that it didn't clearly happen. Before people read the blog, they were split on if it happened. So it didn't happen, not with any clarity.)
For Derek to make any advance on Lexie, whether it's a kiss or a flirt (other than his normal flirt, because hello? The man would flirt with a tree stump, right?) or heaven forbid, wake up in her house in 4.01 in a catastrophic full circle. . .that would kill McDreamy. There's a porniness to hooking up with your true love's sister that not even Patrick Dempsey could overcome. If it happened, there's no hope for him with Meredith. None. My sister and I come from a more functional family (only marginally, but still) and if anyone ever bopped from me to her or vice versa. . .that would be it. Knowing or not. Doesn't matter.
So my bet--or my Cloak of Denial--is that Shonda knows the ick factor. And she was hoping that it would create enough buzz so that we would all tune in to make sure it didn't happen. And that her plans for Lexie through 13 episodes don't include being McSister--but do include being some sort of family for Meredith. Because I believe. Clap your hands if you believe.
- Reading the writer's blog with a cynical eye
- Knowing that you aren't alone in swearing any Lexie/Derek hookup will leave you reaching for the remote
- Knowing that Shonda has put out foilers in the past
- The hope that seasons 1 & 2 weren't the exception, that season 3 was.
As I write this, I know that I'm probably skipping the most important ingredient, that of the Cloak of Denial. For the most part, I am choosing not to panic. It's a choice. Because--hello? I have a huge emotional investment in the Mer/Der of it all, as well as about 60K words.
I have a belief that Lexie can be on the show, even for 13 episodes, and not sleep with Derek. Not kiss Derek. Not get the McDreamy face from Derek. (Yeah, even though he gave it to her in T123, but that was during the arson. Remember the arson?)
I read the writer's blog with a very cynical eye. By the time the finale aired, Shonda had been watching the ratings erode. She'd been hearing the comments about the "not a spin-off". And she has a history of using the blog and podcast to plant foilers and spoilers, to promote the next show. One key point is the subsequent exit of Isaiah Washington from the show, and various mentions that rewrites had to be done to facilitate that. We know (or at least we hope) that Shonda is not an idiot. She knows that people were frustrated and irritated and watching The Office by the end of Season 3. And what does she do? She burns it all down and asks us to leap.
Which sounds to me very much like "I meant to do that." Because of whatever rewrites she had to do, she had to put everyone back on the table by the end of the episode. So she did. Right now, we're in as much limbo as we were at the end of Season 2, at least with regards to the Mer/Der. 'WHAT' you howl 'HOW ON EARTH CAN YOU SAY THAT?' Because we didn't get hot sex in the finale, did we? No, we did not. But remember. . .we were supposed to. And at the end of season 2, we had the losing of the panties, the becoming a dirty mistress for real. This was the first time Meredith knowingly had sex with a married man, and for her it was a huge thing. That was what made her so angry with Derek at the beginning of the season, and made her so mad with her mom. So she was confused. And probably pretty irritated with Derek, because who among us didn't want to break his nose when he asked 'What does this mean?' Drop a pair, figure it out.
So, take out the hot sex from the equation. Only because for season 3, Derek and Meredith obviously took a vow of celibacy. (And see where it got them?) What's left? Two very confused people. Who aren't exactly over each other, even if you interpreted them as broken up in the finale. (And I maintain that it didn't clearly happen. Before people read the blog, they were split on if it happened. So it didn't happen, not with any clarity.)
For Derek to make any advance on Lexie, whether it's a kiss or a flirt (other than his normal flirt, because hello? The man would flirt with a tree stump, right?) or heaven forbid, wake up in her house in 4.01 in a catastrophic full circle. . .that would kill McDreamy. There's a porniness to hooking up with your true love's sister that not even Patrick Dempsey could overcome. If it happened, there's no hope for him with Meredith. None. My sister and I come from a more functional family (only marginally, but still) and if anyone ever bopped from me to her or vice versa. . .that would be it. Knowing or not. Doesn't matter.
So my bet--or my Cloak of Denial--is that Shonda knows the ick factor. And she was hoping that it would create enough buzz so that we would all tune in to make sure it didn't happen. And that her plans for Lexie through 13 episodes don't include being McSister--but do include being some sort of family for Meredith. Because I believe. Clap your hands if you believe.