The curious case of Cristina Yang

Do you remember season one Yang? To use her word, she was hardcore. Man, she was hardcore’s hardcore. She was very obviously the leader of the pack amongst the group of very green surgical interns at Seattle Grace. She knew what she wanted, knew how she was going to get there, and was going to let absolutely nothing stand in her way. Now? She’s just the doctor that wishes she needed to wear a diaper.

So what happened? What changed this once incredibly promising doctor to just another doctor in the crowd? The easy answer is the loss of Burke, and I think that is probably the root of the problem, but not all of it. Yang is obviously too strong of a person to let the dissolution of a relationship throw her into such a tizzy. Sure Burke left, and it made a dent, but it is not what put set of off of the track that she was on.

No, it was the loss of Burke as a teacher that has affected Cristina so (I’ll be the first to say that my answer isn’t original, as Yang told the Chief this herself). You’ve got Derek, a world-renowned neurosurgeon; Sloan is a plastics bad ass, and the rest of the attendings are no slouches. But Cristina’s heart is in cardio, and there’s no one to teach her cardio.

What we saw at the end of the episode, however, might just be her saving grace. She doesn’t have to be taught by a great cardio surgeon to become a better doctor, but she has to be willing to take that instruction. Owen Hunt, the teacher, might be the doctor that brings us back the Yang we used to know. As he told her, “You’re standing too close.” Good advice in more ways than one.

Other stuff

• “Don’t worry … Being ditched by cancer wife won’t change my mind, you’re still a douche.”
• Interesting way to get Derek on board with the surgery
• Have we ever seen Isaac before, because everyone seems to love him
• What has happened to the Chief … He’s the one being the Kanye-bag, not Karev
• The pen scene was a pretty fun way to see how the whole team interacts
• The diaper … Well, I don’t really have to say anything about it, do I?
• “Today, if you become frightened, instead, become inspired” The patient gives the bad ass pep talk?
• Sheppard could easily get the residents to go along, but the rest of the surgery staff went along so easily?
• “You’re drawing on the wall!” The wall that has the incredibly cute framed Post-It note on it
• I’m really digging Nora Zehetner’s (Reed) addition to the cast; I hope she sticks around
• Arizona was her own kind of hard core with the Chief
• The only thing better than Isaac’s demeanor before surgery was his reaction to the news that the procedure had worked
• The scene at the end between Derek and the Chief was outstanding, especially how Derek borrowed Isaac’s reaction

Clacked by Ivey West
on Oct 29, 2009 @ 23:54 EST5EDT