Grey's Anatomy - Time Has Come Today

The title of last night's season premiere couldn't have been more fitting. What a fab episode!!

Here's a bit of a recap:

• It's the day after the prom/Denny's death (where we were left at the end of Season 2) Izzie has locked herself in the bathroom, lying on the floor still in her prom dress. The other interns are figuring out how to deal w/ this situation & decide to go in to talk to her one at a time. George is first, and as usual, doesn't know how to speak so Izzie basically tells him to shut up. Meanwhile, Cristina & Meredith discuss sitting shivah (sp?) even though Izzie is Catholic. Meredith confesses about her steamy romp w/Derek (aka McDreamy) the night before & the whereabouts of her panties...

• Low & behold - ADDISON HAS THEM!! Somewhere somehow she found the black panties & is nice enough to dry, neatly fold & place into a plastic baggie (after staring at them for a long time) She then went to work, where she & Alex saved a newborn who was abandoned in the garbage (turns out it was a 14year old girl who's parents had no clue) Addison is slowly coming to grips that her marriage is a failure, and she flashes back to the night Derek discovered her cheating on him - he tried to throw her out, but eventually he was the one who left (BTW, great acting in that scene!) It's never explained how she found those scandalous undergarments - I'm assuming that's for next week's episode - but at the end of the show, she tacked them up onto the intern's bulletin board.

• Oh yeah there's this whole flu/possible plague outbreak in the hospital. A flu-ridden married couple got into a bad accident on their way to the ER. Derek & George operate on the wife, while the husband (that guy from "The Practice") is quarantined b/c he might have the plague (I'm sorry, but wasn't this already on an ep of "ER" back in the day?? ) So Dr. Bailey, fresh from ID-ing Denny's body before it's flown back to Memphis, keeps the sick hubby, Omar, company & eventually consoles him when his wife passes away. Bailey seems to feel guilty about the whole Denny situation (next week she avoids Izzie for some odd reason) and tells Omar how we all wish we could go back to yesterday. More fine acting done here.

• McDreamy & George are quarantined in the interns locker room after operating on Omar's wife. The two proceed to raid the lockers for snacks and discuss their love lives. Derek tells George he should tell Callie he loves her, even if it's "SOONISH". George then replies Derek should tell Meredith that he loves her. And then the 2 of them start making out passionately...SYKE!! Once they're released (I guess no plague after all) both guys head to the house where Callie (who came by to cook for the shivah - was that paella she was whipping up??) rushed into George's arms, pledged her love to him, only to have him kiss her back - POOR GAL!! Derek finds Meredith in the kitchen & tells her he's in love w/ her. He then says she needs to make a choice, but can take all the time in the world, b/c he had to make a choice before & he chose wrong (NO SH** SHERLOCK!!) I'm just glad it wasn't another cheesy ultimatum like "PICK ME-CHOOSE ME-LOVE ME!"

• Throughout the episode, we're treated to flashbacks to the night all the interns met (at the hospital mixer): Izzie & Alex flirted (he ended up leaving w/ the syph nurse); George tried to mack it to Meredith but she was too distracted by the chief (which led her to run off to the bar where she met Derek); Cristina tried to kiss Burke's ass but he was too busy w/ his hoochy date. We also saw how Meredith witnessed some of her mother's affair w/ the chief when she was a little girl.

• Back in the bathroom, Cristina explains the whole "sitting shivah" to Izzie and insists Izzie should change out of her dress, but Izzie refuses. Izzie tells Cristina she's never going to see Denny ever again, and wants her to imagine losing Burke forever. This leads Cristina to visit Burke in the hospital, where she breaks down at his bedside (ACTUAL TEARS!!) and asks him to promise never to die. Touching moment.

• Meredith isn't sure of the right thing to say to Izzie, even with all her "dark, twisty" life experience. Izzie doesn't know how she can go back to being herself & feels so alone - Meredith grabs her hand & tells her she's not alone. Afterwards, Meredith finds Finn (aka McVet) waiting for her in the kitchen (is it just me, or were Callie & him flirting up a storm????) He suspects stuff happened w/ McDreamy last night, but he's not too upset b/c they weren't totally exclusive. But now he wants in & he's willing to fight (McDreamy vs. McVet - this girl has the life!!) b/c he thinks Derek is bad for her (whatever dude!) So now Meredith has a new dilemma: who to choose?? I say give her a few more episodeds (Chris O'Donnell is only signed on for that many, haha!) to finally come around, & for the Sheperds to finalize their divorce (fingers crossed!) At the end, Izzie decides to move forward & get out of her dress (and hopefully into a bath!!) w/ Meredith's assistance.

I'm so psyched for the new season!! It definitely seems very promising w/ even more drama, laughs, & heartbreaking storylines to come. And I hope my first attempt at a recap was OK.

Till next Thursday!! : )