First hour equals intense drama, second hour equals light-hearted romantic conflictions (except of course for the unexpected death). The two hours almost felt like opposites, but overall it worked to make a solid season finale.

I was disappointed with Christina during Burke's surgery. For a character that normally is very strong, we saw her break down and watched as she was unable to stand by Burke when he needed her most. Burke needed support from Christina at probably what was his supreme ordeal in his life: possibly losing his ability to perform surgeries, what his life has almost always been about. Christina though was unable to watch Burke go through this struggle. Even though Christina eventually came to his side in the end, it was still very disappointing and frustrating to watch her choice to isolate herself from him. I guess that just shows her human side though. Everybody has his or her weaknesses.

The opening thirty minutes were intense, with all the interns were yelling at one another, and surprisingly it was Meredith who pulled everybody together. I was happy Izzie was able to escape punishment; although I suspect the Chief of Surgeries fondness of the interns, helped her get away with cutting of the chord to Denny's heart. It did provide to be almost useless though (I say almost because at least Denny did get to propose to her and Izzie was truly happy for a couple of hours, even though some may see that as something that should have never had happened, as it only got Izzie's hopes up for a happy future with Denny only to crush them) as Denny ended up dying anyway.. The ending scene with Izzie quitting her job as tears streamed down her eyes was heartbreaking. Her pink dress contrasted with her heartbroken face and disgruntled hair, and she looked like a princess who had just had her life broken in half. I’m predicting though that somehow next year Izzie will come back into the medical business, as she is a popular character. It still was sad though to watch a character usually chirpy and full of life in such despair, loosing and giving up on everything that her life had been about.

On a lighter note Derek and Meredith finally got together again, although I was a little bit disturbed that they chose to do it with his wife and her date just down the hallway. The final scene with Meredith having to choose between Derek and Finn was a parallel to the beginning of the season when Derek had to choose between Meredith and Addison, symbolizing that everything in life comes full circle. Will Meredith make the same choice as Derek? I question though how can Derek ask Meredith to choose him, when he is still married to a women who is present in the same room.

Overall it was a strong finish to a strong season. It was much more lighthearted then I expected, but maybe that was a good thing.

Final Notes and Quotes

- George admitted to Callie that he didn't love her yet like she loved him but that he hoped one day he would. Callie seemed able to accept that.

- The scene with the teenage girls telling the interns how they wanted the prom to be held as the interns sighed in boredom and frustration was amusing. Very light punishment for breaking the law though.

- Bailey was forced to attend the prom. You don't get to see her in a dress too often.

- Denny ended up dying from a blood clot. I suppose a theme you could extract from this episode is that you can't cheat death.

- Bailey: "Where are all of my suck-ups?"

Final Rating: 3 out of 4 stars.

- Tim Bronx
Find this and many other reviews at: www.motionpicturereviews.com