Elevator Love Letter

Season 5, Episode 18, Aired
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Episode Summary

All eyes are on Derek as he is set to perform his first surgery after his breakdown; attention is also set on Izzie, whose medical condition requires her to undergo a difficult surgery; and Owen has another PTSD episode that injures Cristina and traumatizes both of them, throwing the future of their relationship into question.moreless
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Fan Episode Reviews (21)

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  • Both a heartbreaking and uplifting episode, this will be one of the classic episodes of the series.

    10
    "Perfect"
    By Livvy69, Aug 23, 2011 Report Abuse
    Well after last week's top class episode I had high hopes that this episode would be just as good. How wrong was I? This episode was one of the best episodes of Grey's Anatomy and is high up there as my all time favourite episode.

    Where to begin?
    Alex. Alex was heartbreakingly beauitful tonight. The episode began with him pacing outside Izzie's window and the mess he goes through the entire episode is hard to watch, I was openingly crying when he poured out his anger to Meredith about how crap the whole situation was and how this is not how he pictured him and Izzie having a baby. Kudos to Justin Chambers, he is really owning his performances as Alex. Christina and Owen. Oh how my heartbreaks. The choking scene was hard to watch and to see Christina go to Owen after he had choked her and tell him its okay was beauitful. I loved the protective nature of Callie and especially Meredith towards Owen. Christina defended her actions towards forgiving him so quickly and I loved it! When they consumated their relationship at the end and Christina was lying there awake my heart broke, that they broke up was hard to see. But I got why Christina had to do it. And I am so proud of Owen for taking Derek's offer for help at the end. That really showed how much he loves Christina.

    Izzie and Bailey tonight were so perfect. The fact that none of her friends were visiting her made me angry but Bailey was fantastic as the mother figure to Izzie and letting Izzie know that she believes she will be here a year from now. Bailey making sure she didn't get rusty made me so happy and hopeful.

    Meredith and Derek. Oh how my heart smiles. Tonight reminded me of how much I love Meredith and Derek as a couple and showed how much they have grown. When Derek was practically begging for Meredith to agree to the engagement and Meredith kept saying no ("not like this") I loved it. Meredith has been the queen of tough love the last couple of episodes and I love her for it. But when Derek proposed to her in the elevator, oh!!!! Awwwww!!! It was perfect. I never really pictured their engagement until that elevator opened. It was just....PERFECT!

    The very last minutes of the episode. Christina and Meredith. Meredith telling Christina she's engaged and Christina saying she broke up with Owen was exactly how it should of been. The Mere and Christina relationship is still strong and they both are there for each other for the happy and the sad. I loved it.

    But my favourite scene tonight wasn't the proposal, or Alex's breakdown or even Christina and Owen. My favourite moment was when Alex got into bed with Izzie and Alex's voiceover was playing about stepping up. Alex made me proud and I am so happy Izzie and Alex are now going to go through this together.

    To one of the best episodes of Grey's Anatomy there isn't anything left to say. It was perfect.moreless

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    16 2

  • What an amazing episode!

    10
    "Perfect"
    By borgetas, Mar 18, 2011 Report Abuse
    I have to say, I was almost giving up on Grey's Anatomy but I'm really glad I didn't. Those past few episodes were really amazing.
    Also, I don't want Izzie to leave, like I did before. She's back to the character I loved in the previous seasons.
    I have to say, Yang keeps surprising me time after time. She's really my favourite character and Sandra's performance the other night was outstanding! I really didn't expect her to break up with Owen but I'm glad she did. It's better for them to wait until Owen overtakes his nightmare problem, so that he and Yang can be together without any life-threatening problems.
    Oh, and Derek's proposal was simply beautiful. The perfect proposal, I can't imagine any better way for him to propose. And the elevator was the perfect place to do it.
    I really hope that Grey's continues this good until the finale...
    Oh and what is ABC thinking?! 4 week hiatus?!moreless

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    8 0

  • Fabulous Episode

    10
    "Perfect"
    By sabrips, Sep 18, 2010 Report Abuse
    I don't even know where to start, this was one of the best episodes ever the writers somehow took off the pressure on Izzie's brain tumor and landed it on a second term. Not that it was bad, it was genius a big change from last week, when we were all sad about that issue. Now Izzie is safe (I hope so), so lets focus on the rest

    I hear McWedding coming soon! The proposal was so romantic, what a better way to get your fianc to marry you than asking her in the place where lays so many memories and doing it remembering her all the surgeries they did together? That was such a great move, romantic, very surgeon and of McDreamy like!

    Poor Cristina almost dying "in the hands" of your love? I'd be scared too. I was not surprised at all when she decided to keep going on with Hunt, but I also wasn't surprised when she decided to ended it its hard to explain, I know she likes difficult relations, but it'd sure be very hard to sleep after that good thing Owen is doing something about it, that proves he loves her.

    Could Alex be more in love with Izzie? They all were a little bit jerks for leaving Izzie alone, but he's willing to have children with her That's amore!
    Bailey going all mama bear as usual is the best! I think is one of the top characters on the show.
    To bad we only saw a little of Callizona and Slexie/Marxie/Slexy or whatever the name ismoreless

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    19 2

  • Derek returns to surgery.

    8.0
    "Great"
    By thefanof, Sep 18, 2010 Report Abuse
    How many times did Alex say "crap" in this episode? I don't know why they insist on having him have the dialogue of a 12 year old who just learned his first swear word. "Crap" just is not an appropriate catchphrase for a character in 2009.

    How creepy was that Owen choking scene too? I will admit that Grey's Anatomy really ventured outside the box here, for the first time in awhile, but this was just a peculiar storyline that seemed like it belonged on Law and Order: SVU as opposed to the ABC medical drama.

    The supporting cast all got ample time, and for some that was good, but for others, such as Callie, it just made me hate her even more.moreless

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    0 11

  • Great episode, not focused only on one or two of the characters, but at all the ones we wanna see. We can see a few quite good - and sometimes great - moments not only about the emotional parts, but also from the actors.moreless

    10
    "Perfect"
    By Liva84, Aug 27, 2010 Report Abuse
    I loved the fact that they gave enough attention to Izzie's disease, but also how Christina and Owen's relation turned out, how exciting and very true to their relationship was Derek's "proposal" (the bed of roses and candles was all very romantic, but this way was much more "Mer/Der" - and Meredith's acceptance... and how Alex is becoming a great man by Izzie's side!! Oh, and of course... Bailey's words to everyone after the surgery.
    I really love them all, love the show... and after a weak 5th season's start, I really think that for the past - I don't know, 10 episodes, they've came together quite well. Hope to keep seeing great scripts like the last ones from now on!moreless

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    2 0
 

Trivia, Notes, Quotes and Allusions

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  • Trivia

    ADD TRIVIA
    • When Meredith is leaning on the OR Board while Izzie's in surgery you can see Izzie's birthday as 06/23/81. So, that would make Izzie almost 28 years old. Edit
    • While the Chief is eating, Alex hands him a bag of his sperm. After Alex leaves, a disgusted Chief moves the bag away from him with his fork. Why on Earth would he do that with the same fork he was using to eat? Edit

  • Notes

    ADD NOTES
    • International Episode Titles: Slovakia: Vyznanie lásky (Declaration of Love) Czech Republic: Nouzové zastavení času (Emergency Stop Time) Edit
    • Original International Air Dates: Latin America: June 8, 2009 on Sony Entertainment Television (aka Canal Sony) Italy: June 8, 2009 on Fox Life Australia: June 18, 2009 on Channel 7 Germany: August 5, 2009 on ProSieben The Netherlands: October 12, 2009 on Net5 Norway: December 22, 2009 on TV2 Slovakia: February 15, 2010 on STV1 Czech Republic: June 24, 2010 on Prima Edit
    • Music Featured In This Episode: 1. Little Pieces by Gomez 2. The Weight Of Us by Sanders Bohlke 3. That Home by The Cinematic Orchestra 4. Rise Up by Ben Lee 5. With The Notes In My Ears by Peter Broderick 6. We Do What We Want To by O+S 7. Like A Ghost by Calahan Edit

  • Quotes

    ADD QUOTES
    • Izzie (waking up): Hey. Alex: I snooched into a cup for you today. Izzie: Um... thank you? Edit
    • Meredith: I'm engaged. Cristina: I broke up with Owen. Edit
    • Owen (about to get a CT): I want to apologize for earlier. What I said was, it was out of line. Derek: It's already forgotten. Owen: Thank you for doing this. Edit

  • Allusions

    ADD ALLUSIONS
    • When Derek shows Meredith what he did in the elevator, he mentions patients and events from past episodes: -A Hard Day's Night (the pilot): Derek: This is a CT of Katie Bryce. 15 year old female, subarachnoid aneurysm. - Shake Your Groove Thing and If Tomorrow Never Comes: Derek: Dr. Bailey kicked you out of the surgery, because she caught us in your driveway, in my car. - Freedom Part 1 and 2: Derek: Beth Monroe, made our clinical trial a success by surviving. You talked me into putting her under. Edit
    • Episode Title: Elevator Love Letter Elevator Love Letter is the title of a song by the band Stars taken from the album Heart. Edit

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