Grey's Anatomy

Grey's Anatomy attempted to cram all the holidays into one episode last night, and while there were the predictable high points, there was also plenty that fell short.

If you missed any of the drama, here's a recap of "Holidaze." Now, here's a look at what worked and what didn't on Thursday evening, because each is a long list ...

Hits

• Kim Raver and Kevin McKidd as Teddy and Owen. While some of their dialogue was schmaltzy, they were believably awkward, conflicted and unsure what to do about their feelings for each other. Sandra Oh's Cristina fits into this story well, too.
• Derek and Arizona. Their efforts to save the boy and do whatever it takes - at their own expense - pretty much solidified them as the coolest people ever.
• Bailey and her dad. We have issues with the fact that Bailey's personal life is rarely, if ever discussed, and then we have a major story thrust at us out of nowhere. It felt forced. Just the same, Chandra Wilson sold us at the end, like she always does.
• A nice performance by Kelsey, the girl who survived with no heart, and her boyfriend, played by Nathan West (husband of Chyler Leigh). Loved them both.

Our sentiments, exactly. Sloane is not doing it for us, either.

Misses

• A Christmas and New Year's story. On Thursday, November 19.
• Izzie's just gone again? Why even bring her back at this point?
• We know she wants to be a great surgeon and everything, but Meredith is really stupid enough to buy what the Chief is trying to sell her? Come on, people.
• Leven Rambin as Mark's daughter? Not a fan. At least she didn't do much for us this week. He really isn't speaking to her? She just sits there silent? WTF? 
• The most awkward Christmas dinner ever. NONE of these people have families?! Thatcher and Richard would NEVER both be there. We just couldn't buy it.

Tonight's Grey's Anatomy, "Holidaze," is the last until January 14, and combines Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Eve into one holiday bonanza at Seattle Grace-Mercy West.

Some highlights from the six Grey's Anatomy clips we've posted below:

• A woman surviving with no heart in her.
• Some hot and heavy Owenstina action.
• Owen and Teddy acting really awkward.
• Meredith and Derek in bed ... arguing.
• Mark's supposed daughter arriving.
• Bailey's dad showing up.

Here's the first clip from this evening's "Holidaze." Stupid pagers ...

Follow the jump for five more clips from tonight's Grey's Anatomy ...

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This Thursday's episode of Grey's Anatomy, "Holidaze," combines Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's - and notably features the arrival of Mark Sloan's long-lost ... daughter.

Yes, a hot, blonde, McSteamy spawn. We'll pause for a moment to let that sink in.

Aside from guest star Leven Rambin (who plays the character from Mark's past, whomever she is), Thatcher Grey and Miranda's as-yet-unseen father also appear in the episode.

Click to enlarge some photos from "Holidaze" below and see what you think ...

Grey's Anatomy continued its recent string of solid episodes last night, although we definitely enjoyed the previous two, single-character-centric episodes a little more.

We also didn't need another doctor thrown into the fold. That said, Dr. Teddy Altman (Kim Raver, below) was introduced well, and the episode as a whole was good.

If you missed any of the drama, here's a recap of "New History." Now, a look at the major developments of Thursday night and why they worked (for the most part) ...

The gift: Owen has a present for Cristina: Teddy, a cardio surgeon who he served with in Iraq. In vintage Cristina fashion, she's far from impressed with the new girl.

Ultimately, she respects her elder, though, and Teddy proves to be the excellent teacher that Dr. Yang lacked for so long, talking her through a very difficult procedure.

Cristina is so giddy we actually see her skip! Sandra Oh is so brilliant, she actually made that look awkward. That was so un-Cristina, and it subtly showed. Wonderful.

Dr. Teddy Altman and her relationship with Owen were introduced last night.

Here's the interesting thing about Teddy: She and Owen were never involved ... but she wishes they were. She tells him as much after she learns that he and Beth broke up.

Owen doesn't know how to react to the news that Teddy has feelings for him. Clearly there's something going on there, and we don't know what. Well handled all around.

The work husband: Adele accuses Bailey of having an affair with the Chief because he didn't come home last night. Has Adele not been married to him for like 30 years?

She says his behavior lately reminds her of when he was with Ellis. Bailey conceded that the Chief can be her "work-husband" but assured her an affair is NOT happening.

Something's definitely up with this guy, though. He looks tired and nearly kills a guy by botching a routine surgery. The stress is taking its toll ... and he's back to the bottle.

We loved the look on Meredith's face when she sees him drinking at Joe's, and the relationship of Bailey and Richard in general. She wants to protect her work-husband.

Still, she tells him, get it together. It was nice to see a Richard story line not centered exclusively around him being a jerk who feuds with the surgeons over budget cuts.

Alex did not take the return of his wife very well.

I can't forgive you: Izzie returned to the show last night, and no, she's not pregnant. Sneaky promos. Her old science teacher thinks she is, though. He thinks she's 16.

His dementia is what brought her back to Seattle Grace, to get him treatment. She succeeds, strong-arming the Chief and holding her $8 million donation over his head.

That case was great to watch, and guest star Joel Grey did a terrific job, but what does Izzie even bring to the show anymore? Her big "return" felt as forced as ever to us.

When Alex saw her, it was heartbreaking. Words fail him. He doesn't even know what to make of it. Nearly do we. Finally, the spouses confront each other and have it out.

Izzie starts blaming Alex for getting her fired, saying the job was all she had, and that she cannot forgive him for it. Irate, he fires right back and puts her in her place.

Alex says that she made an assumption about that, didn't give him the benefit of the doubt, and took off. For that, he can't forgive her either. Burn. Bring on her next hiatus.

Awkward aftermath of the kiss between Cristina and Jackson?

Awkward introduction of new cardio goddess Teddy to Cristina?

Awkward reintroduction of Izzie to ... well, everyone at SGH?

Check, check and check. The sneak previews of tomorrow night's Grey's Anatomy, "New History," feature all of this and more. Let's start with Cristina telling Jackson how it's gonna be ...

Vintage Yang. Follow the jump to watch Cristina meet Owen's old friend Teddy, who he's brought on board at Seattle Grace, and see how Izzie greets Alex when she returns to work ...

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Thursday's Grey's Anatomy marks the debut of yet another new cast member, Kim Raver as Dr. Teddy Altman, an old friend of Owen's from the Iraq war and the new cardio god at Seattle Grace-Mercy West. Suffice it to say, Cristina is going to love her!

Elsewhere, Izzie returns to Seattle Grace with her high school mentor, who is seeking treatment for his dementia, and the stress of Richard's job starts to take an even bigger toll.

Click to enlarge some pictures from the episode, "New History" ...

Get ready for the latest installment of what is becoming an annual or even biannual tradition: the worlds of Grey's Anatomy and its spinoff Private Practice will cross over again.

Private Practice leading lady Kate Walsh is heading back to Grey’s Anatomy in January in a crossover involving Addison, Mark, and a patient played by guest star Leven Rambin.

The situation as we know it is as follows:

On Grey’s Anatomy half of the crossover, Dr. Mark Sloan (McSteamy, a.k.a. Eric Dane) pleads with Addison to come to Seattle and help perform surgery on Rambin's character.

One would assume that the girl is pregnant, given that Addison is the preeminent neonatal surgeon in, like, the whole country. But that has not been confirmed at this point.

Then, the story continues on Private Practice when, according to creator Shonda Rhimes, “complications arise and Mark takes [her] back down to L.A. for more surgery.”

As for Mark's connection to the new patient, whether sparks fly between Addison and Mark, and how Mark and Lexie are affected, that all remains to be seen. For now.

Are you excited for the latest Grey's Anatomy-Private Practice crossover?

We'll reserve judgment on this for now, but do you think they're overdoing it with these crossovers. By our quick calculations, this will be the fourth since April 2008:

• Addison returned to Seattle near the end of Season 5 of Grey's Anatomy. We forget the exact reason right now, which probably tells you all you need to know.
• Last season, Addison summoned Derek to treat her ailing brother, Archer (Grant Show). This story line continued for several episodes and on both programs.
• Just this fall, Bailey (Chandra Wilson) took a transplant patient to Los Angeles, where she resides, after she was unable to get the help needed in Seattle.

Last night's Grey's Anatomy was all about three children - a prematurely born baby, a terminal 10-year-old, and a 15-year-old whose drug use landed her in the ER - in dire straits.

Much like last week, there was a seemingly impossible case on the table, and the emotional stakes were high. Unlike Derek Shepherd, however, Arizona Robbins did not save a life.

But because of the way she carried herself, she may have saved countless lives down the road. How? For a full guide, check out our recap of "Invest in Love." Now, some thoughts:

Before touching on Arizona's big storyline, we must touch on Justin Chambers shirtless. You wish, right ladies? Yup, Dr. Alex Karev was forced to lose his shirt to save a baby's life.

Babies thrive on skin-on-skin contact, especially under duress, and as if Alex whispering to a preemie, "you're not alone," wasn't enough to make us swoon ... him shirtless? Wow.

We liked how Bailey mused that Karev would be good in pediatrics. It's almost like we've heard that before. Oh yeah, we have, three seasons ago, when he was working with Addy!

Cristina went rogue last night. It was kind of awesome.

Meanwhile, treating a teen who fell off a roof, Cristina goes rogue in the O.R. and Jackson has her back! She's testing Owen's patience and seems perfectly okay getting reamed out.

After all, she stepped in and performed invasive cardio procedure herself, even though she is technically unqualified and with two attendings screaming for her to stop. Rogue, alright.

Jackson thinks it's hot and later tries to plant a drunken kiss on her. She pulls back, but we're liking the direction this is headed ... a little romantic tension never hurt on this show.

The big star of the episode is Jessica Capshaw's Arizona, who treats 10-year-old Wallace. A proposed operation will only buy him two more months, so Robbins doesn't want to do it.

Until the Chief and a $25 million donation from Wallace's parents persuade her, that is. The surgery goes alright, but complications arise and he dies while Arizona tries to save him.

Arizona didn't save a life last night, but came through just the same.

This is where she really shined. Clearly furious with the huge dollar signs in the Chief's eyes, she told him how it is, and demanded to speak to the parents despite his objections.

She did, and given her obvious compassion, the parents decided to give the hospital $25 million anyway. With that money, she can make a lot of magic happen for years to come.

It was also Arizona's birthday, and she cried at the party Callie threw for her. We have to say, we love them together, and not just because they're lesbians. Because they're people.

They're just a great, believable and enjoyable couple to watch on screen who happens to be 100 percent female. Callie was second fiddle to Arizona last night, which was great, too.

Like last week, when it was Derek's storyline and Meredith just supporting him in bed, there doesn't have to be "couple" drama in every episode to make you appreciate one half.

Last week on Grey's Anatomy, Derek was front and center throughout "Give Peace a Chance." This week, with just as big a case hanging in the balance, it's Arizona's time to shine.

Here's a clip of Dr. Robbins, pediatric surgeon extraordinaire, telling peeps how she runs a different kind of show, and how pediatrics isn't just general surgery on a miniature scale:

Follow the jump for three more sneak previews from "Invest in Love," and see what Arizona and her team are up against ... as well as enormous financial stakes that may be involved:

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Promotional photos from this week's episode of Grey's Anatomy, "Invest in Love," show the gang in a festive mood. Or are they? Arizona is under a lot of pressure to save a patient.

Yes, that's always the case for a doctor. But one of this patient's parents has a donation of $25 million Seattle Grace may be able to garner. You can imagine how the Chief reacts.

Arizona, along with girlfriend Callie, is front and center in many of the photos below, as are Mark and Lexie. What a cute couple they make. What do you think they're celebrating? 

Click to enlarge the images below and tell us what you think...