Badass for Real

May 19, 2013

Now that the dust has settled a bit on the finale of Grey’s Anatomy season 9, I’d like to offer my only comment regarding the fate & future of Callie Torres & Arizona Robbins.

First, let’s go over the finale. It was a heartbreaking episode for sure for Calzona fans. I liked the creative way that the infidelity was revealed. Most of us didn’t see that coming prior to the start of the finale. I wondered; if the scrub-top mix up didn’t happen would Arizona have confessed? How long would she wait to do so? Lauren seems to want to be a part of Arizona’s life which I find to be pathetic and sad. When you like someone in a romantic way and find out they are not available you do not continue that pursuit. It doesn’t have to be out of morality or respect for that person, it’s about self-respect. Especially in the case of Lauren and Arizona as they had no time to build a relationship strong enough for Lauren to lose all abandon. It wasn’t like she was in love with Arizona. What she did was horrendous and speaks volumes of her character. Of course Arizona is responsible for her part in the infidelity but Lauren preyed on Arizona’s vulnerability & the storm crisis lent an opportunity for her to isolate and play upon that. Do people really want to see someone like her with our beloved Arizona? Arizona deserves better than that.

When Callie is confronted by the truth it was a great scene. In and of it self was no so ‘gasp’ worthy but parts of what Arizona said was certainly a surprise. ‘…stick out your leg, grab a bone saw and let’s even the score!’ This was surprising to me. Perhaps because I can’t imagine someone that suffered with that as much as Arizona had, going through an amputation and all that that entails would wish that on anyone, let alone someone they love. Arizona also seemed surprised she said it. If she had remorse for anything this was the only time I saw it. I see where the pain and anger comes from for Arizona I just don’t sympathize with her decision to relate it to her infidelity. They are in the middle of an argument about Arizona cheating and we take a detour back to angry Arizona in relation to the plane crash and the leg. Perhaps it was the way this scene was juxtaposed as if the infidelity is comparable to having one’s leg amputated. The final part of that scene confirms the truth in that as they’ve both now suffered a great loss. ‘…even the score…’

I agree with a lot of people that we could have gone back to this without Arizona having to cheat on her wife but it is TV and a character like Arizona cheating is obviously a bigger way to sell drama. It’s hard to swallow this as being related to her PTSD or anger because it’s so very out of character. Imagine if when Cristina was struggling with her PTSD she went to Owen and said, ‘lets have babies.’ Seriously, no one would buy that! Arizona is not Cristina and Shonda is not writing about real people which will always be her default ‘get out of jail free’ card.

I like that it finally occurred to Callie that there is a problem in her relationship with Arizona. Callie can often seem aloof or perhaps advocate for her wife’s recovery in ways that may seem counterproductive. Since I’ve neither been in either of their places I can only speculate that Callie sometimes is so concerned with not rocking the boat she doesn’t realize it’s already capsized.

So now that this ship is seemingly going down what do I want to see? Of course as a true fan of Calzona I want them to be together. The façade of their relationship goes back further than the plane crash. I hear people saying, ‘well Callie never blamed Arizona for the car crash that she actually did cause.’ True she did not, but maybe she should have. Are we supposed to deduce that Arizona values her personal freedom & the control that having both legs afforded her more than her life? Whereas Callie was just so happy to be alive she did not suffer any negative feelings towards Arizona from how she ended up with major brain, heart & obstetrical trauma; along with almost losing her child? Being alive mattered more to Callie than to Arizona?? I don’t think so, but this is my point. Shonda doesn’t delve into the layers. Shonda in similarity to Callie likes to keep things somewhat superficial. To the point that when she peels back some layers we all freak out and go WTF?

If Callie and Arizona are to get back together I don’t want it to be hastily portrayed in an effort to move the plot forward. I want it to be a process. I want them to go all the way to the bottom before they can start to resurface. I want to feel the burn of the angst then the hope of reconciliation followed by the joy of reunion. (Can you tell I read a lot of fan fic?!) I want it to be mutual; I don’t want to see either one of them begging the other for forgiveness and a ‘second chance’. They’re both victims of their own ignorance. So deal with their issues, even if that is going to hurt more for a while. Lose the pretentious façade that has followed this couple since Africa. If one day they hate each other and the next they are back together I won’t believe it. I need to believe it. It need to know finally when they are together that the animosity of their past is no more. If the writers are unable to go to that depth well than don’t even try. I want them to be happy. Even if that means they don’t get back together. I need to believe in them before I can believe in MFEO. Maybe I’m just too much of a dreamer or maybe I invest too much into fake people. That is probably true but if your reading this maybe you are too.