TV REVIEW: Grey’s Anatomy Shows Calzona “Bend & Break”

After one of the best Grey’s ever last week, the series follows it up with an episode light on Meredith drama and heavy on that rollercoaster of a relationship we call Calzona. Am I the only one that feels like an emotional trainwreck after an Arizona/Callie knock down drag out? Tonight is leaving me in need of therapy after watching them go through therapy throughout “Bend & Break.”

The episode begins with a Callie narration discussing the “triad of death, the point of no return” in a surgery where you have to just step back, let the body rest, and see if you can find a solution.” Cut to Calzona arguing and screaming in front of a therapist. Time to see if that body of a relationship is DOA or still has some signs of life.

Break Time

The episode centers around Calzona in therapy, trying to overcome their problems, their many, many problems, in order to salvage their relationship. Therapist is a no-nonsense kind of girl who smiles once a year, the day after Christmas when all those damn festivities are finally over.

Our gals fight it out in therapy with more arguing going on than talking. Arizona finally stops to say, “I love when you talk to a patient and it’s like they’re the only person in the room, when you bite your lower lip, when you use the voices when you read to Sophia. I love when you smile in your sleep and it’s the first thing I see when I wake up.” Callie starts crying. We start crying. Aw, all will be alright with our favorite girls who like girls on TV.

Then they start arguing again. Did I mention a rollercoaster?

The next therapy session Dr. No Sex (the name will make sense in a minute) admits, “we’re not getting anywhere. Have you ever considered a break? It can be helpful… In therapy I find that couples come to these sessions either because one person wants out and can’t tell the other person or they both desperately want it to work.”

“Well, we want to make it work. Right?” asks Callie.

After a little hesitation, Arizona says “yes” but then admits she does want to take a break. Callie’s shocked but finally agrees to 30 days apart. Only it’s not really apart because Dr. No Sex lays out the rules of the separation road: they are supposed to stay under the same roof but live separate lives, no talking, no communicating unless an emergency. Most importantly, no sex with other people or with each other. I give them 30 minutes.

Callie tries to talk to Arizona in the kitchen after one night. The blonde doesn’t say anything, keeping those vows of silence. So this thing is on.

ABC Television Network. (ABC/Adam Taylor)
SARA RAMIREZ

Shiny Happy Arizona

Things start off shaky with Arizona but quickly move into the funzone. Robbins is still doing this fellowship thing under Geena Davis. Dr. Boss does not play around about her fetal surgeries.

“You’re late,” she reprimands Arizona.

“I was checking on a NICU patient,” the blonde explains.

“Don’t care,” answers Dr. Boss, adding, “Robbins, you have an impeccable record as a pediatric surgeon. But as a fetal surgeon… a big fat zero.”

Things begin to shift for Arizona as she spends time with friends, like April, and begins to impress Boss Lady with her skill and humility, even garnering a *gasp* compliment. Dr. Boss says she’s going to take the lead on the next surgery. Arizona’s giddy.

Sad, Sad Callie

It’s a dark day, or 30 days, in hell for Callie. She’s not shining at work, so she decides to get drunk with Meredith. They bond over shots, spouses who don’t speak to them, and singing about vaginas. Misery loves company.

Work life is mirroring the personal. She treats a culinary student injured in a noodle making machine (this is Grey’s). Now the girl has returned in excruciating pain and Callie can’t figure out why.

Later, we see Callie watching Arizona sleep. Blondie wakes up and they almost violate the most important rule. They just kissed. Therapist is not happy when she hears about this. Dr. No Sex says, “You have to follow the rules for the full thirty days.”

Day 16 of the separation and Meredith asks Callie how the “diet” is going. They talk about missing “cheeseburgers” while operating on a patient with a cancerous hip. We know how they all love their cheeseburgers on Grey’s. After their surgery, they go out for actual cheeseburgers. Slicing into a pickle they find a solution for the patient needing a hip replacement. Maybe this is a brand new day for Callie too.

(ABC/Adam Taylor)
SARA RAMIREZ, ELLEN POMPEO

Shiny Happy Callie

The relationship tide begins to turn when Arizona admits that she was upset and jealous when she found out Callie didn’t come home. Callie is thrilled that she was crazy jealous. “Does this mean this thing might actually be working?”

By Day 29 Meredith and Callie are jamming at work, rocking and rolling on the hip replacement guy.

The culinary student shows up again, this time having tried to kill herself. Derek finds the cause. She’s developed cysts on her spine. He tells Callie, “This problem is not your fault. It goes way beyond what you can control.” Hmm, the cysts or the relationship?

Sexy music plays in the Calzona household and they finally have some “cheeseburgers” – big time. They vow to not tell rule follower Dr. No Sex.

Day 30 and Arizona is taking the lead on the huge surgery that Dr. Boss promised her. She hesitates, so Geena Davis has the other fellow take over. To top it off, she gets a tongue lashing, “Today you embarrassed me for the second time… something like this happens again, you’re out.”

The separation is over and we hear Callie’s narration again, “Once the chaos subsides we have to go back, take another look, can this body be put back together? We make the body whole again.”

Arizona is ready to make their relationship whole again. “I understand why we did this, to make us stronger, to make us better. We’ve come a long way. I love you, Calliope. I need my anchor. I need you. You are the only thing I’ll ever need.” Wow, Robbins has gone full circle and has landed where Callie started.

Callie cries and cries and cries with the sweet Arizona confession. She has a speech of her own. “The last 30 days have taught me so much…. I felt like I was gonna be suffocated. The last several weeks I have laughed more, done more, enjoyed myself more and I finally feel free.” This is not going the way I thought it would. “By being free I can see now that constantly trying to fix us the thing that’s been killing me slowly. I don’t want to fix us anymore…I want so much for you Arizona, for both of us. So much more than this. More than being stuck with someone who feels stuck. I want you to feel free too.”

Arizona is stunned. We’re stunned.

The last bit of narration has Callie saying “No matter how hard we try…” Then Arizona’s voice, “We have to realize …” Callie finishes with “Some things just can’t be fixed.”

This Calzona-centric episode left me sad, yet feeling a sense of deja vu. It’s like we’ve done it all before. They fight, break up, get back together. It’s kind of their go to move. What did you think of “Bend and Break?” Is Calzona broken beyond repair or is it a case of been there, done that, and our gal pals will rise from the ashes with another relationship resurrection?

Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursdays on ABC at 7 pm