grey s anatomy season finale

I am reminded why I don't regularly watch "Grey's Anatomy" by the bloodbath of its season finale, something of a tradition at the show. Shonda Rimes and crew like to shake things up at season''s end, but lately it's been particularly anoying how willing they are to bring in sensationalistic plots or ready-made disasters, all while the characters continue to banter emptily in a one-size-fits all clipped, slangy style.

This year it was a guy with a gun who was unhappy at the terminal treatment of his wife. He goes in and starts shooting randomly, but there's no hospital security force or others to track or subdue the guy. Even when he's outnumbered in a room, nobody thows a bedpan at his head or otherwise tries to gang up to subdue him. Instead, they let him prattle on and shoot people. What's with these Seattle cops? They're on the scene for hours and are just starting to enter the building as the episode ends.

And Rimes has targets on the back of everyone. It was just as last year when George and Izzy were both possibly dead. This year, some minor characters got offed and the core cast even seemed threatened.

Meredith's narration seems to hint she'll be the one shot since she pauses to refer to herself at the hospital in the past tense. Instead it's her husband the guy is gunning after. Alex gets it and rides in Rimes' elevator of death (she just can't get past that device) more minor charcteers drop like flies. Even so, the lesbian characters are bent on repairing their relationship as if people aren't being shot all around them.

But there is something extremely-offputting about the show, so willing to go all grisly on characters they built and had made viewers care about -- all in the service of May sweeps. Hospital shows are easily the most manipulative dramas on TV; it's so easy to bring in a kid in peril to twist the knife in a viewer's heart. But this kind of end of season overkill only shows contempt they for the fans.