"Grey's Anatomy" Season Finale: Did It Run Out of Gas?

I don’t watch “Grey’s Anatomy,” yet somehow I always end up watching the season finale. Usually I just tune into the last 15 minutes or so to see how it ends. But last night, I got sucked into watching the entire two hours (minus 15 minutes or so)…

Warning: If you have not yet seen the season finale of “Grey’s Anatomy,” stop reading now…

You’ve got to hand it to that Shonda Rhimes. She does know how to get you watching. Meredith’s opening narration, in which she said she “loved” the hospital, past tense, really made you wonder if she was going to survive this episode or not. And then you wondered if maybe Derek wouldn’t make it. Or Alex. Or…

The first hour was pure adrenaline. And I mean that as a compliment. At first I thought they were just ripping off the “ER” episode where Carter got stabbed, but it turned out to be much more than that as many characters got taken down. Since Michael O’Neill usually plays the cop, or the Secret Service agent, or the FBI agent, it was interesting to see him on a murderous rampage. But he played it well. Also playing their part well was guest star Mandy Moore, who was called on to do a lot of emotional scenes. And she was great doing them.

There were several key moments that were beautifully directed. When Bailey suddenly started sliding out from under the bed when the shooter found her. Or when the shooter appeared in the OR. The dramatic tension built beautifully.

But then that ending…

I can totally appreciate and respect the show’s desire not to end in a cliffhanger (as it normally does), but so much more could’ve been done. The show purposely left us wondering whether Webber or the shooter were shot. But instead of revealing that in dramatic fashion, we just saw Webber strolling through the hospital. Where was the shot of the shooter being wheeled out on a gurney so that all the principals could dramatically watch him leave? Or the shot of Webber dramatically holding the shooter’s flask while the shooter lay dead in front of him?

I’ve never been a fan for introducing a character just to kill them, so I am certainly not a fan of making a character pregnant just for them to lose the baby in the same episode. And I know the undramatic fashion in which Meredith reacted was supposed to show us her coolness under pressure, but I thought it just came off wrong. And the final shot of her throwing her positive pregnancy test in the trash? A real bummer ending after all of the drama.

And I know that drama wouldn’t have happened otherwise, but can I just say that was the worst SWAT team in history! They let the guy get away numerous times—even after shooting him. And they were supposed to be evacuating floor by floor, so what floor was Bailey on that no one got to her? And I appreciate the drama of Bailey crying and freaking out (which will probably earn Chandra Wilson an Emmy), but according to that absolutely pointless montage of 911 calls, Bailey called 911, which means she had access to a phone. So why didn’t she use it to call someone to tell them to send the SWAT team to her floor?

I thought it was a very strong hour and 50 minutes. But for me, it just ran out of dramatic gas at the end…

What do you guys think? Do you think it was the best “Grey’s” episode ever as many are touting or were you too disappointed in the ending?