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Secrets can't hide in science. Medicine has a way of exposing the lies. Within the walls of the hospital, the truth is stripped bare. How we keep our secrets outside the hospital – well, that’s a little different. One thing is certain, whatever it is we're trying to hide; we're never ready for that moment when the truth gets naked. That's the problem with secrets – like misery, they love company. They pile up and up until they take over everything, until you don't have room for anything else, until you're so full of secrets you feel like you're going to burst. The thing people forget is how good it can feel when you finally set secrets free. Whether good or bad, at least they're out in the open, like it or not. And once your secrets are out in the open, you don't have to hide behind them anymore. The problem with secrets is even when you think you're in control, you're not.

Who's Zoomin' Who? is the ninth and final episode of the first season and the 9th overall episode of Grey's Anatomy.

Short Summary[]

Burke operates on his friend. George gets syphilis from Olivia, Izzie and Cristina become body snatchers, Meredith finds it harder to look after her mother and Derek operates on Richard's brain while someone from his past crops up.

Full Summary[]

George=syph

George reads about his rash.

George is sitting on the edge of the bath naked, reading a book about rashes when Izzie knocks, telling him to hurry up. She asks what he's doing but when he replies that it is private, she laughs and says she'll wait.

In her room, Meredith quietly talks to a nurse at her mothers nursing home but hangs up as Derek turns around in his sleep and wakes up.

George emerges from the bathroom and Izzie tells him there is no need to be ashamed (presuming he was masturbating). Meredith walks out wondering why they are arguing and Izzie explains she caught George playing with Jimmy and the twins. They all walk away and Derek emerges with his ringing phone but he ignores it.

Cristina talks to a doctor about her scheduled abortion on the 16th but hangs up as Burke comes around the corner. Burke asks her why she didn't answer her page the previous night and she considers telling him about the pregnancy but walks off instead. The chief walks past her, swaying slightly and rubbing his head.

George talks quietly to Olivia in a corner as the chief passes asking if she feels ok. He starts to tell her he feels a bit itchy but Izzie interrupts. George and Olivia leave and Izzie realizes that George wasn't playing with Jimmy and the twins. She looks confused, wondering what he was doing. George talks to Alex in the locker room and asks him to inspect his rash because he can't get close enough to be sure what it is. Alex kneels down, inspects his penis, pats him on the shoulder, tells him its syphilis and walks off.

Burke, Alex, and George treat a patient snaking a camera up his mojo. Bill is a friend of Burke's and Burke tells them only to worry about the baby in her uterus. They finish up and schedule a CT.

In another OR, Meredith looks up worriedly at Derek in the gallery while she helps the chief and Bailey. Miranda and Meredith look worriedly at Webber as he complains about the lighting but they continue with the surgery.

Cristina and Izzie look at a patient with an abnormally large abdomen and he explains it has been growing for a while.

George asks for the bloodwork of George O'Malley and Izzie plucks it out of his hands, asking who has syphilis and if it isn't surgical why does he have the bloodwork. He pulls her into a room and draws the shades. Izzie makes fun of George but tries to calm him saying a few doses of penicillin will get rid of it.

In surgery, the chief drops a surgical instrument and blinks rapidly. He steps back and allows Bailey to finish.

Patient(WZW)

Mr. Franklin.

After getting the CT results and discussing George's penis, Alex and George leave to get Burke.

Cristina and Izzie walk into Franklin's room and tells him he has ascites. He and his wife look worried but their daughter looks dis-interested, saying it is because he drinks a lot.

While looking at the results, Alex and Burke debate over what something looks like and Alex jokes that it looks like an ovary. When George walks in and hands Burke other results, he is surprised to learn that it is an ovary.

Cristina and Izzie update Bailey on Mr. Franklin, after testing them, she tells them they can do a paracentesis. As she walks off, Cristina and Izzie celebrate.

Alex and George walk down a flight of stairs, George and Olivia kiss and after a moment or so of being ignored, Alex leaves. As they kiss, George breaks apart and as he starts to talk to her she worriedly ask if he is breaking up. He insists that he isn't. After an awkward few minutes of trying to tell her, he eventually blurts out that he has syphilis. Shocked, she walks away quickly.

Derek walks into the chiefs office and asks him to explain his behavior. The chief says that a few weeks ago he was operating and the vision in his right eye became blurry. After a few hours, it was fine but the problem came back again. He lets Derek run some tests but insists that he keeps them secret.

Alex and George walk outdoors with their trays, past Olivia's table who is apparently ignoring George. They sit down with Cristina, Izzie and Meredith, George is shocked to discover that all three of them know about his syphilis but Alex convinces him that all the women will think he is a "player" now.

Georgegetspenicillen

George gets penicillin.

Burke enters Bill's room and explains that the mass was not a tumor but an ovary. Initially Bill is shocked but Burke tells him they can remove it and it won't make a difference to anything, he is still a man.

In another room, George is bent over a gurney while Alex prepares to give him some penicillin. Meredith complains that Alex is doing it wrong so he hands the needle to Meredith and leaves. Izzie and Cristina quickly follow and after Meredith is finished, George leaves angrily.

While Meredith quietly talks to one of her mother's nurses. Derek and the chief walk down a corridor and Derek tells Webber he has an MRI scheduled. As Derek leaves Patricia appears and tells the chief they have a situation.

The chief has many doctors in front of him, he complains that three interns, four residents and six nurses on the surgical floor were diagnosed with syphilis. Olivia and George look at each other from opposite ends of the room. After a stern lecture, Webber gets Patricia to perform a safe sex demonstration with a condom and banana. Derek slips into the room at quietly asks the chief to come down for the MRI.

Cristina waits in a line when Burke sees her and asks why she is avoiding him. She says she isn't, she is just waiting in the syph line, he tells her she doesn't have to be there and he then asks if he should. She says no and they both get out of the line and head in opposite directions. Izzie joins her and they go to Mr. Franklin's room.

In Mr. Franklin's room, they inject him with an anesthetic and tell them that for now, all they have to do is wait.

Phone

Meredith.

Derek and Richard examine his MRI scans and see a tumor on his optic nerve, Derek schedules a secret surgery for that night, the chief leaves as Meredith enters for Derek to let her in on the secret.

In Mr. Franklin's room, Izzie and Cristina notice he seems to have a lot of fluids, Izzie checks his pulse and discovers he has none. Cristina hits the code button while Izzie starts CPR, the code team runs in a moment later but it is too late. Cristina and Izzie leave, Izzie scared that it was their fault and they missed something but Bailey reassures them that they did everything they could have and should have. Cristina asks when the autopsy will happen but Bailey tells her there won't be one because the family didn't want one. Cristina gets annoyed, complaining she wanted to know what the cause was.

Derek runs up to Bailey and Meredith in the hall. Bailey asks him to tell the chief she will be there for his surgery and when she leaves, Meredith asks Derek if she should get tested because technically, they never had any rules. He assured her she doesn't have to and that they are practically a condom ad anyway, as they walk away, Derek's phone rings again but he ignores it.

In the O.R, Burke operates on Bill. Dr. Knox tells Burke that she just has to sew up the perforation on the bladder wall but stops, she then tells Burke that although Bill's wife is pregnant, Bill is sterile and the baby can't be his.

Izzie and Cristina sit down with Mr. Franklin's wife and daughter and try and convince them to give consent for an autopsy. The mother considers it but her daughter, Alice, says no.

In an unused corridor, Izzie tells Cristina that unless she wants to be known as the new 007 they should do the autopsy, his wife clearly wanted it. Despite Meredith's warning, she caves and agrees with Izzie. Meredith gives up but tells them that Bailey will be busy from around 7 to 11. She then runs off.

Illegal harvest

The illegal autopsy.

Derek walks into his O.R to see the Chief and Bailey prepping for his surgery.

In another room, Izzie worries about being a body snatcher having stolen, Mr. Franklin's body while Cristina props open a textbook and begins to cut him open.

Derek, Bailey and Meredith finish up the chief's surgery, Bailey tells her that it went well but if they did make a mistake he will be blind forever. Bailey asks Meredith to page Cristina and Izzie but as Meredith tries to cover for them, Bailey realizes she is lying, asks another doctor to finish up and leaves to find them.

Outside Bill's room, Burke argues with Holly, she tells him that although the baby isn't his and she cheated on him, they are happy and if he is Bill's friend, he won't tell him. Burke then says that as a friend he won't tell Bill but as a doctor, he has to.

Meredith holds a conversation with Ms. Henry apologizing for not coming but Ms. Henry just tells her that her mother remembered her that day, asking when she got off work. Derek walks up to her so Meredith quickly hangs up. All of a sudden, Meredith cracks. She tells Derek that her mother is not travelling or writing a book, she has extremely advanced Alzheimer's. Derek kisses her and smoothens her hair. From inside his room, the chief sees them and doesn't look happy.

Bailey storms in on Cristina and Izzie telling them that they completely disregarded the patient's family's wishes and also were technically committing assault. She asks if they have anything to say to her and Izzie holds up a giant heart weighing 600 grams, grudgingly Bailey lets them run some tests.

Meredith walks into the chief's room and is happy to discover he can still see but he warns her to stay away from Derek and that she is making a mistake but she insists that she isn't.

Alexattacked

George attacks Alex.

Izzie, Cristina and Bailey sit with Alice and Rebecca Franklin, Alice threatens to sue but Cristina interrupts, telling her that Mr. Franklin died from a genetic disease called hemochromatosis, not from his history of heavy drinking. Worried that Alice might have it, they ask for a blood test to see if Alice has it so it can be cured quickly and Izzie complies but slyly hands out the autopsy form for her to sign first.

George sees Burke talk to Bill.

Olivia enters the locker room and tells George that before they got together she was seeing Alex but broke it off after realizing how much she liked him. Crazed, George turns around and punches Alex, screaming "You gave me syphilis?!".

Meredith enters the lobby where Derek waits for her. They debate on what to do for the night.

Addisonarrives

Mrs. Shepherd

Derek turns around to see a red-haired woman. He apologizes to Meredith as the woman walks towards them. She asks Derek why he was avoiding her call, and then introduces herself to Meredith: "Hi, I'm Addison Shepherd. And you must be the woman who's been screwing my husband?"

Cast[]

Main Cast[]

Guest Stars[]

Co-Starring[]

Medical Notes[]

George O'Malley[]

  • Diagnosis:
    • Syphilis
  • Treatment:
    • Penicillin

George contracted syphilis from Olivia. It was treated with penicillin.

Richard Webber[]

  • Diagnosis:
    • Tumor
  • Treatment:
    • Tumor resection

Webber started to have blurriness in his vision, so Derek ran an MRI, which revealed a tumor pressing on his optic nerve. Derek secretly operated to remove the tumor. Richard woke up after the surgery able to see properly.

Bill Adams[]

  • Diagnosis:
    • Gonadal hermaphroditism
    • Blind vas deferens
  • Treatment:
    • Oophorectomy

Bill was in the hospital with blood in his urine. They found a mass, which was pressing on his bladder, but it didn't look like a tumor. It was revealed to be an ovary. They scheduled surgery to remove it. In surgery, the doctor discovered that Bill had blind vas deferens, meaning he is infertile.

Webber's Patient[]

  • Diagnosis:
  • Treatment:
    • Colectomy

Webber was operating on a patient and said they'd have to removed most of the colon.

Jordan Franklin[]

  • Diagnosis:
    • Ascites
    • Liver disease
    • Hemochromatosis
  • Treatment:
    • Paracentesis

Jordan came in with a bloated abdomen. They diagnosed ascites, fluid build up, probably due to liver disease. They planned a procedure to relieve the fluid. However, Jordan died during this procedure. Without consent, Izzie and Cristina did an autopsy, which showed that he had an unusually large heart. They diagnosed him with hemochromatosis, a genetic disorder.

Hospital employees[]

  • Diagnosis:
    • Syphilis
  • Doctors:
  • Treatment:

Three interns, four residents, and six nurses were diagnosed with syphilis.

Alice Franklin[]

  • Diagnosis:
  • Doctors:
  • Treatment:

The doctors tested Alice for hemochromatosis after discovering that her father had it.

Ellis Grey[]

  • Diagnosis:
    • Alzheimer's disease
  • Doctors:
  • Treatment:

Ellis's facility called Meredith to invite her to a family dinner. Meredith was unable to come, but the facility called again and said that Ellis was lucid and had been asking for her.

Music[]

Song Performer Scene
"Big as the Sky" A.M. Sixty
  • George is in the bathroom, examining himself while looking at a book called. Rashes, Hives, and Skin Eruptions.
  • Izzie is waiting for him to finish.
  • Meredith talks to Ms. Henry on the phone about her mother.
  • Izzie picks on George.
  • Derek gets a phone call and doesn't answer.
  • Cristina tells the clinic she knows all her options and made her decision.
  • Burke and Cristina talk.
  • George and Olivia talk.
  • Izzie interrupts.
"End of the World Party" Medeski, Martin, & Wood
  • Alex prepares to give George a shot of penicillin.
  • Meredith takes over as Izzie comes in, followed by Cristina.
  • George pulls up his pants and leaves.
"The Dog Song" Nellie McKay
  • Cristina is waiting in line to get tested for syphilis.
  • Burke tells her she doesn't need to get tested and she tells him he doesn't either.
  • Cristina and Izzie start the procedure on Mr. Franklin.
"Naked as We Came" Iron & Wine
  • Izzie and Cristina tell Mrs. Franklin and her daughter about Mr. Franklin.
  • They fight over whether or not they want an autopsy.
  • Meredith, Izzie, and Cristina are arguing whether or not to perform the autopsy.
  • Meredith tells them when to do it and leaves.
"Whatever Gets You Through Today" The Radio
  • Mrs. Franklin signs the consent form for the autopsy.
  • George watches as Burke tells Bill the truth.
  • Olivia tells George that she got the syphilis from Alex and George attacks Alex.
  • Meredith agrees to a steak dinner with Derek.
  • Derek has something to tell her.
  • Derek sees a woman come into the hospital.
  • He apologizes to Meredith.
  • The woman is Derek's wife, Addison.

Notes and Trivia[]

  • This episode's title originated from the song Who's Zoomin' Who, originally sung by Aretha Franklin.
  • This episode marks the first appearance of Dr. Addison Montgomery-Shepherd.
  • This episode scored 22.22 million viewers, which was the first time an episode was viewed by more than 20 million people. It's also the most watched episode of season 1.[1]
  • The prep dates for this episode were January 17, 2005 to January 26, 2005.[source?]
  • Filming for this episode was scheduled from January 27, 2005 to February 7, 2005.[source?]
  • The Grey Matter blog post for this episode was written in retrospect during the hiatus between season two and three.
  • Actress Sandra Oh (Cristina Yang) pronounces the patient's disease as "hematomachrosis" while breaking the news to the family, as opposed to the actual name of the disease, hemochromatosis.
  • Patty McCormack (Rebecca Franklin) and Jack Shearer (Jordan Franklin) also appeared in the same episode of "ER" (S6E17, Viable Options).

Gallery[]

Episode Stills[]

Quotes[]

George: I seem to be having this skin thing going on, like a rash, really. And I think I know what it is, but I can't get close enough to tell for sure.
Alex: Let's see it.
George: It's kinda located in an, um, you know, private...
Alex: You're a doctor, George. It's called a penis. You have a rash on your penis?
George: I think I can describe it. Um, it's k... red.
Alex: Look, just come on. Just show me your junk so we can get this over with.

Derek: Somewhere out there is a steak with your name on it, and maybe a bottle of wine.
Meredith: This is why I keep you around.

Cristina: Hey Syph-boy!
George: You told her?
Izzie: Just Cristina.
Alex: Syph-boy. It's got a nice ring to it. Kind of like Super-boy, only diseased.

Bailey: You are lying. I know you're lying. You know how I know? Cause you're a bad liar!

Derek: How goes our special super secret silent sunset surgery?I've been practicing that.
Bailey: You have too much time on your hands.

Cristina: You know, I think he really likes Typhoid Mary.
Meredith: Not many budding relationships survive a good dose of VD.

Cristina: Oh, what are we doing?
Izzie: We are saving George from a future of festering sores and insanity.
Cristina: Cute butt.
Meredith: Told you.
Izzie: It is cute. Like a baby's.
George: You know I've spent hours, days, years, imagining myself half naked in a room with three women? The reality is so much better.

George: What am I gonna do about Olivia?
Izzie: Well, for starters, stop sleeping with her. Unless, you want that thing to fall off.
George: That's twice that you trash talked the girl I could one day potentially lo- well, not love, but like a whole lot.
Izzie: If she gave it to you, you have to tell her.
George: Three.
Izzie: Fine! She didn't give it to you. She was a virgin when you met. You still have to tell her so she can get tested.

Cristina: If I miss a real procedure because of this case, they're gonna call me 007, because I killed you.

Preston: You're avoiding me.
Cristina: I'm busy.. at work. I am working.
Preston: Why are you in this line?
Cristina: It's the syphilis line.
Preston: You don't need to be in this line.
Cristina: I don't?
Preston: There's no one else. That surprises you?
Cristina: Nothing surprises me.
Preston: Do I need to be in this line?
Cristina: No.

Addison: Hi. I'm Addison Shepherd. (She shakes hands with Meredith.)
Meredith: Shepherd?
Addison: And you must be the woman who's been screwing my husband.

See Also[]

A complete overview of this episode's crew can be found here.

The Grey Matter blog post on this episode can be found here.


References[]

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