Talk about drama - ABC needs to reimburse me for tissues!

I've been remiss of late in posting new blog entries, but I'm going to chalk that up to finale fever. Although, there's a new health issue that I imagine is sweeping the nation called Post-ABC Finale Stress Disorder. If you fear that any moment your favorite character could be killed off in epic fashion, if you suddenly feel like you're watching something ripped off from "E.R.," if you suddenly need to buy a lifetime supply of tissues "just in case," if you're worrying that all the hot characters are being killed off, if you're feeling a mixture of happiness and sadness that the Mercy Westers are mostly gone, you are suffering from Post-ABC Finale Stress Disorder, not to be confused with Post-Lost Finale Psychosis. Any avid ABC viewer, such as myself, is susceptible to either or both of these ailments. The recent heartbreakers include "Private Practice," "Brothers & Sisters," and "Grey's Anatomy." "Desperate Housewives" could be included in this group if you're extremely sensitive (which I am not) or extremely obsessed with John Barrowman (which I definitely am). However, for the sake of my blog, I am only going to give my thoughts on the first three shows. Especially since my only thoughts on the "Housewives" finale are basically "sad to see John Barrowman go; he needs a better gig on American TV" and "actually liked the serial strangler storyline in the end." That's one show cleared up! Now onto the ones that actually left a mark on the finale landscape this season.

"Private Practice"
Once again, I hate this term, but this show is my guilty pleasure. To tell the truth, I don't feel bad about watching this show; it's everyone else who wants me to feel bad about it. But much like "Desperate Housewives," it's entertaining because it's such a primetime soap opera. "Practice" more so due to the fact that I think everyone has hooked up with each other at least once on this show. But the finale was almost completely serious, following the aftermath of a car crash that landed Dell and Naomi and Sam's pregnant teen daughter Maya in the hospital. Unlike the previous season that left us with a cliffhanger regarding Violet's fate, this finale didn't leave anyone's fate hanging. Maya appeared to be the one in jeopardy, what with being pregnant as a teenager and being at risk for losing her ability to walk, but of course Dell couldn't get away unscathed. For those of us who frequent entertainment sites, we already knew that Chris Lowell was leaving the show. I had hoped that he would leave on a good note by going to UCLA medical school, but no. He has to die suddenly and tragically, after losing his wife in a traumatic meth explosion, only to leave his daughter Betsy an orphan. Meanwhile, Sam has to operate on and save the drunk driver who crashed into Dell and Maya. One the small happy side, Charlotte and Cooper finally get back together and get engaged, Addison gives up Pete so he can be with Violet, Violet and Pete plan out their custody agreement with Lucas, and Maya and her baby survive.

Biggest tearjerker moment: Dell, who basically knows he's going to die, tells Betsy that all the bad stuff in her life is happening early, meaning the rest of her life will be easy here on out in an effort to comfort her before he's gone.

"Brothers & Sisters"
Once again, TV addicts such as myself knew that Rob Lowe was leaving before he died at the end of the episode. But once again, that didn't make it any less heartbreaking. The promos were all focused on the big car crash, but like I suspected, it wasn't until the last five minute that it came into focus. The rest of the episode was normal Walker mayhem. Okay, a little less than usual, but there were still the usual clashes between family members. Saul dealt with Kevin and Scotty, gays of a new generation, and found out he was HIV positive. Like other people have said, it was a little sudden and after-school specialy, but at least Saul is getting something to do. I'd like for him to have something good happen to him after all his misery with Ojai and coming out at his age, but I guess he's just the show's punching bag. Nora and Sarah, who was mourning the loss of her Ojai job, joined Kitty on her campaign bus, which went as well as can be expected. We finally, finally, finally, find out what the deal is with Narrow Lake - it's the location of an apparently huge aquifer. The Walkers are in the water business now. I'm just glad they aren't going to drag out this Ojai thing anymore. Justin acted immature (what's new?). First he wants to be a doctor, then he wants to go back in the military, then he wants to go to Haiti and he wants Rebecca to drop everything and go with him. Rebecca understandably told him she had her own plans in life - get a job, get a house, etc. They decide to split and do their own things and meet back up later. All right then. The show has finally stopped showing Kevin as an immature, petty irritant, mainly because he hasn't had that much to do lately, but I'm hoping Justin will grow up soon and stop having these teenage temper tantrums. I hope Kevin gets a worthy storyline after he became unemployed. Scotty certainly seems to be doing well, opening his own restaurant with Saul. Because if it's one thing these people can do, it's run a family business (not entirely meant to be sarcastic. If two people in this family can be professional and put petty arguments aside, it's Scotty and Saul.)

I was glad they didn't have some giant cliffhanger where they left multiple people's fates up in the air over the summer break. Basically everyone was alright except for Holly, who was in bad condition but still alive, and Robert, who was in bad condition and died. Much like "Grey's Anatomy," the next season would be all about the grieving process. Well, unless they actually do this flashforward they've been talking about a la "Desperate Housewives." I'm not completely averse to the idea, as it would skip Kitty's grieving period, it would give them time to set up the new restaurant and new water business, Luc and Sarah will be in wedded bliss, and allow Justin some much-needed time to grow up in Haiti.

Biggest tearjerker moment: Robert tells Kitty than he was scared that after the heart attack he wouldn't be able to keep up with Evan. But after seeing Kitty with Evan, he knew they would all be okay. Kitty gets her one last moment to be strong for Robert.

"Grey's Anatomy"

How do I even begin to comment on that episode? How could I narrow down one heartbreaking moment? The entire episode, every single moment was heartbreaking. I think it's the first time in my life where I cried for two straight hours. My tiny recap/review here won't do the episode justice, but I know I'll ramble if I try to write an outline of the entire episode. One thing I can say I am thrilled about is that they didn't leave things on a cliffhanger. Last year, Izzie and George's lives were in the balance, but over the summer we heard which actor was or wasn't coming back so it wasn't that riveting to have that left open on the show. This year, we got an absolutely enthralling, engrossing story with deaths, but also many people who survived. Oh, let's face it, they mainly needed Gary Clark to kill off the Mercy Westers we didn't like. But man, did they get a send-off. Reed went first, with a simple shot to the head after snipping at Clark. It's sudden brutality was shocking. More shocking? The subsequent arrival of Alex, who was second to get shot that day. (Okay, third if you count the guy who we can assume hit Gary Clark's car earlier.) I was so terrified he would die. He's gotten screwed over so bad with Izzie, who left him for sort of, maybe, kind of, perhaps being a small factor in her losing her job. Yes, I understand Katherine Heigl wanted out, but I'm just going by the narrative on-screen here.

As for the other Mercy Westers, I was disappointed the irritating psycho-in-training April wasn't killed off. Percy got the most emotional send-off, though, when he bled out in the hallway when the elevators were turned off. It was odd having Mandy Moore there, but Chandra Wilson is one hell of an actress and she made that storyline truly horrifying. Avery, luckily, did not die, as he is the only Mercy Wester who really deserved to be added to the cast. He's charismatic, smart, handsome, and a quick thinker. He was brilliant, removing the monitors from Derek to simulate death to get Gary Clark to leave. I'm still scratching my head, trying to figure out how he got into the OR though.

Arizona and Callie, after much bickering, realized the severity of the situation and found their way around their baby issues. I hated having to make Arizona "realize she really wanted children" since women who don't want children are often seen as defective, but I want Callie and Arizona together and am glad that she changed for a damn good reason. Facing death certainly puts things in perspective. Many people were ticked that Meredith had a miscarriage, but as sad as it was, it was at least completely believable. When you're dealing with the kind of physical stress she had that day, it would be almost amazing if she didn't miscarry. I wasn't even in the scene and that Gary-Derek stand-off had me tense as could be. I was terrified they would kill off Derek and make Meredith all dark and twisty again, but I am so glad they didn't. Meredith has grown a lot as a character these past few seasons and I really applaud "Grey's Anatomy" for allowing a character to change and evolve. On a random note, I'm surprised more people didn't complain about the very political moment between Richard and Gary about how easy it was to buy a gun and ammo. I expected the gun rights people to be up in arms over that (bad pun, I know. Trying to lighten the mood!) And while I do understand people's complaints about the SWAT team being ineffectual, Seattle Grace is a big freaking hospital! And with all those people, and all their protocol, I can actually believe that it would take that long for them to clear the hospital. Also, I imagine all of this was taking place in a small amount of time but seemed a lot longer because of the danger and drama of it all.

Biggest tearjerker moment: Yeah, right, like I could choose. Okay, I'll choose. The worst moment for me was Percy's death in the hallway. Bailey and Mandy Moore worked so hard to keep him alive until they could get help, only to find that the elevators were turned off and they would have to watch/let him die. Then he asks Bailey to find Reed and tell her that he was crazy about her, when little do they know that she died already much earlier. I never liked you, Percy, but I mourned your tragic death.

Looks like we're going to spend a lot of time grieving this fall...