By Jen Connors

Tonight marks a huge milestone in the seven-season history of Grey’s Anatomy. After seven seasons, Grey’s has gone musical for tonight’s episode, aptly titled “Song Beneath the Song.” Beware of SPOILERS after the jump.

In last week’s cliffhanger ending, Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez) and Arizona Robbins (Jessica Capshaw) were on their way to a bed and breakfast as Callie’s baby shower gift to Arizona. Callie, roughly seven months pregnant, received a text from Mark Sloan (Eric Dane), her best friend and the father of her unborn child. Annoyed at the constant presence of Mark in her life, Arizona throws Callie’s phone into the backseat. Callie removes her seatbelt to retrieve her phone to comfort her friend in his time of need as Arizona complains about how Mark gets more of Callie than she does. Taking her eyes off of the road, Arizona asks Callie to marry her. Before Callie has a chance to respond, a truck hits their car in a head-on collision.

In a few clips released over the last several days, some of the songs used in the episode can be seen in context. “Chasing Cars,” heard on Grey’s in the second season finale, is performed while Callie and Arizona arrive at Seattle Grace. “How To Save A Life,” from season two’s “Superstition,” takes place as everyone in the OR tries to save Callie and the baby. Some of the other songs are a little harder to decipher. Chyler Leigh’s Lexie Grey sings “Breathe (2AM),” which was first heard when her half-sister Meredith was involved in a bomb scare in the show’s post Superbowl two-parter, “It’s The End Of The World As We Know It.” Lexie, currently involved in a love triangle with Mark and Jackson Avery, could be singing this during a particularly trying moment where she could be torn between her love for Mark despite the pregnancy and her attraction to Jackson. “Grace,” another song from the second season finale, was playing when Denny Duquette died from complications stemming from a heart transplant.

The songs, though obviously not performed by people who sing all the time, are all well-done and show exactly what Grey’s is about.  All are performed in the same understated way that they were previously used in the show. Doing a musical episode is risky for any show, but I think Grey’s can pull it off. After last season’s bloodbath of a finale, the show has seen a new life, proving that after a few missteps over the years (Rose, Izzie’s hallucinations, the ill-fated pair known as Gizzie), this veteran is back and better than ever. Judging by the tone of the songs and the previous contexts they were found in, tonight’s episode is bound to be emotional. I would definitely recommend downloading the whole album. Check back tomorrow for my full thoughts on both the episode and the music after seeing it in context!

 

UPDATE: Full thoughts here!