First of all, for all those blind-eyed people out there who claim that Hahn & Torres had no chemistry?
Please, watch these videos:
| The Erica Hahn survival guide |
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First of all, for all those blind-eyed people out there who claim that Hahn & Torres had no chemistry? Please, watch these videos:
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Now on to fixing the biggest mistakes the writers did with Erica (and Callica) in s5: |
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Apparently, the writers decided they didn't want to push the sex part of their relationship, so instead they built up a gay angst-driven storyline that kind of annihilated most of the romance between them. I, for once, would have preferred to see season five start with Yang getting home to find an all too familiar trenchcoat lying next to Callie's leather jacket on the living room floor, while hearing voices and giggles coming out of Callie's bed room. That would have been a great starting point for some humorous bits as well as the Callica relationship as such, without having to turn this sweet romance into a sappy dyke drame and making such a big deal out of the whole "lesbian thing". But, whatever... let's just pretend for a minute it was realistic that Callie and Erica kissed at the end of season 4 and then went separate ways... thus giving the writers a nice platform to screw up, which they ultimately did. Would there still have been a chance to make this relationship work on-screen? To portray them in a better way as a couple? To stop Erica from being such a b*tch in some of her last scenes? To actually avoid having ABC get rid of her for a multiple of (stupid) reasons? To see her actually "survive" season five? The answer is Yes, and I am going to suggest how that could have been accomplished by simply altering some of the given scenes she was involved in: |
| 5x01/02 - Dream a Little Dream of Me |
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[the "We can be scared together" scene] Callie: I'm not an experimenter. I don't like to experiment. Erica: Oh. Callie But... then you showed up, and we did it... together, and the experiment was kind of a success. Erica: Oh. *beat* Ohhh! Both laugh. It gets a bit awkward. Callie: Look, I've never done this before. I... I never kissed a woman. I'm not sure I even like kissing women. Erica's face darkens. Callie: But I really like kissing you. Erica: *smiles* I wouldn't mind to repeat that, either. Callie: Does... this.. whole thing freak you out... a little? Erica: A lot of therapy time. Callie: Yeah, I don't do therapy. I just go all 'Naahhh!' and then I get all clingy and... Okay, you don't need to know that yet. Mutual laughter. They both start to walk. Callie: I kinda feel like a virgin. You know, first time and all. Erica: I know what you mean. *looks Callie in the eye* But hey, we can be scared together! Callie: *smiling* Yeah, we can be scared together. Camera zooms down to them holding hands as they continue their walk. |
| 5x04 - Brave New World |
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[the "moving into the new appartment" scene] Callie: Not bad, right? Erica: It's great. She pads Callie's back, which makes Callie cringe. You can read the discomfort on her face. Callie: Not now. Someone could see us. Erica pulls back her hand, then glances over. Erica: Do you wanna go on a date with me? Callie: Like a 'date' date? Erica: Yeah, you know: restaurant, candle light, bottle of wine,... by the end of the night I try to take your clothes off. Callie's face turns red. She gulps. Callie: That'd be a date. I'm in. Erica: *smiles* Great. [the "south of the border" scene] Bailey: [...] Are you listening to me? Callie: I'm going on a date with Erica Hahn. Bailey frowns. Callie: And I'm nervous. Real nervous. As in 'freaking-out-any-minute' nervous. Bailey's eyes widen. Callie: I know, it's silly. But... she's a colleague,... and she's an attending, and... well, she's a she. Bailey is still speechless. Callie: I mean, there's been kissing, but not much touching... and... What if I'm bad at it? I mean, I've never been with a woman before. You know what I'm saying? Bailey just keeps staring at her. Callie: Uhm... we're gonna pretend this didn't happened. She hurries off. [the restaurant scene] Callie: [...] And an embassy. Oh, and a safe word. Erica: Excuse me. What the hell are you talking about? Callie: *whispering* Sex. I'm not sure I'm ready to go there. Erica: That's okay, Callie, calm down. No one said anything about sex. Let's just have dinner and enjoy an evening together. All right? She hands Callie her glass of wine. Erica: Here. Finish my wine. I'm gonna look at the menu for a minute while your blood pressure drops back down to normal. Callie looks relieved, but still a little nervous as she swallows the wine down. Callie: Erica? Erica looks up from the menu. Callie: Thank you. They both smile at each other. |
| 5x05 - There's No 'I' in Team |
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[right after the nice sunrise that followed their first scene] *include the whole "Seeing leaves" scene from 5x06, but with them being dressed in sheets only ... since people are usually naked after sex* [rest of the episode] *cut out the whole "Teach me!" crap that was going on in this episode between Callie and Mark* *also cut out the whole freaking out stuff and the "Let's try this again" scene* (this leaves enough space to fill in some scenes for, let's say, the MerDer shippers ;) ) |
| 5x06 - Life During Wartime |
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Callie and Erica have not talked since Callie got dressed in a hurry and rushed out of Erica's apartment that morning. Only include the one sex scene between Callie & Mark where Callie states she was "testing a theory" and then talks to Mark about Erica afterwards. Erica is hurt about how Callie left her that morning, but decides not to deal with it. Instead she has placed herself in a cold shell, self-proteced from any emotional on-goings in and around her, thus making it hard for everyone to work with her today. Bailey finally confronts her after the surgery. [...] Bailey: You may be a fine surgeon, God knows I know that. But not today. Today, you were a pain in the ass. A nay-saying, bullying, consistently negative pain in the ass. Erica looks up. Bailey: At no point did you encourage me, or do anything to make me think this surgery could be anything but a failure. And it wasn't just me! You made it as hard as humanly possible for all of us. So... yeah, we did do a nice job, say, we did a great job today. But that wasn't thanks to you! That was thanks to me, and the chief... and Meredith Grey... and Anatomy Jane. Bailey is about to leave, as Erica finally speaks up. Erica: Dr. Bailey, wait! Bailey stops, but doesn't look at her. Erica: I... It was... I'm having personal issues, and I let them interfere with my job. That was unprofessional. Bailey turns around and faces her. Bailey: You're damn right it was! *beat* Listen, we all have those days, okay? But you have to keep it together. You can't go piss everyone off! Erica: I know that. I'm sorry. Bailey: Good. Bailey walks out. Erica stares through the OR window, a sad look on her face, and sighs. [the scene in Erica's office] Callie: Erica? Erica: *cold* You wanna apologize? Apologize to Dr. Bailey. Thanks to you I made her life a living hell today. And not just hers, I--- Callie: Would you please stop it and listen? *exhales* You were crying the morning after. And.. and.. and seeing leaves! And I wasn't. Okay? I.. I may never see leaves. Or.. or maybe I will see leaves, but I will also see flowers. Might be a whole forest growth, I don't know yet. But.. but I do know that I want to be with you. Erica's face softens. Callie: But to do that, you have to accept me for who I am. I will not pretend. I cannot pretend. Okay? Erica: Okay. There is a pause. You see a huge burden falling off of Callie's shoulders. Erica: Did you sleep with Mark Sloan today? Callie is shocked over being found out. Callie: How...? Erica: People talk. Callie: *murmuring* Derek Shepherd. Erica: So, did you? Callie: Yes, I did. Erica: Why? Callie: I... It had nothing to do with you... with us. I just... I was confused over the fact that I enjoy having sex with you as much as I enjoy having sex with men. So--- Erica: So you ran to Mark Sloan for confirmation? Callie: No! Yes. Erica: Don't do that again. Callie: I won't. Promise. |
| 5x07 - Rise Up! |
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[the "Wrong & right" dialogue] Callie: How's your patient doing? Erica: Well, he still needs a heart, but I bought him some time. Callie: I'm glad. Erica: I went to the chief about Izzie Stevens, and he completely shot me down. Well, we'll see what he says when I report this to UNOS. Callie: Whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa.. wait! Why? I mean, have you even talked to Izzie about this? Erica: Why should I? The whole thing is pretty transparent to me. She chose her lover's life over the life of another patient. My patient. That heart was his. Caliie: Listen, you really should go talk to her, before--- Erica: No! My patient wouldn't be here, if it wasn't for her! Callie: That's true. But she's one of us, and there's a reason why we have each others' backs, Erica--- Erica Oh, please! Don't talk to me about a code! Because this is not that. Callie: No, this is that! Erica stares at her in disbelief. Callie: Look, I have had my own issues with Izzie Stevens in the past. And God knows, I tried to hate her. But fact is, she is a good doctor... and a good person. Erica rolls her eyes. Callie: I don't know what exactly happened between her and Denny Duquette that night. But I do know that she went through hell... before and after. So, you really should reconsider and talk--- Erica: Callie, there is no grey area here. Okay? There is only right, and there's wrong. And this was wrong. And illegal. Callie: I know! But unless you were in the middle of that situation, I don't see how you can make a judgment. Erica: Easy! My patient is dying, because she went against the rules. The rules, Callie! There are rules for a reason. You can't kind of think this is okay. You can't kind of side with Izzie Stevens, knowing I'm right. *beat* And you can't kind of be with me. Callie looks shocked and hurt. Callie: What? Wait a minute! When exactly did this conversation take that turn? Erica: You slept with Sloan. Callie: Yes, but I already apologized, and I explained to you--- Erica: Would you have told me? At all? If I didn't ask? Callie: I--- Erica: I need to know that we're in this together. That you are having my back, all the way. Callie: Erica... Erica steps away from her. Erica: No. I'm sorry. I can't do this right now. She turns around and walks away, leaving behind a puzzled Callie Torres... As you can see, there was no need to ultimately make Erica the "bad guy" in all of this, make many viewers misinterprete her lines, her intentions, her feelings. There was no need to continue the relationship, if ABC felt all that uncomfortable with it, either. And there sure as hell was no need at all to write her off the show and fire Brooke Smith! ABC let go of a brilliant actress and of Grey's coolest character ever! What a shame. Disappointed with Erica Hahn's termination from the show? Need a good laugh to get over the loss? — Then check out what really went on in "Rise Up!" Also, go watch my five-parter, Callica: The true Love Story ! |