Grey's Anatomy: Season 8
Episode 4

Synopsis:

A stampede at a comic book convention leads to an influx of colorful characters in the ER; Mark continues to make life difficult for Jackson; Ben returns and realizes Bailey has moved on.

(From ABC)
The doctors of Seattle Grace are called upon to man up when a stampede at a comic book convention causes an influx of colorful characters in the ER-blurring the lines of fantasy and reality; Mark shows his softer side with baby Sofia when Arizona and Callie go out of town, but at work he continues to give Jackson a hard time; Ben returns to the ER, only to find that Nurse Eli has moved in on Bailey; and the male doctors bond over their frustrations with women.

Derek rescues Owen from mounds of paperwork. They trade in scalpels for hammers to work on Derek's deck. Both men have things on their mind. Owen has been walking on eggshells with Cristina while Derek is dealing with the fact that Alex is no Meredith when it comes to residents. Talk is cheap though. These guys prefer to literally hammer out their frustrations. It's one of those men-women differences we mentioned earlier.

The Chief… Okay, wait. We have to start calling him Richard since Owen is actually the Chief now. Richard advises Alex on how to avoid Derek's wrath when he's late for a surgery. He rattles off some nonsense about having an appointment with Mayfield in 22. The excuse works like a charm. But Derek blows up later when he realizes his new resident is just looking to log non-pediatric surgeries. He boots Alex off his service.

A stampede at a comic book convention brings a cast of colorful characters into the hospital. The Chief, uh, we mean Richard, calls dibs on a sexy zombie nurse. Too bad most of her wounds are peel-away decals. He ends up practicing procedures grapes in the skills lab. Jackson grabs one of the juicy fruits, too. He wants to learn a technique to use on an ear reconstruction. If only Mark will give him the chance to work on the case.

Speaking of Mark, Callie and Arizona constantly call him to check on Sofia while they're away at a convention. McDaddy has everything under control until his little girl rolls off the sofa. The kid hasn't cried since the incident. After a bunch of unnecessary tests, Alex convinces Sofia's overly-concerned father that his daughter is just fine. The reason she hasn't been crying is because she likes hanging with her dad.

Regarding the ear case, the patient is more concerned about the fact that his buddy claimed the Dr. Who Tardis they snagged at the convention. Derek, however, is concerned that the patient can't feel anything in his legs. The guy has an epidural bleed in his spine. Jackson suggests they keep the ear viable with the blood supply from the abdomen while the patient's spine is fixed. Even Mark has to admit this is a fine idea.

During the operation, Mark won't let Jackson do anything. That's cool. Derek will. After the surgery, Mark makes it clear that he still doesn't think Jackson is ready to operate on anything other than fruit. That's cool. Jackson will work through his frustrations by hammering things at Derek's place. So will our old friend Ben, who is bummed to learn that Bailey has moved on to a relationship with Eli.

A guy who claims to be a hobbit thinks April looks like a legendary princess. An irate hulking patient begins assaulting hospital personnel left and right. Now, hobbits are gentle folk who crave adventure. When they find it, they become heroes. Well, sometimes. Hulk Man gives Hobbit Boy a serious beat-down. Only Owen can stop the rampage with a swift left hook. Fortunately, he was in the area since he's opted to go mobile office-wise.

Alex gets roped into helping Richard operate on Hobbit Boy even though he needs to work on getting a paper published. The two docs have a meaningful chat during the operation. Richard's "live in the moment" message seems to sink in with Alex moments before the patient starts crashing. When they pull the patient through, Alex finally starts feeling the joy Richard has been talking about all day.

Jackson gets out of skills lab using the "Mayfield" excuse. Richard cracks up when he hears he used the line on Bailey. We get the feeling there's a hidden meaning behind this seemingly innocuous phrase. Later, after Jackson says Derek asked him to scrub in on a surgery, Mark lets him take the lead on the ear reconstruction.

Now for a series of quick updates. Owen is told to apologize to Hulk Man. Instead he tells the guy he feels good about decking him. Hobbit Boy strikes out with April, but takes a liking to another hobbit-loving patient. Ear boy's friend sold the Dr. Who Tardis to pay for his pal's medical bills. Nice. And Mayfield happens to be a doc in the hospital who treats erectile dysfunction. Oops!

Richard picks apart the first draft of Alex's paper sending him back to square one. Sounds like the guy needs some hammer time on a deck, as do many of the other men at Seattle Grace. Mark shows up with Sofia to stake his claim on Jackson. In a separate chat, Derek admits how his life is so up in the air and how much he misses Meredith. It's just a bunch of guy talk.