Episodes
| No. in series |
No. in season |
Title | Directed by | Written by | Original air date | U.S. viewers (millions) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 37 | 1 | "Time Has Come Today" | Dan Minahan | Shonda Rhimes | September 21, 2006 (2006-09-21) | 25.41 |
| The doctors of Seattle Grace Hospital help Izzie cope with the loss of her fiancé, Denny Duquette, whereas she struggles with her decision to quit the internship program, despite the advice she continuously gets from her friends. Meredith must decide what the future holds after she has sex with Derek, and is uncertain if he is willing to leave Addison, whom he has been with for eleven years. Addison finds Meredith's panties in Derek's shirt, and realizes that he had an affair with Meredith. The Chief is confronted by his wife, Adele (Loretta Devine), after spending the night in his office. She gives him an ultimatum, forcing him to decide between his career and his marriage. George seeks relationship advice from Derek after they are forced to stay in quarantine, while Derek confesses his feeling towards Meredith. Bailey gets attached to a patient whose wife dies and relives the moments when her husband's life was threatened. | ||||||
| 38 | 2 | "I Am a Tree" | Jeff Melman | Krista Vernoff | September 28, 2006 (2006-09-28) | 23.48 |
| Cristina meets Burke's parents and is surprised to that he is a "mama's boy", despite the self-confident attitude that he displays. Burke's parents believe that Cristina does not care about their son, and is only trying to take advantage of his extensive knowledge of cardiothoracic surgery. Cristina doesn't feel comfortable around them. Izzie uses baking to cope with her grieving, and bakes hundreds of muffins. Addison takes a break from the hospital and spends the day wandering drunk in the city. She neglects her hospital duties at Seattle Grace Hospital. Richard discovers that Callie is living in the hospital and is forced to get her out in order to respect the hospital policy. A surgical patient lives what may be her last day to the fullest, whereas Meredith's doubts regarding who is best suited for her result in her deciding to date both of them in order to see who impresses her most. | ||||||
| 39 | 3 | "Sometimes a Fantasy" | Adam Arkin | Debora Cahn | October 5, 2006 (2006-10-05) | 22.80 |
| Cristina is determined to get Preston to operate again and tries to help him cope with his hand tremor. Izzie attempts to return to the hospital for the first time since she left the program, but her hesitation results in her staying in front of the hospital all day long, afraid of confronting the Chief. Alex deals with a patient who has a long history of injuries that she doesn't feel, causing him to believe she is a super hero. He and Bailey ultimately perform surgery on her, and she begins having a normal life, meeting pain for the first time. George and Callie's relationship moves forward and they start taking big steps regarding their future. Meredith enjoys the benefits of her love triangle as she starts dating them both. Mark is determined to get Addison to get back together with him, but she continuously refuses his proposals. | ||||||
| 40 | 4 | "What I Am" | Dan Lerner | Allan Heinberg | October 12, 2006 (2006-10-12) | 22.88 |
| Addison works with Rebecca, a pregnant woman, who needs to have a caesarean section but is determined to give birth naturally. Addison begins to doubt her abilities as a surgeon after Derek breaks up with her for good, and tells him not to hurt her. He gets the wrong message and hesitates getting back together him. The interns work with Shawn Sullivan, a car salesman who wants to get his former routine after he has a risky surgery. However, when Shawn lights a cigarette that catches his face on fire, Derek and Mark argue over how they should proceed with his burn treatment. Meanwhile, Burke continues to rehabilitate from his arm injury with the help of Cristina, gradually progressing from operating on chickens to operating on a corpse. Meredith goes into surgery after her appendix bursts and after the operation, she finally makes a decision between Derek and Finn. Elsewhere, Callie and George continue to discuss their relationship, while Izzie meets Denny's father, who gives her 8.7 million dollars according to Denny's wishes. | ||||||
| 41 | 5 | "Oh, the Guilt" | Jeff Melman | Zoanne Clack and Tony Phelan & Joan Rater | October 19, 2006 (2006-10-19) | 22.05 |
| The interns are excited to attend the Morbidity and Mortality conference but their excitement evaporates quickly after finding out Denny Duquette is first on the agenda. Bailey is raked over the coals for letting her interns run unsupervised about the hospital for long durations. Bailey treats a young mother battling breast cancer and realizes that she blames her infant son for everything that had happened to her. Derek and Addison finalize their divorce with Derek giving up most of their property to Addison but learns that Mark and Addison's relationship was not just an affair and that they kept seeing each other for three months. In the midst of performing cardiac surgery, Burke's right hand begins to tremble again, so Cristina covers for him by asking to practice her running whipstitch. Meredith contemplates telling Derek about her breaking up with Finn, but is hesitant, despite the fellow interns telling her to let him know as fast as she can. | ||||||
| 42 | 6 | "Let the Angels Commit" | Jessica Yu | Stacy McKee | November 2, 2006 (2006-11-02) | 21.02 |
| Cristina scrubs in on the rare "humpty dumpty" surgery, much to the envy of her fellow doctors. Bailey wants to scrub in and writes her name on the surgical board as the resident in charge. Cristina erases Bailey's name in order to cover for Burke's hand tremor, which leads Bailey to believe that he was the one responsible for the deletion. Bailey starts questioning her talent for surgery and is discouraged. Alex questions his future medical specialty, as he begins to doubt his desire for plastic surgery due to Mark's inappropriate behavior. Derek receives a surprise visit from his sister and learns that she had slept with Mark, something that threatens their fragile friendship. George and Addison work with a pregnant woman with an unusual dilemma. Meredith becomes Izzie's boss for the day and the two treat a patient that may need to be admitted into psychiatry. | ||||||
| 43 | 7 | "Where the Boys Are" | Dan Minahan | Mark Wilding | November 9, 2006 (2006-11-09) | 20.65 |
| Derek invites Burke to join him on a quiet camping trip, but George, Alex, Richard, Joe and Walter come along, ruining Derek's plans. Addison and Callie team up to work on a patient but realize that their passion for medicine is not the only thing they share, as they had both slept with Mark and later regretted it. Alex overhears Callie talking to Addison and tells George who is unable to accept the truth, even though he and Callie were broken up at the time. Meredith assists Mark on a sex-change procedure as he keeps trying to get her to sleep with him. Bailey realizes that it was Cristina who erased her name off the surgery board, not Burke, and finally regains confidence in her abilities as a surgeon. However, she gets suspicious of Burke's scheme and is determined to find out. | ||||||
| 44 | 8 | "Staring at the Sun" | Jeff Melman | Gabrielle Stanton & Harry Werksman, Jr. | November 16, 2006 (2006-11-16) | 20.92 |
| Harold O'Malley is admitted to Seattle Grace Hospital and his wife, Louise, tries to find out everything about George's private life. He even suspects him of having a sexual relationship with his roommate Izzie, but is positively surprised to meet Callie who confesses that she and George used to be together. George, however, does not want Callie to socialize with his family as he assures her that their relationship is over, with no chances of reconciliation. Meredith tries to take things slow with Derek and refuses to have sex with him, while he tries to have a civilized relationship with his now ex-wife, Addison. Alex kisses Izzie after he realizes that he still has feelings for her which are not returned. | ||||||
| 45 | 9 | "From a Whisper to a Scream" | Julie Anne Robinson | Kip Koenig | November 23, 2006 (2006-11-23) | 18.51 |
| A traumatic car accident which fills the emergency room has everyone challenged emotionally. George calls Erica Hahn from Seattle Presbyterian Hospital to perform heart surgery on his father after he finds out about Burke's condition. Cristina has a crisis of conscience about her deceptive teamwork with Burke, and turns to the Chief. Burke is shocked to see that Richard is considering replacing him with Dr. Hahn as the Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Seattle Grace Hospital but eventually learns that Richard's plan was to make him Chief after his retirement. However, after Cristina confesses about his hand tremor, Richard is forced to warn him about the severe consequences he will have to face. Addison and Mark work together on a pregnant woman which has them realize that they still have feelings for each other. Izzie has trouble with her probation and is desperately seeking an operation. | ||||||
| 46 | 10 | "Don't Stand So Close to Me" | Seith Mann | Carolina Paiz | November 30, 2006 (2006-11-30) | 24.01 |
| Recent events strain Burke and Cristina's relationship and they both realize that the chances of reconciliation are lowering. Meredith's half-sister, Molly, goes into labor and is admitted to Seattle Grace Hospital under the care of Addison. Meredith does not want to see or talk to Susan, her stepmother, and tells her that she is not family and their relationship should go no further. Derek and Mark must work together when two close-knit brothers seek medical help for separation. However, their spines might be affected after the surgery and Mark's plastic opinion and Derek's neurological advice create a conflict which once again threatens their friendship. Meredith has to tell her mother that Richard will not keep seeing her and she relives the night Richard left her for good twenty years ago. Meredith is devastated when her mother tells her that she should never have had a daughter as she has been the reason that she had been left. | ||||||
| 47 | 11 | "Six Days (Part 1)" | Greg Yaitanes | Krista Vernoff | January 11, 2007 (2007-01-11) | 23.03 |
| After a successful heart surgery performed by Dr. Hahn, George's father undergoes surgery to remove the tumor that has spread through his body. Richard and Bailey perform the surgery and do a certain procedure according to Mr. O'Malley's wishes, despite their medical opinion. Thatcher Grey visits Seattle Grace Hospital to stay by the side of his daughter, who has just given birth to a girl. Meredith has trouble connecting to him and hesitates talking to him all day long. Derek has trouble sleeping due to Meredith's disturbing snoring as she learns that he had been sleeping on the couch for days. A young girl is admitted to the hospital, suffering from a severe bone condition that is thought to be inoperable. Despite Derek's neurological advice, Callie believes that a certain expensive surgery might be live-saving. Izzie has trouble in watching the fellow interns perform surgery and is lectured by Bailey who tells her that a good surgeon does not let the feelings interfere with the career. However, Izzie donates a large amount of money from her 8.7 million dollar inheritance for the little girl's operation. | ||||||
| 48 | 12 | "Six Days (Part 2)" | Greg Yaitanes | Krista Vernoff | January 18, 2007 (2007-01-18) | 21.94 |
| George learns about the procedure Richard and Bailey performed on his father which ultimately leads to a worsening of his condition. The O'Malley family now have to face a difficult decision regarding Harol's inability to breathe on his own. They must take him off life support. Callie reunites with George after he realizes that she has been truly committed to him throughout this trying situation. Meredith finally talks to her father and realizes that her snoring is one of the many things they have in common, despite her inability to admit it. Addison confesses to Callie that she got pregnant with Mark's son but aborted him after realizing that Mark could never be a good father. Izzie is barred from the little girl's surgery after Bailey finds out that she paid for the operation, but she ultimately wins her respect after realizing that without the money the girl could have never been saved. The girl begins a new life as a normal child thanks to Izzie's generous donation. Derek comes back to sleep in Meredith's bed. | ||||||
| 49 | 13 | "Great Expectations" | Michael Grossman | Eric Buchman | January 25, 2007 (2007-01-25) | 21.50 |
| After the Chief announces his retirement, rumors begin to circulate on his departure and successor. Mark is determined to leave Seattle for good but Meredith accidentally has him stay after letting him know of the open Chief position. Derek is angry at Meredith for causing Mark to stay in Seattle, but soon realizes that she is not the reason he is really angry. The attending physicians at Seattle Grace Hospital fight to get Richard's attention, but he expresses his disappointment. He also displays his lack of support in Bailey's plan to create a free medical clinic, but she ultimately goes through with her plan when Izzie offers to spend her entire 8.7 million dollar inheritance on the project. George, devastated after his father's death, uses sex to overcome his grief, and eventually proposes to Callie. Cristina and Burke still don't speak to each other, but he breaks the agreement when he proposes to her. Richard endeavors to reunite with his wife, Adele, and decides to retire, only to come home and find his wife with another man. | ||||||
| 50 | 14 | "Wishin' and Hopin'" | Julie Anne Robinson | Tony Phelan & Joan Rater | February 1, 2007 (2007-02-01) | 24.18 |
| The race for the Chief's position is on, and the attending physicians, Derek, Burke, Addison and Mark, compete for Richard's affections by trying to help out everywhere possible. The Denny Duquette Memorial Clinic is open for business, but only one single patient shows up. Izzie is disappointed in what she invested Denny's legacy in, and tries to steal patients from the emergency room. Callie and George get back from Las Vegas, announcing their marriage, much to everyone's disbelief. Izzie is not supportive of their marriage and tries to get George to realize the mistake he has done. Meanwhile, Meredith's Alzheimer's-stricken mother, Ellis Grey, experiences a change in her medical condition by becoming lucid for the day. She is disappointed in the mediocrity her daughter has fallen into and begins to despise Derek, blaming him for what happened to the Meredith that used to be "a force of nature". Ellis has to have heart surgery and, despite her wishes, Meredith schedules her upcoming surgery. Richard talks to Ellis and realizes that she is still in love with him, but loses her memory after their talk ends, before Meredith has the chance to tell her how she really feels. | ||||||
| 51 | 15 | "Walk on Water" | Rob Corn | Shonda Rhimes | February 8, 2007 (2007-02-08) | 25.20 |
| A mass trauma situation, which turns out to be a ferryboat accident, challenges the whole staff of Seattle Grace Hospital. Richard finds difficulty in coping with his separation from his wife and dyes his hair "for the ladies", which becomes an internal joke between Mark, Burke and Derek. Cristina tries to tell Meredith about her upcoming marriage, but doesn't have the strength to. George promises to find a woman's son, who has been separated from her at the accident. The woman refuses to go into surgery until she is assured that her son is alive. Izzie has to take care of a man who got stuck between two cars on the ferry, but nobody helps her due to the large number of injured people. Alex rescues a pregnant woman with severe wounds on her face, and promises to take care of her. Meredith looks after a girl who has been separated from her mother after the accident, but accidentally falls into the water and drowns, with nobody but the little girl as a witness. | ||||||
| 52 | 16 | "Drowning on Dry Land" | Rob Corn | Shonda Rhimes | February 15, 2007 (2007-02-15) | 25.76 |
| Meredith is still underwater, but nobody seems to notice. Her worsening condition makes her rescuing an urgent matter. Derek finds her coat on a man she had helped, and starts looking for her and, much to his shock, the little girl Meredith took care of suggests that she is in the water. Derek saves her, but she is almost dead, due to hypothermia. Izzie has to perform brain surgery on a man stuck between cars, as he begins to experience seizures. She drills holes into in his head, perforates his skull and ultimately saves his life before he is rescued and transferred to Seattle Grace Hospital. George lies to the woman whose son he had been looking for, in order to get to surgery, but still doesn't have any luck in localizing him. Alex finds no hope in searching for the pregnant Jane Doe's family as she undergoes surgery. The interns find out about Meredith's situation and express their hopelessness. She wakes up in what appears to be limbo and meets her deceased acquaintances. | ||||||
| 53 | 17 | "Some Kind of Miracle" | Adam Arkin | Shonda Rhimes & Marti Noxon | February 22, 2007 (2007-02-22) | 27.39 |
| Richard struggles to keep Meredith alive, whose body does not seem to respond to treatment, much to Derek's devastation. Meanwhile, a metaphor shows Meredith in what she believes is limbo, displaying her interacting with deceased acquaintances whose decision would influence her chances of survival. Cristina remedies her grief for Meredith by leaving the hospital and going shopping, while Alex continues to bond with the pregnant Jane Doe who remains unclaimed, due to her incapability to remember anything. Derek is aware that Meredith is a good swimmer and blames Ellis Grey for her daughter's depression. Ellis goes into cardiac arrest and meets Meredith in the alternate universe, and declares her love and respect for her, telling her to wake up. She does so, and sees everyone who loves her by her side. Cristina lets her know about her engagement to Burke. | ||||||
| 54 | 18 | "Scars and Souvenirs" | James Frawley | Debora Cahn | March 15, 2007 (2007-03-15) | 22.68 |
| The race between the attending physicians for the Chief of Surgery position heats up after a new competitor enters the fray. They soon realize that the new surgeon, Colin Marlow, was Cristina's professor in medical school and they used to have a long-term relationship. He begins to lie to Burke in order to protect her secret, but is soon faced with the realization that their relationship is on the rocks. George finds out that Callie's family is rich, but she had previously hidden the fact in order to find out whether George loves her for who she really is. Derek treats his former colleague from New York, and forces her to have surgery for brain cancer in order to save her future, no matter what the post-surgery risks are. Alex continues to work with Jane Doe, whose memory doesn't seem to come back. He moves in with Meredith and they have a dinner with her father and stepmother. She seems to connect with Susan, but her relationship with Thatcher seems to be irreparable. Izzie wakes up, realizing that she has slept with George while they were both drunk. | ||||||
| 55 | 19 | "My Favorite Mistake" | Tamra Davis | Chris Van Dusen | March 22, 2007 (2007-03-22) | 22.30 |
| In the aftermath of Izzie's affair with George, he doesn't seem to remember anything. Callie lets him know that they will be having dinner with her father, but George does not make a good impression, being hung over after last night's events. Alex helps Jane Doe choose how her face will look like after Mark Sloan performs reconstructive surgery on her. He also gives her a new perspective on how the world will see her from then on. The hospital board begins interviewing the candidates for the Chief's position, and Colin Marlow intimidates everyone with his ten-year plan. However, after taking advice from Bailey, Mark seems to have convinced the board that he is appropriate for the job, despite continuous efforts from Derek, Burke and Addison, whose careers in the hospital outlast his. Izzie seeks advice from Addison about her affair, telling her sleeping with George felt right, despite him being married. Mark takes Meredith as his intern for the day in order to impress the Chief, something that Derek doesn't approve of, feeling that Mark has become manipulative. | ||||||
| 56 | 20 | "Time After Time" | Christopher Misiano | Stacy McKee | April 19, 2007 (2007-04-19) | 21.12 |
| When Izzie's daughter, Hannah Klein, is brought to the hospital for leukemia treatment, her adoptive parents come searching for Izzie, and ask her to donate her bone marrow in support. She is saddened to learn that her daughter does not want to see her, but is surprised to see how much alike they are. Derek comes to the conclusion that his relationship with Meredith is the only thing standing in his way to become the Chief of Surgery. Colin Marlow continues to intrude on Burke and Cristina's lives with an impending surgery he will perform. He tries to convince Cristina to break up with him, due to their targets being completely different. Meredith starts to grow closer to her stepmother, Susan, but finds it difficult to connect with her father. A couple arrives at Seattle Grace Hospital to see Ava, whom they believe to be their daughter but are disappointed when they realize that she is not who they thought. Alex does not want to discharge her, which causes a fight between the two. | ||||||
| 57 | 21 | "Desire" | Tom Verica | Mark Wilding | April 26, 2007 (2007-04-26) | 20.08 |
| The interns of Seattle Grace Hospital start to use every free minute to study for their upcoming exam which will determine their entire residency in the surgical field. Cristina is jealous of George who can study with Callie, whose learning cards have become legendary. After the realization that George and Izzie might have feelings for each other, Callie decides to give the cards to Cristina. The attending physicians vie for the Chief position by tending to the chairman of the hospital board, after he is admitted as a patient. They soon learn that there is a fish in his urinary tract and is shocked to learn that his wife has been aware of his affair with his secretary. She eventually resigns and leave him, and his wife asks for divorce. Richard starts to question his decision to retire as he believes that there is a lot more he can do as a surgeon and cannot be done with his career in his early fifties. Addison sleeps with Alex, but he wants her to make sure that this will never happen again. Derek starts to question his relationship with Meredith, feeling that he is the only one putting an effort for it to work out. George tells Izzie that he is considering transferring to a different hospital. | ||||||
| 58 | 22 | "The Other Side of This Life (Part 1)" | Michael Grossman | Shonda Rhimes | May 3, 2007 (2007-05-03) | 21.23 |
| After things become too complicated in Seattle, Addison travels to Los Angeles to reunite with her old friends form Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. Much to her best friend's shock, the real reason for her visit is in order to get pregnant but is devastated to learn that she cannot. Cristina finds difficulty in planning her wedding under the constant watch of her and Burke's mother, who are determined to create an extravagant wedding, despite her wishes of having a small ceremony. Callie is surprised to be invited to be Cristina's bridesmaid. With Meredith's father and his wife again in the hospital, she suspects that her stepmother might be trying to get her to talk to Thatcher by faking hiccups. Mark talks to Derek and expresses his disappointment in not working things out with Addison, who he had truly fallen in love with. Meanwhile, Derek must perform surgery on Ava and she gets her hopes high after Alex tells her that she might get her memory back. George is determined to transfer to Mercy West, despite Izzie's continuous begs. | ||||||
| 59 | 23 | "The Other Side of This Life (Part 2)" | Michael Grossman | Shonda Rhimes | May 3, 2007 (2007-05-03) | 21.23 |
| Addison becomes the temporary obstetrician-gynecologist at the Oceanside Wellness Center in Los Angeles and treats a woman pregnant with a child whose paternity is disputed between three men. She also deals with the aftermath of the discovery that she cannot have children and is comforted by Pete Wilder who flirts with and eventually kisses her. The doctors offer her a position, but she denies after realizing that Seattle is where her life is. After Susan returns to the hospital with a severe chest pain, she is rushed into emergency surgery and ultimately dies. Thatcher is devastated by the news and blames Meredith for her death, who had actually been by her side all this time. Izzie finds difficulty in accepting that George is going to transfer because of her, but realizes that she can't deny her feelings towards him. Burke confronts his mother who claims that marrying Cristina is a mistake, but confesses that she trusts her son's judgement and is confident that he will make the right decision. | ||||||
| 60 | 24 | "Testing 1-2-3" | Christopher Misiano | Allan Heinberg | May 10, 2007 (2007-05-10) | 19.58 |
| The five interns finally have to face one of the biggest test of their careers, which will influence the rest of their lives as surgeons. Meredith is still feeling guilty about her stepmother's death, but feels confident that she will pass the exam, despite warnings from both Cristina and Richard. However, after her father, Thatcher, causes a scene at the hospital, Meredith finds herself unable to focus and doesn't write anything on the exam paper. Meanwhile, George gets accepted in the Mercy West Hospital surgical residency program and has to face a decision which will change his relationship with Izzie forever. Callie's suspicions of her husband's unfaithfulness grow and is thrilled of George's transfer to a different hospital. Alex learns that Ava's memory has come back but is not willing to let her family know where she is. Bailey realizes that Callie's chances of becoming Chief Resident have increased considerably, while Burke cannot get Cristina to talk to him about their upcoming wedding. The attending physicians work with three injured mountain climbers who left their friend behind in order to save their own lives. Joe and his boyfriend consider adopting a baby, while Addison makes the shocking discovery that Adele, Richard's wife, is pregnant. | ||||||
| 61 | 25 | "Didn't We Almost Have It All?" | Rob Corn | Tony Phelan & Joan Rater | May 17, 2007 (2007-05-17) | 22.57 |
| The mountain climbers lie about the axe in their friend's head, telling Derek that it accidentally got there. During surgery, he and George discover that it was deliberately put there, and one of the climbers admit that he was trying to "put him out of his misery". Adele is saved after Richard finds her lying in the bathroom and is stabilized, but soon suffers a miscarriage. Richard learns Adele was actually pregnant with his son, not someone she had one night stand with. Bailey is disappointed to see that Callie is the new Chief Resident and begins to question her abilities as a surgeon. Richard chooses Derek as Chief of Surgery, but he refuses, telling him that he isn't done doing what he does best. Cristina and Burke's wedding day arrives, but Cristina won't stay out of the hospital. However, Cristina's nervousness results in Burke's realizing that he does not love the real Cristina and leaves her. Meredith and Derek are uncertain about their future and despite Derek admitting that she is the love of his life, they call their relationship over. |
Read more about this topic: Grey's Anatomy (season 3)
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