'Greys Anatomy' Season 16: Why Twister Sister, Cristina Yang, needs to return to the show
Derek, Izzie, George, Meredith, Cristina, Alex and Burke--- those were the heydays of 'Grey's Anatomy'. Gradually, through the seasons, we lost them one by one. Burke (Isaiah Washington) was written out of the show due to behind-the-scenes drama; George (TR Knight) died in an accident; we unceremoniously bid goodbye to Izzie (Katherine Heigl); Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh) upped and left to take charge of a hospital and then the worst heartbreak of all, Derek's (Patrick Dempsey) death.
'Grey's Anatomy' has undergone several drastic transformations, and the heartbeats of the show-- Derek and Meredith's romance, as well as the Cristina-Meredith friendship were struck off. Understandably, Sandra left the show for a brighter future ahead, but oh, don't we miss the Cristina-Meredith sisterhood? It was one of the best portrayals of female friendships. We would do anything for them to dance it out again.
Her character is referenced quite often in the show, and it makes us miss her even more. In the previous episode of 'Grey's Anatomy', even though she doesn't appear, Cristina sends Meredith a 'package', which happens to be an angry Irish doctor with a sad backstory (as usual). Meredith and Cristina correspond through text messages, and we just see those texts. While Meredith really needs her friend back, the show needs the old zing of Cristina, so it doesn't feel exhausted and wearied at points.
Cristina was an unusual character, not because of her love stories with Burke and Owen (Kevin McKidd), but partly because the show had a character whose internal conflicts were related to her professional turmoil, rather than her personal life. She was proud of her craft as a cardiothoracic surgeon and her burning ambition was to be the best of the lot. Marital life with children was not on her priority list, as she made it clear to Owen. She did not want children, and this is something that Meredith could understand, as her mother was just the same.
'My mother was a Cristina,' says Meredith. A woman, brilliant at her craft, who did not wish to be tied down with the domestic sphere, and would not be able to feel maternal love--- that was Cristina. With this character, the show broke years of television stereotypes, where the woman's primary role is just dedicated to her child. It wasn't something to be ashamed of, by any means, but just treated as natural.
Enough teasing with the references and text messages. Let's have Cristina Yang back for one episode at least.
'Grey's Anatomy' airs on ABC, and will return on January 23.