The Other Side of This Life

This article is about the Grey's Anatomy episode. For the song, see David Byrne.

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"The Other Side of This Life"

"The Other Side of This Life" consists of the twenty-second and twenty-third episodes of the third season of the American television medical drama Grey's Anatomy, and the show's 58th and 59th episodes overall. It was written by Shonda Rhimes and directed by Michael Grossman. The episode aired on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the United States on May 3, 2007. The episode was produced as a backdoor pilot for a proposed spin-off, Private Practice, which would focus on the character of Dr. Addison Montgomery (Kate Walsh). "The Other Side of This Life" sees Montgomery take a leave of absence from the hospital, in order visit her infertility specialist best friend in Los Angeles, California, due to her desire to get pregnant. Further story lines include Dr. Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh) and Dr. Preston Burke (Isaiah Washington) meticulously planning their upcoming wedding, Dr. George O'Malley (T.R. Knight) dealing with his decision to transfer to a different internship program, Dr. Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) treating her stepmother along with Dr. Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson) and Dr. Alex Karev (Justin Chambers) bonding with Ava (Elizabeth Reaser), after she undergoes an unsuccessful brain surgery.

The episodes were fictionally set in both Seattle, Washington and Los Angeles, California, but filming occurred in primarily in Los Angeles. Elizabeth Reaser (Ava) reprised her recurring role as a guest star, in addition to Mare Winningham (Susan Grey) and Jeff Perry (Thatcher Grey), along with future Private Practice series regulars, Merrin Dungey (Dr. Naomi Bennett), Taye Diggs (Dr. Sam Bennett), Tim Daly (Dr. Peter Wilder), Amy Brenneman (Dr. Violet Turner), Paul Adelstein (Dr. Cooper Freedman) and Chris Lowell (Dell Parker). The title of the episode refers to the song, "The Other Side of This Life", by Scottish musician and songwriter, David Byrne. The episodes received mixed to favorable reviews, with Pompeo's performance being particularly praised. Running together for 86 minutes and two seconds, the episodes were viewed by 21.50 million Americans in the United States each upon the original airing, ranked third in weekly viewership and garnered a 7.5 Nielsen rating in the 18–49 demographic.

Plot

Addison treats a pregnant women named whose paternity is disputed between three men. It's explained that the woman, Lisa, was a surrogate for a married couple, but had sex with the two other men right before she was inseminated. Addison runs some tests that conclude that Lisa is in fact the biological mother of the baby, and that she is in danger of the placenta rupturing. The baby girl is born prematurely with the umbilical cord wrapped around her neck, and Lisa is rushed off to be treated for massive blood loss. When the couple and the perspective fathers ask Addison if she's knows what Lisa will do with the baby, she berates them for acting like the child is a possession they can fight over. 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. She is later approached by the wife of the surrogate couple who apologizes for her behavior, and says that all she wants is to have a baby. When Lisa recovers, she decides that instead of learning the paternity tests results, she wants to raise the baby with the couple and the two other men. Doctor Sam Bennett and Violet Turner also help a couple that haven't had sex in a long time due to the husband's low sex drive. They find a tumor on his adrenal gland, but explain that treatment is limited. The doctors offer Addison 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. 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.