you can go far with a newer and bluer pair of scrubs

Another day, another dollar at Seattle Grace. Actually, it's 1 MILLION DOLLARS to be exact. For some, unexplained reason, the hospital has a 1 million dollar surplus from the year before and for the sake of inspiration (and exciting television) the chief has decided to create a little competition. Each department head is given an opportunity to pitch why their department deserves the million dollars, and the chief will pick a winner at the end of the day. Nothing like a little healthy competition, right? Meanwhile, Meredith and the gang have moved on up from residents, to attendings. This could only mean one thing: NEW SCRUBS! NAVY! Oh, they also get the opportunity to officially perform solo surgeries...I guess that's just as exciting. So the regulars of Seattle Grace are all up in arms about pitches, surgeries, and of course, their personal drama. Let's break this down.

Meredith, Derek, and Avery
-Mer and Ave are both focusing in neurosurgery, so Der is their mentor.
-Cue surgical patient: a woman who gets headaches because of fluid in her skull...yuck.
-Cue BEST GUEST STAR THIS SEASON: um, yeah it took me a while to figure it out (and I had a major freak out the moment I actually did), but the partner of the patient is non other than Randee Heller aka Ida Blankenship from this season's Mad Men! I was sad to see her go, yet happy to see her pop up in "lesbian life partner of 40 years" form, on another show. Though I secretly wish she was still around as the "Queen of Perversions."
-Competition: Oh-so confident Meredith actually loses to a hustling Avery in the game of carving your initials on an egg without breaking the membrane. Avery gets the solo surgery. And as Derek assured the patient everything will go smoothly. Of course it will, because this is Seattle Grace, and all surgeries always go smoothly.
-Yeah, um Avery for some reason screwed up and Derek saved the day.
-Meredith herself was busy with her own surprise solo surgery, a brain bleed fix, thanks to Lexie being her knowledgeable self and catching it in a post-op patient.
-As far as Derek's pitch to the chief, it was all about Alzheimer's and finding the cure. Bold, Derek. Bold. But I'm not gonna lie, his rant about Meredith and how he's scared to death that she has the gene, was touching.

Cristina, Teddy, and April
-Everybody get ready 'cause it's CARDIO TIME!
-Patient: Roy, a sweet old man who has no family by his side (daughter's estranged) and he simply CAN'T BREATHE (lungs are worth zilch).
-Cristina is a total zombie. Seriously, it's getting really frustrating; she really needs to snap out of it! I'd always thought of her as a doctor with terrible bedside manner because of her "get 'er done" attitude, but this just made it worse.
-April, not really sure how to handle the Cristina situation, sets up a panel to discuss putting Roy on the waiting list for a lung transplant.
-From their examination of him, he wouldn't be a good candidate, and April explained the situation to the panel.
-But, for a nice perking up, all you need is a cheery dying man, and he'll boost you right out of your slump!
-Christina--motivated by Roy's vigor to live--finally speaks up as her old self and defends his right to be on the list--AND IT WORKS. The old gal is back!

Alex, Mark, and Arizona
-Plastics and Pediatrics combined equals Plasdiatrics!
-It's breast reduction time...with a BOY. Yes, a teenager would like to have a breast reduction. His father has the same issue, but that's not gonna keep this boy from making it a non-issue for himself. He's going into high school, and I completely understand why he'd want surgery.
-Meanwhile, Arizona manages not to cry--but becomes quite angry--while giving her pitch about the needs of "tiny humans" to the chief.
-Mark tries to charm the chief into giving him the million dollars for a burn unit combined with a reconstructive surgery center...not a bad idea.

Biggest Surgery Cringe Moment: I'm fine with brains bleeding, but seeing Alex slice into the boy's areola and seeing it ooze with blood was a bit much.

Most Strategic Pitch: Owen using the shooting from last season--particularly Dr. What's His Name's death as an example on how trauma surgery is an absolute necessity...AND HE WON THE MILLION.

Most Honest Pitch: Miranda (where have you been this whole time?) had a simple request: fix the broken machines in the hospital, while adding another night nurse to the schedule. Easy. I really thought she had this one in the bag. It seemed like the perfect underdog. If I was the chief, I would have given her the million.

Cheesiest Piece of Dialogue (That I Ate Right Up): The breast boy (sorry) in post-op saying to Alex, "You're the man." And Alex responding with, "No, you are." Classic.