i have mixed feelings about this episode, and i havent read most other peoples stuff so forgive me if i repeat other rants. this would have been better if it was in the second half of the season, it was not good enough for a season opener. especially with the new competition. its like cbs gave up or something, they didnt promote it at all over the summer. although i dont watch greys, abc won fair and square.
moving back to this episode, since the writers dont like cliffhanger endings to the season for whatever reason, they really need to do something huge and shocking for an opener. and im sorry, catherines incident was not good enough. i know its big, and i know the writers will probably hang on to it forever but its as if the writers were just going for a shock value as opposed to a really good meaty storyline.
the cases werent good enough for a season opener, a suicide and an accidental death? they could have done so much better. its like they were thinking 'we want catherine to get raped, how can we get the cases over as fast as possible so we can show that?'
while the storylines were well thought out the episode as a whole was poorly put together. it was rushed, jumpy, and basically a random assortment of scenes.
as much as i disliked the ending, i have to give marg credit where credit is due. i do not like catherine as a character, and it bothers me how her story lines get the most continuity, but marg actually made me feel for her in that scene. you could tell that catherine was trying to keep her cool, but was too embarassed to let anyone know right away, hence the self processing. but what i dont like is that this storyline is far from over whereas the other characters issues fizzle into non-existence if the writers so please.
in conclusion, not a bad episode, not great. like i said in the other thread i think the writers tried too hard. if they cleaned up the transitions between scenes and aired the same episode during february sweeps i think it would have been a much better idea for the show.