"Brave New World" is the fourth episode of the fifth season of the ABC

American Broadcasting Company

The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...

 series, Grey's Anatomy

Grey's Anatomy

Grey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series created by Shonda Rhimes. The series premiered on March 27, 2005 on ABC; since then, seven seasons have aired. The series follows the lives of interns, residents and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital in...

. It aired on October 16, 2008.

Episode recap

Richard reminds the residents that they can no longer specialize. Cristina is upset about being assigned to the clinic, but shares her best cardio tips with Meredith, including how to perform a complicated procedure she's never done before. Erica lets Meredith do the procedure but advises her, "If you lie to me again, the next heart you'll see will be your own as I cut it out of your chest with a steak knife!"

Callie is nervous about her first date with Erica, and confides her nerves to Miranda, who suggests she regard it as a trip to a foreign country. At dinner, Erica promises Callie there's "lots of undiscovered territory above the belt."

Izzie is mad at Alex for stealing a case that she diagnosed, but Mark tells her, "Surgery is like the Wild West. Karev's a cowboy, you're not," and that she's out of luck. Derek won't help either, so Izzie goes back to her patient and tells him that Alex has been "off his game." The ploy works: the patient asks for her to be reassigned to his case. When Alex protests, she tells him she's done "wiping up your snot and covering your ass." Derek reminds them both that he's not their roommate when they're at work. "You two ever pull that crap again on one of my cases, I will have you thrown out of the program," he warns.

A patient with a rash brings Cristina to the dermatology department. When she sees the special privileges that the department gets, including massages, long lunch breaks to head to the spa, and a much more calm and care-free environment, she cannot believe it's the same hospital. Meredith, Izzie and George all marvel at how relaxed and civil the department is, with no fighting over surgeries. At the end of the day, however, they admit how bored they'd be without life and death cases.

George passes his intern exam—and Lexie is anxious to celebrate but is crushed when he goes to tell Izzie and Meredith first. At Joes, instead of sitting at George's table, Lexie drinks at the bar by herself.

Derek starts clearing out the home office that used to belong to Meredith's mother and comes across an old diary of hers. Meredith is not happy that he's been "snooping" and Derek offers to move out. After thinking it over, Meredith insists he should stay. "I may not always be so graceful about it, but I want you here." Meredith takes the diary and reads it aloud with Cristina.

Alex finally apologizes to Izzie for how he's treated her since his breakup with Ava. "I know I'm being an ass. But you can't be pissed off at a chick for losing her mind, so there's nobody else to be pissed at but you," and all her resentment seems to melt away.

Title reference

This episode's title refers to songs by New Model Army

New Model Army

The New Model Army of England was formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians in the English Civil War, and was disbanded in 1660 after the Restoration...

, Kings of Convenience

Kings of Convenience

Kings of Convenience are an indie folk-pop duo from Bergen, Norway. Consisting of Erlend Øye and Eirik Glambek Bøe, the musical group is known for their delicate tunes, calming voices, and intricate and subtle guitar melodies...

, Glenn Frey

Glenn Frey

Glenn Lewis Frey is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and actor, best known as a founding member of the Eagles. Frey formed the Eagles after he met drummer Don Henley in 1970 and the two eventually joined Linda Ronstadt's backup band for her summer tour. The Eagles formed in 1971 and...

, Iron Maiden

Iron Maiden

Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Since their inception, the band's discography has grown to include a total of thirty-six albums: fifteen studio albums; eleven live albums; four EPs; and six...

, Charlotte Church

Charlotte Church

Charlotte Maria Church is a Welsh singer-songwriter, actress and television presenter. She rose to fame in childhood as a classical singer before branching into pop music in 2005. By 2007, she had sold more than 10 million records worldwide including over 5 million in the United States...

, Styx

Styx (band)

Styx is an American rock band that became famous for its albums from the late 1970s and early 1980s. The Chicago band is known for melding the style of prog-rock with the power of hard rock guitar, strong ballads, and elements of American musical theater....

, Reagan Youth

Reagan Youth

Reagan Youth is an American punk rock band formed by singer Dave Rubinstein and guitarist Paul Bakija in Queens, New York in early 1980. They are known for introducing the style of hardcore punk to the East Coast punk scene, but were also a part of the peace punk movement...

, Richard Ashcroft

Richard Ashcroft

Richard Paul Ashcroft is an English singer-songwriter. He was the lead singer and occasional guitarist of alternative rock band The Verve from their formation in 1990 until their split in 1999, and continues as a lead vocalist working with guitars and keyboards...

 and Hedley

Hedley (band)

Hedley is a Canadian pop rock band comprising lead singer Jacob Hoggard, Tommy Mac on bass, Dave Rosin on lead guitar and Chris Crippin on drums. The current band retains the original name of Hoggard's pre-Canadian Idol group, although the membership has changed. The band originated in Abbotsford,...

.
Brave New World

Brave New World

Brave New World is Aldous Huxley's fifth novel, written in 1931 and published in 1932. Set in London of AD 2540 , the novel anticipates developments in reproductive technology and sleep-learning that combine to change society. The future society is an embodiment of the ideals that form the basis of...

is also the name of a 1932 science-fiction novel by Aldous Huxley

Aldous Huxley

Aldous Leonard Huxley was an English writer and one of the most prominent members of the famous Huxley family. Best known for his novels including Brave New World and a wide-ranging output of essays, Huxley also edited the magazine Oxford Poetry, and published short stories, poetry, travel...

. The original quote is from Shakespeare

William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...

's The Tempest

The Tempest

The Tempest is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1610–11, and thought by many critics to be the last play that Shakespeare wrote alone. It is set on a remote island, where Prospero, the exiled Duke of Milan, plots to restore his daughter Miranda to her rightful place,...

.

Music

Patrick and Eugene - "Altogether Now"
The Bird & The Bee - "My Love"
Emiliana Torrini - "Big Jumps"
The Whitest Boy Alive - "Done With You"
Joshua Radin - "One Of Those Days"
Brett
Dennen - "Ain't Gonna Lose You"
Bernadette Moley - "Love to Me"
The Rescues - "My Heart With You"