Fugger: Ellen Pompeo

Now, I actually like Ellen Pompeo.  I know that certain segments of the Grey’s watching population (including several critics) can’t stand her: she’s weak, she’s whiny, she’s self-involved, she’s annoying. Etcetera. Whereas I sort of feel for poor Meredith Grey. She has a lot of problems! Her mother did a number on her and then died. Her father ran out on her and then came back and smacked her. Her kindly step-mother just kicked it. Her dreamy boyfriend didn’t tell her that he was married and then he went back to his wife and then he was wishy-washy and then at one point he called her a whore, and then they were happy and now they’re having problems again. Some of her friends are making INCREDIBLY ILL-ADVISED relationship decisions.  She’s got a lot going on, is what I’m saying. And I actually think Ellen Pompeo is good in the part, and her hair’s been looking great lately. So I freely give poor dark and twisty Meredith Grey the thumbs up.

But this outfit is all thumbs down, all the time.

I get what she’s going for, but Ellen is wee, and this is overwhelmingly grim on her. She looks like she’s in costume as the Grim Reapette, come to take us all to Hades, and unfortunately, the shiny shiny face and no lipstick isn’t helping, because instead of “glowing,” she sort of appears to be sweaty from the fires of hell she’s so recently been attending.

Although, honestly, if we found out next season that Meredith is actually the Princess of Darkness, it would be sort of an interesting supernatural twist to a show that’s already kind of sliding off the rails. Imagine the angst attendant on Meredith’s learning that her destiny is not to be a surgeon, but rather to serve the Dark Lord by causing chaos and pain at Seattle Grace, and plucking the occasional soul for her Master’s collection. What an extreme moral and ethical quandary for our heroine!  Her destiny is to be Satan’s maitre d’,  but her heart wants her to choose the path of the healer. Talk about dark and twisty.