(no subject)
So, I've been playing Bailey since July, and it's high time I essay on her. Especially for those who don't know the canon.
And please forgive me if it's a bit here and there. She's a really hard character to describe in any simple terms.
Apologies for the length.
Dr. Miranda Bailey
To start, Bailey is one of the most complex side characters I've seen on an American prime time TV show. At first she is shown as being a straight up...well...Nazi from the very first moment she appears on the screen. Shooting down her interns' attempts to ingratiate themselves with her and then shattering any ideas they have of being something special.
You are interns now. You're grunts, nobodies, bottom of the surgical food chain.
But after watching the show...way too many times...I began to see little cues into who she is, even from the pilot episodes. I believe that she may be the one character that all of the writers knew from the get go, and that the actress who plays her, Chandra Wilson (love love love her), saw and identified with the character immediately. Her acting has never wavered.
This is such a tough essay to organize that I'm going to split it into sections and there will be subsections. And there will be spoilers from both seasons in here, so...if you don't want to have anything ruined for you, feel free to PM me for less spoilery explanations.
Bailey the Surgeon
First and easiest topic. Maybe. Being a surgeon is everything to Bailey. She would live at the hospital if she could. She's also one of the best residents at Seattle Grace Hospital, and has a shot at becoming a specialist in any field of her choosing. And most likely be the best in that as well.
What is interesting is that she's not openly proud of it. She is up front with her skill, and when referring to it states things very matter-of-factly. When she says anything about her, she means it. There are no grey areas. Those who work with her know that. Those who don't get a surprise. In the Thanksgiving episode in season two, one of the best episodes, even if it shows the surgeons out of the hospital for most of it, Bailey volunteers to go in for the day and has to deal with a visiting surgeon. (The guy's a dickweed, trust me.)
Dickweed surgeon: And I don't have time for any mistakes.
Bailey, scary doctor look: I don't make mistakes.
Bailey as a surgeon teacher.
First, some background on Seattle Grace Hospital. It is an educational institution, and supposedly one of the county's finest. It offers an internship program that is obviously very rigorous and draws in the top surgeons from all over the country.
Bailey's role in the hospital is two-fold. First: surgeon. Second: teacher. Her theory on teaching is clearly throwing the interns into the deep end and shouting orders on how to paddle. During the pilot episode when a girl is brought in suffering from mysterious seizures, Bailey gets the information she needs from the EMTs, then stands back and has the interns control the seizures, giving them the instruction they needed to do so--about five minutes after the interns have become official doctors. Talk about the deep end.
She sets the pace for them and lets them know how she expects them to treat her. That is, as a teacher and superior, not their buddy friend. No touchy-feely mush for Bailey. Right? Wrong.
What if Bailey was your doctor?
She is tough and rather scary as a colleague and teacher. Even her bosses are frightened of her.
Dr. Shepherd: The Chief doesn't frighten me. Dr. Bailey frightens me.
But as someone's doctor, we are given quite a different view.
For this, I am going to lean very heavily on two episodes in the second season. BIG SPOILERS
You're still here? Good.
First episode is the one where we are introduced to Jeremiah. Not chronologically correct, but this will work out, trust me.
Jeremiah is a special patient. He was one of Bailey's first, when she was an intern, and for the past five years had continued to be her patient. The second she walks in the room, we know we are seeing a different side of Bailey. They smile at each other and make jokes. Bailey does try to keep up her tough exterior around him, but fails.
She verbally rips apart her boss in the elevator when he accuses her of accepting help on Jeremiah's case from his wife to drive him crazy. The basic gist of it is: "I couldn't give a rat's ass about your issues, I'm going to do everything it takes to save this patient, even if it means driving you out of your mind."
This is also the first and only time we see Bailey completely break down in the OR. She attempts to resucitate a DNR patient, ignoring the other surgeon's orders to stop, which is something we've never seen her do before. Bailey is normally straight as an arrow, following rules to the letter, depending on the circumstances.
We also see her cry for the first time in this episode. Not the last time, of course, but it is only something that happens when she is under extreme duress. It's heartbreaking to watch as she scrubs out, because we've never seen her like that before, and her call to Jeremiah's parents--we don't hear her tell them the news, but she does say, "Mrs. Tate? This is Miranda. Miranda Bailey. It's Jeremiah...I'm so sorry."
While Jeremiah may be an extreme, it is clear that Bailey cares about her patients, even though she is a surgeon. She is very aware of their humanity. So, Bailey treats her patients very well. That's something campers and counselors can expect if they wind up in the hospital. If her colleagues wind up in the hospital, she treats them as her patients, no matter what issues they might have.
Example of this is the second episode, which is Christina's surgery. Bailey is the first on the scene when Christina collapses in the OR and insists on staying with her through the surgery and the post op. A revealing quote of what Bailey is going through during this is in the OR.
Addison Shepherd: Looks like things are under control. Dr. Bailey, surely you have a
few surgeries of your own?
Bailey: I'm fine right here.
Refusing to leave to perform her own surgeries is quite the sacrifice, which I think needs to be understood.
Bailey as a person
Bailey is so intuitive that it's almost frightening. People think she knows everything, but she is only really good at reading people and understanding what is going on their heads. This is why people are always approaching her for advice on whatever is going wrong in their lives, which she doesn't appreciate. She's also very good at getting information or hearing gossip without people realizing it.
For example, she knows who Dr. McDreamy is without ever being told who it is.
Dr. Burke: Who is Dr. McDreamy?
Bailey: I am Dr. McDreamy. I'm tall, handsome, and I like to lean against
things and ponder the difficulties of dating beautiful women--I'm trying to be a surgeon
here!"
This is going to be an important thing to remember in camp. If Bailey approaches characters (which she rarely will unless it's brought up by the character) about something they've never spoken to her about, remember: it's canon that she knows everything that goes on.
I may be forty-seven weeks pregnant. I may be on bed rest. I may not be able to see my own
feet. But I AM Dr. Bailey. I hear everything. I know everything. I’m watching each and every
one of you. And I will return.
I also believe that she does enjoy having this knowledge. It gives her an edge in the hospital hierarchy. It also gives her a greater sense of control, which as a surgeon, she values. This is a partial explanation of her big fight with Simon over the withholding of files. That, and in her hospital, files are accessible to everyone, with certain rules, of course.
Now, to the section I know some have been waiting for.
Mama Bailey??
All right, when the hell did this happen?
Actually, it makes sense, because that is how I see her. She is a mother figure to all the interns. She's a tough woman who can be very caring at the same time, especially with her interns. She's there for them when they have gotten themselves injured or into a mess of trouble. She's always guiding them, even if they don't realize it. They are learning to be better surgeons and people at the same time.
As for babies and children, and other mothers, she is a kind and gentle Bailey. Even before her own baby is born. There are many examples I could give, but let me do two different ones and keep it at that.
The first is the quintuplets. She is shown baby-talking to the quint she is responsible for. That's all we need to know that Bailey is just a big old softy for babies. Seriously.
The second is the National Spelling Bee contestant who is having brain surgery. She steps away from the surgery itself to talk to the boy, keep him talking to make sure they didn't hit the area of the brain that controls speech. She of course finds out that he is a spelling bee contestant, and she and Dr. Shepherd start giving him words to spell. When for a moment he does lose the power of speech then regains it, she does get emotional--snapping at Dr. Shepherd when he looks at her funny that she only had something in her eye. Heh. Right.
Now you're asking why I added mothers to the list of people Bailey will automatically be kind to. She's a mother, she understands. She's also a woman and understands. Bailey always treats expecting mothers very gently, especially when she is telling them something they won't want to hear. Her voice is soft and even...yes, soft. Trust me, it happens.
Speaking of mothers, doesn't Bailey miss her baby?
Of course she does. Achingly so. She's told that to several people in camp--but only to those who ask her about her baby. Camp itself is very frustrating to her. She can't get word out to her husband, she can't even get out and see her baby. Any mother would agree that this is unbearable. She also doesn't know if either her baby or her husband are all right.
And how Bailey copes with stress is to work. Really. She's said that she used to spend up to a hundred and ten hours at the hospital. So, this is why Bailey does so much at camp. I do not think she sleeps very much and she basically survives on treating patients, baking, and whatever else she can do to keep her busy. For the first month I was worried about her not having any surgeries and knew that she should be close to the point of snapping. This is the only time I will say that it was a good thing Russel was stabbed.
As for children she "adopts," she is simply doing what she does best. She is trying to guide them along to become better people. It doesn't matter if they are ten or eighteen. The only exception is Peter Pan. This is a very tricky subject, but I will explain it from Bailey's point of view.
She knows the stories of Peter Pan from her childhood (this is assumed, but really? who doesn't know?) so she is well aware of what he is like and that he cannot change from what he is. Which is why she doesn't try to lecture him like she does to other people. She isn't normally a physically affectionate person, and even less so to Peter. She knows that if she pushes it too far, he will recoil and forget her. Which she doesn't want.
And since I'm really terrible at conclusions, that's it. That's Bailey in a nutshell. A big nutshell. If you made it this far, thank you for reading. I appreciate people putting up with boring things. ^_^
And please forgive me if it's a bit here and there. She's a really hard character to describe in any simple terms.
Apologies for the length.
Dr. Miranda Bailey
To start, Bailey is one of the most complex side characters I've seen on an American prime time TV show. At first she is shown as being a straight up...well...Nazi from the very first moment she appears on the screen. Shooting down her interns' attempts to ingratiate themselves with her and then shattering any ideas they have of being something special.
You are interns now. You're grunts, nobodies, bottom of the surgical food chain.
But after watching the show...way too many times...I began to see little cues into who she is, even from the pilot episodes. I believe that she may be the one character that all of the writers knew from the get go, and that the actress who plays her, Chandra Wilson (love love love her), saw and identified with the character immediately. Her acting has never wavered.
This is such a tough essay to organize that I'm going to split it into sections and there will be subsections. And there will be spoilers from both seasons in here, so...if you don't want to have anything ruined for you, feel free to PM me for less spoilery explanations.
Bailey the Surgeon
First and easiest topic. Maybe. Being a surgeon is everything to Bailey. She would live at the hospital if she could. She's also one of the best residents at Seattle Grace Hospital, and has a shot at becoming a specialist in any field of her choosing. And most likely be the best in that as well.
What is interesting is that she's not openly proud of it. She is up front with her skill, and when referring to it states things very matter-of-factly. When she says anything about her, she means it. There are no grey areas. Those who work with her know that. Those who don't get a surprise. In the Thanksgiving episode in season two, one of the best episodes, even if it shows the surgeons out of the hospital for most of it, Bailey volunteers to go in for the day and has to deal with a visiting surgeon. (The guy's a dickweed, trust me.)
Dickweed surgeon: And I don't have time for any mistakes.
Bailey, scary doctor look: I don't make mistakes.
Bailey as a surgeon teacher.
First, some background on Seattle Grace Hospital. It is an educational institution, and supposedly one of the county's finest. It offers an internship program that is obviously very rigorous and draws in the top surgeons from all over the country.
Bailey's role in the hospital is two-fold. First: surgeon. Second: teacher. Her theory on teaching is clearly throwing the interns into the deep end and shouting orders on how to paddle. During the pilot episode when a girl is brought in suffering from mysterious seizures, Bailey gets the information she needs from the EMTs, then stands back and has the interns control the seizures, giving them the instruction they needed to do so--about five minutes after the interns have become official doctors. Talk about the deep end.
She sets the pace for them and lets them know how she expects them to treat her. That is, as a teacher and superior, not their buddy friend. No touchy-feely mush for Bailey. Right? Wrong.
What if Bailey was your doctor?
She is tough and rather scary as a colleague and teacher. Even her bosses are frightened of her.
Dr. Shepherd: The Chief doesn't frighten me. Dr. Bailey frightens me.
But as someone's doctor, we are given quite a different view.
For this, I am going to lean very heavily on two episodes in the second season. BIG SPOILERS
You're still here? Good.
First episode is the one where we are introduced to Jeremiah. Not chronologically correct, but this will work out, trust me.
Jeremiah is a special patient. He was one of Bailey's first, when she was an intern, and for the past five years had continued to be her patient. The second she walks in the room, we know we are seeing a different side of Bailey. They smile at each other and make jokes. Bailey does try to keep up her tough exterior around him, but fails.
She verbally rips apart her boss in the elevator when he accuses her of accepting help on Jeremiah's case from his wife to drive him crazy. The basic gist of it is: "I couldn't give a rat's ass about your issues, I'm going to do everything it takes to save this patient, even if it means driving you out of your mind."
This is also the first and only time we see Bailey completely break down in the OR. She attempts to resucitate a DNR patient, ignoring the other surgeon's orders to stop, which is something we've never seen her do before. Bailey is normally straight as an arrow, following rules to the letter, depending on the circumstances.
We also see her cry for the first time in this episode. Not the last time, of course, but it is only something that happens when she is under extreme duress. It's heartbreaking to watch as she scrubs out, because we've never seen her like that before, and her call to Jeremiah's parents--we don't hear her tell them the news, but she does say, "Mrs. Tate? This is Miranda. Miranda Bailey. It's Jeremiah...I'm so sorry."
While Jeremiah may be an extreme, it is clear that Bailey cares about her patients, even though she is a surgeon. She is very aware of their humanity. So, Bailey treats her patients very well. That's something campers and counselors can expect if they wind up in the hospital. If her colleagues wind up in the hospital, she treats them as her patients, no matter what issues they might have.
Example of this is the second episode, which is Christina's surgery. Bailey is the first on the scene when Christina collapses in the OR and insists on staying with her through the surgery and the post op. A revealing quote of what Bailey is going through during this is in the OR.
Addison Shepherd: Looks like things are under control. Dr. Bailey, surely you have a
few surgeries of your own?
Bailey: I'm fine right here.
Refusing to leave to perform her own surgeries is quite the sacrifice, which I think needs to be understood.
Bailey as a person
Bailey is so intuitive that it's almost frightening. People think she knows everything, but she is only really good at reading people and understanding what is going on their heads. This is why people are always approaching her for advice on whatever is going wrong in their lives, which she doesn't appreciate. She's also very good at getting information or hearing gossip without people realizing it.
For example, she knows who Dr. McDreamy is without ever being told who it is.
Dr. Burke: Who is Dr. McDreamy?
Bailey: I am Dr. McDreamy. I'm tall, handsome, and I like to lean against
things and ponder the difficulties of dating beautiful women--I'm trying to be a surgeon
here!"
This is going to be an important thing to remember in camp. If Bailey approaches characters (which she rarely will unless it's brought up by the character) about something they've never spoken to her about, remember: it's canon that she knows everything that goes on.
I may be forty-seven weeks pregnant. I may be on bed rest. I may not be able to see my own
feet. But I AM Dr. Bailey. I hear everything. I know everything. I’m watching each and every
one of you. And I will return.
I also believe that she does enjoy having this knowledge. It gives her an edge in the hospital hierarchy. It also gives her a greater sense of control, which as a surgeon, she values. This is a partial explanation of her big fight with Simon over the withholding of files. That, and in her hospital, files are accessible to everyone, with certain rules, of course.
Now, to the section I know some have been waiting for.
Mama Bailey??
All right, when the hell did this happen?
Actually, it makes sense, because that is how I see her. She is a mother figure to all the interns. She's a tough woman who can be very caring at the same time, especially with her interns. She's there for them when they have gotten themselves injured or into a mess of trouble. She's always guiding them, even if they don't realize it. They are learning to be better surgeons and people at the same time.
As for babies and children, and other mothers, she is a kind and gentle Bailey. Even before her own baby is born. There are many examples I could give, but let me do two different ones and keep it at that.
The first is the quintuplets. She is shown baby-talking to the quint she is responsible for. That's all we need to know that Bailey is just a big old softy for babies. Seriously.
The second is the National Spelling Bee contestant who is having brain surgery. She steps away from the surgery itself to talk to the boy, keep him talking to make sure they didn't hit the area of the brain that controls speech. She of course finds out that he is a spelling bee contestant, and she and Dr. Shepherd start giving him words to spell. When for a moment he does lose the power of speech then regains it, she does get emotional--snapping at Dr. Shepherd when he looks at her funny that she only had something in her eye. Heh. Right.
Now you're asking why I added mothers to the list of people Bailey will automatically be kind to. She's a mother, she understands. She's also a woman and understands. Bailey always treats expecting mothers very gently, especially when she is telling them something they won't want to hear. Her voice is soft and even...yes, soft. Trust me, it happens.
Speaking of mothers, doesn't Bailey miss her baby?
Of course she does. Achingly so. She's told that to several people in camp--but only to those who ask her about her baby. Camp itself is very frustrating to her. She can't get word out to her husband, she can't even get out and see her baby. Any mother would agree that this is unbearable. She also doesn't know if either her baby or her husband are all right.
And how Bailey copes with stress is to work. Really. She's said that she used to spend up to a hundred and ten hours at the hospital. So, this is why Bailey does so much at camp. I do not think she sleeps very much and she basically survives on treating patients, baking, and whatever else she can do to keep her busy. For the first month I was worried about her not having any surgeries and knew that she should be close to the point of snapping. This is the only time I will say that it was a good thing Russel was stabbed.
As for children she "adopts," she is simply doing what she does best. She is trying to guide them along to become better people. It doesn't matter if they are ten or eighteen. The only exception is Peter Pan. This is a very tricky subject, but I will explain it from Bailey's point of view.
She knows the stories of Peter Pan from her childhood (this is assumed, but really? who doesn't know?) so she is well aware of what he is like and that he cannot change from what he is. Which is why she doesn't try to lecture him like she does to other people. She isn't normally a physically affectionate person, and even less so to Peter. She knows that if she pushes it too far, he will recoil and forget her. Which she doesn't want.
And since I'm really terrible at conclusions, that's it. That's Bailey in a nutshell. A big nutshell. If you made it this far, thank you for reading. I appreciate people putting up with boring things. ^_^