"Begin the Begin" is the 13th episode of the second 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...

. The episode was written by Kip Koenig

Kip Koenig

Kip Koenig is an American film and television producer and screenwriter.Koenig's most notable work has been on medical drama Grey's Anatomy, for which he has served as supervising producer and consulting producer for dozens of episodes, and has written an additional three episodes...

 and was directed by Jessica Yu

Jessica Yu

Jessica Lingman Yu is an American film director, writer, producer, and editor. She has worked on documentaries, dramatic films, and television shows. Yu won an Academy Award for Documentary Short Subject for Breathing Lessons: The Life and Work of Mark O'Brien .-Early life:Yu graduated from Gunn...

. It originally aired on January 15, 2006, running for 43:05 min.

Starring

• Ellen Pompeo
  Ellen Pompeo
  Ellen Kathleen Pompeo is an American actress, known for playing the title role of Meredith Grey on the ABC medical drama Grey's Anatomy.-Early life:...
  
   as Dr. Meredith Grey.
• Sandra Oh
  Sandra Oh
  Sandra Oh is a Canadian actress. She is best known for the role of Dr. Cristina Yang on ABC's Grey's Anatomy, for which she has won a Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild award. She also played notable roles in the feature films Under the Tuscan Sun and Sideways, and had a supporting role on the...
  
   as Dr. Cristina Yang.
• Katherine Heigl
  Katherine Heigl
  Katherine Marie Heigl is an American actress and producer. She is possibly best known for her role as Dr. Izzie Stevens on ABC's Grey's Anatomy from 2005 to 2010, for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress – Drama Series in 2007...
  
   as Dr. Izzie Stevens.
• Justin Chambers
  Justin Chambers
  Justin W. Chambers is an American actor and former Calvin Klein male fashion model. As of 2005, he is starring in the ABC drama series Grey's Anatomy as Dr. Alex Karev....
  
   as Dr. Alex Karev.
• T.R. Knight as Dr. George O'Malley.
• Chandra Wilson
  Chandra Wilson
  Chandra Danette Wilson is an American actress and director, best known as Dr. Miranda Bailey in the ABC television drama, Grey's Anatomy.-Early life:...
  
   as Dr. Miranda Bailey.
• James Pickens, Jr.
  James Pickens, Jr.
  James Pickens, Jr. is an American actor. He is best known for his starring role as Dr. Richard Webber on the ABC drama television series Grey's Anatomy, and for his supporting role as Deputy Director Alvin Kersh on later seasons of the Fox Network science fiction series The X-Files.- Early life...
  
   as Dr. Richard Webber.
• Kate Walsh
  Kate Walsh (actor)
  Kathleen Erin "Kate" Walsh is an American film and television actress, currently known for her role as Dr. Addison Montgomery on the ABC dramas Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice.-Early life:...
  
   as Dr. Addison Montgomery-Shepherd.
• Isaiah Washington
  Isaiah Washington
  Isaiah Washington IV is an American actor. A veteran of several Spike Lee films, Washington is best known for his role as Dr. Preston Burke on the ABC medical drama Grey's Anatomy from 2005 to 2007.-Personal life:...
  
   as Dr. Preston Burke.
• Patrick Dempsey
  Patrick Dempsey
  Patrick Galen Dempsey is an American actor, known for his role as neurosurgeon Dr. Derek Shepherd on the medical drama Grey's Anatomy. Prior to Grey's Anatomy he made several television appearances and was nominated for an Emmy Award...
  
   as Dr. Derek Shepherd.

Episode Recap

Dr. Webber enforces an 80 hour per week maximum rule for the interns. Meredith is sent home for working too long of a shift. She does laundry and then goes to visit her mother at the nursing home—where she finds Derek. Derek wants to help Ellis, but Meredith doesn't want his help. Derek needs Richard to intervene. Izzie seems to be getting over Alex when she shares an undeniable chemistry with Denny Duquette, a patient awaiting a heart transplant. Bailey goes to retrieve Denny's heart, taking Cristina along for the ride. Meanwhile George and Addison treat Bex, a young teen with a tumor pressed against what they believe is an ovary, but later discover is a testis, making her intersexed. She talks to George about how she feels different from everyone else. Her parents don't want her to know about the testis, but George forces them to tell her. After talking to George, she asks for scissors and George cuts her hair, implying she chooses to live life as a boy. Her mother comes in and takes the scissors from George and cuts Bex's hair herself, implying she's okay with Bex's decision.

Title Reference

The episode's title refers to a song by R.E.M., itself a reference to a song titled Begin the Beguine, written by Cole Porter

Cole Porter

Cole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre...

.

Music

• "Hide Another Mistake" - The 88
  The 88
  The 88 is a four-piece indie rock band based in Los Angeles, California. They have released five full length albums as of 2010, and are the backing band for the Ray Davies Fall 2011 US Tour.- Members :Members of the band are:...
  
  
• "One of These Days" - Kraak And Smaak
• "Ride" - Cary Brothers
  Cary Brothers
  Cary Brothers is an American indie rock singer-songwriter originally from Nashville, Tennessee. After moving to Los Angeles and becoming a regular performer at the influential Hotel Cafe venue, Brothers first gained national attention with his song "Blue Eyes" on the Platinum-selling,...
  
  
• "Break Your Mama's Back" - Slow Runner