The third series of the Emmy- and Golden Globewinning medical drama continues, following the trials and tribulations of Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) and her fellow interns at Seattle Grace Hospital. In this week’s episode, Izzie wakes up on the morning after the night before; Cristina makes a decision about her future with Burke; and it is interview day for the chief-of-surgery hopefuls.

After a night helping George drink himself into oblivion after his flaming row with Callie, Izzie wakes up with more than just a hangover. As soon as she comes to, Izzie sees her best friend lying naked next to her and recalls the previous night’s events. Seizing the opportunity to make an escape, Izzie creeps out of the room without disturbing George.

In the kitchen, she runs into Meredith, who promptly says, “You and George were really going at it last night.” Izzie is mortified, but it quickly becomes apparent that Meredith is only referring to the pair’s all-night drinking and gossip session. Meredith, however, is not the only one who is unaware of the night’s happenings. When George emerges, he tells Izzie that he had so much to drink that he has a memory blackout of several hours.

For the time being, his immediate concerns are appeasing Callie and easing his violent hangover. Once he gets to work, George struggles to face the day. His cause is not helped by a persistent Izzie, who is determined to figure out how George could have forgotten that they had sex. “Whatever I did, whatever I said, I’m sure I didn’t mean it,” he says. “You meant it a lot,” Izzie insists. “You meant it more than once.”

To add to George’s trials, Callie announces that her father is in town and wants to meet them for lunch. At a nearby eatery, George concentrates on selling himself to his new father-in-law (Hector Elizondo, ‘Chicago Hope’), saying he is “clean as a whistle. And a mathlete”. But during the meal, George has an unsettling flashback and bolts from the restaurant to confront Izzie.

Elsewhere, Cristina has decided that the best way to mend her relationship with Burke is to behave how she did before they got engaged. Announcing the idea to her friends, she says, “Be kind, rewind –my plan has a name.” An obviously preoccupied Izzie advises Cristina, “You need to fix it. Cos it seems like you guys have a pretty good thing and pretty good things are rare and hard to come by. Unlike really screwed up and complicated things, which seem to be frickin’ everywhere.”

Meanwhile, it is the day of the chief-of-surgery interviews and Marlow is out to impress. Rumour has it that he has drawn up a ten-year plan for the hospital to include in his presentation to the board. Addison, Derek, Burke and Mark start to worry about the lack of preparation they have done for their own interviews. So when Mark selects Meredith to assist him in a difficult surgery, Derek suspects he is only doing so to win easy points. Meredith’s mother died recently, so Mark has an excuse if his student performs badly in surgery. Derek explains the theory to his dubious girlfriend: “If it goes well, he gets the credit, but if it goes poorly, he gets the save.” But as the accusations fly, who will keep their eyes on the prize and who will lose sight of it?