Christina Ricci’s Grey’s Anatomy Role, Explained

Long-running drama shows like Grey's Anatomy have an extensive, lucrative list of popular celebrities making highly-anticipated guest appearances in critical episodes. From Mandy Moore to Millie Bobby Brown, Shonda Rhimes' medical drama has cast influential stars to depict several social issues, including mental health, domestic violence, trafficking, and more. Among the series' more memorable guest stars is Christina Ricci, who played the young paramedic in Season 2.

Ricci is a household name when it comes to Hollywood child stars. Starting her career back in 1990 with Mermaids, Ricci has since then gone on to appear in countless movies and TV shows like Yellowjackets, Wednesday, The Good Wife, and more. However, her role in Grey's Anatomy, in what is regarded as some of the best episodes in the series, is the most memorable one.

Christina Ricci Guest Starred in Grey's Anatomy Season 2

She Appeared In a Double Episode

Christina Ricci as hannah davies in Grey's Anatomy episode It's The End of the World

At the peak of its popularity, Grey's Anatomy ventured into all sorts of uncharted territories, pushing the boundaries in terms of storylines and offering more passionate and aggressive character arcs. Christina Ricci joined the medical drama in a double-episode ride that featured an intense story showcasing the vulnerabilities and risks associated with being a medical professional. By the time It's the End of the World and its follow-up episode "As We Know It" hit the screens, fans assumed that the melodrama might not top the earlier conjoined patients with a metal pole fiasco. However, Grey's Anatomy went out of its way to give fans a literal bombshell-esque storyline that shocked Seattle Grace Hospital.

Episode

IMDb Rating

It's The End of the World

9.4

As We Know It

9.4

The episode opens up with Meredith having this strange feeling that she might die if she goes to work. However, she's convinced by Christina that there's nothing that can top a good surgery. When the interns arrive at the hospital, they're met with an emergency case about a guy named James Carlson, who has a huge chest cavity. However, when the ambulance arrived, they witnessed a young paramedic by the name of Hannah Davies with her hand stuck inside the wound. Although her partner advised her against it, Hannah claims that they tried everything to stop the bleeding, but only her hand did the trick.

Despite no one saying it exclusively, Meredith and Burke seemed impressed by Hannah's quick thinking and willingness to save a patient's life. Since there was nothing more they could do, Hannah was allowed in the OR until they could figure out how to remove her hand. That's when the young paramedic confines herself in Meredith, confessing that this is only her second week on the field. She is quite anxious to get out of there since her hand is becoming numb. The two women warm up to each other, thinking it was just another day in the OR, but had no idea this could have been their last.

Ricci's Hannah Davis Had a Memorable Role In Grey's Anatomy

She Perfectly Depicted the Crucial Role of Paramedics During Emergencies

When Burke and Meredith are busy saving her husband in the OR, Jason's wife starts having an argument with her husband's friend in the emergency room. It turns out that the two men were enacting WWII and ended up building a real bazooka. When Jason got in front of his creation to check why it wasn't working, the thing went off, and he took a direct hit. However, to Alex's horror, he realized that the bomb didn't go off and Hannah's hand wasn't exactly in a flesh wound. Just as Burke is handed a scalpel, Alex bursts into the OR and asks him about the exit wound. It then suddenly dawns on Burke, and he asks Hannah if her hand is touching something hard, which she immediately confirms.

Sensing that something is terribly wrong, Hannah panics, but Burke assures her that everything is going to be fine and directs everyone to leave the premises until the bomb squad arrives. Seeing how scared Hannah is, Meredith decides to stay to calm her down. As a young paramedic, Hannah immediately starts to wonder if she made a big mistake and that she still has the rest of her life in front of her. Ricci is particularly brilliant in the scene leading up to the bomb squad arriving. She perfectly captures the fear and anxiety of staring death right in the face and not being able to do anything about it. Seattle Grace Hospital becomes a madhouse when the bomb squad arrives, and it's deduced that they're in a lock-in situation until the bomb is safely diffused.

As Burke and the bomb squad leader, Dylan, figure out a way to remove the ammo without it triggering, Milton, the anesthesiologist, starts to get cold feet. Although he initially volunteered, imagining that they'd be turned into "blood rain" when the bombs explode, he bails. He leaves a shaking Hannah with one hand on the bomb and the other on an Ambu (Artificial Manual Breathing Unit). He tells her he has kids and abandons her.

Stuck in the OR alone, Hannah weighs the pros and cons of pulling her hand out if she has the chance. She debates that she's only 22 years old and shouldn't be in this situation. Hannah's fear resonates with all the medical professionals who sometimes have to put their lives on the line to save other people. Hannah was only doing her job and skillfully highlighted a dark side of the profession, which is the ever-present danger of the unknown, dealing with the unprecedented, and giving in to the urge to prioritize the patient's life.

Ricci Landed an Emmy Nomination By Playing Hannah Davis

The Double Episode Brought New Records of Popularity For the Show

grey's anatomy hannah, meredith, and cristina are in the OR in As We Know It

Christina Ricci was impeccable in her portrayal of a zealous, young paramedic who thought she was adding her share of goodness into the world by saving lives. When Hannah put her hand inside James to prevent him from dying, she was doing exactly what she was trained to do – to save lives no matter what. Although she was only a paramedic, her judgment motivated her to ignore the secondary disaster and focus on saving the life at hand. That's exactly what she thought when she stayed in the OR despite knowing she had her hand on a live bomb. However, the fear of death got the better of her, and despite Burke and Meredith's constant reassurances, Hannah panicked, pulled her hand out, and ran. Despite having every right to prioritize her life over others, Hannah felt guilty about leaving everyone else in a bind.

She hid, feeling numb and responsible for what might have happened in the OR. She's later discovered by George, who offers to tend to her bleeding hand, which she injured while running. She confesses to George that she felt she betrayed everyone by not being the person who stays in the storm till the end. Despite being inches away from death, Hannah proves her unwavering dedication to her profession. Her character stands for everything the medical profession is all about and proves that it's only enough for a doctor when they save everyone. Hannah felt like a captain who abandoned a sinking ship. However, when the disaster is contained, she's greeted like a hero by everyone. She's introduced to Jason's husband as the person who saved his life without thinking of the consequences.

Characters like Hannah Davis may be short-lived, but they do a wonderful job of making viewers appreciate the countless people associated with medicine. Hannah's dedication, fear, passion, and guilt were raw emotions that every doctor, surgeon, nurse, or paramedic may feel when they're faced with an impossible choice. Ultimately, Ricci was so memorable in her performance that it earned her an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress In A Drama Series in 2006. Not only that, but the double episodes also became Shonda Rhimes's prized possession as they also earned her an Emmy nomination in the writing category. For a show only in its second season, it was monumental and iconic and ushered Grey's Anatomy into what's known as the medical drama's peak era. The episodes garnered a whopping 37.88 million viewers, which was a big milestone for the series. It's safe to say that while the show is still running strong after 20 seasons, nothing can beat the exhilarating experience every time the series tries to do something out of the box. There have been countless guest stars on the show with pivotal stories to tell, but Hannah Davies' is the most heart-touching.

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