Soundtrack: Greg Laswell – What a day 

Dr. Meredith Grey: We like to think that we are rational beings, humane, conscientious, civilized, thoughtful. But when things fall apart even just a little it becomes clear we’re no better than animals. We have opposable thumbs, we think, we walk erect, we speak, we dream, but deep down, we’re all still rooting around in the primordial ooze, biting, clawing, scratching out an existence in the cold, dark world like the rest of the tree toads and sloths.
 There’s a little animal in all of us, and maybe that’s something to celebrate. Our animal instinct is what makes us seek comfort, warmth, a pack to run with. We may feel caged, we may feel trapped… but still, as humans, we can find ways to feel free. We are each other’s keepers. Still we are the guardians of our own humanity. And even though there’s a beast inside all of us… What sets us apart from the animals is that we can think, feel, dream, and love. And against all odds, against all instinct… we evolve.

 Dr. Richard Webber: The contest is a lion fight. So chin up, put your shoulders back, walk proud, strut a little. Don’t lick yr wounds. Celebrate them. The scars you bear are the sign of a competitor. You were in a lion fight, Stevens. Just because you didn’t win doesn’t mean you don’t know how to roar.

 Dr. Richard Webber: You’re an underdog, aren’t you, Karev?
 Dr. Alex Karev: Sir?
 Dr. Richard Webber: It’s not that you don’t have the skills. You have the skills, but you’re scrappy. You’re a fighter. I like that. I always root for the underdog.
 Dr. Alex Karev: I’m a fighter, but I’m no underdog. Like this guy here. He didn’t provoke that bear. His brother did it. Now he’s here,fighting for his life, paying for someone else’s mistakes. It doesn’t make him an underdog. It just makes him have to work harder to overcome the cards he got dealt.