ABC
Woah. Woah. WHAT!? Did they actually manage to produce a ‘tear-away’ episode that we cared about!? Seriously? SERIOUSLY! Because usually those ‘let’s focus on these two characters in a realm outside of Grey-Sloan’ stories are a snooze fest … or maybe I just didn’t (and still don’t) care about Japril/Jaggie etc. But this – just – WOAH.
Anyone who’s stuck it out with the series this long has been dying to see the fourth and final Shepherd sister! (Even if Amelia is technically the youngest!) We all remember McBitchy, and Lizzie of course who gave up half a leg or something like that so Derek could operate. And of course Amy … but where oh where has Kathleen been hiding all these years??
We finally got to encounter her tonight but not as you might think (unless of course you watched the preview and then you knew it was a Shepherd Family ambush!) No surprises that Lizzie wasn’t there (guess Neve Campbell had better things to do …) and with that sham of a ‘Link is Owen, my husband’ plotline – it stood to reason that perhaps when Lizzie was at Seattle Grace Mercy West/Grey-Sloan Memorial … that she had perhaps met/encountered/remembered Owen and that’s why they couldn’t bring her on for this little Shepherd Shindig Showdown …
EXCEPT THEN TYNE DALY HAPPENED.
Mamma Shepherd came back!!! THAT was everything – because Tyne Daly! WOO! And damn if she didn’t march straight up in there with ‘No this isn’t Owen because when I came to visit Derek – I met Owen.’ BOOM. The end. Goodbye. Walk away. Gotta love Tyne Daly. (And who can forget how alarmingly high Meredith’s ponytail was when SHE met Tyne Daly as Mamma Shepherd some zillion years ago!) So we will absolutely forgive not getting to meet any of dead-Derek’s 15 or so nieces and nephews (which he’s been talking about since season one …) because we got a recap of Tyne Daly.
Two-second phone call with Owen from the bathroom and the recap with Maggie & Mer at the end gives us that illusion that we never left the realm of Grey-Sloan, even though this was hardcore a Link & Amy episode. The potential for them to be a thing, have a thing, and continue to be and have a thing is actually growing on me. Which is a pity because that rules him out indefinitely for Mer (and in a few short weeks we all know that DeLuca thing is going to blow up. It’s only been a hot minute since the love of his life Sam was ripped from his arms …)
There is a deep thing there – Link & Amy. But seriously – when he said ‘since the divorce’ in that pizza shop … he was talking about leaving the team he was the sports-med doctor from, right? Not some previous ex-wife we know nothing about?
Nancy continues to maintain her title of McBitchy. Can’t say I much like Kathleen either. (STILL a bit confused about the Shepherd background story … and its financial inconsistencies … because somewhere in there Derek said they grew up poor with the dad working in that convenience store where he was ultimately shot & killed over a watch his wife gave him … but in another instance Meredith recalls all the Shepherd children attending a French pre-school, explaining why during one of Amelia’s brain surgeries/tests she could speak French …) But these two were just awful. And poor Link if he didn’t just step right into it!
Still a really great episode! With a promising bust to follow on next week’s episode as the preview shows DeLuca getting caught by Zola. At least things are looking up for Amy & Link.
Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursday at 8:00 PM on ABC.
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