ABC
Seriously? SERIOUSLY!? Can someone please tell me why this episode was flagged as a crossover event with Station 19? Because other than that newlywed couple being transported from a Station 19 incident, bringing Ben Warren to the ambulance bay for a hot second (and that happens from time to time on Grey’s without a crossover warning) WHY WAS THIS A CROSSOVER LABEL? Because Station 19 can’t hold its own ratings and Grey’s-a-holics will tune in desperate for some Grey-Sloan doctor action. False. Advertising!
That aside, this anticlimactic, ho-hum episode is the closest thing that Grey’s has had to a ‘normal-middle-of-a-season’ episode since before the pandemic. Yes, Meredith woke up (was there ever seriously a doubt that she wouldn’t? As Bailey & Maggie say – she’s invincible and unstoppable, much like the show itself …) and she was awake for like five seconds, long enough to have that heartfelt moment of telling Richard he’s basically her new person. (He picked her to be his medical directive person some time ago and now she’s picked him, yay family.) And to gripe about Wilson’s switch to OB, which means that she is listening and she can hear everyone when they talk. But does this mean COVID Beach is over? Are we done with all the literal ghosts of Meredith’s past? No more Derek, George, DeLuca, Lexi, or Mark? Probably. But who knows. (The only other dead character we really could have hoped for was Ellis or possibly Adele …) And since the living don’t come to the beach in the same way, we can stop holding out hope for Cali, Arizona, Addison, or Alex. (No one is ever going to stop holding out hope for Cristina. No one. Ever. And no one wants Izzie. No one. Ever.)
Hayes gets emotional over an unsavable patient, some random thing or other that Jo is spouting off about gives him the genius brain trigger for how to save the unsavable patient. The unsavable patient is saved. (It’s more emotionally cued in because it’s a little baby and the true pathos of trying to cope with having to pray for someone else’s baby to die so that yours can receive a heart transplant is very, very deep … but it’s still the same tried-n-true Grey’s formula of ‘Patient-X has Y-problem, and Z-doctor gives tangentially-related-X advice to solve Y-problem’.)
Jo and Schmidt have funny little moments a handful of times in the hallway; Bailey’s back, and her relationship advice blows up in her face as she tries to guide the ‘crossover’ couple into staying together. (If you watched the trainwreck, which was actually a car slammed into the back of a truck, of Station 19, you learn the couple are ill-fitted newlyweds.) All of Bailey’s advice, however, is really intended for Owen … who is still, basically Owen. (And even tries to call Bailey out for saying the OR has heard enough of his personal life … but did that ever stop the entire hospital when his personal life was Cristina? Or Amelia? And also Bokhee – Oh, Bohkee! Those looks! Priceless!)
The main in-hospital issue is the mass-rapid-testing station that Avery has setup. And with his fathomless checkbook, he starts booking hotels for those who test positive but can’t go back to their homes because of having high-risk loved ones there. And this sets off an ‘out-loud’ anger in the elder of the two Ortiz residents. Once again, Avery doing a thing with his endless wealth – for the greater good – but as in most cases – no good deed goes unpunished. She points out that because he’s booking up hotel rooms at full-price, the local charity chapter who was trying to do the same thing for under-served and impoverished, predominately black and brown populations now can’t do so because the hotels don’t want to offer that charity discounted rooms when Avery is willing to pay full price. This all comes to a head, in a good way, with Avery calling her to one of the innumerable conference rooms (or maybe they just have the one) and telling her to write down how you systemically change the problem, how you address the root, because she’s got limitless ideas and he’s got limitless funds.
And the main-out-of-hospital element this week is the surprise arrival of Link’s newly-in-love-previously-divorced (and unclear if they got married in the pandemic or not) parents. Who show up in an RV at the Grey Household, after having lived in it for 14 days without human contact otherwise. They just – show up and swoop the kids (including Scout) away to see Mt. Rainier for the day. Convenient! Except that it sparks an impromptu ‘almost’ proposal (twice) from Link because his mom, and apparently Zola, both don’t understand why he and Amelia aren’t married yet. Despite the tantalizing temptation of getting to have the house all to themselves for the day (spoiler – they never get to enjoy their naked time because – FEELINGS!!), this is actually one of the most devastating moments of reality in this week’s episode.
Amelia confesses that lately all she does is dream about getting high. She’ll be feeding Scout, zone out, and fantasize about wanting to be high. She gets to the heart of what every struggling and recovering addict is facing during this Pandemic out here in the real world. All of the triggers – paranoia, isolation, hopelessness, defeat, despair, etc. – have been put on mega-steroids and driving so many addicts in recovery back to their vices. Link does point out how amazing and strong she is because most drug addicts who crave drugs – just go do the drugs. (We even get a perfect callback when she expresses that she just wants to go to a dispensary and smoke weed – and he asks why not and she gives us the line she gave to Betty what feels like a million years ago – ‘Because if I smoke weed it’s likely that I will forget to not do heroin.’) No marriage proposals are actually – er – proposed … but they do discuss it in depth, and ultimately – one day at a time. He’ll consider marriage, and she’ll stay clean and sober. (Not sure if anyone has phoned to tell her Mer’s awake yet.)
Ultimately a ho-hum episode … other than the social justice issues being tackled on megablast volume. (AND GOOD – they have a platform with millions and millions of viewers – USE IT!) Next week looks like it is going to be a gut punch. It appears we’re headed into Black Lives Matters protest territory (with specific attention to the George Floyd murder) and what looks like Catherine Fox being admitted to the hospital for taking a tear gas canister to the face. You’re going to need your tissues for sure next week.
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