ABC
So you almost don’t want to care about this week’s banal, day-to-day existence because ADDISON MONTGOMERY IS COMING BACK NEXT WEEK!!! But we’ll worry about that next week. This week saw the return of — well — normalcy. It’s not that the kind of ‘back to normal’ we all imagine will come someday, but the ‘normal of then with now-time relevance’ in that way that only Grey’s Anatomy can do.
Richard’s got the ‘kids’ (I guess they’re all residents now since interns aren’t a thing anymore because — COVID) but they’re finding the joy in ‘mock-competition’ which doubles up as a skill-sharpening experience. Every class had one. And in this class, Schmidt wins the solo. Recycle, reuse, repeat. Except when a routine complication pops up in his surgery, threatening the success of the surgery and the life of the patient (and we will take two seconds to talk about the sheer stupidity of the younger generations doing BOGUS INTERNET NONSENSE which ends them in the ER with a strawberry in the hoohoo and a yoni egg trapped in their descending colon …) instead of the ‘onlookers’ in his class watching, taking bets, and discussing his eminent failure — Bailey (who is also in the gallery) puts the intercom on and says, ‘Help him out, folks.’ And they do. This year’s class lesson? Teamwork + Support + Kindness = Successful surgeries. Schmidt has finally come into his own; Bloodbank has come such a long way!
Jo is not a blonde. (Just like when Sloan told Lexie she was no blonde … but hey, this too shall pass.) She is, however, trying to encourage Link to find the joy where he can. He’s got a healthy kid, he loves his job, be good with that.
FINALLY someone to put Owen in his place. Shout-out to HAYES! Discharging Hunt’s military, terminal patient (despite the patient agreeing to go AMA) and then shutting Hunt down with a simple ‘oh hey — terminal parent with young kid? Who’s got more insider knowledge on that? Okay then.’ And for once in his life actually having Hunt respond like a human being instead of a rage machine!? Maybe marrying Teddy was the right call after all. (LOVE how Grey’s is still on the topical relevancy — here’s looking at you, Veterans Association, twisting things all around so that our servicemen and women can’t get coverage for health issues they sustained while in service to the country because ‘they can’t’ prove it.’)
ABC
Speaking of Teddy, she’s doing that double-worry, over-thinking thing. Leo is rather enjoying his Princess Elsa dress. (And she went all Derek on that poor doctor-dad when he was staring at Leo in the dress. Remember when Derek jumped all over that doctor-mom about his being a white dad with a black daughter?) And now Teddy is the mom with the son who likes wearing his costume dresses. They’re normalizing it. AND IT SHOULD BE NORMALIZED. She’s not wrong in worrying about the world and people being cruel; Owen has the right idea ‘they might be — but we won’t. We’ll be supportive and there for him.’
And on that NORMATIVE note, the doctor (who was on screen for two seconds out in MN) was introduced with ‘they’ pronouns and nobody batted an eye. AS IT SHOULD BE. Claps and snaps to Grey’s. Mer, apparently, will not be moving to MN … because she’s Meredith Grey and although she can say ‘move this to Seattle Grace’ (it didn’t happen) she can also say ‘I’ll set up a satellite lab in Seattle and fly here once a week.’ And that does happen in her joint-venture with Amelia to start research on curing Parkinsons. I have this sneaking suspicion that much more of Season 18 is going to feature time in MN with Dr. NIck-Scott Marsh-Speedmen than is probably necessary or wise. But hey, Cristina spent a whole half a season out that way once with Dr-Mr. Feeny and it was fine.
The big takeaway this week — trying to debunk systemic racism from deep inside the system. That falls on Winston (sans Maggie — who is in Boston because her dad was having hip surgery. Hope he didn’t get a cobalt replacement like Richard did that one fictitious time he did …) and one of the intern-residents this week. Fighting for a diabetic patient with kidney disease, who is ineligible for the transplant list because the qualifying criteria is skewed against African-Americans. Love the fight, love the push, love the result and the light it sheds to so many other issues in this same vein. Do not love this mystery Doc (nameless nephrologist) who, as we all figure, has been at Grey-Sloan probably since before it merged with Mercy West. (Don’t we know by now there are no other doctors at this hospital other than the ones we track incessantly!?) And who is this Doctor Wong? Oh wait, the person who has to disappear to make room for Addison no doubt. ADDISON.
Next week it looks like the Seattle heatwave hits home at Grey-Sloan; cannot wait!!!
What did you think of this episode? Start a conversation in the comments section below.
Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursdays at 9:00 PM on ABC.
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