ABC
Seriously. SERIOUSLY!? I mean, seriously — nobody for a hot second thought Owen was going to die — and it was even cute for a half a hot second that they toyed around with him potentially being paralyzed. (Haven’t crossed that bridge yet; couldn’t lose the leg, we did that with Robins so many seasons ago … though Grey’s does love a good recycled plot line!)
SPOILERS: Nobody dies. Except the driver of the vehicle (which you only know if you watched the crossover of Station 19, and was only useful because you got to see the full extrication of Owen … and Ben Warren going buck-wild in true Ben Warren style … he did it for AGES on Grey’s so why should 19 be any different.) Owen pulls through — it’s never even all that touch-and-go. Hamilton pulls through, even gets a lecture from Meredith — though her whole ‘I have kids here in Seattle whose lives I’m missing and am never getting those days back!!’ chastising is basically forgotten when Nick Marsh decides to come to town at the end of the episode and get them a hotel with room service. (Kids? What kids!?)
Even Farouk — yes — even Farouk gets to live. The heart is bruised — but Winston makes the decision to go ahead with the transplant anyway, pulling Maggie in for the assist and Farouk pulls through. Nobody dies! (Teddy even gets a great moment of ‘needing a moment’ to try and let her insides thaw out because she thought she’d lost Owen.) AND NOBODY DIES!
But Hayes quits. (No official word why Richard Flood is leaving … which means maybe he isn’t leaving? Or he’s in biiiig trouble — like Isaiah Washington/Patrick Dempsey kinda trouble?) The spin is up to be two-fold. His life flashed before his eyes — and he’s not over losing Abigail, which he does confess that he realizes now (as to why he and Meredith didn’t work out in our ‘down-time-between-seasons-dating-attempts) that he was just blaming on his son’s panic attacks. But he’s also become ethically compromised … because Owen told him about his in-action plan back in the SUV as it was teetering over the cliff — and now he feels responsible.
The plan for soldiers who are dying a slow, horrific death — caused directly by their time spent in service, who live in states where ‘physician assisted suicide/death with dignity’ is illegal — the plan where he has stolen life-ending medications and intends to pass it on to these soldiers. Hayes now knows that Owen physician-assisted Noah (recurring patient character, now deceased) and intends to help others and it rankles his conscience. So at the end of the episode he storms into Bailey’s office — and you’re certain he’s about to turn Owen in — and Bailey goes off on this very scripted, very forced ‘thank God for Owen Hunt; good man’ speech. And you can see him weighing it up — Hayes — and you think for one brief moment he’s not going to turn him in. Then he interrupts her.
WITH HIS NOTICE. He quits. Off to Ireland. (Perhaps even to the parking lot of no return!) But what he did accomplish before that was making sure Megan was okay. Sitting with her in the chapel — telling her he needed to know her ‘stay alive’ plan, and insisting she follow through with it — THAT was incredible.
ABC
Link and Amelia came to blows. And he nailed her with it. She accuses him of gaslighting her yet again — and he spins it right back on her. Because she has — whether she sees it or not, admits it not — basically been doing the same thing to him. And while Amelia is beat-up about it? She’s not so beat up that she doesn’t go and have fries (declining the actual drink while acknowledging the yen for one) with Dr. Bartley over at Joe’s.
Link and Jo start making out at the end of the episode. George and Izzie anyone? Difference is these two are sober. Ish. And no one’s married. (Jo did finalize her divorce from Alex, right?) And Link even says ‘this is a bad idea’ but they go ahead with it anyway. TEARS AND DISASTER AHEAD UNDOUBTEDLY.
The gut-punch this week was Schmidt. With echoes of Bailey when she locked herself in her lab, testing over and over and over after those two patients that died because of the cheap gloves that transmitted her unknown MRSA to them, except this was Schmidt who did what they all did. Sure, it wasn’t an LVAD wire and he wasn’t in love with the patient, but we’ve seen it all before. The tunnel-vision camera at the beginning as if we were literally in Schmidt’s eyes trying to tear the mask and gloves off was one of the most brilliant POV-cinematic tricks seen on Grey’s in a long, long time. Watching him scrub his hands until he was bleeding was excruciating. As Meredith said — ‘he flamed out’ and it had tones of every doctor we’ve ever seen lose a patient and go off-piece. Especially when he was finally able to be physically wrenched away from the sink (very reminiscent of Alex carrying Izzie out of Denny’s room).
Helm had one job — ‘don’t leave him alone’, said Jo. (Helm looks stellar, btw, very svelte!) And at the end? Schmidt is alone in his gauze paws, sitting on the rainy-wet curb outside near the ambulance bay and poor Nico finds him. YA HAD ONE JOB, Helm!
Bailey and Webber are at war. Won’t be the first time. Most certainly won’t be the last either. That icy moment in the elevator — just brings back memories of when Adele said ‘well, from wife-wife to work wife? SOMEONE in this hospital is sleeping with our husband.’ Because you forget that Bailey and Webber ARE work husband and wife. So that elevator moment was the active reflection of a huge marital fight.
Meredith was there and yet not there; the beauty of being the series star and yet knowing it can completely function without you. Her most poignant moment was perhaps sitting in the gallery (before Link’s temper tantrum cleared it during Owen’s surgery) with Richard, and not anti-defending the Webber method? But pointing out that if the Webber method had been in place when she was a resident? She would have been drunk on the power and not waited. And that Alex and Cristina wouldn’t have waited. Always nice to remember where you came from in those moments.
Suppose we’ll find out next week if Hayes really is packing it in or not.
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.
Share this post
