It was bound to happen at some point. Like the case of a mass shooting that forced the doctors to relive their own shooting trauma a few seasons back, a plane crash has brought back all too vivid memories of one of the worst moments of their lives. This week’s Grey’s Anatomy brings memories of the past, and for Meredith Grey, the fear that the past is repeating itself.
Meredith begins having PTSD flashbacks to the plane crash 3 years ago (has it been that long since we lost Mark and Lexie?) and immediately goes to find Arizona. Within the first few minutes of the hospital getting the victims of the plane crash, Arizona and Meredith are hiding in a closet trying to compose themselves and not see their own experiences in their patients. It doesn’t help that Meredith is already on edge because she can’t find her husband, which brings back the memory of not being able to find Derek following their own plane crash. Meredith keeps replaying the last sweet conversation that she and Derek had (he wants another baby!), and it splits her mind away from her work. Bailey sees that her friend is distracted, and so gives Meredith a deadline of 5pm until she can panic.
Arizona is ready to crack (okay, she’s halfway there with that weird laugh), so Alex decides to be her person for the day since it would be awkward for Callie to do it. As much as Alex tries to be there for her, Arizona won’t let him. Alex’s protectiveness has less to do with what Arizona can handle and more to do with Alex’s guilt over being the person who cut off Arizona’s leg. Alex finally spills the beans, and Arizona realizes how ridiculous she was for blaming Callie this whole time. I cannot believe it took three full years for Arizona to find out that Callie covered for Alex so that Arizona wouldn’t hate him. This lie really only put a bigger burden on all three of them, so I’m glad the truth is out.
In between being there for Arizona, Alex and his friends have to explain to Maggie why this particular case is so sensitive to them. Maggie is horrified (especially after her ridiculous tirade about being stuck on a tarmac for 4hrs), and immediately rushes to her sister’s side both for a tricky surgery and to talk Meredith off the ledge. The sisters end up working together to save their patient with some ingenuity, and Maggie tells Meredith that it’s time to go home and wait it out there.
Unfazed by bad memories, Stephanie tends to one of the plane crash victims who is a love story in the making. The duo went for a first date on a plane and since it crashed have been worrying about each other and are convinced they are meant to be. Fresh off of saving the girl’s life, Stephanie is enamored with the love story and her role in it. Unfortunately Owen and Amelia are still on the outs and it’s starting to affect their professional relationship to the point that Stephanie gets fed up and yells at her superiors to stop ruining her love story day. This forces Amelia to confront Owen about his attitude, to which he responds that not everything has to do with her. Owen may not have been on the plane, but his guilt over being the one to put his friends on that plane still weighs heavily on him. It’s something he never truly got over.
Webber sums up the day best with “The minute you see all the things you have, you see all the things you stand to lose”; and if you make it to the end of the day, it’s nice to enjoy the view you’ve been granted. Enjoy it while it lasts, because the last view the audience gets is a shot of police lights in Meredith’s driveway just as she is about to surely call them to say her husband is missing.
Was this week’s flashback to the Season 8 plane crash handled well?
[Photo via ABC]
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