Grey’s Anatomy Review: People Change

Even though it’s been 12 years since that first scene between Meredith and her McDreamy, it’s still hard to believe it was that long ago. It’s no wonder that the blast from the past Meredith got this week was a bit of a surprise. Because it’s a Chandra Wilson directed episode of Grey’s Anatomy, we also get that special touch of flashbacks mixed in with the story.

First what I dub the “in-betweeners”. April refuses to tell Jackson that she’s pregnant again until she is ready. Alex of all people is the first one to figure it out. He encourages April to tell Jackson before he figures it out too. Alex and Jo are also in an in-between place with that pesky engagement ring. Jo doesn’t want to get married right now, but she does want the ring someday. So for now it stays in the drawer. Owen and Amelia finally get out of the in-between zone and decide to give it another try.

Poor DeLuca had no idea what hit him when Webber requested him to be on his service. I know it’s almost impossible to keep up with the Grey Sloan dynamics if you’re a newbie, considering how incestuous everybody has gotten over the years. However it would probably be a good idea to do your due diligence in regards to the family of the girl you are involved with, particularly her father. Otherwise you get the endless awkwardness that was the day between DeLuca, Webber, and Maggie. Add in Arizona’s cluelessness and you’ve got a tinderbox ready to be lit. They get it all worked out though, and Arizona continues to have a lot of fun in her cluelessness.

Meredith’s attention is divided between a longstanding patient who she must stay with due to a complication, and the very first patient she ever had, the very first surgery she ever scrubbed in on with Derek. She can’t leave her patient because that would mean leaving her with Riggs, who she doesn’t trust. She also has trust issues with Amelia, which is why Penny shuttles back and forth between patients.

Amelia doesn’t have time to worry about Meredith when she has to fix an aneurysm 10 times the size of the one Derek clipped years ago. Her patient asks the all too uncomfortable question Amelia is already asking herself: Is she as good as her brother? Owen refuses to let Amelia doubt her abilities because of Derek or her sobriety. In the end her patient, Meredith’s first patient, survives, while Meredith’s does not. Amelia finally gets, not validation, but peace. She is not her brother, as equally capable in her profession as he was.

The circumstances of the day compel Meredith to confront Riggs about what really happened to Owen’s sister. The full story is that she insisted on getting on a medical helicopter to supervise the transfer of a patient while they were in an unstable region. Riggs tried to fight her on it, but lost that battle, and the helicopter simply vanished. If Owen thinks that Riggs just forgot about that and moved on, he clearly hasn’t been paying attention. We’ll see if they can ever actually hash it out.

Who else got teary-eyed hearing Derek saying “It’s a Beautiful Day to Save Lives” in flashbacks?