If there was a set theme for Season 13 of Grey’s Anatomy, I’d have to call it “the next chapter”. For all the doctors, and for the hospital itself, this year has turned the page on new stories. Most importantly it’s gotten a lot of people out of their comfort zones, and not as a knee-jerk reaction to life-altering events. But this is Grey’s Anatomy, and life-altering events are how this show likes to end its seasons. This season finale serves as a goodbye to a beloved doctor, and hopefully the all-too welcome boot to one who is not so liked.
While the hospital scrambles to evacuate the hospital in the wake of the fire, they must also search for Stephanie. At this point they’re simply under the presumption that Stephanie is with the rapist, hoping against all hope that she wasn’t in the part of the building that exploded. Once Meredith gets word that Erin is missing, she alerts every person she comes in contact with to keep an eye out for the little girl. Jackson goes crazy looking for Stephanie, ala the Season 9 finale. This time it’s not just April who is upset with him, but Maggie as well. It’s actually really funny to see Jackson berated by both women at the same time, but this is what tips April off that there could be something between Maggie and Jackson. And yet still, in the middle the personal and otherwise obvious chaos, they are all worried about Stephanie. What does Minnick do when Stephanie is missing? She forgets to tell the police. Yeah, try to contain your fury. I’ll get back to that in a minute.
God only knows how, but Stephanie seems to have a mix of good luck and nerves of steel. She and the little girl Erin survive the explosion, but both end up injured and trapped. Badly burned and bruised, Stephanie’s adrenaline carries her through the next hour. She has moments of doubt and fear that she cannot hide from the little girl in her care, but she doesn’t let it weigh her down. Stephanie rises, quite literally. She takes care of Erin’s leg and lifts a heavy piece of equipment off it it, carries the little girl up to the roof, and performs CPR on her until eventually someone finds her. (Sidebar: I can only assume that the first responders featured in this episode will be in the slated in the Grey’s Anatomy firefighter spinoff.)
Stephanie ends up right back where she started. Years of sickness as a child made Stephanie sure that she never wanted to be in a hospital bed ever again. It’s why she became a doctor. She needed to be in the position of control in a hospital, not be a patient in it. Is it any wonder that after she gives her all to saving Erin, she decides she’s done? She’s done her work, for her life and her career. Now she needs her soul, to truly live again. Stephanie will be missed, but we cannot imagine anyone who deserves this freedom more. More to the point, Stephanie deserved to make this choice for herself. Minnick deserved to get fired for putting protocol before the safety of a doctor. Arizona is the only one who will miss her.
While the hospital needs all hands on deck, it’s not so bad that they need Amelia and Owen to come in to work. Owen needs to be with his sister when she arrives. Due to the explosion, Grey Sloan’s helipad is out of the question. As they head out of town to retrieve Megan, Meredith is left to tell Nathan that she is alive. I couldn’t stop my own tears watching Nathan take in the news with a simple “not funny” while he simultaneously cried and tried to choke in the oxygen. How could Meredith do anything else but let him go? If it were Derek she would have been there in seconds. But how do you hold it together when you’re the one being left behind?
And so we say goodbye to Jerrika Hinton. We’ll be sad to see her go, but she gave one hell of a last performance. All the best to her on her own next chapter. Grey’s Anatomy returns next Fall on ABC.
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