Is it winter finale time already? I feel like all of these shows just came back on the air! This was a great episode of Grey's Anatomy, escalating various plot threads, resolving some dangling ones, leaving some cliffhangers, setting up some new ideas. All of this is centered around a very cheesy and appropriate metaphor in the shape of a big disaster that has our doctors scrambling.
Cons:
There were a lot of elements to this episode, a lot of different stories to tell. There was bound to be one that slipped through the cracks, and unfortunately this week that was Owen and Amelia. Owen and Riggs talk about their pasts, which I liked, but then we get a moment at the very end of the episode where Owen comes home and finds that Amelia has left him. She just... leaves a note and runs off. I'm very frustrated about this. It seems like there must be something better to do with Amelia at this point than just have her screw up her life again. I get it. She's unstable and unhappy. But at some point doesn't that get old? Owen is a sad martyr and Amelia is a pathetic train wreck. So what else is new?
This episode also had a couple of logistical problems, which are so not a big deal, but they still bother me. First of all, I live in Seattle. When did this earthquake supposedly happen? There hasn't been an earthquake bad enough to crack building foundations in the area since like 2001. The other thing is about Alex's trial. They were all acting like the trial was going to take one day. For a case like this, you're looking at probably two weeks. And Jo gets called to the stand last minute? Nope. Nobody does that. She would have been deposed and questioned long ago if either side planned to put her on the stand. It's unrealistic.
Pros:
But like I said, it was cool to see Riggs and Owen talk about their past. In the hands of a less charismatic actor, Riggs could be the most boring character ever on this show. Instead, he's really, really likable, and I actually feel pretty invested in their repaired friendship. Riggs even asks Owen out for a drink, and Owen gives him a rain check! Progress, my friends. Progress.
So, the main plot around which everything else is circulating is that an apartment building in Seattle suddenly collapses, killing and injuring a ton of people. As everybody rushes to the hospital, the landlord confesses to Ben that he knew that the foundation had cracks from an earthquake, and that he was looking for ways to get the money to repair it. This is all his fault. He believes that Ben is a priest, but of course he's not, so that raises all these issues of confidentiality. Some of the victims of the collapse find out that their landlord is responsible. When a little girl tragically dies of her injuries, the girl's mom sneaks her way into the landlord's room and tries to kill him, but Ben stops her, and she is taken away by the police.
Meanwhile, Eliza Minnick shows up to help with the emergency, even though she doesn't officially start for a few more days. Bailey hasn't exactly told Richard that he's out of a job yet, which makes things very awkward. Arizona and Minnick flirt and agree to go out for drinks, while Maggie takes Richard's side, furious that he's being ousted. When Maggie goes to Jackson, it turns out that he didn't know about this change either. Jackson gathers a room full of surgeons and they all talk about how they want to fight for Richard's job. Turns out, he's got quite the crowd on his side, including Arizona.
The other big story is that Alex's trial is tomorrow. He was offered a plea deal that would put him in prison for two years, but he turned it down. That all changes when Jo learns that she's being called to the stand. She can't lie on the stand, so the truth about her husband might come out. And if it does, it becomes a matter of public record, which means he could find her. Jo tells Alex the truth, and says that if she runs away, it's because she's running from her husband, not from Alex. Alex decides to take the plea deal to save Jo from having to testify. He tells Bailey, who is devastated by his decision, and then he tells Meredith, who stubbornly refuses to accept his decision and argues with him vehemently about it. As the episode ends, we see Alex getting ready to go talk to the District Attorney, but his final decision is left up in the air.
There's a lot to discuss here. Let's start with Richard vs. Minnick. As I think I may have mentioned last week, I'm pretty much on Minnick's side, here. Yeah, she's a little annoying and cocky, but Bailey is doing what's best for the hospital. Still, the idea of everybody teaming up to defend Richard does warm the heart, and it makes for good conflict. It was really heartwarming to hear everybody decide to defend him. I think the most heartrending moment was when Bailey and Richard are talking about this. She says she's trying to do what's best for the hospital, in spite of her very strong personal feelings on the subject. This is a seriously compelling situation. It was so sweet of Maggie to stand up for Richard the way she did. This is the best showing she's had all season. Much better than her whining about Riggs.
Arizona and Minnick flirting made me really, really miss Callie for a second there, but I actually think they'll make a good couple. Their relationship may be doomed from the start, however, since Arizona is backing Richard in this upcoming power play. Still, I totally want Arizona to be happy, so I'm rooting for them.
Jo and Alex became compelling to me for the first time in a long time. I know it was way overdue, but I'm thrilled Jo finally told Alex the truth. And Alex's potential act of sacrifice is... ouch. But it's so perfect and fits so beautifully with everything I know of him as a character. He has all of these problems with low self worth, and yet in giving in to these feelings, he's committing a beautiful act of sacrifice for Jo. Here, we finally see both Jo and Alex cop to their culpability in this whole mess. Alex never should have beat up DeLuca. He never should have said such horrible things to Jo. And Jo shouldn't have lied about who she was. In the end, it all leads to a big mess for everybody.
Alex and Meredith are, surprise surprise, my favorite relationship on the show. It was so hard to watch Alex say goodbye to her. As Meredith tells him not to give in, Alex keeps saying "you'll be fine," but Meredith won't let him get away with that. It's not about her. Of course she'll be fine. This is about him. He's the one who won't be fine. And Meredith might be right. If he goes to prison for two years, and throws away everything he's worked for, is he going to be able to claw his way out of that? It was so sad when Alex told Mer to kiss the kids for him. He's really become a part of the family, and all of that may be going away.
The actual building collapsing thing wasn't as compelling to me as the character stories, but I did like the way this episode examined guilt. Like I mentioned, Jo and Alex both admit guilt for their current situation. Bailey feels bad for how things have shaken out with Richard and Minnick. And every victim of the building collapse blames the landlord for their current state, and for their devastating losses. And on the surface, yeah, he's totally liable. But you start to learn more about his story, and it's not so cut and dry. He can't find the money to repair the building, because he refuses to raise the rents of his tenants. He knows a lot of them don't have enough money, and so he's been looking for another way. That doesn't make what he did right, but who really expects a building to suddenly collapse like that? It was super sad when the little girl died, obviously. There wasn't quite enough room to flesh out a lot of the patient characters, but luckily they kept the focus where it needed to be.
That's all I've got for the time being. This show won't be back until the third week of January, as we face the impossible reality of Trump's inauguration. Hopefully when Grey's comes back, there will be some good news regarding Alex, or Richard, or... or... something. I think I'm really going to need it.
9/10
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