April 09, 2021

Grey's Anatomy: Sorry Doesn't Always Make It Right (17x11)

This one is going to be quick, sorry.

Cons:

While I am glad, in theory, that Owen apologized to Teddy, I'm still... frustrated by the way Teddy's trauma has been worked into the story. Owen says he should have known that Teddy sleeping with Tom was a sign that something was wrong because it was "so out of character" for her not to be there for him, and be a good friend to him. But... he also says he'd love to hear more about Allison. Again, Teddy was cheating when she was with Allison, too. This was before the trauma that led to her having all these symptoms that cause her to betray people. So really... Teddy participating in adultery is not "out of character" at all. That's the whole point and the whole problem with how all of this is being framed!!!

A more petty complaint is that while I really like Amelia and Link, for some reason this story gave me more secondhand embarrassment than usual! I was cringing during a lot of their scenes. Especially the proposal thing. And Amelia's vocal fry was really pronounced. This is not a knock on the actor's voice, I just think she sounded like maybe she was more tired than usual? Which could have been an acting choice, I was just... really noticing it.

I found Meredith waking up to be... really anticlimactic? Like, I loved that little moment where she said she was glad she'd chosen Richard and they had that connection, but then she immediately says "we need to talk about Wilson" and it becomes all about Jo's career change, and then Meredith is right back to sleeping. I guess I wanted a bit more cheesiness or gravitas or something.

One cliche I hate on this show and other medical dramas is when a character gets a brilliant insight and like... solves a medical problem because of an errant statement by another character during an unrelated conversation. That's not how ideas usually happen, just this brilliant flash of insight from nowhere. Jo saying something about "scraping away parts of her heart" and then Hayes being like "aha! I can now save this baby!" was really ham-fisted and didn't work for me.

Pros:

(I did like that the baby got saved, though. Don't get me wrong.)

On a lighter/stranger note, we have the story of the newlyweds who were in a car accident, and the husband's decision to get an annulment because he realizes now that his new wife is selfish and not the person he wants to spend his life with. This provided some good comedy, and it's nice to have some representation of the fact that emotional abuse/manipulation/selfishness is something that very much can happen even if it doesn't seem obvious at first. This guy saw the warning signs a little too late in some ways, but at least he's getting out now!

I liked watching Jo and Bailey cooing over baby Luna in the NICU. This whole changing specialties thing for Jo makes sense. It's this very sad/bittersweet thing where babies were Alex's thing, and now they can be Jo's, but it's not about Alex, it's about herself. I like that Meredith heard her even while asleep. I like that Richard says he'll support her. I do think it's kind of weird how dire Jo is making the situation sound.

Jackson trying to do the right thing with his money, and making a blunder, then acknowledging his mistake and asking for help with how to use his resources? Yes please. I like the way Jackson has suffered due to systemic racism but also has all this privilege due to his wealth, and how he wrestles with these questions of his identity and how he can help. It's not simple, but he's doing the right thing. He's got deep pockets, and a genuine desire to do good, and the ability to recognize his own shortcomings in understanding how best to do that. I liked the intern putting him in his place, but also recognizing that she may have been a bit unprofessional in how she spoke to him at first.

Despite my complaints about Amelia and Link, there were also great moments, like Amelia excited to go have sex and then breaking down on the stairs. I also like how much these two genuinely seem to love each other. It's moving. And Amelia's so brave and strong, talking about how she's been struggling more with her addiction recently, but holding firm to her sobriety all the same.

Like I said, this is going to be a short one - I'm absolutely sure I've missed some plot points but that's all I feel compelled to talk about. More Meredith next week? Or is she still napping? We shall see!

7/10

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