Grey's Anatomy: It Came Upon a Midnight Clear (18x08)

I'm literally such a bad person but I hope they actually kill [redacted] off lol.

Cons:

Okay, let's start with this whole Link/Jo/Amelia/Kai kerfuffle. I feel like I'm going to sprain my eyeballs from rolling them so hard. This entire story is taking characters I like under different circumstances, and putting them into scenarios that just make me hate the time I'm spending with them. What a bummer! Jo's weird attraction to Link came out of nowhere, was sparked just by learning that he once had a crush on her, and seems to have made her into an instantaneously pining mess who feels conflicted about Link's impending confession to Amelia. Oh come on. Jeez. This is so stupid. I just want their friendship to be platonic, I just want these two nice people to be happy! Is that too much to ask?

On the other side of this, the whole "Link walks by just in time to see Amelia and Kai having their first kiss" thing was so goddamn stupid. I actually really like Kai and Amelia's energy together; as I've said, Amelia is a much more tolerable character to me when she's actually happy. Angst makes her insufferable. She seemed happy with Link, then they made a contrived conflict. Okay, fine. Make her happy with Kai, that works for me too. Just get it all over with and move on!

I don't know whether to put this in the "cons" section or not, but Meredith and Hayes had a brief scene in this episode that felt so much more real, and kinetic, and interesting, than anything that's ever happened between Meredith and her new beau. Why on earth would they not keep these two as the pairing? Sigh.

Pros:

Oh my god. The Webber Method thing is... intense. I knew the other shoe was going to drop, and I had a feeling Schmitt's ego was going to take a hit, but I had no idea it would happen in such an intense and tragic way. I thought that his patient was somehow going to live. I really did. And it's all the more tragic because there's this cute little rapport here, between Schmitt the doctor and Devon the podcaster, a good-natured guy who likes to help other people out with his meditative nature walks. I almost thought they were going for a flirtation angle here, like maybe there would be relationship angst with Nico and Levi, so when Levi fucking KILLS him on the operating table instead, I was... completely floored.

That whole scene, Miranda and Richard walking in, Helm trying her best to explain what happened and defend her friend, Bailey making Levi call time of death... god, it was all just so brutal. And honestly I don't blame Miranda for saying it's Richard's fault. The Webber Method does seem like a good idea in theory, but if it leaves things open for a mistake like this, clearly it's not worth much of anything.

Then there's poor Farouk, with Megan completely devastated and waiting for the worst... when we find out there's a heart transplant in Tacoma! Huzzah! Owen, Teddy, and Cormac all go to collect the heart together, and then on the way home, their driver has a massive stroke and the car careens off the road, landing in a tree right next to drop-off that will surely kill them if they fall.

This whole scenario is completely contrived and frankly ridiculously overdramatic, but in the way that reminds me of Grey's early days. As I alluded to in my opening line of this review, part of me wants Owen to die. Not because I don't particularly like him as a character, although that's... the case, but honestly because it would be such a huge shakeup. So dramatic. On the other hand, I am so not on board for more Teddy drama and trauma, so maybe I want him to be okay. I guess we'll have to wait for quite a while to find out!

But there is something just... peak good drama about these three characters in a precariously tilting car together, arguing over who should climb out and who stays behind... if Cormac dies, his kids are orphans! If Teddy and Owen both die, their kids are orphans. The drama!! And if they don't get out soon, Farouk will lose the heart transplant and likely won't live long enough to get another one. And Megan earlier in the episode basically said she's suicidal and if Farouk dies she's going to die too... the stakes really could not be any higher.

So yeah. I don't really have a lot more to say on this one, beyond being on the edge of my seat to find out if Owen makes it out alive or not... honestly, I'll get over it if he's gone. Sorry, dude.

Then there's Meredith's story, where her groundbreaking surgery is delayed by an unrelated health problem in the patient. I loved how this episode set my expectations for certain things to be the centerpieces, and then undercut them in ways that really shocked me. I thought this episode would be about the groundbreaking surgery, but instead you've got a routine Webber Method surgery going hugely wrong. I thought Farouk's fate would be decided, instead it's Owen whose life hangs in the balance.

And I will give a second shoutout to Amelia and Kai. I thought their first kiss scene was really sweet and the buildup was really just... tender and lovely. I feel like I get the sense that these two can confide in each other and be honest about their inner darkness and their driving need for career success. Maybe that's what Amelia needs? I liked that Link could get her out of her head and make her laugh, but maybe that was alienating for her, too.

So there you have it. See you in 2022 for however all these crazy twists affect our characters. Are we saying goodbye to another long-standing Grey's staple? Any chance we could resurrect Andrew DeLuca and let Owen be the dead one instead? Sigh.

8/10