Grey's Anatomy: I Must Have Lost It on the Wind (11x01)

Eleven seasons. Wow. There are a few reasons why I think this show remains so successful. For me, the main reason is that every time they add new characters, they put a lot of effort into making them compelling and interesting. It's sometimes hard for me to remember that Arizona, Callie, April, Jackson, even Owen, were not part of the original lineup of the show. Even newer additions like Jo and Stephanie have totally captured my attention. It's what makes this show renewable, pretty much perpetually. Now we have yet another new addition to the cast. Let's start with a plot summary! As always with this show, there's a lot to get through.

Now that Cristina is gone, Maggie Pierce is the new cardio-thoracic surgeon. As she and Meredith work on a patient, they end up butting heads. Maggie is distraught to find that her biological sister is not a nice person, and she rants to Richard (her biological father) about how she doesn't need any new family, anyway. Richard, in coping with the discovering of his daughter, goes to an AA meeting to talk about his experience. Unfortunately, Amy Shepherd sees him there. She promises not to tell anyone.

Meredith, beyond dealing with Maggie, is still trying to deal with Cristina leaving. She leans on Alex as her new "person," to Jo's dismay. Alex is also dealing with Bailey, as the two of them fight over who will take over Cristina's board seat. The board is apparently going to vote to decide.

Richard, Jackson, and Derek all try to help Owen get over Cristina's leaving by asking him out on "man-dates," but he tells them to leave him alone.

Callie and Arizona are thinking about having a second child. Callie is at first hesitant to use a surrogate, but when she finally decides that they should just go for it, Arizona is the one who might want to back out. She wants to become a fetal surgery fellow, which will mean going back to school.

In the end, Derek decides that he won't go to DC after all, because he wants to stay with his family. Meredith is upset with him for giving up on this amazing opportunity.

Let's start with the aspects I'm not fond of.

I think I may have said this before, but Amy Shepherd just isn't a very compelling character to me. Maybe she'll improve, but as is, I found myself not caring at all about the fact that she knows Richard's secret and all that. Oh well.

Also, Derek and Meredith. I need to know they're going somewhere new with this, because at this point I'm very annoyed. I don't think anyone really wants to see Meredith and Derek go through more relationship woes. We've had enough! Was anyone else reminded of Bailey and Ben's situation when Meredith got mad at Derek for deciding to stay with the family? I understand that Meredith wants Derek to have a good career, but at the same time, she's being awfully mean for someone who just got what she wanted in the first place.

But mostly, I really liked this episode. I won't talk about everything, but here are a few good moments.

Meredith and Alex! I loved it when Mer crawled into bed with Alex, and their hug, and their going out to drink together... I think my favorite thing about their friendship is that there never has been and never will be any hint of romantic or sexual interest between them. They're just family.

I like the idea of Arizona going back to school and pushing for more in her life. Ever since her accident, she's needed something to keep her grounded. She's had her family, but now something else is coming along, and I think it could be good for her. They both do want another kid though, so it will be interesting to see how that plays out.

Derek asking Owen out on a date was pretty funny. As the love interests to the "twisted sisters," these two gentlemen have always had a strange relationship. I can't get enough of it.

I also really enjoyed the stories of the patients in this one. The two main stories both had happy endings, which was lovely! One man is reunited with his wife and daughter after having been lost out in the desert for weeks on end. Two teenagers are almost crushed by a gurney falling off the roof of the hospital. One of them has cancer, and the other, his girlfriend, nearly dies due to injuries in the crash. However, she survives. It's nice to see some success stories every once in a while.

And finally, I like Maggie Pierce. Don't get me wrong - the entire idea of Meredith having yet another sibling that she didn't know about is very silly. And stupid. And I don't like the whole concept of the story-line. But Maggie herself? She's a rather likable character so far! I like the relationship she has with Richard. It's so interesting, because they seem to have a real connection, and yet only one of them knows the truth about their relationship. I'll be interested to see if Richard wants to be a father-figure in Maggie's life, and how that will play out.

Okay, I think that's a good place to stop! This was a nice solid episode. I'm excited to see what's next.

8/10