Grey's Anatomy: Puzzle With a Piece Missing (11x02)

This week, we get a Maggie-centric episode! Yay! As I mentioned in the last review, I really like her so far, and now that we've gotten a chance to explore her character a bit more, I'm still enjoying her a lot.

Maggie is trying to fit in at the hospital, but she's not sure if she does. She has long conversations with her parents on the phone. She misses them. At one point, her parents send her a present: a man comes in to the hospital and sings a song about how proud Maggie's parents are of her new job! It's a bit embarrassing for Maggie.

Jo is Maggie's intern, and the two of them seem to get along great. That is, until Jo tells Maggie that Alex is getting a spot on the board, and Maggie accidentally lets it slip to Alex's private practice boss. As a result, Alex gets fired from the practice. Maggie, furious, insists that Jo is off her service. However, Jo refuses to leave, saying that she deserves a second chance. Eventually, Maggie decides to give it to her.

While still getting a cold reception from Meredith, Maggie does manage to make friends with Amy Shepherd, who tells her that Meredith is a great sister, once you get to know her. (Of course, Amy knows the truth about Maggie's identity, but she doesn't tell Maggie that).

Maggie pisses Owen off by continuing to search for answers as to why the McNeil children all had cardiomyopathy. Owen is insulted that Maggie thinks she'll find something that Cristina didn't. However, with the help of Bailey's genome lab, which the board has decided to cut funding for, Maggie is able to identify a gene mutation that caused the illnesses. The McNeils are grateful to know the truth.

Another one of Maggie's patients is a pregnant woman. The pregnancy is going to be extremely high-risk, because of the patient's heart defect. However, when they're forced to induce labor, Arizona is able to save the baby, and Maggie is able to save the mother. During the treatment for this patient, Maggie overhears Arizona and Callie arguing about Arizona taking the fetal surgery fellowship. In the end, Arizona decides not to, because of the family, but Callie tells her she has to take it, and that they'll figure it out.

An old woman in the hospital is ready to die, but her daughter won't let her sign the DNR forms. When she codes, Meredith attempts to revive her, but Maggie steps in and purposely "slow-codes" the patient, letting her die. Meredith tries to tell on Maggie to Owen, but eventually, after Maggie tells Meredith that the woman was ready to die, Meredith decides to let it go.

At the end of the episode, Maggie tells Meredith that Ellis Grey was her mother. However, Meredith doesn't believe it, because she says she would have known if her mother was pregnant when she was five years old.

I think the only plot thread in here that I didn't much enjoy was Arizona and Callie's. It was just so obvious what was going to happen: they were going to argue, and then Arizona would decide not to take it, and Callie would tell her to take it. It's the same thing I've seen dozens of times.

However, most of the episode focused on Maggie, and I loved it. First of all, she's willing to speak her mind, which is awesome. She stands up for Bailey's genome lab, she stands up to Meredith, she doesn't let Jo get away with mistakes. She knows she can't be a pushover if she wants to fit in here. At the same time, she keeps sticking her foot in her mouth, which is hilarious. She badmouths the board in front of Jackson, she gets Alex fired, she antagonizes Meredith... where will it end?

I actually liked the moments with Amy Shepherd this week, even if her character is still a bit lackluster. It's nice to see her trying to help Maggie out, even if she can't tell her the full story. Meredith is a tough shell to crack, but she can be a good friend and a good sister once you get past all of the initial animosity. I think Maggie was really excited about that possibility.

Maggie's family don't make an actual appearance in this episode, but their presence is still felt. She seems to have had quite a different upbringing from what Meredith got, which of course adds to the drama of it all. I liked her phone calls with her parents in particular, because it gave the actress a chance to be on screen alone, and show off her acting chops.

There are several threads of the story that haven't gotten much attention yet. I can't wait to see more from April and Jackson, and to see what's next for Owen. But for an introductory episode about Maggie, I'm really pleased with how this one turned out.

8/10