Grey's Anatomy: With or Without You (11x17)

Finally. Derek. It's been a very long time since he's been in an episode! Let's jump right into it.

Derek is back, and Meredith isn't sure what to do about it. She distracts herself with work, refusing to talk about it with Alex. When Callie and Maggie find out that Derek is home, they realize this must be bad news - he's come home to apologize, which must mean he has something to apologize for. Alex asks for Meredith's advice on one of his patients. She wants to do a risky surgery, but Alex thinks it's a bad idea. When the patient demands the surgery, it looks like their decision is made for them. The patient dies on the table, devastating his older sister and caretaker. Meredith is angry, and lashes out at Alex for doubting her. Alex hugs her and tells her that she's not really mad at him - she's mad at Derek. He tells her it's okay to take it out on him, but that she needs to keep it together when she's being a surgeon.

We get to see Derek's story in Washington DC. He gets close to a research fellow who is working on hopefully figuring out a cure for autism. Derek and this woman do seem to have a connection, and after a breakthrough in her research, they share a kiss. Derek realizes that he doesn't want this - he wants Meredith. He rushes off to catch the first flight, inadvertently leaving his cellphone behind. Derek tells Meredith that he can't live without her, and he wants to work on their relationship. Meredith says that she can live without Derek. But she never wants to.

Meanwhile, Owen is surprised to find his mother in the hospital after she falls in the shower. With her is her young lover, John. Owen disapproves of the relationship, and thinks that John is taking advantage of his mother. In his shock and confusion, he lashes out at Amelia. Later, after Owen's mother is revealed to be seriously injured, Owen realizes how much John truly cares for her. He gives the relationship his blessing. He also apologizes to Amelia.

Stephanie is desperate for more logged hours in areas other than neuro. She is upset when Jo snags a trauma case right out from under her, and she tries to bribe Ben to let her in on his case. Bailey finds out and laughs at Stephanie for offering only 50 bucks. Back in her day, a similar procedure would have gone for 100, easily.

Jo's case ends up being very strange - a woman complains of headaches and strange nosebleeds, but Jo quickly realizes that there's something living in the woman's sinuses. It takes her all day, and help from April, to pull the leech out through the woman's nose. She's delighted with her find, and decides to keep the little guy. Stephanie is annoyed that Jo got to clock all of those trauma hours on the case.

I think my only complaint is that even though Derek's back, we didn't really see him come back. We saw flashbacks, and a brief moment of connection with Meredith, and that was it. His life in Washington DC didn't seem fully realized - it came across like a hazy unreality. I wanted more details to flesh out that world.

But I did like this episode, and I did love that Derek and Meredith are starting to find their way back to one another. That scene at the end was so magical. Derek announces that he can't live without Meredith, and her response is that she can live without him. Ouch. However, she doesn't want to. That's actually a healthy attitude to take. You shouldn't need somebody in your life so badly that you can't function without them. Sharing your life with somebody else should be something you do because you want it, not because you can't survive without it. The look of love and desperation on Derek's face was quite sweet, also.

Jo and Stephanie were cracking me up in this episode! Grey's Anatomy can get really depressing and dramatic, but it also does comedy really well. I think that's one of the true strengths of the show. Jo was seriously grossed out by the creepy leech living in her patient's face, and for good reason! I was laughing so hard when the patient refused to let Jo try and remove the leech, and then April came over and used a creepy voice to describe how the leech was eventually going to eat her brain. That seemed to convince her pretty quick!

Owen's plot with his mother was a bit baffling at first, because I could totally see where Owen was coming from. It's a little creepy to have a 35-year-old man date a woman as old as Owen's mother. But I actually ended up liking this plot thread, because we came to accept the unconventional relationship at the same time that Owen did. I'm also glad to see that Owen and Amelia are moving forward, even if they're doing so at a glacial pace. Maybe it's good for these two to take things slow.

I guess that's all I've got for this one. Derek's back! Now the question is - when are we going to check in with Dr. Herman?

8/10