Grey's Anatomy: Crazy Love (11x19)

I love Maggie. Her entrance into this show may have been rather silly, but I love her character. And are we starting to see some love triangle-y thing going on with her, Jo, and Alex? Uh oh! Interesting! Let's dive in to the plot.

The central case this week involves a chef whose wife cut off his penis when she discovered him having an affair with his sous chef. April calls in Catherine Avery to assist, because she is a very skilled urologist. Richard expressly told April not to call Catherine, because of their lingering issues, but she really is the best for the job. Catherine successfully reattaches the penis with Stephanie's assistance. Catherine is impressed by Stephanie's skill. Later, the man forgives his wife for cutting off his penis, proving that they're both a little crazy. The sous chef, furious at what she considers a betrayal, cuts off the newly reattached penis. Stephanie manages to retrieve it from the jilted lover. Catherine Avery offers Stephanie a fellowship with her, but Stephanie realizes that urology is not the specialty for her. She still hasn't found the right thing. Richard and Catherine talk about their issues. They both acknowledge that they'll probably keep hurting each other, but they decide to get back together.

Meanwhile, Amelia and Callie both work on a patient who has a spinal injury. This teenage girl is a golf prodigy, so maintaining mobility is very important to her. Callie wants to take a more conservative approach, but Amelia has an idea that will hopefully allow the girl a better chance of getting back to golfing. Owen weighs in and agrees that Amelia's approach is best. However, during the surgery Amelia realizes that the damage is worse than she thought. Ben has to rush and get Callie. They save the girl, and she'll be able to walk again after physical therapy... but her golfing days are over. Callie tries to reassure Amelia that they did their best, but Amelia is distraught. She tells Owen that being with him is a bad idea. She thinks his interference was based on their personal relationship, and as such they should cut things off. Meredith had earlier confronted Amelia about her relationship with Owen, saying that she told Cristina she would look after Owen. Amelia tells Meredith that it's none of her business how she tries to rebuild her life after losing the person she loved most in the world.
 

Maggie is upset to find that after her date with Ethan, he doesn't call her and generally avoids her in the hospital. She confronts him, only to find out that he thought she talked too much. She never shut up, and she didn't ask him a single question about himself. Maggie talks with Alex about her problems. Alex tells her that she's amazing, and that it shouldn't matter if she talked a bit too much. Maggie goes back to Ethan and tells him that she tends to overcompensate for her nerves and her lack of social skills by acting like she's super confident and talking way too much. She apologizes to him for dominating their date. Ethan says he'll go out with her again.

Meredith is overjoyed to have Derek home again. The two cannot keep their hands off each other. Derek has to go back to DC one last time to wrap things up and formally resign his position. They say goodbye. The episode ends with Meredith getting a call from the White House. Derek never showed up for his meeting in DC!

So. Complaints. If Derek is in some sort of mortal peril I'm going to roll my eyes. If he's with that woman, I'm going to call a serious foul. Whatever the reason for Derek's disappearance, I really hope they surprise me with something good. On the other hand, this show has a tendency to take trite cliches and make them interesting because of how interesting and well developed the characters are. (Case in point: Maggie Pierce). I guess I'll just have to wait and see where they're going with this.

Then there's Amelia's freak out. I understand that she's going through a tough time, trying to start over. It makes sense that maybe she wouldn't be ready for a relationship just yet. But her reasoning was just totally irrational. Owen says her idea for surgery is okay, and when it fails that suddenly means there relationship was a terrible mistake? That's pretty weak. I wanted something a bit more substantial here.

However, overall this was a great episode, with a lot of funny moments and some more serious ones too.

The penis plot thread was completely ridiculous, but in the best possible way. I was cracking up the whole time. This guy gets his penis cut off. Twice. By two different women. What the hell kind of thing is that to happen? Stephanie gets to shine in this episode, as she heroically runs the penis to Jackson, and then later saves it from the sous chef's crazy machinations. I loved the mix of humor and more serious concerns here. Stephanie comes to an important realization about her career through this experience, even if it is totally over the top and silly.

I'm so glad Catherine and Richard are working it out! I've never cared all that much about their romance, but I think they're good together. Also, one of my favorite scenes in the whole episode was when Richard and April yelled at each other about Catherine. April really stood her ground, reminding Richard that Catherine is her mother-in-law, and that she'll call whenever she feels like it! So great. Go April!

Even if I'm seriously rolling my eyes at Derek's disappearing act, I still really liked seeing Derek and Meredith happy together. The episode is framed by them. They start the episode blissful in their reunion. We get a long, lingering goodbye kiss. We get smiling faces and giddy sighs. Then, we end the episode with the seemingly insignificant but still slightly ominous reminder of Derek's absence. It's just a phone call. It's just a small misunderstanding. Nothing could possibly be wrong, right? Ha. This is Grey's Anatomy we're talking about! Bring on the angst!

I think my favorite part of the episode was the stuff with Maggie and Alex. I. Love. Maggie. I think it's partly because Maggie is sooo me. Somebody who doesn't socialize much? Who doesn't go on dates and feels distant from people? Somebody who talks wayyyyy too much? I love her. Most of all, though, I love Alex Karev. His speech about Maggie and how amazing she is was just the sweetest thing. We don't normally hear Alex talk like that - so open and honest. He admitted that he found Maggie attractive, and that he also found her to be funny and engaging. This could all be read as just part of Alex's general kindness, but then there's the moment where he watches Maggie from afar, a smile on his face. Is this because he's happy that Maggie got her guy, or is there maybe a hint of feelings growing between them? I'm firmly aboard the Jo/Alex train myself, but I actually wouldn't mind Maggie/Alex either. That might be really adorable. It's a testament to the complexity of these characters that I wouldn't mind a love triangle here.

Another one of the stand-out moments here was Callie's conversation with her patient. This girl has just lost out on her dream of being a champion golfer. Callie talks to her about how you don't get just one thing to love - eventually, something comes along, and it just... clicks. Earlier, we learned that Callie did indeed go out with that cop, but that the date was kind of a dud. She's waiting for that click to happen for her again. I just really liked this quiet moment between doctor and patient.

I think that's where I'll leave it. Another solid episode! Stephanie and Maggie are my faves. It has been decided.

8/10