Grey's Anatomy: Falling Slowly (13x04)

A mixed bag in terms of plot threads, but the ones I liked I really liked, so... where does that leave us?

Cons:

DeLuca is not allowed to talk about the case with anybody, which annoys him. He and Jo end up talking about it anyway. I was sensing some potential romance vibes from these two, and just... no. I can't think of anything more bland and uninteresting than a DeLuca/Jo pairing. Pulease.

I'm a broken record, but the Mer/Riggs/Maggie love triangle is annoying as hell. Maggie needs to get over her little crush. She sounds petty when she keeps going on and on about how awkward things are between them. It's like she's unaware of the dozens of more interesting stories going on around her. Imagine that.

Pros:

However, Meredith and Riggs have officially grabbed my interest as a pairing. I was hesitant to declare that too early, but it's impossible not to get on board with Riggs. He's just so... charming. This week's main patient story involved a paraplegic man and his wife getting into a plane accident. The accident ends up costing the wife the use of her legs. I liked the twist that the guy was already paralyzed before the accident. I also liked the way this plot thread gave us an opportunity to see Owen, Riggs, and Meredith share some screen time. If you ask me, the three of them make a much more compelling "triangle" of sorts, although it's not a love triangle. Owen wants to perform a procedure on Polly, the woman in the plane accident, but Meredith and Riggs think it's premature. Later, Meredith wonders if Riggs sided with her because of their personal relationship. She sets up a clear boundary with Riggs. She's been thinking about him a lot, but she thinks it's best if they remain colleagues.

Now, don't get me wrong. Meredith should have told Maggie the truth a long time ago. The drama is contrived. However, given its contrived nature, I like seeing these tensions grow. Owen and Riggs have struck up this awkward cordiality that I just adore. It's heartbreaking but in a sort of cute way to see these two former BFFs tip-toeing around each other. I like this dynamic much better than the senseless anger from last season. And Owen and Mer got a good moment of friendship towards the start of the episode, when Owen ranted about Amelia to Meredith in the elevator. It felt like classic Grey's.

Speaking of, Amelia is worried that she and Owen got married too quickly, and that they don't know the big stuff about each other. At the end of the episode, the two are in bed and Amelia tells Owen about her ex who died of a drug overdose. Having not watched Private Practice, I'm sure the reference hit home more to others than it did to me. Owen then reveals that he once choked Cristina during a PTSD flashback. This was a great scene. Very powerful. I like that these two people, who are coming from such broken, difficult pasts, are opening up to each other. Also, I'm glad that Owen has found somebody who wants to give him children. That dude was meant to be a father.

April and Jackson's plot thread continues to make me happy. I can't believe how much I'm rooting for them now. I was so sick of the two of them bickering, and now that they seem to have found their peace with each other, I just want them to smoosh faces and get back together. Basically, April and Jackson are finding living together to be extremely uncomfortable. They are being really awkward, and tip-toeing around each other. April suggests that she move out, since she's fully healed, but they both decide that they don't want that. They want to stay living together and find out a way to exist around each other more easily.

I loved all of the awkward politeness. April makes fresh coffee every morning because she's trying to be a good guest and contribute something. Meanwhile, Jackson is trying to be gracious by accepting coffee that he doesn't want, and making awkward small talk. I love how they finally come head to head about it. It looks like things will be a bit smoother moving forward, although the scenario seems inherently awkward to me.

Alex is struggling with working in the clinic. He feels like his talents are being wasted. However, he is trying very hard to be an exemplary employee. His boss, Tamir, makes that tough on him, however. A girl comes in who is underage and seems to have a drinking problem. Alex tries to talk to her, and he even gets Richard to talk to her, to no avail. Alex has an important meeting with his lawyers about his case, but at the last second he realizes something about the patient, Emma. He rushes back and diagnoses her with a rare disease that explains her hangover-like symptoms as well as other things. Emma is relieved to finally know what's wrong with her. Alex is happy to let Richard get credit for figuring it out, because he doesn't want to undermine Tamir's authority. Even though he missed his big meeting and thinks he'll likely go to prison, Alex feels happy about what he accomplished in saving Emma's life.

So, I mean, I'm mad at Alex. What he did was reprehensible. But at the same time, this story line is just so compelling, and I do really feel for him in a certain way. His resigned attitude about his fate is coupled with his feeling of accomplishment. It was really important that he figured out what was wrong with Emma and then got no credit for it, either from Tamir or from Emma herself. He did that to save her, not to get a pat on the back. Seeing Alex so humble has been interesting. He's always been a bit of a cocky jerk, and that persona was informed by his tough upbringing. But he knows he was wrong, here, and he's not acting defensive about it anymore. He knows that he'll deserve whatever he gets. It's interesting to watch a mature, understanding Alex grapple with the consequences of a very immature mistake.

That's it, folks. I'm annoyed at Maggie, and at Meredith for keeping secrets. I also find Jo pretty insufferable at this point, even though she's one of the victims here. Sorry. But all that aside, I was pretty happy with a lot of what went on in this episode.

8/10