Grey's Anatomy: Who Is He (And What Is He to You)? (13x16)

An April and Jackson episode! Interesting. I keep waiting for the episode that's going to deal with this whole Owen/Amelia mess, but instead we get one focusing on another of our broken couples.

Cons:

I liked this episode. I did. But what I just said above is actually a problem. Grey's Anatomy often shines strong when it does focused episodes. This particular hour had none of our main characters other than Jackson, April, and Catherine, and while I don't mind that necessarily, I do wish the pacing of the rest of the season felt a little tighter.

Essentially, the medical side of this episode was all about helping a girl with throat cancer. At first, it seemed like the episode was going to be about getting a father to agree to sign over his dead son's organs, but then he agreed really quickly, and it turns out the kid's throat had a legion, meaning they were back to square one. This scene could have been taken out entirely. The father of the dead kid went from insisting there was still hope for his son, to signing over his son's organs, in like thirty seconds. It felt awkward and ultimately led nowhere, and I could have done without it.

One of this episode's main conclusions is that Jackson should feel grateful to Catherine for what a great mother she was. The two even have a moment of reconciliation at the end, as Jackson seems to be forgiving his mother suddenly for all this crap with Minnick and Richard. I mean, last week I was frustrated with Jackson for his anger. But this week I'm frustrated that he's being nice to his mom. Am I fickle? Maybe. But I think the bigger problem is that I strongly dislike Catherine, and I always have. In this episode, we're supposed to think it's sweet how she manipulated the situation so that April would go with Jackson to Montana for the throat surgery, because somehow Catherine knew that Jackson would be talking to his deadbeat father, and she knew that April was the person Jackson needed in that moment. Okay, that would be fine, if it weren't for the fact that Catherine is constantly manipulative to the point where it's hard to think it's sweet when she controls people, even if it is with good intentions.

Pros:

April and Jackson get back together. Or, at least, they sleep together. I have had such complicated feelings about this couple. But I was happy that this happened. I want them to find a way to work things out and be together. April was really supportive of Jackson here. The minute she realized what was going on with him and his dad, she encouraged him to confront his father, but also managed not to interfere too much. I guess what struck me most here is that April and Jackson are both good people who really do love each other a lot. That's not always enough to make a relationship work, but I think in their case they might just be able to pull it off.

The little girl with the throat cancer has two moms, which is not mentioned or made a thing out of in any way. Same with the male couple from last week's episode. It's a little thing, but it's also somehow a big thing. The women were interracial, too. Of course, you've also got Jackson and April, as well as the story of Jackson's white father and black mother when they first met. I notice these things because Grey's is one of the very few shows that totally normalizes this stuff, provides a ton of representation, and doesn't make a big thing out of it. I also like that this little family gets a happy ending. Jackson and April pull some magical bullshit and manage to save the girl's vocal chords, and her life. Sometimes it's nice to get a little bit of a break from all the dreary angst.

We finally meet Jackson's father, the famous Avery who built an empire alongside Catherine, and then ran away from it. Apparently, he owns a bar. I really thought I knew how this was going to go, but the episode managed to surprise me quite a bit. The minute Jackson went to the bar and the random guy walked up to give him a beer, I knew it would be Jackson's father. I figured he'd recognize Jackson, or he'd be an obvious screw-up, but no. He doesn't recognize his own son, but he also seems like a well put-together guy, nice and responsible. When Jackson goes back to the bar to confront him and tells him who he is, the man is overjoyed to see his son, pulls him inside, and chats with him like his abandonment isn't a huge elephant in the room.

I kept waiting for a Notebook-esque twist, where you find out that Jackson's father didn't want to leave, and tried to contact Jackson, but Catherine blocked it or something. But no. The guy is just an ass who left his son, and can't be bothered to really understand how hard that must have been on him. It was a nice subversion of my expectations, and the whole thing ends with Jackson telling his father that he's glad he met him, but he's probably not going to see him again.

It's crazy how much shorter my reviews get when this show decides to focus on only one plot-line instead of several. Still, it's back to Meredith and Riggs next week, with a healthy dose of Owen being pissed at Amelia on the side. Which, yeah. He should be. I'm on Owen's side in this thing. But that's a discussion for another post!

8/10