Grey's Anatomy: Ring of Fire (13x24)

Grey's Anatomy is at its best when improbable disasters are occurring. Last week was a good example of that, and this week is a great example. I'll start with a couple of things I didn't like, but for the most part I was totally drawn in to this season's finale. I can't believe this show is going to be starting its fourteenth season in the fall! Nuts!

Cons:

In big story-line news, I am super not thrilled about the idea of Jackson and Maggie. I know they've been hinting it for a while, but I just cannot reconcile myself to that one. Sorry, but no way. Maggie is too annoying for Jackson. Jackson and April have too much chemistry. I'm just not in support of this. Maggie manages to find a moment in the middle of the chaos to awkwardly apologize to April for yelling at Jackson when Jackson risked his life, and April then has to give Maggie permission to have feelings for Jackson, and it's just so... Maggie. She is incapable of understanding that sometimes things are not about her. She's just so self-centered.

And then in even bigger story-line news, we've got Minnick getting fired because she forgot to tell the police that Stephanie was missing during the chaos of the explosion and the fire and all that. Okay. I'm pissed about this from every different angle. First of all, Minnick ended up being a boring failure of a character who I don't understand or empathize with at all. And yet oddly that somehow makes me even more annoyed that she's been fired, because... because... if she's just gone from the hospital now, what was the point of all of that? On a more minute level, it's stupid that nobody else thought to mention to the police that Stephanie was missing. I know Jackson told Minnick to tell them, but all of the other doctors couldn't take half a second to let somebody know? And in any case, they were looking for the little girl, Erin, already. It's not like they didn't know anybody was missing. They were already looking for somebody.

Also, I don't get what Arizona sees in Minnick, but I don't want to stir up a bunch of drama for Arizona, either. There's this moment where Bailey stands up for Richard against Minnick, in front of Catherine who seems to be judging this whole situation. I gather that this is supposed to be a triumphant moment, but instead Minnick comes across as a whiny baby, and her whole plot thread continues to feel more and more pointless.

On a smaller note, I was a little annoyed that the rape victim from last week, who drove her rapist and herself off of a cliff, was not mentioned or in the story at all. I feel like she would want to know that her attacker had been barbecued. That story from last week ended up serving as nothing more than a trigger for the disaster of this week's episode, which in turn seems to be something of a suggestion for Grey's recently announced firefighter spin-off. I just wish that whole plot from last week had had more relevance.

Pros:

I know there are big paragraphs of complaints above, but I really liked this finale. First of all, even if the Jackson/Maggie thing annoys me, I did like the moment when April and Maggie are both yelling at Jackson for scaring them, as he went hunting through the smoke-filled hospital for Stephanie. Jackson at one point yells at April that he was just trying to help, and Maggie jumps in and says "don't yell at her! She's the mother of your child!" That was great. If they really are going the Jackson/Maggie route with this, I hope we don't have a love triangle thing. April's a good person and she doesn't deserve that.

And speaking of good people... Meredith Grey, ladies and gentlemen. She helps Nathan finish up a surgery on a dangerous floor of the hospital, and then once the patient and the medical team are all out of there, Meredith takes Nathan aside, makes sure he's breathing okay, and tells him that Megan is still alive. Nathan freaks out and breaks down, but once he's calm, he joyfully hugs Meredith and spins her around, elated at the news that Megan has been returned to him. He tries to apologize, but Meredith is just so happy for him: "If this were Derek I would already be gone." Nathan drives off, and Meredith looks on fondly.

I mean, everybody knew Megan was inevitably going to return. And everybody knew it was bound to happen right after Meredith and Nathan finally had things figured out between them. But despite the annoying obviousness of this plot thread, I really enjoyed the way it played out, here. Unlike Maggie, Meredith knows how not to make things about her. I loved how happy she was for Nathan, and how much she just supports him in his new happiness. Obviously whatever happens with Megan moving forward is going to be difficult and strange, but I now have hope that we're not just going to do a typical love triangle thing. Meredith is going to be the bigger person about this, and I love her for it.

Amelia has also been taking a break from being annoying and indecisive in the last two episodes, as she buckles down to support Owen through this shocking revelation. There wasn't a ton going on here, just Amelia handling all the details and dragging Owen along so he can be there to see his sister. The episode ends as Megan is being taken out of the helicopter. We don't get to see her face, but we do see Owen's face as he sees his sister for the first time in so many years. That was a really effective way to leave us partially in suspense, while also introducing us to the new big conflict for next year. (Or at least one of them).

Finally, let's get to the main event. Stephanie Edwards is a freakin' hero and I love her so much. Wow. What a way for her character to depart the show. I'm so glad they decided not to kill her off. Stephanie manages to rescue Erin by bandaging up her injured leg, covering them both in a wet blanket and running through the flames, then painstakingly climbing up the stairs away from the fire, going back down to get her fallen key card, and getting Erin out to the roof. Ben and some of the fire fighters find them on the roof, and Stephanie keeps giving the unconscious Erin CPR until her life can be saved. Stephanie, adrenaline gone, then passes out from the pain. She is going to make a full recovery, but she decides that she needs to start to learn what there is to see outside of the hospital. She quits her job, after tearfully thanking Richard Webber for everything he's done for her.

God, Stephanie. I love you so much. Not only is she a total bad-ass, but she's also such a compassionate person. I like that she does her best to put on a brave face for Erin, but she also has trouble avoiding her despair. She saves Erin's life, and puts her own life at great risk to do so. I'm so proud of her. I also like the way that over the last season or so, we've been building to her exit in a really organic way. We've seen her question her career path, even as we've seen that she's really good at her job. We've seen her get fed up and we've seen her feel trapped, and now she's going to go out in the world and breathe. It's a fitting end for her character, and one that allows for the possibility of a brief return down the road, should it become beneficial.

I also just want to take a moment to say that Erin is the cutest and that little actress was incredible. I could really feel the desperation, and just how bad things were getting, as the story line progressed. Every bad break, every new obstacle, was a real punch to the gut. My heart was racing so fast by the end!

I know this is a long-ish review, but frankly I'm surprised it's not even longer. Grey's Anatomy finales always pack a punch, and this one is no exception. I'm really relieved nobody died, and I'm cautiously optimistic about most of the plot developments waiting for us on the other side of this hiatus.

8.5/10