Grey's Anatomy: Go Big or Go Home (14x03)

I love how Grey's Anatomy will sometimes indulge in some dark comedy. I also love how even in its most sappy and dramatic moments, it still sometimes gets me unexpectedly emotional. This was a fairly standard episode of television, but I had fun with it!

Cons:

Every time I see one of Meredith's kids, or evidence of her being a mother, I kind of snicker, because that has really not been a thing at all in this show. At least with April and Jackson, we see the baby once in a while. This rare Zola sighting was not unwelcome in and of itself, but it just highlights a consistent balance flaw in this show.

One of the patients this week is a boy who ends up getting in a hot air balloon accident while trying to ask a girl out to homecoming in an elaborate way. This makes for some good laughs, but there was one moment that I found troubling. The girl didn't get a chance to answer because of the accident, and she confesses to April that she's not sure she's going to say yes. She's suddenly really popular because of what happened, and might get the chance to go to homecoming with one of the more popular kids in school. April makes this speech about how you have to go for the people who make grand gestures, not for the people that are popular. Now, I agree with April that you shouldn't base who you go out with on social status. But I definitely disagree with her that just because this boy went to great lengths, the girl should say yes. What if she doesn't like public displays? What if she genuinely only thinks of this kid as a friend? April made it seem like she owed him a yes, which I am super not okay with.

Oh, and one other small thing - the weekly Maggie-is-annoying segment. Amelia tells her that she has a brain tumor, and Maggie starts crying. When Amelia tells her to stop, she says "my mother died, I'm allowed to cry." Like. I'm not surprised, but are you seriously making this about you, Maggie? Again?

Pros:

I roll my eyes a lot at love triangles, and in many ways the whole Meredith/Nathan/Megan situation is eye-roll-inducing to the extreme. But I like how we used this bizarre soap opera scenario to acknowledge some of Meredith's psychological issues and her journey towards self improvement. We do this by reintroducing her therapist from earlier seasons. He is in the hospital with an issue of his own, but they spend some time working through Meredith's problems. She's angry at Nathan, and she realizes with her therapist's help that it's because Nathan is giving up on his dream to be with Megan. She tells him he needs to fight for her, because Meredith will never get that chance with Derek. I like this angle because it means there's no pining going on. Meredith has closed off whatever feelings she may have for Nathan because there are much more important things going on right now.

Amelia calls in a brain surgeon from Johns Hopkins to consult on her brain tumor. DeLuca is in on the secret, but nobody else knows. Amelia eventually tells Richard, who convinces her to share the truth with the people who matter to her. She tells Maggie, who is there for her when she breaks the news to Owen. Maggie also tells Meredith so that Amelia won't have to. I'm glad we're not protracting the secrecy angle on this one, and I like the fact that Amelia was worried about Meredith's reaction. Meredith and Amelia have always had a complicated relationship, and Meredith has always told Amelia that she's crazy. Amelia is upset because this tumor means she was kind of right. That's an interesting angle to explore.

There was one really funny element here, which is that DeLuca knows about Amelia but is being pressured not to say anything. He pulls Maggie into the room with all of the brain scans, and he starts talking about their past relationship, saying he hopes that they can ameliorate some of the tension and shepherd themselves to a better relationship. Maggie does not pick up on the puns, of course, but is just confused and then actually a little thankful that DeLuca has apologized for his behavior towards her. Later, after Maggie finds out, she runs in to DeLuca, and just looks back at the room and says "oh," and DeLuca just answers "yeah." So that was pretty great.

Another fun plot thread was that Arizona has a patient who is going through a hard labor, and Carina DeLuca has an unorthodox suggestion for how to help speed it along. Arizona is at first uncomfortable with it, but eventually the woman's husband helps her to orgasm in order to help bring along the labor - and it works. Carina is just a fun character. I like her comments about Americans being prudish. We probably should be more open about sex.

Jo and Alex! Not a ton going on here... we get a patented Grey's Anatomy elevator make-out scene, and then Jo asks Alex to move back home at the end of the episode. I'm sure Meredith will be relieved, what with all the extra people she has hanging around. Jo and Alex are cute when they're not being dramatic.

Finally, we have the sexist white dude plot thread. Harper Avery comes to the hospital, belittles his family (Jackson and Catherine) and Bailey as well. He says the hospital is losing too much money, and that this is what happens when you put women in charge. Bailey stands up for the hospital when Mr. Avery threatens to pull funding, which actually works... only, he decides he has to fire her. Bailey is upset, but when Catherine and Bailey go back inside the boardroom to argue their case, they find that Mr. Avery, a very old man, has died of a sudden heart attack. Jackson, Catherine, and Bailey make an awkward commemorative speech to the hospital staff, and Bailey is quietly reinstated as chief.

This is that dark comedy I'm talking about. They made Harper Avery as unpleasant a person as they possibly could. He's rude and dismissive to Jackson, and utterly sexist towards Catherine and Bailey. His death doesn't make me smile, exactly, but it's not like I'm at all broken up by it. The speech was really funny, as they tried to re-purpose what Mr. Avery had said about the hospital and make it sound positive: "he was astonished at the work we were doing." Very funny.

I think that's all I've got to say! This season is certainly less dour than the last one. I'm curious to see where things go with the Megan situation, since I imagine that actress isn't available to be a series regular. When all is said and done, I'm still interested in what's going on!

8.5/10