Grey's Anatomy: Help, I'm Alive (15x10)

You know, I was feeling kind of annoyed at certain aspects of this episode, but I couldn't quite pin down why. So I went and I read a couple of reviews online, and I figured it out.

Cons:

Teddy is annoying me. It's been building for a while, but yeah. I've finally realized that she's pissing me off. Which is a shame, since I've always really liked her character, and I think it makes perfect sense that she's going through a difficult time right now. But she's annoying me in the same way Maggie often annoys me, in that she's drawing everyone in to her personal drama vortex in the most hurtful, destructive way she possibly could, and she seems completely unaware of it. She comes across as super entitled for thinking that she can just waltz her way into the hospital and get a job, and I'm kind of mad at Owen for just handing her head of trauma. I don't think she deserves it.

I'm torn about the Catherine-has-cancer plot thread, because I still, at my core, think it's really dumb and annoying, and I've never been Catherine's biggest fan. She's always bothered me. The performances are good, which I'll talk about later, but the entire premise stretches credulity way too much, and I'm just frustrated and annoyed by the whole thing.

Pros:

But like I said, the performances are solid. Catherine is so scared and devastated, and while I find it hard to be on her side, I'm definitely feeling Richard and Jackson's pain. I even liked Maggie in this episode, as Maggie and Bailey talk about how Maggie can be helpful to her father and her boyfriend during this extremely difficult time. Maggie, for once, didn't try to make it all about her, and she really seems like she wants to be helpful. We also see that Bailey is doing better and trying to get her anxiety under control. I'm excited to see more of that, and I hope that not too much of the plot with Ben happens on Station 19.

Link was kind of adorable this week. In the love triangle between DeLuca, Link, and Meredith, I think I was rooting for DeLuca all the way, but now Link is putting up a surprisingly good showing. I loved Jo's reasoning for why she tried to set them up. Link was the best person Jo knew before meeting Alex, and Jo is sure Alex would say the same thing about Meredith. They do complement each other in a weird way. One is dark and twisty, the other is full of boundless optimism. I could have done without the backstory that Link had cancer as a kid, but it works alright. I loved when Link stood up for himself and didn't let Meredith's judgmental attitude put him off. He came through to help with little Bailey's birthday party, and we can see the beginnings of a real bond there.

DeLuca didn't get any time to make his own case with Meredith this week, but instead got to be a total bad-ass and finish a surgery by himself when Owen was taken out of commission. There wasn't a ton going on here, but we see that Alex is doing a good job as interim chief in encouraging the success of the doctors, and we see that DeLuca continues to be a bad-ass. I'm so surprised by how much I like his character nowadays.

Levi and Nico are still pretty darn adorable. Levi gains new confidence after saving Owen's life, when he accidentally gets injected with a paralytic. Levi credits his newfound confidence to Nico, and the two have a steamy make-out session in one of the on-call rooms. You can tell that they're both in that glow of a new and exciting relationship, and I'm totally rooting for them.

Owen's little adventure this episode was just the right mix of drama, comedy, and romance. One good consequence of Teddy being so annoying is that I'm more solidly on board for Amelia and Owen to succeed as a couple. I'm glad that they didn't drag out the drama of Amelia giving Owen "space" for too long. Owen knows what he wants. He wants Teddy to stick around and he wants to be a part of his baby's life, but he also wants his life with Amelia and Leo, and maybe Betty when she gets better. Good for him! The comedy comes when Owen almost dies - I know that sounds weird. The thing is, we know he'll be fine, so it's actually played more for laughs when he tells Amelia "I was paralyzed," and when she thinks he's making a Grey's Anatomy-esque metaphor, he clarifies: "no, I was actually paralyzed. It was weird." That was great!

Koracick is just really funny. He brings a really fun and light attitude to every scene he's in, and I'm so ready to explore that more. He banters with Amelia, is besotted by Jo, who swoops in with a clever answer to his problems, and he even manages to get in good with Teddy, who's being a grump to literally everyone. He's an interesting character, and I feel like the show doesn't know what to do with him sometimes, but I hope he sticks around.

As always, I feel like I'm missing details. This show just has too many damn characters to track! I'm excited to see more of Nico and Levi's cute little romance, and I'm still finding myself invested in Meredith's love triangle. Onward to next week!

7.5/10