Grey's Anatomy: What I Did for Love (15x23)

I didn't watch Station 19, so I won't be commenting on any of that. Let's talk about Grey's Anatomy, though!

Cons:

If Owen messes with one of these two women's lives, I will not be held responsible for my actions. Also, this is the worst kind of trope in love triangles. In this episode, we see scenes of Teddy and Tom being cute and happy. We see scenes of Amelia and Link being cute and happy. And then we see a scene of Owen telling his therapist that he's going to 'tell her how he feels' but we're supposed to be kept guessing as to which woman he's talking about. Owen's whole thing is that he's learning about how his past traumas have stopped him from forming healthy loving relationships. Okay, cool. But if he seriously sabotages Amelia or Teddy's happiness in order to get what he thinks he's now earned somehow... UGH. I just don't see how I could like the fall-out from this, no matter which way it goes. Up until this episode, I thought they were going the Teddy route 100%. Now it looks like Amelia is still in the running? Maybe? I guess, because I adore Tom Koracick so much, I'd rather Owen try again with Amelia, so that Teddy and Tom can remain happy and together. But either way, this is going to make me mad at Owen. There's just no getting around that.

I honestly had no objection to Maggie's very in-character freak-out over moving in with Jackson, but I do sort of hate it when the doctors unload their personal drama on their patients. I know this dude is a character from Station 19, and I get that their situations were parallels, but it still feels very awkward to me.

Pros:

Let's start with poor Jo. She's back at work, and she ends up making a pretty major mistake, but luckily not one that threatens anyone's life. She gives false hope to a patient and his family, and then has to take it back. It was heartbreaking watching Jo break down over the course of this episode. We see Teddy noticing her distress, and very astutely noting that she's seen Jo bear up under much harder circumstances, with much less apparent angst. It's clear something is seriously wrong. I liked the balance here. Jo doesn't allow herself to get into a situation where she could do serious medical harm, since she knows that she's still messed up. But because her head still isn't on straight, and because she's so desperately looking for some kind of a win, she still does psychological harm.

The thing is, as much as we feel bad for Jo, it's also important to note what a horrible position she put her patient's mother in. This woman was forced to hug her and comfort her. I'm sure giving bad news to the families of sick kids is horrific, but part of Jo's job is being professional about it. Then there's poor Alex - he has a bit of a meltdown, ranting at Bailey that he's frustrated at the changes in Jo, and especially in not being allowed to ask about it or help. We've already seen a couple of intense scenes between them, and I'm anxious for the breaking point.

We also have Meredith's story, which involves her committing insurance fraud in order to help a young girl whose father is trying to get asylum for his family in America. There were so many rich and complicated angles of this story to explore. Obviously I'm on Meredith's side. But she did make a rash decision, and while it undeniably helped a young girl in need, it also made it that much harder for this family to be together, in the long run. Then you've got Richard's part in this. He ultimately ends up doing what he can to help, but at first he is - rightfully - very angry. He even brings up how this situation forces him to be dishonest, which threatens his sobriety. I would like to think that I'd do whatever I could to help a child in need, but that doesn't mean I don't see where Richard is coming from here. Also, I thought it was so sweet how worried he was when he thought little Ellis was in trouble.

I'm surprising myself with how much I am on board with the whole MerLuca thing. I love that Andrew said he loved her, and I love that Meredith has this weird reaction to it - she's clearly not displeased or horrified, but she's also not sure if she should say it back. Their whole relationship has been so fun to watch, because it's genuine, and sweet, and it's lacking in the more melodramatic aspects that most of the relationships on this show have had. The stuff with Zola asking questions about her mom, her two aunts, and their boyfriends was pretty adorable.

Then you've got Maggie. As I said, I actually found her and Jackson pretty cute in this episode, so I guess it's possible I might be coming around to them. Maggie is right - pro/con lists might not be a feature of your average romantic comedy, but that doesn't mean she's unromantic or unloving for wanting to think carefully about big life decisions. Jackson can be a little pushy, so I like that he teased Maggie a little bit, but he didn't get surly or unduly upset with her for her hesitation. I hope they continue this trend of good communication!

Poor Nico and Levi. I think we're seeing how Levi, who really loves Nico, is also not necessarily equipped to handle such an emotionally heavy situation. Nico is obviously harsh with Levi, but he does have a point when he says "I killed a guy and you're making it all about you." It was cool to see Link step in and try to counsel some caution on Levi's part. I hope that we see this relationship get a bit more focus before the season closes out, because I think it has the potential to be something special.

As a final quick note: I think Tom and Teddy are just so, so precious. The fact that Tom decides to stick around to be there when the baby is born, and helps Teddy to find the perfect apartment, is everything I could ever hope for and more. What I love about their relationship is that Tom really listens and learns about Teddy, and what she wants. He knows how to joke around, obviously, but he also knows how to be genuine. There are plenty of women on this show who would probably be really annoyed if a guy took it upon himself to rent an apartment for his girlfriend. But Teddy wants to be taken care of a little bit, and Tom took initiative in a wonderfully thoughtful way. Don't screw this up, Owen!

That's all I've got for now. I hope the folks who watch Station 19 are doing okay after their half of the episode. According to reviews, it sounds like it gets pretty intense!

8.5/10