Grey's Anatomy: Back in the Saddle (16x02)

Lots of stuff going on, as always!

Cons:

Someone hitting Maggie's car with a scooter and then nearly dying and then Owen accidentally shocking Tom in the balls was all... a lot of weirdness. This plot thread was about people being torn up and conflicted about my least favorite romance stories in the show. Maggie is pissed at Jackson for an insensitive social media post about how he's "free" now. And Owen and Tom are having a pissing contest over Teddy, who was conspicuous by her absence this week. You all know I'm team Tom Koracick, and I actually don't mind that he's being a bit of a dick right now. The guy has feelings and he's having trouble processing them. But watching him and Owen have this fight was just... so uninteresting to me. And now Tom is getting a restraining order against Owen? I'm annoyed because the writing and the framing here are meant to make Owen the reasonable one, and Tom the bitter crazy one. But Owen sucks. Yeah, Tom, is acting like a dick, but Owen sucks. I'm just so annoyed.

Maggie's rant to her patient's girlfriend about moving on from a bad relationship was just so annoying. Once again, Maggie makes every little thing about her. Her and Jackson somewhat smooth things over later in the elevator, but Maggie is still feeling mighty bitter. It's just... I don't like either of them when they're with each other. I need them to step back and have other story-lines with other characters for a while, please.

Bailey is trying to get the interns up to scratch and basically fast-track some of the less experienced doctors, since she's now missing Meredith, Alex, and Richard. The second that she told Helm that she could do a surgery, instead of DeLuca, I felt like I could recite the rest of the plot without trying. Helm does a good job at first, while DeLuca assists, feeling jilted. And then Helm messes up and freaks out, and DeLuca swoops in to save the day. And then DeLuca accuses Bailey of not letting him do the surgery because of his relationship with Meredith. You know, I like the idea of Bailey struggling with her feelings over what Meredith has done. But how many times are we going to watch someone have a freak-out during surgery on this show? It just feels so... performative, at this point.

Pros:

I love the idea of Meredith starting an impromptu clinic during her community service, and how she's using her power and privilege for good. There's a great deal of hubris here as well, of course, as she is so confident that she'll be able to avoid the worst of the consequences. It's brave and noble and all that, but Andrew isn't wrong to remind her that she has kids and a life and a career of her own to think about. This could be a really interesting thread to pull in the coming weeks. I doubt Meredith will lose her medical license at the end of all of this, but that doesn't mean it will be smooth sailing along the way.

We haven't seen a lot from Schmitt in these first two episodes, but here we do see him stealing medical supplies to bring to Meredith for her make-shift clinic. I like that he does a good thing, then gets worried about it - he's a Gryffindor. Brave, sure, but scared all of the time, too. I also liked Jackson being so casual about lying to cover for Schmitt, should it become necessary. That speaks to Jackson's privilege, too.

Like I said, I like the idea of Bailey struggling with her new reality. So much of her safety net has been taken from her, and she's left a bit uncertain and in the lurch. But with a pep talk from Ben, she gets back on the horse in no time. It remains to be seen how she's going to deal with DeLuca's insubordination, or Helm's mistake. She also has Tom Koracick lording his power over the other doctors, and for the first time in her career she can't turn to Richard for help.

Speaking of Richard, I am in love with his and Alex's story. They're going to fix this hospital up real good! I am so all about it! We are still in early stages, but we see here how hectic and bad the hospital is right now. Alex and Richard are both somewhat grumpy to be working there, especially Richard. But Alex gives him a pep talk. This place is falling down, but they have a real opportunity to make a change for the better. I love that, and can't wait to see how it goes.

Jo is back and better than ever! I love that Alex and Bailey fight over her, and that she leverages the offer from her husband in order to get a better offer from Bailey. That's such amazing stone-cold strategy right there. Jo was worried that upon her return, everyone was going to be treating her with kid gloves because of her mental health. But instead, these people know her. They know she's brilliant. And after everything Bailey has gone through with her own mental health challenges, she understands that needing some time off to work on yourself is no reason to stifle someone's potential.

Finally, Amelia and Link. I was so annoyed and disappointed about Amelia being pregnant at the end of last week's episode, and now I'm having to eat my words a bit. First of all, there's no drama about who the father is. It's Link's. Second of all, they are kind of very cute? And would probably make wonderful parents? I don't know. I love how this plot thread navigated Amelia's choice. Link still had a say and was allowed to feel feelings, and he did the exact right thing, telling Amelia he would be a father to their kid if she decided she wanted to keep the baby, and would drive her to the appointment if she decided to have an abortion.

I am oddly on board with all of this. It was nice to see Amelia talk about her feelings, process everything, and see Link do the same. As a bonus, we got to see Link talk things over with Jo, which means we're starting to build a bit of that relationship that we've heard so much about, but haven't really seen a lot on the show.

That's where I'll stop for now. This show is always reliable, because even if certain characters or subplots are annoying me, there are always others to grab my interest!

7.5/10