Grey's Anatomy: Whistlin' Past the Graveyard (16x06)

As always, there is a lot to cover.

Cons:

I continue to be annoyed by everyone hating on Koracick, although there were things I liked about him this week and I'll get to that in a moment. Owen and Teddy still bore me. I like the idea of Teddy carving an identity for herself as a surgeon who isn't going to be sewing costumes for her kids, but Owen and Teddy's relationship just seems really unstable and uninteresting.

Jo's fake-out about being pregnant was uncomfortable. It felt like a meta joke, because Amelia and Bailey are both pregnant and people have been worried about more pregnancy story-lines. But that feels like the kind of weird joke that could backfire. Does Alex not want kids? Does Jo not want them? Have they discussed this? I don't know. That moment just felt very strange, and totally took me out of the cuteness of their Halloween marriage ceremony.

Pros:

I liked all of the Halloween-themed chaos at Alex and Richard's hospital, with Jo wandering around as a zombie bride, an old burial ground being uncovered, patients in danger for no apparent reason. Alex manages to hold on through the chaos, and impresses the board members with his management skills. He gets the funding he was looking for, and then goes off to marry his wife, for the second time! Very sweet, very triumphant. And Jo looked great in her costume.

Speaking of getting married for the second time, it appears that Link's divorced parents have gotten back together and are planning on getting remarried. They totally step on Link and Amelia's big news about being pregnant, and Link is upset with them for the hell they put him through as a child, and for making the annual "cancer free dinner celebration" all about them. Amelia meets Link's parents for the first time, witnesses this fight between them, reveals that she's pregnant... and then she's able to be there for Link and help him process his anger. While the dinner predictably blew up in their faces, it was nice to see Link and Amelia being there for each other as a couple.

Meredith has been spending time in jail, getting to know her cellmate, and waiting to be released so she can spend Halloween with her kids. There are delays, and while she's complaining about her woes, her cellmate tells her own story, which is also keeping her separated from her kids. In the end Meredith goes home, and also posts bail for her new friend. This was another one of those plot threads where Meredith has to get some perspective on her own privilege. I liked it a lot, and it was nice to see her suffering some consequences for her behavior, even though we know she still has the moral high ground. She also learns a lesson about how important her family is, and how blessed she is to have them, even if she does end up losing her medical license.

Meanwhile, Andrew is having a hard time with Zola, who keeps asking for her mom and seems resentful of his attentions. Eventually, they have a good chat about Derek, and how much Zola misses him and worries about forgetting him. It was nice to spend some time remembering Meredith's great love, the father of three who left the world too soon. And it's nice to see Andrew putting real effort into cultivating relationships with Meredith's kids, even if he's not trying to step into that fatherhood role immediately.

Schmitt got a cute little subplot where he worries that his mother doesn't want the family to know he's gay, but after helping a little boy realize his dream of being a Sunflower for Halloween, he remarks that joy should be shared, posting a picture of himself and Nico on social media. I want more of Nico and Levi, of course, but this was cute just as it was! (Although, Levi's D&D knowledge is out of date... he says that a Paladin is a subclass of Fighter!)

We see how Alex and the other doctors being gone continues to effect Grey Sloan Memorial, as one little girl misses Alex as her doctor. Jackson does a funny impression of him to get the girl to open up about how she went out in the sun, despite her severe condition that prevents her from doing so safely. We get to see this kid have a fun Halloween at the hospital, promising never to break the rules again. This was a bit of a nothing story, but it was fun to see this girl, and the rest of the Halloween-themed patients, have a successful good time in the pediatrics ward, all dressed up.

That's all I've got for the time being. This was a nice Halloween-themed episode, that advanced several stories while leaving some of the more annoying ones in the background.

8.5/10