Grey's Anatomy: A Hard Pill to Swallow (16x11)

I'm on a time crunch, so let's rapid-fire this baby.

Cons:

Things I do not care about: Owen and Teddy. Whatever. There's this cutesy little plot thread about Teddy losing her engagement ring, and it turns out Leo swallowed it... I think it's all supposed to make me think they're oh-so-adorable, but ugh... nah. I'm not feelin' it.

Samesies with Amelia and Link and all the baby daddy drama. Link is right that Amelia screwed up and should have realized sooner. And he's not wrong for wanting to know the paternity. I just really wish this whole conflict was a thing that did not exist... isn't Amelia settling down and having a kid with Link enough of a story on its own?

Apparently now we're going to have to watch Catherine and Richard go through their relationship woes... yawnnnn. I've always disliked Catherine, so I'm not really looking forward to this story-line.

The vaping PSA is something I totally agree with, but I don't think there's a way of doing a story like that without it feeling a little bit after-school-special. Not unwatchable by any means, but still.

Pros:

I like Cormac Hayes. He seems like an interesting character, and I appreciate the fact that his and Meredith's plot thread didn't devolve into total melodrama. They disagreed about a medical thing, clashed over it a bit... turns out Cormac was right, but Meredith doesn't pitch a fit and Cormac doesn't gloat. They move forward. I could see them being a compelling couple, kind of like Meredith and Riggs - both of them having lost their partner.

And at the same time, DeLuca is compelling as a prospect as well. Meredith speaking Italian to him will never not be adorable. And I like that Meredith was clear that her feelings were hurt, and that they're being open about the difficult position they are in. I think I root for him more so than Cormac right now, but it doesn't hurt that I find both branches of the love triangle interesting. Love triangles on this show are a staple, and even if it's a very tired trope in dramas, I'm on board to see where things go.

Sarah Rafferty (Donna from Suits) guest stars as an adorable mom with two great kids and a worried sister. She seems to be getting seriously sick after a routine appendectomy. I really liked her whole story, and how worried Bailey and Andrew were. I can't wait to see where this goes, and I really hope it's not another tragedy!

Speaking of tragedy, I continue to be impressed by how much more interesting I find Maggie when she's not whining about her love life or being a selfish jerk. Her hubris had serious consequences here - she killed her cousin. And she's being sued. I loved that Richard was shocked upon learning that Maggie had made a mistake, but he picks himself back up and goes back to her place to encourage her. And he leaves her with a lasting message - Maggie has always been a prodigy, but she still needs to learn the lesson of what happens when a surgeon makes a mistake and loses someone on the table. It's important, and it's sad, but Maggie will recover from this. I'm excited to see her go on that journey, and I loved that Richard took the time to show up for her in this way.

There was a bit of flip-flopping once again, with Tom Koracick looking like a dick for haranguing Bailey, and then Bailey turning on him and saying she had a miscarriage so he should get off her case. What I love about this is that Tom immediately turns on a dime and gives Bailey meaningful, sincere, vulnerable advice about how to process her grief. He doesn't actually apologize, because he is kind of a dick, but he's also a kind soul deep down. This is the kind of dichotomy I like with this character. Much better than whatever nonsense was going on with Owen and the restraining order earlier this season.

So there we have it. Still no news on Alex's whereabouts... I wonder what sort of drama, if any, is going to kick in there? Or if he'll fade out of the show gracefully? Hey, look, I kept this review pretty short! Sorry if I missed anything.

7.5/10