Grey's Anatomy: Tradition (17x15)

Sometimes Grey's Anatomy has something really true and good to say, but they say it in a hokey sort of way. This episode had a lot going on that kinda... jumped the shark in terms of the cheese factor for me. Let's dive in.

Cons:

First of all, Jackson's last episode was kind of a letdown. It was only in seeing it that I realized how disconnected he felt from most of the remaining leads on the show. He had a personal goodbye with Jo, which I liked, and was probably the moment I felt the most connected to Jackson leaving. But when he was talking to Meredith, it occurred to me that these two haven't had any intersecting story-lines that really mattered in years. They kept showing flashbacks to Jackson in his earlier days on the show, surrounded by people who are all no longer there. He doesn't feel woven in with any of the core cast. Then, he drives away at the end, his last conversation as a regular cast member happening with Koracick of all people? I don't know. It just felt like an anticlimax to me.

And speaking of Koracick, was this his exit from the show as well? He's moving to Boston? What a bummer. I've genuinely enjoyed his character so much, and I feel like there was so much left to explore with him. Putting him in a room with any other character really enlivened a conversation. He brought such different energy from any of the other characters. What an unceremonious end, if so. If not, I hope he's a character that pops back in here and there, maybe updates us on Jackson, April, and Harriet. That could be a nice compromise.

Say it with me: I don't like Owen and Teddy. Jesus, I just do not care. When I saw them kissing I literally said "noooo" out loud, and it's not because I feel anything about them as a couple and I'm "against" it or anything, it's more just the "noooo" of realization, that we're going to have to spend time with these characters again, and all the shittiness that they bring out in one another.

That feeds into a smaller complaint, which was that I found it very odd that Owen was telling Link that he's going to be trapped at Meredith's house, even now with Meredith going home. It was like... weird guy banter, and Winston was there too, and it was like all the men having a laugh at Link's expense... I just found it really uncomfortable that Owen was the one doing this, when Owen and Amelia have such a fraught (and annoying) history. I don't know. Maybe that's a nitpick.

So now we go to Grey's Anatomy having something good and true to say, but pouring on the cheese just a bit too much. The story about respecting native traditions and how often they have bad experiences in big hospitals was a perfectly adequate one, but it was told in a paint-by-numbers fashion. I almost wanted something a bit more nuanced, like maybe some genuine distrust from the patients instead of everyone being 100% nice and pleasant and nothing going wrong. A happy ending for this story was much appreciated, but it felt like a rote way of telling a story and exploring a theme. Still, it's good that they bring attention to issues that a lot of people (read: white people) want to ignore.

Pros:

There were lots of things I enjoyed seeing in this episode, even if the whole thing didn't come together for me.

Like, for example, Koracick's speech about being privileged and wanting to be an ally. Like, really step up and really help out. This was another moment of potentially hokey writing, but the performance sold it, and I liked that Jackson accepted it for the genuine offer that it was.

I also like seeing Jo thriving in her new specialty, with Carina as a potential mentor, although she might be leaving the show? Or at least not around as much anymore. Over on Station 19, evidently she's gotten engaged, so... good for her! And Jo talking to the baby in the NICU, the one she's totally going to adopt, made me really emotional. I want only good things for Jo!

Nico was nowhere to be seen this week, after Levi left him in the lurch after his "I love you" a few weeks back... but we do see that Helm is really struggling, and Schmitt wants to help her out. This was a small little thread, but I do like the idea of Schmitt and Helm living together. It continues on my thread of what I sort of wanted for Levi, where if they're doing a romance with Nico, Nico needs to sweat about it for a bit first.

Meredith is back! She spends the episode with people coddling her, nervous to tell her about Andrew's death, saying goodbye to Jackson, and getting to go home and reunite with her kids. All of it was perfect and wonderful. The moment when Bailey and Richard come to tell her about Andrew, Meredith seems to suddenly know, and we hear the sound of crashing waves in the background. That was just lovely. And she and Jackson's conversation was great too, although I stand by what I said about Jackson's final moments on the show not quite working for me. But it was fun, a Grey and an Avery, these two important legacy families, talking about what they learned from each other, and what they taught one another.

And then of course Meredith is home, Amelia is freaking out because the house is a mess, and Meredith says it's perfect, just the way she wants it. She eats donuts and her kids tell her everything she's missed while she was away. I'm really impressed with the way the kids have felt like more of a presence in the past season or so, and I hope that continues to be the case.

Richard is going to officiate Maggie and Winston's wedding! I felt so many warm fuzzies in my heart over that little moment. Richard worrying that he'd overstepped, and acknowledging that the relationship boundaries between himself and Maggie had always been a little uncertain. And then Maggie and Winston asking him to be the one to marry them to one another... oh gosh. This show can still really get to me sometimes. That made me happy.

I think if I had to say my overall thoughts on this episode, I'd say a lot of the things that happen have implications that I don't enjoy. But then watching some of it play out, I did like it. So the way Meredith reacted to the news of Andrew's death was really touching, but I'm still pissed that Andrew died. Jackson had a couple of solid moments, but overall his swan song didn't hit the mark. Koracick's speech was decent, but the fact that he's apparently leaving is annoying.

So yeah. Grey's still has plenty to keep my attention, but this episode wasn't one of the greats!

7/10