Grey's Anatomy: Road Trippin' (18x14)

I love Jo very much!

Cons:

For the first time in a long time, I can't really think of much to complain about. None of the main stories were irritating to me on their face. Maybe the stuff with Meredith and Zola wasn't quite what I wanted it to be, just because I feel like they're stringing us along with this stuff about Meredith moving and taking the new job. Yes or no? Is Meredith leaving? What's happening with that? I don't like her boring boyfriend, so I don't like the time-wasting we do with him.

Pros:

Hey, miracle of miracles, there were moments with both Owen and Teddy this week that I didn't hate! Probably because it wasn't a plot thread about their relationship! First, I love that Amelia is chastising Owen for trying to push his recovery. Owen makes for actually decent comic relief when he's being the "doctors make the worst patients" cliché. And when he's acting as chief for Bailey, he manages to do a decent job but also gets a little worked up with the difficulties. I liked how he responded to everyone else's incredulity about his fitness for the job.

But then of course there's something more sinister afoot, as a woman keeps trying to track down the chief, bouncing from Webber and Bailey over to Hunt, who receives the news that there have been a bunch of complaints about the residency program... it looks like they might get shut down. Dun dun dun… this is a good level of drama: it feeds from what happened with the Webber Method and Schmitt's breakdown, in a way that I think will be interesting to unfold, but which also doesn't have the literal life-and-death stakes that often happen on Grey's Anatomy.

And the Teddy moments I mentioned enjoying were just little comic relief beats. Jo tells her that she and Link are no longer sleeping together, to which Teddy responds with astonishment. Turns out, Teddy doesn't remember their drunken conversation at the bar. Later, she has a funny moment with Jo where Jo is all flustered about Todd, and Teddy says she once married a patient, so she's not one to judge. I felt like I was getting glimpses of the character I enjoyed once upon a time.

While the Zola and Meredith stuff was part of a plot thread I'm not sure I'm crazy about, I did think the mother-daughter time was pretty sweet. Zola is taking after her mother in so many ways. I loved the part where they both talked about wishing they could get sick together more often. It's a bittersweet kind of thing. They want more time together, but Meredith's job doesn't really allow for that.

Todd and Jo are cute! I love him getting her flowers and study snacks in the library, I love how much he's there for his sister... I was super relieved that nothing went wrong with the surgery, because I can imagine that spelling the end of this burgeoning romance, and I want Jo to be happy for once!

Maggie and Winston got one of the main story lines this week. They are about to perform a super rare surgery on a sick little girl, and meanwhile Winston's brother has shown up back in his life, reminding Winston of old family resentments and pain. These two stories cross as Winston is forced to admit that his blaming his brother for his mother's death isn't fair on anyone, in the same way that it's not this little girl's family's fault that she's sick, even if they did indulge in some fun on their way to the hospital for the surgery. Once again, I'm relieved that nothing went wrong with this surgery. Whenever they're setting up the stakes for how much the family cares for their sick loved one, I'm bracing myself for impact and grief. Sometimes it happens, but often Grey's will be nice and let the moment of drama pass without tragedy.

I also like this love story with Maggie and Winston, where there are big parts of each other they are still getting to know after their marriage. Obviously this could go poorly for some people, but it seems to be working out okay for them, and I love to see it! Winston being able to move towards reconciliation with his brother wish a sweet moment to see. He's a character I'm glad has been added to the show.

I wonder if we'll get to check in with Levi next week? I miss that guy, and hope he's doing okay!

9/10