Grey's Anatomy: Training Day (19x11)

Addison! Oh goodness!

Cons:

Jesus Christ, I can't believe the Nick and Meredith drama is going to continue even though Meredith isn't even on the show anymore. The one good thing about Mer leaving was that maybe Nick would go with her and they'd sort their shit out somewhere offscreen where I didn't have to look at them. Yeesh. I was so annoyed when he and Maggie were talking about it, and later when Lucas and Nick had a chat about Meredith being gone. I can't believe we're in a situation where this boring dude is supposed to be our strongest link to Meredith left on the show, the lingering point of unresolved drama. If Meredith comes back in the finale or in later seasons and it's so she can have her big reconciliation with Nick, I'll be annoyed as hell.

The subplot about a woman who needs a lung transplant, and then her boyfriend on his way to donate a lung gets into an accident that damages the lungs... I mean, it was fine, it just seemed very thematically divorced from the rest of the story in a way I found strange. Maybe we'll continue to follow up with these characters next week.

Pros:

I honestly found everything about the two pregnant friends to be incredibly moving. One is late-stage in her intended, wanted pregnancy, and the other is pregnant but doesn't want to be, and has come in for a medical abortion. The friends are both steadfast in their support for one another's journeys, making playlists for each other, packing snacks, etc. And Bailey and the whole medical team singing "In the Jungle" during labor for the one having a baby was so cute and sweet and just incredibly touching.

I appreciate that whenever Grey's does a story about abortion care, they don't make one of the sympathetic, named characters the voice of the opposition, so to speak. There's not a pro-life main character in Grey's right now who's standing off to the side making the argument against this good work. Maybe there are moments in the world where we need to hear people out, but Grey's is making the (in my opinion correct) stand that this is not one of them. They so eloquently and simply make their case for the power of choice by showing women who are excited to be pregnant, excited to be mothers, and others who do not want to be and should not be forced into such a thing against their will.

The people who think differently, the fundamentalists, the pro-life crowd, only get a voice as an anonymous, violent mob. Angry people willing to throw bricks through windows and run over people they disagree with on the street outside of a hospital. That's exactly the kind of representation they deserve.

I love Addison. I was moved by Addison's despair and fear as she undergoes all the online harassment and doxing. And now the episode ends with her life in peril? I'm screaming! They'd better not kill Addison Montgomery, I will CRY.

Teddy did a good job handling a crisis as chief. She succeeded in not pissing me off in this episode. Good for her!

In the intern world, we've got Simone deciding to rush her wedding with Trey, while things are still strained and awkward between her and Lucas. I feel kind of unsure about this plot thread; there are pieces of it that are poised to annoy me but I'm still willing to hear them out. At least they're not dragging things out too long, hopefully Simone will rush full-steam ahead to her wedding and we'll get the dramatic shakeup sooner rather than later. Oh, also, Blue got smashed in the head with a brick. He seems to be doing okay but I wonder if that will come back later.

Addison's fate is up the air and we have to wait to see if she's going to be okay. I'm a little worried, this show has hurt my feelings a lot in the past, and I don't want to have to be pissed at them for yet another thing.

8/10