Grey's Anatomy: The Marathon Continues (20x06)

Alright, let's dive in!

Cons:

A recurring and somewhat befuddling theme of more recent seasons of Grey's Anatomy is the attempt to address the completely horrifying way the medical education system operates. The fact that interns work eighty hour weeks and don't have time to eat or sleep has been part of the show from the beginning. But I struggle to understand what the show's... thesis is, here, if that makes sense. Is it a "back in my day we didn't complain about a little hard work" thing? Because I don't think so, that would be pretty out of character for this show. But then you've got Bailey giving everyone wellness bags that are full of band-aid solutions, and then later she sends Simone and Kwan home for griping about their low pay and long hours? But then I guess it's about how Bailey also needs a break or whatever. She says a thing about how the system is designed poorly and there's not a lot that can be done in the individual level. So is that the point? I don't know. It's just a little muddy.

Richard having a moment of fuzziness where he hesitates to step in... I really do feel like I'm on a merry-go-round with Richard as a character at this point. This one was kind of a fake-out, where it looked like Richard was going to choke up at the finish line but then he stepped in and was fine and saved a life. Are we going to keep dragging this out where he's unsure if he should still be actively practicing, so he takes an admin role? Have I not seen him go through that process more than once already? This man was talking about retirement towards the beginning of this show's runtime!

Catherine continues to suck, I hated that this episode featured her giving a family special treatment for being big hospital donors, with no seeming awareness of how this is a structural, systemic issue and an active interference in the patient's medical care? Like, I know it ultimately worked out and the young woman got the surgery that's going to help her moving forward with her amputation, but I was really frustrated with Catherine through all of this. As I frequently am.

The little subplot thing about Schmitt not being passionate enough for pediatrics felt a little... phoned in, I guess. I knew the second he said casually "oh, Webber suggested it and the position is in high demand" that this new doctor lady was going to tell him he didn't want it enough or something. The idea that he needs to put on some song and dance about how it's his one true calling in life just seems so unnecessary and lazy. He wants to go into a specialty, just let him do it. Yeesh.

Pros:

I really like Simone and Kwan, honestly? I hate to say this, but the Simone/Kwan energy might actually be more interesting than Kwan/Jules and Simone/Lucas, just from this one brief episode. They had a really natural rhythm to their scenes and seemed to bolster each other emotionally and have a similar way of looking at the world. The fact that Blue was able to open up to Simone a little, reassure her that he's going through a rough moment but that he's handling it, that was so big coming from him! And Simone has been going through a rough period, and seemed to have an actually relaxing, productive day with Kwan. I want more of that for both of them. And I don't really feel bad for Lucas coming home to see Kwan taking over his room in the intern house. Serves you right, my dude.

I liked the little bit of parenting drama between Link and Amelia, over Scout having his own tablet. Too much screentime isn't good for any of us, especially young children! I like that it wasn't some big drama, that it's more a little thing of all these blended families with various custody arrangements having to negotiate the boundaries and the rules. And it also seems we're making room for the potential developing bond between Amelia and new pediatric doctor Monica, as they touch base briefly about Amelia having a kid, then sit together on a bench to play games on Monica's phone. I can dig the vibe here, waiting to see where it goes!

Yasuda continues to be a highlight. This week, she's working with a patient who's been sent from prison for treatment. She has a really hard time with the idea of sending him back and not giving him the highest level of care possible. This is a plot thread that really underlines systemic issues and also speaks to Yasuda's compassion as a young doctor trying to figure out the level of investment she's able to pour into each of her patients. I love that we never learn much about the prisoner's past, because that's not really the point. Why he's in prison is unimportant to the truth, which is that he's a human being deserving of compassion. Yasuda manages to track down a dessert he's been thinking about for years while locked up, and as he goes back to the prison with meds to help with the pain but no further treatment for his cancer, at least she's able to give him a final comfort.

We didn't get a ton of Helm this week but I like seeing some attention put on the Yasuda/Helm situation. I hope we can get a proper arc focused on them. It still feels like this show doesn't know quite what to do with Helm, and I'd love to give her more of a spotlight soon!

Ultimately, upon reflecting on all of the plot threads this week, a lot were mediocre or irritating to me. I thought Simone and Kwan were the real highlight, and I'm still interested in where a lot of these elements will go from here. With the truncated season length, we're already staring down the barrel of the end of this season of Grey's Anatomy. It's all happening too fast!

6.5/10