Grey's Anatomy: I Can See Clearly Now (21x03)

Hey, happy to report that Catherine didn't bug me too much in this one! It's hard to be too annoyed with someone who's in such a vulnerable position, I suppose.

Cons:

Richard, on the other hand... dude, what gives! Him snapping at Meredith for... not breaking HIPAA was a weird look. I understand being hurt and conflicted, but his scolding attitude was way out of line. Shame on you, Richard, not shame on Meredith!

Lucas and Simone's relationship is just utterly boring to me, and the avenues for drama between them are icky and unoriginal. You've got Lucas angsting about repeating his intern year, then you've got Simone accusing him of getting surgeries through nepotism. It's just... ugh. I'm not really vibing with any of it. It's a shame, because once again I feel like Simone went from being a real favorite, to being kind of consumed by the romance plot line and not getting a ton else to chew on as a character.

Similarly uninteresting is Jo and Link, but what else is new? Jo's arc this episode was wanting to hide her pregnancy from the hospital because she thinks people will treat her differently, but then seeing a patient risk everything for her pregnancy makes her change her priorities. I don't know, it just felt a little weak-sauce. I continue to be 0% excited by these two.

Also Nick was in this episode. Giving Lucas advice. Being Nick. Nothing more to say about him, he's just... a man who stands there and says words sometimes, while I struggle to stay awake!

Pros:

So, Catherine Fox gets a little section in the "pros" half of the review, can you believe it? I actually like how grounded she felt in this episode. Still unreasonably stubborn, not wanting Richard to know about the biopsy beforehand. But she isn't mad at Meredith and Bailey after she wakes up, and she actually humbles herself and gives Bailey her job back. At least she's realizing in her vulnerable state that she's been unreasonable. I think I also really liked the Catherine stuff here mainly because I find Meredith's role this season to be really refreshing and interesting so far. She's really reached her final form. Her maturity is refreshing, she's really kept a level head while also remaining devoted to her controversial convictions. She's going to do what she thinks is right, but her stubbornness doesn't mean being an asshole to a woman with cancer. Catherine and Meredith are... family, honestly. They have too many important people in their lives in common. Meredith his figured out how to set aside some bullshit to be there for her, and it makes me admire her character!

Yasuda has a rough week, snapping at Amelia and Teddy in the OR, clearly being out of sorts. At the end of the episode, she tells Jules she's gotten news that her little sister has cancer. She says what she needs from Jules is a friend; that she loves what they've started, but she's not in a place to be in a new relationship right now. I... feel a little bit conflicted about this. I liked seeing these two smooch, it was very cute. But also, knowing that Mika will be exiting the show soon, I think maybe giving her a more gentle and less volatile exit makes sense. These two can be a "what could have been" story instead of a super angsty break-up, I suppose. I still really like their close bond, no matter what direction it goes.

Turning to our other soon to depart cast member, I really like Levi's vibes with this pastor dude! I think it's so sweet! This show has had kind of a strange, spotty history with how it's portrayed interfaith relationships and debates around religion, but here we see how this man is able to gently discuss his own perspective on a higher power without it feeling, for lack of a better word... preachy. And that scene on the bench at the end was so adorable. I want to see lots more of this, and I hope we have time to do so!

For the patients this week, I feel like there were a lot of distinct and memorable comedic and emotional beats. The woman who wants to stay alive out of spite towards her ex, only to experience grief upon learning of his death; the paranoid scrub nurse patient who stays awake during his transplant; the pregnant woman who's determined to be a surrogate for her brother and his husband. I really feel like in the past couple of seasons, this show has upped its game with having memorable patients to round out the story-lines!

It seems Sydney's brief time back on the show has come to an end - ultimately I feel like this little diversion was perhaps kind of pointless, but I have to admit I liked her energy. It's very different from what most of the other characters are ever serving on this show, so it allows for some funny reactions from our much more jaded and skeptical core cast. At least she saw the wisdom in hiring Ben back to the hospital! And I liked that she bowed out gracefully, admitting that the job was harder than it looked, and that Miranda is the one who should be doing it.

So there we go. This season so far has been the typical mixed bag I've come to expect with this show. There are always characters and story-lines that I'm intrigued by, and there are always things that annoy me. These people are like my family, at this point! I'm in it for life.

7.5/10