Grey's Anatomy: How Do I Live (21x18)

So, I don't watch 911 or Doctor Odyssey but I do like to check up on the tags, and from what I gather we were three for three on pretty disappointing season finales for these Thursday night ABC dramas! Yeesh.

Cons:

I'm literally having trouble deciding what to complain about first. Let's start with Richard. Why are you being such a dick to Meredith? Like, what a whiny, petulant little baby you've been all season, my dude. What gives? This episode has him throwing a fit that Meredith wants to sell her shares of the hospital to help with funding, and Richard acts like if she does that, suddenly she'll vanish and turn her back on everything she knows, never mind the fact that she still has family (Amelia!) in Seattle. And then he kind of apologizes in that half-assed way where what he's really doing is telling her he's not mad anymore and she has his permission to make her own choices. I don't get how Meredith is being so magnanimous about his behavior. He's been this way with her all season and it's so stupid! I also thought the stakes were poorly defined, like, it's not like the shares of the hospital are a frequent plot point that has a lot of emotional weight to it these days. I can't even remember who owns how much, doesn't Alex have shares? And Callie and Arizona? Why do we care so much anyway?

Like, listen. If Teddy really is breaking up with Owen, then hallelujah hallelujah, truly. But I just don't believe that these two are actually calling it quits. Maybe one of them will die in the fiery explosion at the end of the episode and we'll finally be free of their bullshit. Like, taking a look at the isolated incidents in this one episode, Owen is one of the scummiest, grossest dudes in the world. What the fuck was that when Teddy was like "do you have feelings for her" and Owen was like "you are my wife." What, are we in middle school here? That wasn't an answer! And so on the one hand, Teddy saying, "nah, I've had enough of this" is refreshing. But on the other hand... how is Owen actually standing there and not bringing up the fact that Teddy cheated on Owen first? Like, she's the fucking adulterer in this marriage, not him, if you want to get technical about it. Why are these two the most annoying motherfuckers in the universe. God.

Tiny little obligatory complaint about Jo and Link, like, they are just in newlywedded bliss this episode hooking up in the on call room, and there's nothing objectionable about it but I'm still bored and I don't care.

Winston sucks, Jules was right to call him out on denying her opportunities just because he's attracted to her. That was the wrong move, dude, and I really really don't want anything to happen between these two, please and thanks. It just rubs me the wrong way.

And finally, Simone hooks up with a rando who then ends up being one of the new interns. I saw this coming a mile away, it's a Grey's plot thread literally lifted from the show's pilot. And now it's this thing where because of a near-death experience, Lucas realizes he doesn't want to be without Simone, and so they reconcile but she's hiding this secret about a one night stand... like, they'd broken up so technically she didn't cheat, but she's going to be all guilty about it... honestly, this is Ross and Rachel shit, only those two have more believable chemistry than Lucas and Simone, sorry. I'm already tired. I hope Lucas exploded at the end of the episode, sorry to be harsh.

Pros:

Man, this was a rough one to get excited about. I'm struggling to come up with definitively positive things to say.

I guess I'll give flowers to the actor who plays Dylan's mom, I thought she did such a good job. The threat of the explosion was real, but the threat of her erratic behavior was what brought it home. Even though I wouldn't have guessed she'd do something like this, watching her unravel over the last few episodes did make it feel organic and earned. I liked the twist on the twist too where she said that the canister was empty, but the husband revealed it wasn't, so we've still got the explosive threat lingering after we think we're safe. That was effective. I'm also just like... entirely unsure who was in the blast radius there at the end, so it feels like almost anybody could be in danger right now. That's a little exciting, knowing we won't know anybody's fates until next season! Am I a bad person if I have my fingers crossed for Owen and/or Link to be in danger?

I honestly kind of liked Ben's plot thread in this episode. I know he's kind of acting a fool, but at the same time, I really don't get why Teddy has this anti-Ben vendetta and just decided he wasn't worth keeping around, and like, yeah, sometimes he's a bit rash but it's nothing compared to what most of the insane people on this show have gotten up to at some point or another, right? And he saves his patient! So. Ahem. I also like those first responder/fire fighter instincts kicking in as the explosion goes off right at the end. While everyone else is still reeling, Ben is already sprinting towards the building.

I was pissed at Richard for the way he was treating Meredith, but I do like the ultimate conclusion she came to. She's dedicating herself to her research, and it's yielding results, but she'll be around here and there and doing surgery at Grey Sloan. Ellen Pompeo has herself a pretty good deal with turning up for four-ish episodes a season and doing the voice-overs. I like it, I like that Meredith is still around!

So... yeah. This was a pretty disappointing finale in a season where I really just could not get myself invested in any of the romance arcs at all. I really hope we get some interesting stories for Blue next season, I hope Ben gets to stick around, I hope for more Helm, I hope for less Owen, I hope Jo and Link get instantly divorced and never speak to one another again... just kidding. Kinda.

Now we've just got to wait months to see if anybody we care about died in that big ol' explosion!

6/10