Just because a girl is all about kissing her hot doc love interest up on a roof does not mean she’s ready to dive into a relationship one hundo p. It doesn’t even mean she’s ready to go on a real date IN PUBLIC. Hot kisses on the roof are one thing, real-life dating is very much another. And that is where DeLuca and Meredith find themselves at the top of “I Walk the Line.†Meredith is still avoiding going out with the dude she just smashed faces with — she wants confirmation that her sister is completely okay with this (remember when Maggie and DeLuca dated? It was a magical time.) before moving forward.
DeLuca’s confused by this, since his sister never really asks when she wants to date one of his exes, “she just dives right in,†and as he is saying it, it dawns on him: Yeah, that’s a super-shitty thing to do to your sibling. Ugh, guys, even DeLuca talking about his relationship with Carina makes me miss the antics of the DeLuca siblings. Bring that girl back, would ya? Anyway, he will gladly wait ONCE AGAIN for Meredith to get things straight with Maggie.
As Meredith discovers, that’s going to be a little tricky since Maggie is spiraling out over her latest patient. Maggie’s story line in this episode is kind of hilarious and I’m surprised it’s taken Grey’s Anatomy this long to explore it: What if your school bully (in this case, Maggie’s med school tormentor) needed you to save her life? Meet Kiki Thompson, the classmate who only referred to Maggie as Magpie and tortured her in front of classmates by doing such things as leaving diapers on her desk (remember, Maggie is a prodigy and was by far the youngest in her med school class). We never get confirmation as to whether these were dirty diapers or not, no matter how hard Jo presses for the answer. Regardless, Maggie spent evenings lying in bed, wishing that Kiki Thompson would just die already (as Jo notes, that’s real dark, Mags), and now here she is, in need of an extremely risky aortic graft replacement — a surgery that could easily kill her.
Maggie’s stuck. She doesn’t want to murder the person she wanted to murder so badly for so many years, you know? The answer comes in the form of the person who should be protecting her from her bully: her older sister. Honestly, nothing brings me more joy than a good Meredith-Maggie sister moment. Forget Amelia. I know that’s harsh, but it is my truth.
Anyway, Meredith comes up with a different way to approach the surgery. It’s risky, but they’ll do it together. Meredith will always have her sister’s back (aw, you guys). The surgery is a success, of course. Power of the Sisterhood and all that. And Maggie gets a little closure on her med school experience: The girl who bullied her might survive this surgery, but she has suffered consequences for her actions — she’s all alone in this world. No emergency contact, no nothing. So, kids, just be kind to each other, would you? No one like a bully.
Now with saving a person’s life out of the way, Meredith can get into the DeLuca of it all (so that she can get into the DeLuca of it all — you’re welcome). You guys, no duh, Maggie is fine with this. She’s surprised, of course, but DeLuca is a great guy. And, if he ever stops being a great guy, Mags has her sister’s back. Ellis Grey’s daughters are really giving me the warm and fuzzies tonight. Who would’ve guessed?
And so, the Great Date Stalling of 2019 comes to an end. Meredith is ready to go have a meal in public with Dr. Andrew DeLuca. But she’s not getting on his motorcycle — she’s driving. She always is, isn’t she?
From sisters to fathers, we go. Grey’s Anatomy wastes no time in getting Betty/Brittany/Britney’s parents in the mix here. Amelia actually handles it pretty well, bonding with Brittany’s mom Ida (oh, hi, Jennifer Grey!) over how scared they are feeling (Brittany’s run away from rehab after calling her parents, you see). Ida gives a heartbreaking speech about how she lost her daughter before she even ran away. Amelia tries to give her some perspective by telling her her own story of addiction and how that affected her relationship with her mother, and the whole situation is very sad.
Especially for Owen Hunt.
Oh, Owen. He can’t even bear to look at Ida and her husband playing with their grandson in the nursery. He’s beside himself! It certainly does not help that his patient that day is a 16-year-old boy named Colin who was accidentally shot at a Scottish parade. (There is lots of griping from all of the doctors about yet another child being shot in this country because, hello, we’re all fed up.) Owen has to watch as Colin’s father, Seamus, agonizes over his son. He could lose him! And this hits Owen especially hard today, of all days.
Thankfully, because of the Hot Doctor Squad (seriously, how about that shot of Owen, Jackson, Alex, and Webber strolling out to the ambulance bay?), Colin survives. As Seamus holds his son, exclaiming things that will break your heart like “my sweet boy,†it all becomes too much for Owen, who goes out to the stairwell to have a good cry about Leo. Teddy finds him there, where he tells her with certainty that he’s going to lose his son. Teddy’s off dealing with a septuagenarian throuple, so how she has time to console this dude, I do not know. Women are magic.
It turns out Owen’s fears were not completely due to him being overdramatic. He and Amelia find Leo’s grandparents making plans to take him home right then and there. Owen won’t stand for it! He’s Leo’s family! Well, Leo’s grandfather won’t stand for it! He won’t leave Leo in the care of another drug addict, he says as he looks at Amelia! Okay, so obviously this whole custody thing is murky because Owen is technically Leo’s legal guardian, but also the grandparents aren’t the villains here. Betty/Brittany/WHATEVER really screwed everyone over. Still, calling out Amelia’s addiction as a reason to take Leo is a real dick move. Like daughter, like father, I guess.
For now, Owen has the legal right to keep Leo, but something tells me it won’t be the case for long. Amelia’s right to remind him that he took Leo in as his foster son and promised to do whatever is best for Leo, not for him. This only makes Owen further enraged, and he lashes out at Amelia for disclosing her addiction. This is all her fault! I don’t know what’s happening but I am very much on Amelia’s side here and I AM SCARED. Once again, Owen and Amelia are treating each other like crap, but no, sure, let’s keep them together as a couple. Love is crazy, right?
Laughter Is the Best Medicine, Apart From Real Medicine
• Teddy treats a 71-year-old woman who is taken care of by both her husband, Marvin, and her best friend, Julian. It’s hard to believe Julian is only a friend by the way he acts (Tom has to explain the concept of “throuples†to Teddy), but Marvin confirms it’s the truth. Lucille and Julian decided long ago to be friends, so that things never got complicated. Hm, does all of this sound familiar? It is so similar to the Teddy/Owen situation that Tom gets upset. He’s very into Teddy! Teddy assures him that she and Owen are only meant to be friends (yeah, right), but that she and Tom are something else. He invites her in with the promise of a club sandwich. Tom gets pregnant ladies! I’m very torn here, folks. I stan Tom Koracick and am maybe warming up to this pairing. Discuss!
• You know why I love Tom Koracick so much? When Helm interjects during a conversation in the OR between him and Teddy, he says things like this: “Remember when interns were afraid to talk to their attendings? I miss that.â€
• Alex Karev is very good at his job and it is throwing Bailey. Now his picture is up on the Chief of Surgery wall gallery (hi, Derek! Your death haunts us to this very day!) and he’s getting shout-outs in publications for innovations Bailey actually implemented and the woman wants her job back. But Alex likes his job! And he signed a six-month contract, so she’ll have to wait. Begrudgingly, she tells him she’s proud of him. All this Alex and Bailey love is really doing it for me.
• When the rest of the Scottish parade shows up and starts playing traditional music in the ambulance bay, of course Jackson turns to Owen (Kevin McKidd is a Scot, if you didn’t know) and asks “Is this really bad or really good?â€
• Bless you for all those shots of Owen and Jackson carrying their babies.
• Oh, okay, DeLuca staring at Meredith with a smolder so strong it could move mountains. WE ARE ALL FLUSTERED.
The Sob Scale: 1/10
No tears were shed over here, but Billy Boyd as Seamus was quite moving. And as much as I give Owen grief, I do feel for the guy. I fear it will only get worse for him, so the Sob Scale withholds judgement until then.