Grey’s Anatomy 12×02 – Walking Tall

Just like April’s cringe-inducing speech, it feels like Grey’s Anatomy is currently a state that ridiculously resembles Jackson and April’s marriage: boring.

It saddens me to say this after 12 years of commitment and entertainment, but I might be getting sick of some characters on this show. There wasn’t anything particularly engaging this week, but Jackson and April’s problems were definitely the most annoying to watch. Locking April up in a glass bubble is such a contrived way of making every other character on this show come to her side and open up about their issues, exposition-style. It might have worked in season four or five, but this is a show in its twelfth year. Can we please stop recycling old storylines and pretending they’re compelling?

Then there’s Amelia and Owen, the least attractive couple this show has ever thrown in our faces. I was never a huge fan of Owen and Cristina after all the choking started happening, but at least the actors had chemistry and the characters had a fascinating history together. These two on the other hand are becoming the new Jackson and April (sorry, still not over that).

If there’s a silver lining here, it’s definitely Bailey whose first day as chief didn’t go exactly as she’d hoped. What I loved about this storyline, which carried its weight onto the other subplots in this episode, is that it was actually unpredictable. I knew that Bailey would become the Nazi again the minute she took over this position, but I was actually surprised by how everyone started talking about her. It wasn’t that she was ruthless and mean like back in season one; she was just becoming the Chief of Surgery and that entailed having to do things a certain way and finishing them on a timeline that suits her. Her scenes with Meredith, who had to take over Bailey’s cases, were particularly engaging (unlike that dull patient of the week we got) and Richard’s speech was, as always, enlightening.

This is something Miranda Bailey wanted to do for twelve seasons now, so I guess I was just expecting a little more from the show on that front. Grey’s Anatomy is still lighter and more uplifting in tone this year, but focusing on tedious characters is taking the spotlight away from our favorites.

Bits & Scalpels

– A nervous Bailey standing outside the hospital was very reminiscent of a scared Izzie who waited for an entire day outside after the whole Denny incident.

– Hilarious bit: the doctors carpooling to work and Meredith acting like the bossy mother.

– I love the gift Richard got Bailey. All these years and these two are still closer than ever. Very heart-warming.

– Is that intern in love with Jo or something? Kind of an awkward subplot.

– It was so weird that they decided to end what’s supposedly a sad breakup between April and Jackson with April hitting her head on the glass.

– I surprisingly liked Callie and Arizona’s honest conversation at the end about Callie’s date. I still think separating them was a wise choice for now.

– Sadly, I came across next week’s promo and it’s a bit…spoiler-heavy. Try to avoid it!

Grey Banter

Callie: What do a thousand African children have to do with us?

Richard: What they need is a leader. If I did my job well, it’s not because people listened to me. It’s because they believed in me. Believed that I knew them well enough and believed in them enough to tell them how and when to use their brains. I’m talking about people like you. That kind of believe you have to earn it, and you cannot earn it in a day. You want someone to run a four-minute mile, you don’t chase them. You don’t give them something to run from. You give them something to run to.

Conclusion
Sadly, I wasn’t impressed with the season’s second episode. Too much Jackson/April was a bit of a disappointment.

 Chris Rating
C+