Four episodes in and this season is still mediocre at best.
As fun and nostalgic as it was to see the Denny Duquette Memorial Clinic this week, there’s still something unsatisfying about watching Alex’s storyline unravel this year. At this point, there shouldn’t be an arc that tries to redeem a character who has been on the show since the very beginning because it’s just disrespectful to put Alex in this situation to begin with. After all the development and growth this character has been through, having him do “scut” to work his way back to the top is a sign the show has completely run out of ideas and is simply recycling its old ones. I didn’t want to say it, but it might be time to simply write Alex off the show – for his sake and ours.
Even more troublesome is the Meredith/Riggs/Maggie drama, which only shows that Meredith has been acting completely weird lately. I can’t possibly be the only one who doesn’t care about Riggs (and no, the tragic backstory regarding his presumably dead wife did not help), and I am not prepared to see Maggie going bananas on her sister. This love triangle needs to die ASAP and never to be mentioned again.
In addition, the Owen/Amelia subplot should not have existed because it was hard to believe that they know very little about each other. With them finally opening up in the end in an emotional scene that proves how fully-realized these characters are, I’m hoping Grey’s Anatomy doesn’t break them up soon (like it does with literally every single couple on this show). Can we get a healthy, normal relationship for once please and thanks?
Bits & Scalpels
– Loved Meredith and Owen’s elevator scene with Mer counting down until he can stop venting about his wife.
– The secret lunch in the clinic was incredibly nostalgic. Who remembers Really Old Guy?
– We spent very little time in the OR this week, but I loved the twist with the woman being paralyzed from the waist down as a result of surgery. Meredith questioning her and Riggs’ decisions afterwards was also quite intense.
– A shout-out to Cristina and the choking from season five! All these years later and that entire storyline still creeps me out.
– Why in the world did we have to see Jo and DeLuca bonding?
– We need more Alex/Richard scenes. They’re very amusing together.
– Anyone else was annoyed with how quickly DeLuca’s bruises healed?
– When do we expect April and Jackson to get back together? You know it’s gonna happen.
– Anjul Nigam (who played the Indian nurse from the clinic) also played Dr. Raj Sen, the psychiatry resident in season two!
Grey Banter
Alex: One of you guys want to lance a patient’s foot abscess for me?
Maggie: Resident’s job.
Amelia: I’m eating.
Meredith: I would, but I don’t want to.
Amelia: There was this man I loved very much. And we loved taking drugs together, and one night we took a lot. And the next morning I woke up, and he had OD’d and aspirated on his vomit and…died. I told you it’s bad.
Owen: I once choked Cristina. I didn’t mean to, but I was asleep. I had this ceiling fan. And in my head, the blades, it was—in my head, it was a helicopter. And I thought I was back there. And I woke up, and I was choking her.
Must-Download Tunes
West by Sleeping At Last
Conclusion
It might be comfort food for us longtime fans at this point, but Grey’s Anatomy should still do better than that.
Chris Rating
B-
You're not the only one who doesn't care about Riggs. And I'm fond of how Meredith has been acting in this situation with him and her sister. She could have saved herself a lot of trouble since she had told Maggie about her attraction to Riggs from the beginning.
I did enjoy the emotionally revealing scene between Owen and Amelia. There is a certain beauty in two people exposing each other's flaws.
I meant to say “not fond of how Meredith…”