From the beginning of this season, the show has been trying to make us care about the Alex/Jo/DeLuca problem. They elevated the stakes just a little bit by scaring us into believing that Alex has gone to prison, but I still find this entire subplot incredibly irritating and useless.
It doesn’t help that Jukebox Hero is yet another pointless filler that neither advances this storyline nor proves to be entertaining. I can’t be the only one who terribly misses Meredith so to see her confined to a few scenes as she looks for Alex was exceptionally disappointing. While I found the final moment heartwarming as the two reunited and embraced in a lovely hug in her bedroom, it still feels like we were being jerked around for the past couple of months for no reason whatsoever. If they’re writing Alex to be a fugitive, then that’s a whole other storyline I have zero interest in.
The shenanigans back at the hospital were hardly any better, to be honest. I certainly enjoyed Richard messing with Eliza and Dr. Bailey, but teaming him up with Jackson, Maggie, Arizona and April was out of the blue and less entertaining (again, where was Meredith?). Additionally, Arizona’s pregnant patient who gets in a car accident no thanks to Arizona herself was awfully contrived, and of course it was her husband in the other car (because why not?). It’s hard to be invested in a case when it’s messily executed, and it’s even harder when there’s nothing really tying it up to anything at the end.
Bits & Scalpels
– I love the flashbacks to the interns’ cocktail party in the Previously On Grey’s section.
– A doctor video-chatting with a pregnant woman in a car and telling her to put her feet up on the dashboard? Come on!
– According to Shonda Rhimes on Twitter, Amelia’s scenes were all filmed MONTHS after they finished shooting this episode because Caterina Scorsone was pregnant. Her entire subplot in this episode was all over the place anyway and I don’t understand why she’s living with Stephanie and not answering her husband’s calls.
– Hilarious moment as Richard steals the pen off the board and walks away from Eliza.
– Bailey calling Richard butt-hurt: epic.
Grey Banter
Meredith (opening VO): We all have heroes. People we look up to, people we aspire to be, who teach us how to be greater than we are because they’re greater than we are. They’re great if we don’t look so closely. ‘Cause if we get too close, we realize heroes are just regular people.
Eliza: Was there a problem with the way I arranged the board this morning?
Richard: Uh, you used lowercase letters.
Eliza: So? It’s still legible.
Richard: It’s a little passive-aggressive, don’t you think? We prefer caps.
Guy: He’s not in the computer. I don’t have him.
Meredith: Okay, so can we call around some other jails?
Guy: Sure, ‘cause this is Saks Fifth Avenue.
Must-Download Tunes
Bridge by Zoe Durrant
Killing Me by Luke Sital-Singh
Smoke Without Fire by David Gray
Conclusion
An underwhelming and boring episode of a season that has hardly impressed so far.
Chris Rating
C-