The drama inside Grey Sloan Memorial continues, this time with too much focus on April Kepner. Sadly, I found her just as irritating as she was in season six (when she first joined the show). The writers sure didn’t make it any easier as they introduced a patient who called her Not-Grey (which was priceless). The fact that all this screen-time came at the expense of both Meredith and Alex was all the more unacceptable. Didn’t Shonda promise this season was going to focus on the “original” characters?
However, the rest of the hour was positively intense with the doctors taking sides and trying to make sense of this new regime. It’s always fun to watch this show as it attempts to reinvent itself 13 seasons later, and this added fear of Minnick and April taking over the hospital (with Bailey and Catherine’s help of course) is becoming riveting, and we’re just getting started. The fact that this affects Webber and Catherine’s marriage as well as Ben and Bailey’s makes this more complicated and simultaneously entertaining. It seems like the second half of this season is finally picking up the pace after a lackluster and unstructured few episodes, especially with the Alex prison storyline seemingly gone now. Good riddance.
Finally, I’d be remiss not to mention the dying little kid, which completely caught me off guard, as well as Stephanie gut-wrenchingly breaking down in front of Webber. That’s exactly the kind of closure I wish to get every week from this show’s medical cases. Jerrika Hinton’s performance in that scene alone really elevated this subplot, even if I’d rather have someone else get this amount of screen-time. Kudos for always knowing how to break my heart, writers.
Bits & Scalpels
– Hilarious moment as April begs Webber to give his surgery to Warren.
– What the hell was Riggs eating in that bowl? Very distracting.
– In this week’s Trump nod: Owen asking “can you vote wrong?” and everyone else jumping to say yes at the same time. Priceless.
– Anyone else felt really bad for Warren because his first solo surgery was ruined by Webber and Bailey arguing? Poor guy.
– With that said, I love Webber reminding us that Bailey was his intern. Oh, how times have changed.
– I still find Eliza Minnick way too unlikable and her lines sometimes cringe-worthy. Plus, does Arizona really need a new love interest already? She’s clearly capable of being on her own, as evident by her opening the hood of Minnick’s car like a badass.
– April claiming that she is nicer than Meredith is probably true inside the walls of that hospital, but for us viewers: nope.
Grey Banter
Ben: I have enough problems being your First Lady.
Bailey: My first what?
Arizona: Who gave you permission to let a resident operate on a 9 year old?
Eliza: We’re implementing phase two of my program.
Arizona: No, you’re implementing phases on a kid.
Stephanie: Look, he’s really big for his age.
Richard: You lost. It’s not your fault. You lost. Every good surgeon does. It might be your worst, but it won’t be your last.
Must-Download Tunes
Found My Vibe by Sarah Bollinger
Kiss My Feet by Laura Mvula
Blinded by the Lights by Dan Caplen
Conclusion
The rift between the doctors is finally becoming intense and exciting, and the heartbreaking ending to this week’s case made this episode another solid installment.
Chris Rating
B