Grey's Anatomy recap: Things are not what they seem

Of all the unique environments hidden away in Grey Sloan Memorial, I think Maggie’s decision to introduce a Jungle Room and a Blue Room was desperately needed. Based on all the medical jargon and statistics she recited to the eager interns, I can report that a roomful of plants and a roomful of blue light produce higher levels of something positive and lower levels of anxiety.

It’s a good thing all the doctors are hot messes and have multiple reasons to visit the rooms so Maggie can take their blood pressure and prove her theory.

For example, Teddy is stressed because Tom and Owen are both accompanying her to a birthing class. But before things even have a chance to get awkward, Teddy looks alarmingly concerned when she feels a sharp pain. TO THE BLUE ROOM! Parker finds her breathing heavily, irritated that the azure habitat is not doing its job. He calls Carina, and we quickly learn that Teddy has an insufficient cervix.

Well, that’s not good. Carina maneuvers the hospital bed so Teddy’s feet incline in the air while her head is down below. Hey, gravity. Do your job.

Over in the Jungle Room, Karev and Meredith brood about their significant others. I expected their moods to drastically change surrounded by all that foliage, but I didn’t notice a difference. Karev is mad that Jo won’t answer his phone calls. He’s worried about his wife running off to find her birth mom. Meredith is mad at DeLuca for being a pain in her butt. He’s doing a pretty good job avoiding Meredith, and she’s about to throw down with him. Being angry at his dysfunctional father doesn’t not give him the right to blow Meredith off when she’s offering to help.

Meredith isn’t the only one lending a helping hand. While spinning in a chair with a big grin on her face, Amelia confesses to Maggie that she had “insanely good sex” at a conference in San Diego. Before any details are shared, Link comes in and apologizes to Maggie for not getting those documents to her sooner. You see, he was at a conference in San Diego. BUSTED.

Later, Amelia reminds Link that their interlude was nothing more than pain management. It was acute, one dose, zero refills, the opposite of chronic. However, he needs to steer clear because, you know, pheromones are a real thing and his make her feel tingly. Link agrees to keep a safe distance just as Webber puts them on a case together. Of course.

There’s been a snowmobile accident. Amelia and Link manage Kari, who has fractures on her vertebrae. Webber leaves them, and Link’s pheromones, to check on the other person who was on the snowmobile. Their name is Toby and they are genderqueer. The pronouns throw Webber off his game, and he has trouble adjusting. Or should I say, he wonders why he has to adjust. Can someone send him over to the Jungle Room? Maybe that will help him chill?

As Avery corrects with “they” every time Webber says “she,” the rest of our Grey’s Anatomy cast surround a little girl named Nora who needs a new pancreas. She’s been in the hospital FOREVER, but today all her levels aligned and she can finally have the surgery!

Just kidding. Her levels are off again, which is very odd. As they give her insulin, word gets out that Nora is a math whiz. She cannot be bested. Even by Qadri. So the intern enlists a few friends to compete in the nerdiest mathlete contest this side of the nurse’s station. Maggie, Schmitt, Qadri, and even Bailey do their best to usurp Nora, but none prevail. It’s all fun and games until Qadri finds a juice box behind Nora’s pillow. So this is why her levels were off.

We learn that Nora sabotaged her levels because she’s afraid to get better. If she does, she will have to go back to school. She’s bullied at school, but she has awesome friends who like math at the hospital. She’d rather stay. It’s her body and she doesn’t want the surgery.

Outside Nora’s room, DeLuca uses his outdoor voice, trying to convince Nora’s mom to make her daughter get the surgery. Karev is not happy with DeLuca’s tone. DeLuca continues to berate the mom, reminding her that Nora is in pain and she could do something about it. Karev makes DeLuca walk away or get fired. It’s his choice. TO THE GREEN ZONE!

DeLuca walks away, not in the direction of the Jungle Room, while Teddy remains stationary. But she’s not alone. Owen ditched Tom at the birthing class and is now upside-down with Teddy to show her that they are in this together. They both talk to the baby and it is Owen’s monologue listing all the wonderful things about Teddy’s character that makes me, and Teddy, tear up a little bit. Nice job, Owen.

Tom shows up a little later, once Teddy is deemed out of the woods, and has a private word with Owen. He is not happy that he wasn’t called and wants Owen to know that he is not backing down. In fact, he is fighting for Teddy. And if Owen really wants Teddy to not have any drama or pain in her life, Owen needs to walk away. They may have history, but Owen made his choice and picked Amelia a long time ago. Tom’s history is simple: He picked Teddy. #truth (recap continued on next page)

Back in the O.R., Link and Amelia work side-by-side, pheromones churning, to save Kari from becoming a quadriplegic. Things are looking good, until they aren’t. Complications occur and Kari ends up being paralyzed from the neck down. She and Link, as well as Avery, share the news with Toby, who understandably freaks out. Avery eases the news by telling Toby that Kari is strong and taught them everything they need to know about taking care of someone. Toby has the tools and the ability. Don’t let her down.

After Karev complains to Meredith about her boyfriend’s outburst, bringing all sorts of negativity to the green space where Meredith is holed up, Nora’s levels are finally stable again. Karev and Qadri psyche each other up to talk to Nora about the importance of the surgery, as they find DeLuca already giving her a pep talk on why bullies will always be bullies.

He tells his own story, shows Nora a picture of him at her age, and promises she will find her own band of nerds sooner rather than later. Also, math rocks. Nora agrees to do the surgery and Karev books an O.R. He also doesn’t tell DeLuca, who is pissed that he didn’t get to scrub in, even though he’s the reason why Nora is on the table in the first place. Instead of heading to the Blue Room for a little perspective, DeLuca goes home.

It’s a good thing he didn’t go in there, because Amelia and Link stand still in the blue light, begging it to take away the fact that a woman is paralyzed. After a while, they hold hands. Then the door is locked. Then they do more than hold hands. Is it the Blue Room? Or pheromones? Who cares. I’m shipping this. (Are we still saying “shipping”?)

Meredith heads to DeLuca’s house and tells him that she’s not one to sit at work among plants and wonder why her boyfriend is avoiding her. She’s not interested if that’s how he’s going to be. DeLuca admits that he was angry about his father and he just needed some time. But now he needs Meredith. Then they do more than hold hands. They eat a dinner he prepared.

And finally, Karev comes home to find Jo in the bed. He shouts her name, kisses her hard, and then leaves the room. No, Jo isn’t half-dead, but she is devastated. From the looks of next week’s episode, things may not have gone the way she hopped with her newfound mother.

Get some plants and blue lights, Karev. You’re going to need them.