Grey's Anatomy Recap: Solo Ack!
In Thursday’s do-or-die Grey’s Anatomy, Richard told the residents, “Today is gonna be a day that you will remember for the rest of your careers” — in other words, the day that each of them got to operate on their own for the first time. Which residents rose to the challenge, and which cracked under pressure? And was Addison able to save Tovah, who developed complications in the wake of last week’s groundbreaking uterine transplant? Read on and find out…
‘I’M SO TIRED, I COULD DROP DEAD’ | As “With a Little Help From My Friends” began, Richard and Catherine, and Levi and Nico, canoodled after a night of passion — separately, it bears mentioning — as word spread that Webber was once again in charge of the residency program. Though Addison was set to go West once again, she couldn’t leave yet; she needed Amelia’s help to save Tovah. Noah showed up with Owen at a support group… where the organizer Roy began coughing up blood before anyone could give the testimonials that he’d take to Washington to lobby for changes to the VA. And as Jo arrived for work, she and Cormac encountered a woman who was going into labor. As for Meredith, when she showed up at Grey Sloan, she and Bailey learned from Richard that he intended to let the residents fly solo on lap-choles that day. See? Miranda told Grey. “You can’t go to Minnesota. The man’s lost his damn mind.”
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Alone with Mer and Bailey, Richard defended his decision to let his pupils operate alone; the attendings’ presence would only be needed for about 10 critical minutes of each procedure. Reluctantly, Bailey agreed to his daring plan. “God help us, fine,” she said. She was beyond uneasy, though, putting patients’ lives in the hands of “children with scalpels.” Hilariously, Mabel struck Amelia’s superhero pose before making her first cut. From there, Bailey, Mer and Richard ran from OR to OR. When Levi finished his lap chole in record time, Richard offered him and Reza a double feature. In another OR, Taryn and James ran into trouble and called for an attending.
‘ASK SMARTER QUESTIONS ABOUT MY PATIENT’
| As testy as Addison seemed — really, she was just desperate to save Tovah and not tank her study — Amelia dove in to lend a hand. Later, Addison questioned why Amelia had dumped Link. After drowning in children and domesticity for months, she’d been tempted over and over again to do drugs. Link, on the other hand, was falling ever more in love with their mom-and-pop operation. “It felt like I couldn’t breathe. I judged myself for that,” she added, “like it looks like you’re judging me now.” Addison wasn’t judging her, though. During the pandemic, she’d drunk so much wine that she resembled a tick. And she had such dark thoughts, she kept them to herself. She’d even liked the idea of not waking up ever again — that dark. After running tests on Tovah, Amelia offered Team Grey Sloan to help monitor the patient — provided they received credit when Montgomery published. In response, Addison confessed that she needed to prioritize Tovah over her selfish need to go home. Helping her had given Addison the will to get up in the morning. It was OK, Amelia assured her. She was doing everything that she could for Tovah.
After Owen and Noah rushed Roy to the hospital, Hunt and Winston discovered that the patient had lung cancer on top of pulmonary fibrosis. “So what are we talking?” Roy asked. “What can we do to get me to Congress next month?” A risky procedure that might buy him a couple of months, Winston said. Do it, Roy instructed him. “I spent my entire life fighting, I’m not going to stop now.” Before he went under the knife, he confessed to Owen that he’d authorized the burn pits that had so adversely impacted him and his own troops. After the surgery, Owen reiterated to Noah that he was in this battle “with all of you guys.” Well, maybe not Roy — he was crashing, and it didn’t look good. Shortly, Owen and Winston broke it to Noah that Roy had passed away. Grieving, Noah told Hunt that he’d let him in, and the doc had made everything so much worse. He didn’t want any more of Owen’s help.
‘NO DAD, JUST A HOOKUP’
| The pregnant woman — Nikki was her name — told her boyfriend of a month that she’d thought he’d known that she was pregnant. “Look at me,” she said. But despite her baby bump, he hadn’t. Soon, he revealed to Jo that he was bailing. Afterwards, she floated to Nikki the idea that she was just experiencing anxiety, not labor pains. But of course she was anxious — she was having a random guy’s baby, and her new boyfriend had run out on her. She was also in labor, and as the episode neared its conclusion, she gave birth in such a way that Jo had to perform a complicated maneuver to get the boy out. In other developments, after Megan approached Cormac for a pediatric consult, she was forced to reveal that the patient in question was her son, Farouk. He had a concerning murmur, Hayes soon reported. And yes, he’d keep the sitch on the DL for Mom, lest Owen freak out. Later, Cormac reported that Farouk would need surgery to treat endocarditis. “He has to be OK,” Megan cried. Needless to say, Cormac was going to do everything that he could to ensure that he was.
As the hour neared its conclusion, Addison and Amelia assured Tovah that she hadn’t rejected the uterus. “Give her a minute to cry,” Addison told Amelia. Later, Addison questioned whether Amelia would regret a decision that she made during a crisis. “I hated the life that [Link] loved,” Amelia said. “So I think the sanest and kindest thing I can do is let him go.” Addison was impressed. “Look at you,” she said. “Amelia Shepherd, all grown up.” Elsewhere, Richard, Catherine and Meredith congratulated themselves on a successful day even as Bailey focused on the trouble Helm had run into. But Mer saw Taryn’s hiccup as proof that the system had worked — she’d asked for help, and the patient was fine. Off his terrible day, Owen asked Cormac if he wanted to grab a drink before he went home to Teddy and the kids. High off his surgical twofer, Levi hurled himself at Nico with the confidence of a “rock-star boyfriend.” And happening upon Taryn beating herself up after her surgical mistake, Bailey told her that she should feel awful. “It’s that awfulness… it sticks with us so we don’t ever make that same mistake again,” Miranda said. “It’s how we become great.” And who was the first person that Mer ran into when she touched down in Minnesota? Why, Nick, naturally.
So, what did you think of the episode? Are Cormac and Megan a couple in the making? And what’s your take on Kate Walsh’s visit — a fantastic gift, or a terrible tease since we know we can’t keep her? Comment away, folks.
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