Friday, September 29, 2017

Grey’s Anatomy 14x01 and 14x02 Review: “Break Down the House" & "Get Off on the Pain” (Homecoming) [Contributing Writer: Julia Siegel]

Photo by Richard Cartwright/ABC - © 2017 American Broadcasting Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.

“Break Down the House” & “Get Off on the Pain”
Original Airdate: September 28, 2017

The spring finale of Grey’s Anatomy left us with more questions than answers, especially after all that went down with the hospital exploding and Owen’s presumed dead sister resurfacing after ten years. So, it is a great thing that season fourteen starts the morning after where we left off. With old faces returning, new characters appearing, and all the drama still in place, we should be in for another wild ride of a season!

AFTERMATH

The destruction from the season finale is extensive, both literally and emotionally. For starters, the hospital has extensive damage and only two of six operation rooms are, well, operational. Stephanie was transferred to a better hospital that specializes in burns, which was a good explanation with Jerrika Hinton leaving the show. Minnick has also quite literally disappeared overnight without a word to Arizona, after promptly being fired for her role in Stephanie’s injuries.

Jo is still initially on the fence about Alex and says that she is still in love with him. However, Alex has yet to tell Jo about his encounter with her estranged husband at the beginning of the premiere. He is still trying to win her back, and even goes as far as giving Jo a solo pediatric surgery to gain her affections. All the couples and budding love triangles are in an ever-growing state of tension. The most interesting character aftermath might be what will happen with Ben, as it was recently announced that actor Jason George will be leaving Grey’s to join the untitled firefighter-centric spinoff series. Ben does mention at the top of the premiere that saving Stephanie was a major rush that he really enjoyed, so it’s safe to assume he will quit medicine at some point over the next few months to become a firefighter.

WELCOME HOME

The other big moment from last season’s finale was the return of Megan Hunt, Owen’s presumed dead military surgeon sister who was also engaged to Nathan. Megan has made her way to Grey-Sloan Memorial Hospital and is in rougher shape than she may appear. With some nasty abdominal injuries, Meredith jumps in to help and be her surgeon prior to Megan knowing the history between Meredith and Nathan. Megan was living in Iraq for the past ten years with her adoptive refugee son, who she plans on getting back to as soon as possible since the U.S. government won’t let her bring him back to the states.

Before the first of many surgeries to come, Meredith tells Megan the nature of her relationship with Nathan when he refuses to tell Megan the truth. Meredith and Megan quickly bond, which is really great for the whole extended Hunt family. It would be nice to see Megan stick around for a bit because she is a great character who could easily add a lot of value to the show. Also, Abigail Spencer is a great talent and an excellent choice for the role. It is refreshing to have an actress like her join in even a recurring role. It will be great to see how Spencer contributes for the next few episodes, as her emotional turn was great in the premiere.

Meredith has decided not to let her personal life get in the way of her professional life. When one of Megan’s surgeries doesn’t quite go the right way, Meredith decides to do an incredibly risky, one-of-a-kind full abdominal wall transplant as a last resort to give Megan back the life she has spent ten years trying to get back. Prior to the surgery, Nathan decides to re-propose to Megan as a sign that he is fully committed to her and her new life. During the happy moment, Meredith walks in to announce that she found a donor abdomen and is shocked to see Nathan proposing. With the proposal cut short, Nathan and Megan wait to discuss the matter further until after the successful surgery. Megan ultimately turns Nathan down, as she feels that he is still in love with Meredith. This will easily turn into a huge love triangle that is definitely not going to sit well with Meredith. The emotional strife should cause some entertaining drama over the next few weeks, and who knows which way this love triangle will ultimately swing.

Other than Megan coming back, Teddy Altman also makes her big return in the premiere to come to the emotional aid of Owen. It is so good to have someone like Teddy back on the show, as Kim Raver is a beacon of happiness and joy. She is also a great actress and someone that I have greatly missed. With Teddy back in the picture and potentially acting as a mediator, maybe Owen and Amelia will be able to work through their differences one way or another. Can we even call Owen and Amelia a couple anymore if they still don’t even want to be in the same room together? Amelia still avoids Owen at all costs during the premiere, which is terrible considering what Owen is going through with Megan’s reappearance. Their awkward conversation just complicates things between everyone, which leads to something that easily should have happened seven years ago.

HOT AND HEAVY

Just as there were multiple homecomings, there are a few hot and heavy moments that occur over the two hour premiere. The first of these comes in an awkward moment between Arizona, Andrew, and Andrew’s sister, Carina. Yes, you read that right. Carina bumps into Arizona at a bar and seduces her. They wind up at Arizona and Andrew’s apartment, where Andrew walks in on them getting to know each other in ways he didn’t want to know about. Carina then gets a job as an OBGYN at the hospital, so even more awkwardness should occur soon, especially considering her surprising field of study.

Speaking of her new study, Carina gets Amelia as a volunteer, which leads to the most shocking moment of the premiere: the MRI for the study reveals that Amelia has a massive brain tumor. While this does explain a lot about the character and why she acts the way she does (aka moody and bipolar), it is sad news to see another Grey’s character have a brain tumor. We all know that it typically doesn’t end well for these characters, so it will be interesting to see how this diagnosis is handled with regards to Amelia. The irony of the situation may be enough to drag her and Owen back together, if she can get the courage to even speak to him. The brain tumor will probably become one of the largest stories of the season.

Back to the hot and heavy part of this segment, Jo has finally resurfaced and makes a big splash. Jo starts the premiere in a depressed state, as Stephanie has disappeared overnight and she still doesn’t know what to do with Alex and Andrew. She leans on Ben for support and as “the new Stephanie” since she really doesn’t have anyone left. Things get dicey quickly for Jo when Minnick leaves first-day sub-interns for Richard to deal with. One of the sub-interns drops his glasses into the body cavity of Jo’s pediatric patient during surgery, and she winds up sleeping with him a few days later.

Thankfully, this moment is a major wake up call for Jo, and she realizes that she has to come to peace with the whole Alex situation. At the end of the episode, Alex finds Jo and tells her the truth about the Andrew situation and finding her husband. With Alex coming clean and revealing his true feelings, Jo makes a non-surprising decision of her own. Let’s just say they definitely make up and get back on track. Their story is just beginning again, but one can only hope that the estranged husband reappears at some point since that story simply isn’t finished.

With lots going down in the two-hour season premiere, it’s clear that there will be some interesting stories to follow this season. There are plenty of new hookups and love triangles to get around, which means that Grey’s Anatomy is back! It is going to be a wild season that appears to get back to the roots of what makes this show so great. The premiere was an incredibly strong start to the fourteenth season, making Grey’s more exciting than ever.

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