“I Walk the Line”
Original Airdate: February 14, 2019
It’s safe to say that ABC missed a major opportunity to air a wonderfully romantic episode of Grey’s Anatomy on Valentine’s Day this year. Instead of something fun revolving around the tricky love lives of the doctors, we got several dark storylines that put a damper on the holiday’s evening. Granted, this was a big episode for Kevin McKidd, who directs the Owen-centric events. From gun violence to runaway teens to drug addiction, this is surely one holiday episode we are not likely to forget.
PARADE VIOLENCE
The main plot of the episode follows the aftermath of a shooting at a Scottish parade. A teenage member of a Scottish marching band finds himself at death’s door when he is shot through the hand and in the chest. His father is especially broken up about his son’s injuries and refuses to leave his side as Owen, Jackson, and other doctors try to treat the kid. Once they get the bleeding under control and have an idea of what they are dealing with, Owen and Jackson bring their patient to the OR in hopes of saving his life.
The father waits patiently for news with the support of the entire band, who show up at the ER to give the audience a small musical interlude. While operating, Owen and Jackson reveal that they are having a difficult time coping with the cause of their patient’s injuries. They find it hard to believe that the world has become such a horrible place and that parades have to be added to the list of things/locations that are no longer safe. They continue to discuss the issue of gun violence in the context of each having a small child who needs protecting from the world. Thankfully, the teen pulls through, which allows for some nice emotional moments.
REALITY BITES
If you think saving a kid’s life was enough for one day for Owen, then you would be wrong. Owen also gets to deal with the arrival of Betty/Brittany’s parents who were given Amelia’s contact information from the rehab center... right after learning that Betty/Brittany had escaped from rehab. Although I’m not quite sure how the parents found out their daughter was in rehab, the next logical step in Betty/Brittany’s story is for her parents to finally learn the truth. Plus, we finally get a recurring stint from Jennifer Grey as Betty/Brittany’s mother, Carol Dickinson. Amelia and Owen quickly learn that Betty/Brittany had been lying to everyone, including giving them a false last name. The Dickinsons didn’t know that their daughter was pregnant when she ran away and haven’t heard from her in nearly a year and a half.
However, they do know about her struggles with drugs and are very unhappy to learn that Amelia and Owen have been taking care of their daughter without contacting them. The two try to explain that they attempted several times to call, but they quickly caught on that Betty/Brittany was giving them fake numbers. The Dickinsons do get to meet their grandson, whom they want to immediately start taking care of, much to the chagrin of Owen. Amelia decides to confide in Carol about the real reason why they took Betty/Brittany in and describes their family dynamic. Mr. Dickinson isn’t very happy that their drug addict daughter has been living with another drug addict and tries to take Leo away. Owen steps in to put his foot down as the baby’s legal guardian and wins the battle, but it appears that a larger custody battle is going to ensue.
MASTER SURGEON
Maggie spends her day preoccupied by treating her enemy from med school, Kimberly, who needs a replacement aortic graft. Kimberly says that she has seen some of the top cardiothoracic surgeons in the country but none are willing to try the risky operation. Maggie is her last resort at a chance to live, which doesn’t sit well with the distracted doctor. Maggie spends most of the episode trying to decide if she even wants to help her enemy, but has the decision made for her when scans show that the surgery is impossible.
While continuing to struggle with what to do, Meredith wants to talk to Maggie about dating DeLuca and whether it would be weird. Remember how Maggie and DeLuca were a thing at one point? Maggie is too distracted with her patient to talk to Meredith, so Meredith decides to help her spitball ideas to save Kimberly. Meredith suggests doing the surgery from below the graft instead of above, which Maggie feels could work. Maggie asks Meredith to assist on the surgery, and the sisters attempt a surgical procedure that neither have done before or are sure will work. The pair have only 40 minutes to complete the surgery, and they manage to pull out a last second victory.
Maggie learns how to put the past behind her and give people second chances, which is some much-needed character growth. Meredith gets her chance to ask Maggie if it is all right for her to date DeLuca after the surgery, and Maggie tells her to go for it. The episode ends with Meredith going out to dinner with DeLuca on their first official date, and the two share a few kisses before leaving.
THRUPPLE?
The last storyline of the episode features Teddy and Koracick. The two tag team on a patient who may or may not be involved in a thrupple (three-person couple). This minor plot is the comic relief of the episode. Whether you get caught up in the oddities of the relationship between the patient, her husband, and her best friend is up to you, but it is very entertaining to watch play out. Through watching her patient interact with her two men, Teddy realizes that she doesn’t need her relationship with Owen to be complicated and decides to just be friends with him.
That opens the door for a new romantic partner, and the teased relationship between Teddy and Koracick appears to finally begin. For some reason, their newfound friendship/relationship seems a bit hard for some of the other characters to accept, even though it seems like it will play out nicely.
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