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Dickinson Behind-the-Scenes: An Interview With the Artisans

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Thursday, November 24, 2022

The Resident 6x08 Review: “The Better Part of Valor” (The Worst Callbacks) [Contributor: Justine]


“The Better Part of Valor”
Original Airdate: November 15, 2022

Before the episode takes another brief hiatus, The Resident tries its best to cram in as many storylines into a single episode as possible. Some of it works and some of it... not so much. There is a lot of content, and there are a lot of possibilities to set up future stories. Unfortunately, everything just ends up feeling incredibly rushed. Not every story is given the focus that is necessary to bring everything together in a compelling way. The governor is going nowhere fast, and he’s dead set on targeting Bell. 

Bell’s past was always going to come back to haunt him. Although he’s had a character arc for the ages, he still has a dark history that needs to be reckoned with. If you thought HODAD was long gone, this episode gives fans a jarring reintroduction to that character. It’s a testament to how far the character has actually come because rather than denying his past, this version of Bell is ready to face the music. 

The entire deposition process is unsettling. The intentional mispronunciation of Devon’s last name just comes across like a slap in the face and is played as a tactic to throw Devon off completely. Devon not rising to take the bait is a credit to his character. It’s also infuriating that he’s put in this position. This entire process isn’t even about him, and yet he gets subjected to that. It’s garbage, frankly.  

The way that Kit reacts to Bell being targeted by the governor is a major misstep. Kit as a character would know that confronting the governor is the wrong choice. Instead, it’s clear she’s so heartbroken by the fact that the man she loves is being singled out in this way that she’s willing to let her emotions lead her response. Thankfully she’s able to rally. In a way, this response humanizes Kit and shows that she isn’t a machine running a hospital. She’s a flawed woman who just wants to do right by the love of her life, her staff, and her patients. 

The main medical storyline involving a mass-overdose event is alarming to say the least. So many medical shows these days are handling the reality of an epidemic that is still so misunderstood. The Resident’s perspective on the pandemic is an interesting one. While this may be an exaggerated, it’s definitely true that so many in the younger generation lack basic knowledge when it comes to drugs and safety.

Perhaps the strongest element of this episode is Cade’s story. It’s surprising because this character still gets so little development. However here, she sets incredible boundaries. Children of those living with addiction often exist in a uniquely precarious situation. Cade embodies this. She also embodies those who do the inner work and develop skills to be able to set boundaries with their loved ones who are living with an addiction. While it’s good to see Cade shown outside of her relationship with Conrad, hopefully she can also be shown more on her own in the future. 

And hopefully, this is also the beginning of a recovery journey for Ian. Unfortunately it seems like he is not in a place where he recognizes that his life has become unmanageable. This could be a moment of reckoning for him. It could also be a moment for him to push back and dig deeper into bad habits. Whatever the case may be, it was clear he was heading toward disaster, and he needs to step away from everything, at least temporarily. 

The Resident is trying to do a lot with a lot of different characters. It’s a struggle to balance all of these, especially within a one hour episode. Combining the medical dramas with an attempt to give each character their own compelling arc can get very chaotic very quickly. Some characters absolutely work better in the background, even if they’ve been main characters for a lot of the series. Others are just getting started. There is still plenty of time to strike a balance that works. 

Other Things:

  • I still hope Padma is doing okay with the twins. I also hope Leela and A.J. are pitching in.
  • There still isn’t enough screentime with Billy and this new love interest. If the show wants to commit to it, they should.
  • We all need Jessica to save the day. She’s the hero we deserve.
  • “What are they looking for?” “The more important thing is what are they going to find?”
  • “Kids are supposed to learn from their mistakes, not die from them.”
  • “If you go to rehab, I won't tell anyone. Even Conrad. I will lie for you one last time, then I'm done.”

Thursday, November 17, 2022

Grey’s Anatomy 19x06 Recap: “Thunderstruck” (Midseason Trouble) [Contributor: Julia Siegel]


“Thunderstruck”
Original Airdate: November 10, 2022

It may only be episode six, but we have made it to the midseason finale of Grey’s Anatomy. As we go into the annual winter hiatus, the doctors’ closest relationships are tested more than expected. A lightning storm has hit Seattle, which leads to a crossover event with Station 19. One patient from the first hour, who sustained severe injuries in a helicopter crash, becomes a patient in the second... but you’ll have to keep reading to find out how else the firefighters are involved in the episode.

STORM'S A-BREWING

The fall finale begins with Meredith in her bedroom typing out an email to the Grey Sloan Memorial staff to let them know that she is leaving. After she hits send, we see Luke and Simone studying in the hospital’s basement. Luke gets an email alert and tells Simone to check her phone. They are both stunned at the news. In the ER, Teddy is telling various staff members to stay inside away from the lightning. Owen arrives at work with the kids and shows Teddy Mer’s email. Teddy is also surprised. 

Link is making breakfast at his and Jo’s apartment, and Jo walks into the kitchen wearing her pajamas. She talks about how she won’t go to work because three omens have already happened: a lightning storm on the opening day of the clinic, Mer leaving, and Luna doesn’t have any clothes that fit. Link decides to help by finding some of Scout’s clothes for Luna to wear, which Jo appreciates. 

Mer goes down to her kitchen and finds Maggie and Amelia packing stuff. Maggie says she took the day off work to help pack, and Mer tells her not to bother since the movers and packers are coming over the weekend. Maggie wants to help and  tells her sister that her email was good. Mer has to go to work and has a whipple surgery with Nick. Maggie asks how Nick is handling the news of the move, so Mer tells her that they aren’t talking about it. Maggie wants Mer to stay and help, but Mer leaves. The power flickers and almost goes out, which scares Maggie.

Jo arrives at the hospital late and finds Bailey and Carina sitting outside the clinic. They tell her that the clinic can’t open because accreditation hasn’t come through. Carina is going to take as many of the scheduled patients as she can into the hospital as pro bono cases. Richard walks up with boxes of croissants to celebrate, so Bailey tells him the opening is postponed. He says the silver lining is that he could use Bailey’s help in the OR, so she agrees.

Elsewhere, Amelia walks into the same elevator that Luke is in. He hasn’t told anyone he is a Shepherd except for Simone, and Amelia is upset with him. Blue and Mika walk into the elevator on the next floor, so Luke tries to play off that they were talking about how he is assisting on Mer and Nick’s whipple. When they get to the next floor and everyone gets to get off the elevator, Amelia tells Luke that it’s over and forces him to follow her.

Blue and Mika arrive late to the skills lab and find Jules and Simone already there. Nick has been waiting for them and doesn’t like their tardiness. Amelia drags Luke in and tells the group that Luke has an announcement to make. Luke tells everyone that they have the wrong idea about Amelia and him and that he needs to clear it up. He announces that he is a Shepherd and that his mom is Amelia’s sister. Everyone is a bit surprised by the news. 

The interns all want to know why Mer is abandoning the hospital. Nick tells the interns to focus on their patients and save lives instead of worrying about Mer. He announces that Simone and Luke are in the whipple with him and Mer, and the rest of them will assist Teddy and Schmitt in the pit. Nick asks them to sit before they go and tells them that surgical excellence takes more than one person. He says that the interns are the programming and that the programming isn’t going anywhere.

In the ER, Mika runs up to help Teddy and Link with an incoming patient. An ambulance arrives with Ben and Theo from Station 19 bringing their patient to the hospital. In the first hour, a TV news helicopter crashed from the storm, and journalist Jonathan has a spinal injury. The firefighters cut him out still attached to his seat in order to keep him stable and not paralyzed. The doctors slowly take Jonathan out of the ambulance and bring him inside.

BLAST FROM THE PAST

Winston arrives at Mer’s house with packing materials, and Maggie isn’t sure why he is there. He isn’t working until that night, so he thought he would lend a hand and ruin Maggie’s plan of avoiding him. The kids are running around the house so Maggie says she isn’t avoiding him and wanted to spend time with the kids before they left. Winston says he can help without talking, which we all know isn’t going to happen. Maggie tells Zola that they are starting in the attic and that she needs to watch her siblings. They both tell Zola to stay inside and away from the storm.

At the hospital, Mer, Nick, Luke, and Simone meet their patient Tessa, who is a children’s book author. Mer has Tessa sign some books for her kids and tells the author that she has been reading her books since she was a child. Simone is also a big fan of hers. Mer tells Tessa that the surgery to treat her pancreatitis is risky. Tessa has her next book idea lined up in her head. Nick wants to prepare her for every outcome, so Tessa tells him that she is prepared, but her readers aren’t. She feels her readers deserve an end to her stories and asks the doctors to do their best to save her life.

Richard is updating the new digital OR schedule board when he is interrupted by Owen, who wants to be the next chief of surgery. Owen feels he needs to be useful and thinks he is a good candidate since he already was chief for five years. Richard denies Owen immediately stating he can’t be chief with a suspended license. Owen is bummed, so Richard tells him that he is a great teacher and that if he needs something to do, he can help Schmitt in the ER.

Teddy, Amelia, and Link work to help Jonathan in the ER. He has two collapsed lungs, two spinal deformities, and is in shock. Jonathan starts to crash, and Mika brings his wife into the trauma room. They all know that they need to get him out of the chair he’s still strapped to. Amelia wants to cut him out immediately, but Teddy needs to make sure air is getting to his lungs first. She tells the group to place a chest tube and page Owen before they extract the patient.

We then see Schmitt walking toward the ER with Blue and Jules. The chief resident tells his interns that they will see gnarly injuries today because Grey Sloan Memorial is a Level 1 trauma center. The three doctors approach a family of two kids and a mom who got injured by a lightning current through the ground. The daughter is yelling loudly because she is having a hard time hearing. Schmitt runs off to help other patients, so Blue takes over ordering tests for the three patients.

In the basement, Luke finds Simone studying for the whipple procedure. She asks if he feels better now that his secret is out. Luke says it’s different, not better. Luke reveals his middle name is Shep, which is cute. He decides to go check in with Nick before the surgery, and Simone sarcastically says that her childhood is on the operating table so there won’t be any pressure. Luke tells Simone he will see her up there with a big smile on his face and leaves.

BLINDSIDED

Owen has arrived in the trauma room and finds fluid in Jonathan’s abdomen with an ultrasound. The doctors are ready to cut him out of the chair, but Jonathan wants to talk to his wife first. He apologizes to his wife for resenting her for him leaving his dream job. He wants her to know how much he loves her and will make up for being a jerk every day once he is better. They start to cut the chair with power tools to free Jonathan. 

Jo goes to the pit and finds Schmitt running the show. She wants to help, but finds her friend’s behavior appalling when he orders her around. Even though she doesn’t like how Schmitt is acting, she helps.

Nick and Luke look at Tessa’s pre-op scans to prep for the surgery. Nick tells Luke that he is good enough to make his own name, which Luke appreciates. Richard walks in and wants to talk to Nick. Luke leaves the two doctors to talk. Richard wants to know if Nick is also leaving. Nick doesn’t know and has been so busy that he hasn’t thought about it. He is trying to think about what the right answer is, but he knows that it’s impossible to find the right answer with Mer. Richard knows Mer isn’t easy and also knows that there isn’t anyone else like her. Richard wants to be prepared across the board when Mer leaves because everyone will feel her departure. Nick agrees to keep Richard in the loop.

Simone goes to Tessa’s room to tell her it’s time for her surgery and brings a book to be signed. Luke walks up to the doorway and hears Simone talking to Tessa about her childhood. Tessa says that she tells children the truth in a way that helps them understand it in her books. She doesn’t want to die, but knows it is a possibility. She wants her doctors to tell her the truth too and signs Simone’s book while joking that it may be the last book she signs.

Mer finds Nick in the scrub room of their OR, and Nick makes it known that he is mad that he wasn’t told about Luke. He feels blindsided by the way he found out about Luke and Mer moving. Nick doesn’t know what to do, and Mer isn’t sure either. Mer wants to fight for their relationship, but she feels all the answers feel bad. Nick agrees by saying that if he asks her to stay, he’s a jerk. If he leaves Seattle, then he would be abandoning the resident class. He reveals that Mer hasn’t asked him to do either, and Nick counters that he gets that her family needs the move. It still sucks for him because there is no good answer, so he can only be supportive. Mer asks what he wants, and Nick replies that he wants to do the surgery because it’s the one thing they can currently fix. 

In the ER, Jules tells the family she is treating that the daughter has a perforated eardrum, which will heal itself. Blue debrides the son’s feet, as they are burned badly from the lightning. The son has burns all over his body, but everyone’s prognosis is good. In the trauma room, the doctors have finished cutting Jonathan out of the chair. Owen cautions everyone to move at the same time. Teddy counts to three, and they lift Jonathan out of the chair and onto a gurney. Jonathan screams while he is being moved and almost immediately loses his airway once he is on the gurney. They rush to intubate him and get him to surgery before it’s too late.

THE GOOD FIGHT

Back at Mer’s house, Maggie and Winston pack boxes in what appears to be one of the kids’ rooms. They find Mer and Derek’s wedding vows Post-It note, and Maggie wants to keep it in Seattle so Mer doesn’t accidentally throw it away when unpacking and decluttering. Maggie tells Winston that she knows she will miss Mer, but she is excited for Mer’s next chapter and for Zola. Winston brings up that he did some research and found that Grey Sloan Memorial has a fellowship for vascular surgery. He doesn’t want to fight, so Maggie suggests they wait to talk until after Mer and the kids move. Winston already filled out the application and got references and believes the fellowship is promising. Maggie thinks he will change his mind about switching specialties because he worked extremely hard at cardio. Winston argues that she only thinks that because the situation is not ideal for her. He asks her to think about what is ideal for him and for them as a couple.

Back at the hospital, Teddy and Owen find Jonathan’s wife in the waiting room and let her know that her husband is on his way to surgery. He is currently stable with a breathing tube. The wife states she didn’t want Jonathan to be a war correspondent, so he didn’t take his dream job. They assure her they will do everything they can and walk away to get to the surgery. In the OR, we see Mer, Nick, and Luke operating on Tessa while Simone watches. Nick tells Luke to take over from Mer for a step, which triggers Mer to be very protective. She isn’t sure Luke should be doing parts of the surgery, but Nick urges Luke to continue.

Jo is looking online for baby clothes for Luna while taking a break in the pit. Schmitt sees her and complains that they have tons of untreated patients, so Jo should get back to work. Jo is offended and says she won’t let Schmitt’s five minutes of power from being chief resident control her. She silences him by saying that in the world of general surgery, she is still an attending and he is a resident, meaning she doesn’t need to listen to him. Jo says she is there to help out of the kindness of her heart, so Schmitt reluctantly thanks her. She goes to help another patient, and the scene shifts back to Jules and Blue in the ER. Blue wants Jules to consult on the mom of the family they are treating. Jules quickly realizes that the mom’s bronze jewelry turned into copper after the iron in the metal was oxidized from the lightning. This caused it to melt into the woman’s skin. Jules is happy that she showed Blue up.

We then see Jonathan’s surgery as Teddy and Owen arrive in the OR. Amelia is going to stabilize several spinal fractures as fast as possible. Mika asks if she can assist, which Amelia agrees to. However, Amelia won’t let Mika touch anything because it’s too tricky of a procedure to help. Teddy kindly tells Mika that she is doing great, and the intern stays out of the way and watches. In the other OR, Mer is micromanaging Luke. Nick tells Luke that no matter what happened that morning, none of it matters there. Mer tells them to stop because it isn’t working. She kicks Luke out since he is spacing out and has Simone step in to assist instead. Nick fights for Luke, but Mer doesn’t care.

Back at Mer’s house, Maggie and Winston argue about Winston’s career change. Maggie thinks Winston is switching specialties to get away from her. Little Bailey runs upstairs to ask them to come see the lightning, and they both say, “Not now.” Maggie says she came to Mer’s house to have control over something. Winston assures her their relationship won’t make it if he stays in cardio. He’s willing to give it up because he loves her and thought she would be flattered. Maggie thinks it’s the dumbest thing she’s heard. She says giving up career goals is the opposite of what she wants or what she would do because she wouldn’t give up her passion. Winston says his passion is her but Maggie doesn’t respect that comment fully. They see lightning strike a tree outside the house, and Bailey screams in the background. Zola calls for Maggie and Winston in a panic.

BURNING DOWN

After tragedy strikes, we see how Jonathan’s surgery is going. Amelia, Owen, Link, and Teddy are working hard to fix their patient when he starts crashing. His right lung collapses again, so Teddy works fast and furiously to fix it. Mika is astounded at how Teddy saves the patient, and they are able to finish the surgery.

Things are going better in Tessa’s OR. Luke watches from the background, and Bailey and Richard arrive in the gallery to watch the surgery. Bailey is also a fan of Tessa’s books and wanted to see how it was going. Richard thanks her for helping with his surgery, and he forgot how nice it was to operate with her. Bailey tells him that she won’t take over as chief when Mer leaves. Richard says that no one runs the hospital like she does, but Bailey won’t change her mind. She gets a call from Ben, and her face immediately drops. Down below, the surgery is almost done and they think Tessa will make it. 

Richard comes into the OR and tells Mer to step away from the patient and come outside to talk to him. She won’t leave, so Richard tells her that Ben called to say there is a fire at her house and that Station 19 is on their way. He tried to call Winston and Maggie, but neither is answering their phones. Mer goes to leave, and Nick tells her that he and Simone will finish the surgery. Nick coaches Simone through the last steps as they finish up. Mer arrives at her house, and Ben brings her to the kids, Maggie, and Winston, who are all okay. They tell Mer that lightning struck the house. Andy tells them to stay back, and Mer is in tears as she watches her lifelong home burn. Back at the hospital, Tessa survived the surgery and is now in the ICU. Nick tells Simone to stay and watch over Tessa. He also says that Simone did great in the OR today. She asks about Mer’s house, and Nick tells her that all he knows is that everyone is all right, which is all that matters.

Teddy and Owen tell Jonathan’s wife that he made it through the surgery. He had severe injuries and will have a long recovery. Teddy tells Mika to stay and do neuro checks on Jonathan every thirty minutes. Mika tells Teddy that she has eight siblings and that her parents always wanted a boy. They kept having kids until they had a son, and they told their daughters they could be anything they wanted. Mika always saw through the subtext that she wasn’t good enough, but that changed today when she watched Teddy save Jonathan. Mika says, “You are a badass boss lady surgeon, and I want to be you when I grow up.” Teddy appreciates the compliment and Mika leaves. She tells Owen not to crack a joke at her expense. Owen surprisingly says that he was going to tell Teddy to apply for the chief of surgery position.

Jules is practicing in the skills lab and Blue walks in. He stands behind her and wants to show her how to do what she is practicing. She asks him how he knows so much about lightning, and Blue counters that he wants to know how Jules knows about the melting points of precious metals. Jules tells him that her mom sold jewelry, and she and her brother would help sell it at farmer’s markets while their dad sold weed under the table. She used to wish, and still wishes, that her family would disappear. Blue reveals he spent a few years attending medical school in St. Kitts, where there is a lot of lightning. He didn’t get into medical school in the U.S., so St. Kitts was his only option. He was valedictorian, all-state track and field, and a chess champion in high school. Then his mom got sick and died and his grades nosedived. Blue thinks he and Jules would make a great team, and it’s nice to learn more about these two’s backgrounds.

Link brings a bag of clothes for Luna to Jo in one of the lounges. She’s thrilled and thanks him. They share a long hug, which is stopped when Jo gets a text and smiles. The red tape has been cleared, so the clinic can finally open. They meet Bailey and Carina outside the clinic, and Link takes photos of the three ladies cutting the ribbon on the Elena Bailey Memorial Clinic for Reproductive Health. Link asks about the name, so Bailey tells him she named it after her mom. Bailey says her mom spent her life fighting to give Bailey every freedom she deserved. They had a complicated relationship, but Bailey’s mom loved her with her entire heart. Bailey says her mom lived with love and courage, so now it’s their turn to do the same. They pop a bottle of champagne and celebrate the one good thing to come from the day.

Luke is in the intern locker room freaking out when Simone walks in. Simone gushes that Tessa is awake and that they succeeded in assisting on a big procedure. Luke says he failed, so Simone tells him that it could have happened to anyone. She doesn’t think him having a bad day is the end of the world. Luke doesn’t want Simone to be nice to him and starts yelling at her. Simone says he should thank her, so Luke thanks her and then passionately kisses her. Simone backs away and says she can’t. Without giving a reason why, she leaves.

Amelia has arrived at Mer’s house, and she watches the house burn with Mer, Maggie, Winston, and the kids. Andy tells Mer that they are trying to save the house, but it’s too early to tell if they can or not. Maggie reveals that she got the Post-It note out of the house and gives it to Mer. It’s such a touching moment, especially when Mer hugs the note and can’t believe the house is burning. The kids are really sad too as they watch the firefighters attempt to save their home. 

It seems like a very unnecessary plot point to burn down a Grey’s Anatomy staple. I’m sure I’m not the only one who isn’t happy with this decision or that the midseason finale was a bit lackluster. Be prepared though because the winter premiere on Thursday, February 23, 2023 will feature Mer leaving Seattle. Have the tissues ready!

The Resident 6x07 Review: “The Chimera” (Boss Voss Rising) [Contributor: Justine]


“The Chimera”
Original Airdate: November 8, 2022

It was always going to be difficult for The Resident to top their 100th episode. Happily, “The Chimera” is mostly up to meeting the challenge. The teased showdown between Kit Voss and Georgia’s terrible fictional governor is just getting started apparently. The show also continues to insist on continuing the Cade/Billie/Conrad love triangle, although there is possibly hope for a resolution in this latest entry. 

No doubt the strongest part of this episode is Kit’s first face-off with the governor. While she thinks it’s going to be a private meeting, it’s in front of tons of press and features the governor getting to spew his nonsense for a wide audience. Fortunately Kit, being quick on her feet, gets to do what she does best and advocate for the health and safety of her patients and staff. The fact that she’s completely ignored says far more about the governor than it does about Kit’s message.

Sadly it’s Bell who pays the price for standing with his incredible wife. The fact that the governor is so underhanded that he plants a spy to obtain dirt on Bell is disgusting. While it may be politics as usual for some, it shows the audience immediately that this is not a public servant to be trusted. Bell could face massive ramifications for this. Luckily he has Kit by his side to weather the storm with. 

Conrad and A.J. haven’t spent a lot of time together on screen recently. Thankfully, this episode remedies that. These two are such amazing friends with such an endearing dynamic. It’s great to see that A.J. can be honest and tell Conrad what he really thinks. It’s clear that Conrad values what his opinions too. They are the perfect team-up to help a man in prison for a crime he insists he didn’t commit. 

The British couple, and their ultimately heartbreaking story, was truthfully a bit of an odd choice. This story could have been a chance to critically analyze the very real differences between private and public healthcare. Instead, these two are mocked for daring to point out that they were reluctant to seek care that they knew would cost thousands of dollars. This doesn’t exactly seem unreasonable. It’s devastating that the outcome was tied to their fear of facing the bureaucratic mess that is American healthcare. 

Finally, the love triangle has not been working so far within this show. It’s frankly tiresome to drag this out. Rather than focusing on her relationship with Conrad, the show would do well to further develop Cade as a character. While she is certainly on the right track, she isn’t there yet. And it’s good to see that Billie might be moving on. Hopefully, this new budding romance works out for her. She deserves nothing but the absolute best. 

The Resident is putting everything out there heading into midseason finale season. There are a lot more stories to be told, especially when looking at the existential threat Chastain faces from the political powers that be. Hopefully the love triangle can be put to rest, and everyone can end up with the people that they are supposed to be with. The overall story will surely be stronger for it. 

Other Things:

  • I really hope Padma is doing better. Leela and A.J. obviously have her best interests at heart. Hopefully, they are all able to work together as a team to navigate this massive life change that is having twins.
  • Ian is pretty low to the ground and that’s probably a good thing. As ill as he is, he can’t possibly be up to anything good.
  • It was lovely for the show to bring back the hospice nurse who cared for A.J.’s mom. Of course A.J. wants to help her in any way he can. 
  • “This next chapter looks good on you, AJ.”
  • “Find me every ounce of dirt on that Dr. Bell. I'm going to destroy him.”

Saturday, November 12, 2022

Jenn’s Pick: The 22 Best TV Series of 2022 [Contributor: Jenn]

A TV critic friend of mine (hi there, Nick!) posed a question on Twitter a while back, asking how many television shows per year — new series and rewatches included — we watched. The point was to ponder whether or not the amount of television he watched was way higher than an average person’s. Because I was curious, I compiled my list.

I clocked in at 75 shows, and I still feel like I’ve missed some. (Can you tell I’m a TV fan?) And in the spirit of being clever, I decided to narrow my list down into a listicle, selecting the top 22 shows from 2022 that I watched. These are all series that aired at least one new episode — most an entire season — this year. They’re in no particular order, but they have one thing in common: They got me through another very strange year in this very strange world.

Tuesday, November 8, 2022

Grey’s Anatomy 19x05 Recap: “When I Get to the Border” (Boston Bound) [Contributor: Julia Siegel]


“When I Get to the Border”
Original Airdate: November 3, 2022

Ready for a road trip? A majority of the latest episode of Grey’s Anatomy shows three doctors away from Seattle, two of which will make life-altering decisions by the end of the hour. The episode is also very poignantly tied to the midterm elections and does a good job of showing the writers’ points of view. 

ROAD TRIP

The episode begins with Meredith and Zola in Boston touring schools. They are on a cross-country trip, and Zola wants to stay in Seattle. Mer tries to convince Zola that it will be worth going to a school with other kids that are like her because she is incredibly special. Zola attempts to get out of the visit, but Mer convinces her to go by saying she doesn’t have to go back if she hates it.

We then see another trip in progress: Bailey and Addison are driving together in a van to go visit Bailey’s first year roommate from college, Cynthia, who is running a women’s health clinic in Washington. The clinic has been incredibly busy since border neighbor state Idaho stripped people of their abortion rights, so the two doctors are volunteering for the day. We get a quick glimpse of Addison talking on the phone with her son, Henry, which is nice for the Private Practice fans. When the two arrive at the clinic, they are accosted by a large group of angry anti-abortion protestors. The doctors are screamed at as they fight their way through the crowd and into the clinic.

In Seattle, Luke arrives at Grey Sloan Memorial after taking the bus to work and bumps into Amelia and Scout outside the building. It is revealed that he is staying at Mer’s house while his aunt is away to help take care of the kids. Luke still doesn’t want anyone else to know his secret family connection, so he won’t drive to work with his aunt. Amelia gets paged with an emergency and asks her nephew to take Scout to daycare. Even though he protests, Amelia dumps Scout into Luke’s arms and runs off.

At the clinic, Cynthia explains to Bailey and Addison that they’ve had to convert office space into exam rooms since Roe v. Wade was overturned because there has been a massive increase in patient volume. They can’t keep up with patients coming from other states, and the clinic is relying on doctors to volunteer. There is a massive stack of files for patients who haven’t been seen and ones who have been checked in and are waiting to be seen. Bailey and Addison are ready to jump in and help as many women as possible.

Back in Boston, we see Jackson and Catherine at the Fox Foundation’s headquarters. They meet Tom Koracick in the lobby, and he is there to meet with Catherine. Jackson is being kept in the dark about what is going on, so Catherine says she will loop him in when the time is right and walks off with Koracick. Mer walks up and gives Jackson a big hug. She asks to go to his office and catch him up on her life.

DADDY ISSUES

Luke tries to bring Scout to daycare at Grey Sloan Memorial and gets in the elevator with the toddler squirming all over the place. Scout pushes every floor button with his hands and feet, and Luke starts accidentally swearing when he realizes what Scout did. They stop at the next floor, and when the doors open, Blue is staring at Luke and Scout. It’s a super awkward encounter, and Blue opts to not get into the elevator. At the next floor, Mika and Simone get in, much to Luke’s dismay. Mika immediately starts ribbing him and assumes he must be sleeping with Amelia. Luke tries to say that he is helping her as a favor, but doesn’t deny Mika’s accusation. He gets off the worst elevator ride of his life at the following floor and decides to take the stairs up to the daycare.

Addison and Bailey are happy with the progress they are making with their patients, but their good mood is squashed when another 20 more charts are dumped in front of them. Cynthia gets a call from a clinic in Idaho that they have a patient with an ectopic pregnancy attached to a C-section scar. It’s a life-threatening condition, but the patient’s doctor won’t terminate the pregnancy. Since the laws in Idaho are strict and aren’t clear enough for this exact situation, the doctor won’t risk losing their license. Addison and Bailey decide to pick up the patient in Idaho to get her the care she needs in Washington.

Over in Boston, Mer fills Jackson in on Zola’s panic attacks. She discusses how Zola’s grades are slipping even though she is very bright, that she is under-stimulated at school, and that she is very aware of how Ellis died which has led her to be overly afraid that Mer and Maggie will get Alzheimer’s too. Jackson asks if Zola is getting any help, and Mer replies that Zola goes to therapy once a week, which isn’t enough. Mer is upset with herself for missing that Zola has severe anxiety. She didn’t have to worry about her before because Zola was always a cheerful child. Mer isn’t sure what to do and is exhausted. She tells Jackson that she stays up every night reading Alzheimer’s research studies because she feels helpless. Jackson lights up and suggests that Mer should try to cure Alzheimer’s, which she shrugs off.

Bailey and Addison hit the road for their short trip to Idaho. Addison never thought she would have to drive across state lines to get a patient. They arrive in Idaho and find their patient, Susan, standing on the curb outside the clinic. Susan gets in the van, and the group immediately starts driving back to Washington. 

Back at Grey Sloan Memorial, Blue, Jules, and Luke are in the skills lab with Richard. Blue volunteers to do anything other than practice in the lab, but Richard doesn’t have another assignment for him. Luke gets a page from daycare saying there is an incident with Scout, so he runs out of the room. 

We then finally learn why Catherine and Koracick are meeting when we see them discuss her latest scans. Koracick tells her that her tumor has grown by two millimeters, but Catherine isn’t concerned because she still feels fine. He argues that the tumor has been growing for months, as seen on previous scans, and tries to get Catherine to understand that she isn’t in remission anymore and needs more treatment. Koracick wants her to tell Richard and Jackson, in part because they will help convince her to get the treatment she needs. Catherine says that she will decide what she needs and ends the conversation.

Luke runs into Grey Sloan Memorial’s daycare only to find that the emergency is that Scout wet his pants. A daycare worker informs Luke that they don’t have an extra set of clothes for Scout because the toddler used them last week. They tried to contact Amelia and Link, but they are both in surgery. Since neither of them were available, the daycare reached out to Luke. The daycare worker tells Luke that he needs to get Scout a clean outfit from the gift shop, so Luke rolls his eyes and leaves.

WORSENING SITUATIONS

On the way to Washington, Susan can’t find her keys in her purse but is rather calm about her current situation. She tells Addison and Bailey that her daughter is turning six years old next week and that her daughter asked for a sister for her birthday. Susan asks the doctors if she can still get pregnant after her ectopic pregnancy is terminated. Addison says it is possible, but she isn’t 100% sure without doing further tests. Out of nowhere, Susan starts bleeding and is in a lot of pain when the ectopic pregnancy ruptures.

Things are getting fraught in Boston too, as Catherine doesn’t want to hear any of Koracick’s opinions. Koracick gives Catherine several good clinical trial options and reminds her that the treatment worked last time. Catherine counters that it made her feel awful. She stands fast that she doesn’t want treatment, so Koracick tries to guilt her into it by telling her that she owes him a favor. Catherine discusses learning about Eastern medicines that wouldn’t make her feel any pain when she was overseas with Richard. Koracick actually resorts to begging Catherine to treat her cancer, but instead of heeding her friend’s warnings, Catherine simply reminds him that it’s her choice.

Jackson and Mer are still hanging out in Jackson’s office. He looks through some grant proposals to fund Alzheimer’s research that were sent to him. Jackson urges Mer to study the disease herself and states that the foundation will fund the research and has a good relationship with MIT’s science department. Mer says that Zola was miserable that morning and that she wouldn’t move to Boston if Zola didn’t want to. She hates that Zola has lost so much and that now it’s all coming to the surface. Mer knows the focus needs to be on Zola, so she will only do what’s best for her daughter.

The action switches back to the road trip, where Addison tries to help Susan. Bailey calls 911 and tells them the situation and their location. Addison inserts a balloon catheter to help stop the bleeding, which does work. Unfortunately, the balloon catheter only buys Susan a little bit of time and they immediately get stuck in gridlocked traffic with nowhere to go.

At Grey Sloan Memorial, Luke is checking out at the gift shop when Blue, Simone, and Mika walk in. He tries to hide what he is buying by throwing a magazine over the baby clothes on the counter. Luke then realizes that he forgot his wallet in his locker, so Blue decides to spot him for a price: he wants Luke to give him his next appendectomy. Blue then sifts through the bag and finds baby sweatpants. The interns laugh at Luke for playing daddy to Amelia’s son.

Over in Boston, Jackson and Mer walk and talk through the halls of the foundation building. Jackson talks about how he realized he wasn’t much different from his dad, who didn’t fulfill his potential, when they met up for a few days a couple years ago. He doesn’t want Mer to hold back because of Derek and Ellis. Jackson wants Mer to grow the idea instead of push through it. Mer is afraid that she will fail if she tries to cure Alzheimer’s. Jackson agrees that she probably will fail, but her study will help push the needle forward.

A POWERFUL STATEMENT

Bailey, Addison, and Susan are still stopped in traffic when things go from bad to worse. Susan starts to fade in and out of consciousness and is clearly not doing well. Bailey and Addison know that the catheter won’t hold much longer, so Addison tries to keep Susan conscious by getting her to talk about her daughter’s birthday party. The doctors are worried about their patient’s state and there is still no sign of the ambulance they called for. Susan gives a passionate speech about wanting to be there for everything in her daughter’s life and says that she isn’t ready to die. She then stops breathing, and Addison can’t find a pulse. She starts CPR while Bailey pulls off the road and calls 911. Addison pulls Susan out of the car and puts her flat on the ground to start CPR again. The 911 dispatcher tells Bailey that the ambulance is on its way, but it is too late: Susan is bleeding into her abdomen and Bailey tells Addison that chest compressions won’t do anything without a blood transfusion. Addison refuses to stop CPR and keeps trying to save her patient. Bailey calmly tells Addison that Susan is gone and forces her to stop CPR. They fight back tears as Bailey calls time of death. The show is making an extremely bold point in this story by showing the harm that the new abortion laws can cause, and I am sure it is no accident that this subject matter aired days before the midterm elections.

Switching to a slightly less heartbreaking storyline, Koracick and Catherine take a coffee break outside. He asks if constantly lying to her family keeps her up at night. He doesn’t want Catherine to fault him for trying to help when his friend’s life is at stake. Catherine explains that she knows if she doesn’t get treatment, she only has a few good years left. She wants to spend those last years living rather than being stuck in a hospital as a patient. She wants to continue to be a doctor. Koracick says that she needs to let Jackson and Richard know the truth, even if she doesn’t tell anyone else. Catherine feels like she is lying to protect her privacy and their peace, and she is happy with that decision. Jackson walks up and says he is going to pick up Harriet for ballet class. Catherine decides to go with him and leaves Koracick.

At the hospital, Amelia finds Blue and asks if he has seen Luke. Blue coyly says that the last time he saw Luke, he was buying clothes for Scout at the gift shop. He continues to smarmily say that he knows what is going on, and Amelia is happy to learn that someone knows the secret. She didn’t think anyone knew, and it’s so obvious to everyone but Blue and Amelia that they aren’t talking about the same thing. Blue tries to leverage his way into getting more neuro experience and makes a comment about how he’d be happy to sleep with Amelia too. Luke walks up and steps in right as Amelia is about to say that Luke is her nephew. Luke pulls his aunt into a room and explains that the other interns assume they are sleeping together. Amelia wants to know if Luke told them they are wrong. When he doesn’t say no, she yells at him about how rumors spread quickly at Grey Sloan Memorial. Luke is okay with that rumor, but Amelia is not. 

A peek at the other side of the family shows Mer going to pick up Zola from her academy visit. She sees Zola happily interacting with other kids. Zola tells Mer the day was just okay and wants to go to the aquarium.

After the road trip from hell, Bailey and Addison sit on the side of the road watching the police put Susan in a body bag. An officer approaches them and asks for patient records. Addison snaps that he will have to ask Susan’s doctors, who didn’t treat her in Idaho. Bailey calmly reminds Addison that Susan’s doctor was following the law, which triggers Addison to give an impassioned speech questioning why a few people get to decide what happens for everyone when they have no training related to the decision they are making. She’s sickened that women’s lives are on the line and that the doctors who are trained to help them now have their hands tied. Addison makes very good points, and Kate Walsh gives another exemplary performance in this scene.

After calming down a bit, Addison decides to scrub the blood out of the van’s seats. Bailey approaches her friend to tell her that the cops would like them to stay a little longer in case they need to ask any further questions. The cops are about to call Susan’s husband and tell him the grave news, and Bailey wants to be there for that. Addison doesn’t like that what happened to Susan is also the future of so many women. She tells Addison that she had a miscarriage and needed a procedure. But Bailey thinks that doctors will be too afraid to do any kind of procedure now, so she wants to offer to train any physician who wants to learn at Grey Sloan Memorial. Addison thinks it is an excellent plan, even though Bailey knows it won’t make enough of an impact.

MOVING ON

Luke finds Amelia later that evening and tells her he didn’t take care of the issue. Luke explains why the interns think he is sleeping with her. He goes on to say that he asked for help to not blow his cover at work, but Amelia has refused. Luke didn’t tell anyone anything because he doesn’t feel it is his job to fix misconceptions. Amelia says it is because the interns don’t know they aren’t together. Luke says that he has been his family’s biggest disappointment his entire life. He wanted to see what would happen when he wasn’t a Shepherd and has gotten his wish. Now everyone thinks he is connected to Amelia, but for the wrong reasons. Luke is fine with the wrong reason because it is a better scenario for him. Amelia threatens Luke by saying he has three days to fess up or she will tell the interns herself.

Back in Seattle, Bailey tells Addison she is reopening the clinic in a few days and is thinking of ways to expand. Addison wants to do more and wants to go to places where people need her help. She doesn’t want to sit in Los Angeles, so Bailey suggests southern Illinois because it borders a bunch of states that have total abortion bans. Bailey states that 14,000 women are expected to cross borders to get abortion care. She has thought about helping other states too, but she has a baby girl at home who needs her. Bailey urges Addison to go and give more women access to care. Addison cries about the loss of Susan, so Bailey assures her that she did everything she could under the circumstances. Bailey reminds Addison that she would have needed the right tools, supplies, and ultrasound to save Susan and realizes that they needed the PRT. Bailey’s lightbulb moment comes full circle when she decides to gift the PRT to Addison to help women instead of letting it collect dust in the Grey Sloan Memorial parking lot.

Back in Boston, Mer and Zola have lobster rolls for dinner after a long day. Mer tells Zola she was happy to see her laughing and making friends. Zola asks what would happen if they move and she still has panic attacks or fails school. She thinks they will have left Seattle for nothing, so Mer tells Zola that she will worry about that. Mer also tells Zola that Jackson offered her a job to cure Alzheimer’s in Boston. Zola wants to know what Mer will think if she decides to not become a doctor, and Mer assures her that she won’t be disappointed at all. Mer knows that Zola will make her mark on the world no matter what she does because she has always been, and will always be, extraordinary. Zola finally admits that she loved her day in Boston and wants to go to the academy she visited. She already has big plans to sign up for the robotics team and orchestra to learn to play the cello. Mer smiles and says they will move. 

We see a quick montage of Catherine reading Harriet a bedtime story, flanked with a photo of Jackson and April on the nightstand, Amelia watching Luke practice suturing on a banana in the hospital skills lab, and Bailey and Addison admiring the PRT. The episode ends with Mer texting Jackson that she’s in and will move to Boston. I do like the way that the producers are crafting Mer’s lessened time on the show, but I’d also like to see part of the series take place in Boston. Bringing back Jackson, April, Catherine, and Koracick full time or even on a recurring basis to show what is happening there would be a good change of pace for the show.

Thursday, November 3, 2022

Grey’s Anatomy 19x04 Recap: “Haunted” (Happy Halloween!) [Contributor: Julia Siegel]


“Haunted”
Original Airdate: October 27, 2022

I don’t know about you, but I love a good holiday episode on any TV show. This year, Grey’s Anatomy went all out to celebrate Halloween with both tricks and treats. The medical cases bring out the ghosts of the doctors’ pasts, which leads to some very interesting realizations about where this season might ultimately be heading.

BOO!

The episode opens with Teddy and Owen having sex, and it appears on first glance that their relationship is getting better. But as soon as they are done, Teddy is disgusted with him again. It’s Halloween night at Grey Sloan Memorial, and Schmitt is being ordered around by Bailey, who is dressed in a Princess Leia costume. She gives the poor man way too many assignments, and the dread pours off Schmitt’s face. Bailey gives Schmitt a Halloween headband to wear before he leaves and reminds the chief resident that Richard is hosting a pumpkin carving contest, but Schmitt says he wasn’t invited.

The core five interns are in the cafeteria watching a viral video of a doctor losing their cool caught by a security camera. Richard comes in with a cart full of pumpkins and announces it’s time for his carving contest. He wants elaborate designs that practice delicacy and precision. Maggie pages Richard to ask for an intern’s help in the pit, so he sends Simone her way.

Before she makes it to the pit, Maggie walks with Winston through the halls to get updates on her patients. Mer catches up with them to say that she is leaving to take her kids trick or treating. Nick then joins them to announce that he was able to secure freshly released bodies for the interns, which excites Mer. She goes to get Owen, while Nick convinces Winston to stay and help with his latest teaching exercise. 

Jo and Luna, whose costume is a dog, find Link after going trick or treating in the hospital. Jo asks him what he wants to do for his cancer-versary, which apparently is on Halloween. Link wants to get dinner with her, but Jo had to take an extra shift. He decides to find a date for the night on Tinder, which Jo makes fun of him for. 

Maggie and Simone meet Teddy in the ambulance bay as they wait for two ambulances to arrive. Teddy is mad that Richard couldn’t spare more than one intern. The first ambulance arrives with a 16-year-old male who fell 30 feet off a roof. He tried to land in a swimming pool and missed, which has led to severe chest injuries. The young man’s friend arrives in the other ambulance. The second 16-year-old, River, landed in the water and has no visible injuries, but the paramedic warns the doctors that both boys are on LSD.

Back inside, Richard carefully watches over the interns as they carve their pumpkins. Mika reveals to Jules that she is scared of pumpkins, particularly their texture and smell. Before too much ribbing ensues, all the interns are paged to the sim lab with a trauma call. Richard dismisses them and they run to their next lesson. When they arrive, Mer tells them that they took five minutes to arrive, which is too long for a real trauma page. Nick, Owen, and Winston tell the group that they need to learn how to work on trauma patients. They are happy to announce that this year’s trauma training session will be done on fresh cadavers instead of dummies. The interns are surprised to say the least and are a little hesitant. Luke wants to know what they are supposed to do, so Owen pulls a knife out of a body’s chest and tells the interns to save their patient.

BATS

Back in the ER, Maggie and Simone examine the more injured teen and find that he has a pneumothorax and five broken ribs. They order a CT scan to see the full extent of the damage. Their patient’s father walks in, so the doctors explain his son has severe chest injuries. The dad is in denial and says both kids are AP students and don’t do drugs. The teen starts to crash, so Simone kicks the dad out of the room as they intubate his child. Teddy checks out River down the hall, who states that they jumped off the roof because bats were looking for them. River thought they would be safe and is truly remorseful for his friend’s injuries. Teddy tells him to stay put while she goes to check on another patient.

In the skills lab, the interns frantically try to save their “patient” and argue over the best course of action. Owen and Winston make up scenarios of what is happening to the patient as if he is alive. Jules wants to humanize the cadaver by giving him a name, so the boys call him Chris. Winston announces that whichever intern does the best will get to scrub into heart surgery with him tomorrow, which makes the group work even harder.

Amelia and Mer arrive home with their kids in tow. They are dressed as assorted Disney characters and are greeted at the door by Nick pretending to be a ghost with a sheet over himself. Amelia tells Mer and Nick that they can drop Zola off at her friend’s house for a sleepover and then go enjoy the night together. She will watch the rest of the kids to give them some privacy. While they haven’t said so, it’s clear that Nick and Mer are attempting to give their relationship another go, so they happily agree and leave with Zola.

Ben and Pru arrive at the hospital and are greeted by a very excited Bailey. Ben isn’t as peppy and says he and Pru are both tired after attending a Halloween party at Station 19. He leaves to go back to work, and Bailey is practically chomping at the bit to get Pru out of her soccer costume and into her Ewok one. We then see Schmitt and Teddy working in the ER and there are a lot of kids in costumes waiting to be treated. River’s father arrives and is very concerned about his son. They go to see River and find it empty. Did anyone really think leaving a kid high on LSD alone was a good idea?

Link walks out the door into the ambulance bay and tries to call his Tinder date to set a meeting place at Joe’s Bar. He sees Jo helping a pregnant patient get out of her car and then spots River on top of an ambulance. The kid rambles about how he believes he can fly like a bat. Link and Jo yell for him not to jump, but their words don’t do anything. River jumps and lands partially on Jo, breaking his leg in the process.

After everyone is brought inside the hospital, Link looks at Jo’s wrist once her patient and her baby are taken care of. Link is worried that Jo’s wrist is broken, but she doesn’t want him to worry about her and would rather he help River. As Link goes to help River, the teen’s dad catches up with him to ask if his son will be okay. Link dismisses him and says he will give an update as soon as he can. Continuing to act out of character, Link arrives in River’s trauma bay, where Teddy is already helping the boy. She fills Link in on the rest of River’s issues, and Link goes off on River about how he could have severely hurt Jo, the pregnant woman, and her baby.

Bailey and Pru walk into the skills lab while trick or treating around the hospital to find the interns working on their cadaver. Bailey quickly covers Pru’s eyes and walks back out. Owen tells the group that Chris is losing blood. Mika refuses to help Blue, and Winston eats candy while watching them fail. Owen and Winston start bonding over hating working with their wives as their bosses. The interns continue to argue, so the attendings boss them around by saying Chris is coding. Winston flatlines the cadaver and calls time of death to signify the interns failed. Elsewhere, Schmitt complains to a nurse about not being able to handle every patient himself. He’s doing all the work and feeling the pressure and yells at the poor woman. Richard overhears and asks the resident to come with him.

Mer and Nick arrive at a hotel for the night and talk about how each intern is doing while walking to their room. Mer is worried about Zola at her slumber party, and Nick mentions that he got them a hotel room because his new place in Seattle isn’t quite ready for visitors yet. He wants to order room service, but Mer wants to take a bath and invites him to join her.

At the hospital, Maggie and Simone talk to their patient’s father about his son losing too much blood and needing immediate surgery. River’s dad finds them and yells at the other dad about how his kid must have given River drugs. They argue with each other and Bailey happens to see what is happening and steps in. She interjects about parenting being hard and that parenting teens is even harder. She says teenagers do all the things parents try to keep them from doing and that it doesn’t matter whose fault it is that both are hurt. Bailey knows the kids need all the help they can get and that their fathers can’t turn on each other because the only thing that matters is keeping the kids alive. Her speech gets through to the men, who make peace with each other.

TEAMWORK PREVAILS

Owen and Winston address the interns in the skills lab about how they didn’t properly assess their patient and only attempted to fix the main injury. Owen unveils another cadaver with a stab wound to work on. Jules gets upset when she realizes Owen stabbed the cadavers and doesn’t understand how they could defile a dead body given to science for research purposes. She’s especially emotional because several of her family members are planning to donate their bodies to science and she doesn’t want this to be their fate. Owen explains that they simulated the injuries after consent forms were signed and that the bodies were given the utmost respect. This calms everyone down, so Winston pulls a knife out of the second cadaver’s side to begin round two.

In the OR, Simone and Maggie work to fix their patient’s punctured lung. Simone’s phone keeps going off, so she asks a nurse to ignore it. Maggie asks if Simone needs to look at her phone, and she replies that she will check it later. Their patient starts coding, and Maggie tells Simone that she needs her to focus entirely on saving the kid’s life and that the phone can’t be a distraction.

Richard brings Schmitt to the pumpkins and makes the younger doctor carve. Schmitt respectfully says that he doesn’t have time for this. Richard talks about seeing art on his trip with Catherine and that the art was restorative and necessary. He tells Schmitt to take a break or else his chief resident reign will be short. Schmitt doesn’t want to lose another patient that can be saved again because he doesn’t think he will come back from that. He declares he needs to go back to work and leaves, so Richard sighs. 

Teddy and Link are giving River a CT scan and chat while waiting for the results. Link thinks about being a teenager and doesn’t remember LSD in high school. He asks if the whole world has changed without him knowing, and Teddy simply says yes. She asks if anything has changed between him and Jo, which Link brushes off. River starts to squirm around and asks if his friend is okay. They tell him they will get an update soon. River asks for his dad and won’t stay still, so Link puts on a lead vest and goes into the room to calm the teen down. River panics, so Link holds his hand and tells him that he’s got him.

The scene cuts back to the skills lab, where the interns are actually working together the second time around. Through offhand comments, Blue reveals he never had a dad, while Luke finds a hole in the cadaver’s pericardium. Jules tells Blue to fix it, and he calmly sutures the hole. The group has finally figured out how to come together, which is yielding great results.

In another room, Teddy tells River that he has a concussion and needs to stay at the hospital overnight and will have leg surgery the next day to repair the fracture. She reveals that his friend survived his surgery and has a long road to recovery. River can’t see him yet and thinks his friend’s dad won’t let them be friends anymore. River’s dad tells his son it will be okay and that they will find a way through it.

As they scrub out after their surgery, Maggie asks Simone what happened with her life. Maggie knows Simone is the intern to watch and that Simone was asked to leave her last program. She also knows that the stakes are high for Simone at Grey Sloan Memorial and that she wouldn’t be preoccupied unless something happened. Simone says she was a model resident all the time, even when she endured a lot of racism. She was told to leave her previous program for being aggressive when she pointed out an instance of racism. She never filed an official complaint because she broke and acted inappropriately. The security footage of her meltdown got leaked, and Simone has been trying to get it taken off the internet all day, which is why her phone was constantly going off. It’s an interesting twist that Simone is the subject of the video the interns were watching at the top of the episode.

Richard goes to Joe’s Bar to speak to bartender Helm. He sees that she carved an aorta into a pumpkin that’s sitting on the bar. Richard says Helm doesn’t belong there, but Helm counters that she is going to make $800 tonight without any stress. She knows Schmitt is drowning because she lives with him. Helm tells Richard that she walked out of the hospital with nothing since no one found her another residency. She needs more convincing and more than money to come back, and dismisses her former boss.

Nick and Mer, clad in bath robes, chill in their hotel bed. Mer doesn’t know why Zola hasn’t returned her texts, so Nick says Zola is probably having too much fun to respond. Mer met with Zola’s principal, who wants Zola to skip two grades. She isn’t keen on that since Maggie skipped two grades and was miserable. Mer looked into an academy, but didn’t like it much. She gets a phone call from a crying Zola, who apologizes instantly. Mer tells her daughter to take a deep breath and that she’ll come pick her up. Zola asks her to stay on the phone, and Nick says he will drive. Mer is now even more concerned about Zola, and the real reason for this new storyline will be revealed at the end of the episode.

THE NEXT STEP

Teddy finds Link in the ambulance bay, and they agree that they both don’t like Halloween anymore. Link complains that the whole world is stupid and cruel, and Teddy says that is never stops because one stupid impulse can ruin your life at any stage of the game. Link reveals that he is crazy about Jo, but Teddy isn’t surprised and has caught onto that. He goes on to say that Jo was his best friend, being together romantically wasn’t an option, then it was, and then he was hung up on Amelia. He was confused and scared and didn’t want to ruin their friendship, and he knows he missed his moment to take it to the next level. Teddy advises him to let the moment pass and sleep with other people until he is over Jo. Link is shocked to hear Teddy say that being with your best friend causes you to ruin each other’s lives and ruins the friendship, which has happened to her and Owen. It doesn’t sound like Teddy and Owen’s marriage nor friendship will survive this season.

In the skills lab, Owen and Winston tell the interns that their patient is stable. Jules, Blue, and Mika fight over who should be the one to assist on Winston’s surgery and Luke is the only one to downplay his role in the exercise. Owen decides Luke will get to scrub in, so Luke asks if they all can. Winston agrees, which excites everyone. He tells them to go home and sleep and that they will be emailed the case details in a few hours. Winston tells Owen he will do a lap around the CCU before leaving. Owen asks Winston if he still loves Maggie, and Winston quickly answers, “Of course.” Owen tells him not to reach the point where resentment takes over before leaving.

Outside of their patient’s room, Simone shows Maggie the viral video and they laugh together. Maggie gets that Simone is held to a different standard and always has to have exemplary behavior because of her race. She hates that Simone’s one bad day now lives on the internet forever. Maggie says that the hospital is a great program and assures the intern that the doctors see her and that she doesn’t want the video to haunt her. River and his dad arrive and the teen wants to apologize to his friend’s father. Simone gets the other father to come out of his son’s room. River apologizes and the father understands and is glad River is okay. Both dads shake hands to show that everything will be fine.

Richard finds Schmitt working in the pit and tells the resident that the hospital failed him. He doesn’t like that Schmitt has to carry the load by himself and acknowledges that the kinks of the new residency program are still being worked out. Richard has decided that starting now, the attendings will help pick up the slack of having less residents. Richard wants to take half of Schmitt’s patients to help out and takes over his current patient to let Schmitt go home.

Maggie finds Winston asleep in the lounge and wakes him up. He says he checked on all the patients, changed, packed his bag, sat down on the couch, and fell asleep. Winston reveals that he is considering changing specialties. He loves Maggie and loves being married to her. He wants  it to stay that way and feels that he needs to leave cardio to keep it that way. Maggie is shocked to say the least, so it will be interesting to see where these two go from here.

Link is finally ready to leave the hospital for the night and finds Jo in the lobby with a brace on her wrist. She says her sprained wrist isn’t bad, and Link gives her specific treatment instructions. Jo gives her best friend a trick or treat bag of his favorite candies as a gift for his cancer-versary. She thanks him for worrying about her. Link smiles and says he will see her at home. He looks longingly at her as he leaves.

Teddy goes to an on-call room and finds Owen asleep. He wakes up when she sits on his bed. She reminisces about missing a lot of holidays while being overseas in the military. She recalls the time where he made Halloween all the holidays at once for her and says that was her favorite Halloween. Owen falls back asleep, so Teddy takes off his blanket and walks out. Downstairs, Simone shows the interns the viral video and tells them she is the star. They support her and have her back. Mika suggests they all grab breakfast, so the interns walk out together. 

At Mer’s house, Zola apologizes that Mer and Nick had to pick her up in the middle of the night. Mer assures her that she will always pick her up anytime, anywhere. Mer asks what happened, so Zola says she was thinking about Mer and Maggie and Alzheimer’s. She couldn’t sleep or breathe and asks why this is happening and when it will get better. Mer says they need to find her the right teachers and school, even if they need to look further than Seattle. And in that ending sentence of the episode, it is finally revealed how Mer will be written out until the very end of the season. Out of all the possibilities, this is a pretty solid solution that shouldn’t cause a ton of fan dissension.