Tuesday, October 10, 2017

Grey’s Anatomy 14x03 Recap: “Go Big or Go Home” (We’ve Been Here Before) [Contributor: Julia Siegel]


“Go Big or Go Home”
Original Airdate: October 5, 2017

After the season premiere’s shocking ending, Grey’s Anatomy brings its strong character game in this emotional follow-up. One of the best aspects of the series is the character development and character-driven stories in every episode. It definitely looks like we are in for a heavy season of deep character moments. Whether it’s tragedy or elation, all of our favorite doctors have already started on a wild ride.

UNEXPECTED DISCOVERY


The season premiere ended with a quite unexpected reveal: Amelia has a massive, ten-centimeter benign tumor in the frontal lobe of her brain. Her new hand-picked surgeon, played by the wonderful Greg Germann, goes as far to say that the tumor could have been growing for the better part of ten years! The tumor explains just about every major flaw/quirk in Amelia’s personality: the frontal lobe of the brain is responsible for emotion, decision-making, memory, problem solving, spontaneity, motor function, judgement, and impulse control.

I’ll admit that I thought Amelia was crazy from the moment that her character was introduced in 2010 on Private Practice. The brain tumor makes a lot of sense as to why she acts the way she does, and if the tumor can be successfully surgically removed, it will be interesting to see what Amelia is like with a somewhat normal brain. In another interesting turn of fate, the tumor is almost a good thing for the neurotic character, as it will undoubtedly bring her back together with her husband and sisters.

To say that Amelia and Owen’s marriage has been strained from the beginning is an understatement. Their chemistry has been so bad that Amelia waited over a week to even consider telling Owen that she is very sick. When she finally sucks it up and tells him, Owen resorts to his default good husband mode, which is what he is best at. What this ordeal will mean for them as a couple is yet to be revealed, but knowing Owen, he will do whatever it takes to support his wife.

PUTTING A FACE TO THE NAME


Ever since Dr. Jackson Avery became employed at Grey Sloan in season six, viewers have heard the name Dr. Harper Avery thrown around from time to time. Jackson’s grandfather also lends his name to that all-powerful medical award that the doctors (especially Dr. Cristina Yang) have tried to win for several years. Well, Harper finally shows up to undermine Bailey, Catherine Avery, and Jackson’s judgement when it comes to the hospital’s budget.

It actually wasn’t worth the wait to meet the famed surgeon, as he is quite the bitter, mean, and crotchety old man. The only good thing about his visit is the scene where Bailey stands up for the hospital and her decision-making. It was great to see that Bailey still truly wants the best for the hospital and has the guts to back herself up, since she hasn’t had to do that during her tenure as Chief of Surgery. The moment is ruined when Harper says he will keep funding the hospital and fires Bailey in the same sentence, which he technically doesn’t have the power to do. When Catherine and Bailey return to the conference room where they left Harper, they find him unresponsive and without a pulse.

It honestly doesn’t make sense as to why Harper Avery shows up after so many years of mentions only to be a total jerk and then die from cardiac arrest. The storyline becomes useless because Bailey is able to keep her job due to Harper’s untimely demise and ultimately nothing changes because of his visit. I am not sure what the point of all of this was other than to add some comic relief to the otherwise dark episode.

LYING TO MYSELF


The other major storyline of the episode follows Meredith’s rather candid discussions with her therapist, who becomes a patient when he develops what seems to be a medically impossible 24- inch clot. Meredith is notorious for bottling up her true emotions and only letting the cap fly off in grand gestures and snappy, bad life decisions. Another one of her episodes was bound to happen if she didn’t have a series of very constructive chats with her shrink. For a private character, Meredith surprised me with how much she opened up.

Meredith’s big problem is that she can’t admit to herself that her anger toward Nathan doesn’t stem from the new love triangle she has been thrust into. Rather, she is pushing down the vile thoughts she has toward the fact that Nathan has been given the ultimate gift on a silver platter with the return of his long-lost, presumed dead love, Megan Hunt. Meredith and Nathan originally bonded over their grief of losing their soulmates, so it is hard for her to swallow that she will never have the opportunity that Nathan has.

When she finally stops lying to herself, she has a telling conversation with Nathan to tell him not to waste the chance he has been given. Nathan does reveal that he is in love with Meredith, who promptly tries to ignore what he says. This love triangle is very complicated and might take some time to play out. There is no indication of which way Nathan will swing after the conversation with Meredith, so I’m curious to see if he fights for Megan or Meredith’s affections.


FAMILIARITY


At the heart of this episode, the scenarios feel so familiar. Arizona is drooling over her latest hook-up, Bailey and Ben are in another honeymoon phase, and Richard is once again looked to as the father of the hospital. Jo has asked Alex to move back in with her, which is a huge step considering they got back together one week ago in show and literal time. It is nice to see that one love triangle has come to a conclusion, since others are taking off. I find it odd that the fourteenth season of Grey’s feels so familiar, yet fresh at the same time. It’s a good balance that I hope can be maintained for the whole year.

0 comments:

Post a Comment