Welcome back, Grey’s Anatomy fans! We have survived the hiatus and now have the pleasure of anticipating twelve (that’s right, twelve!) uninterrupted episodes straight through to the season finale in May. Thank you, ABC. On to the mid-season premiere. Actually, hold that thought. I’m getting ahead of myself. It’s been two and a half months since the Fall Finale. Let’s review.
When last we watched Meredith and Company, Derek was getting a phone called from the President of the United States. Jolex were making out by the side of the barn and pledging lifelong devotion. Miranda and Ben were having a tiff over him having given up his surgical residency. Both Calzona and Crowen were shooting pining looks at each other. And, oh yes. Jackson was standing up in the middle of April’s wedding to Matthew to proclaim his love for her. Caught up? Excellent. Here we go.
Hold on tight, because tonight’s installment proved that Grey’s Anatomy, like the Cat Man, has nine lives. The first half of the season was wildly erratic, but “Take It Back” bodes well for season ten, part two. Engaging, engrossing, entertaining and, yes, surprising (no small feat in episode 209), this episode reminded me both of why I fell in love with this show in the first place and that it can still get the job done.
April’s Choice
When the show opened to April and Jackson running from the barn The Graduate-style, I felt certain it would be revealed to be a dream sequence. But, no! April actually left Matthew (poor, sweet, good-guy Matthew, who has apparently vanished without a trace) at the altar and chose Jackson. For about ten minutes. Then she said something along the lines of “we can’t do this”. Meanwhile, everyone else was basically continuing their usual drama. Lots of shouting ensued, particularly between Calzona and MirBen. BenRanda? Whatever. You get the point. Now, fast forward three weeks.
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Three Weeks Later
The fallout from the wedding-related chaos continues to engulf all of our surgeons. April is alone. Jackson is alone. Stephanie is both alone and humiliated. Shane (who surprisingly did not get fired after the debacle with Alex’s father) is back at work and trying to keep his head down and actually work. Not that Chief Hunt is making it easy. He’s one part professionally justified (after all, Shane messed up big time) and about three parts consumed by jealousy, since he found out that Shane was sleeping with Cristina. Sidebar: can we all agree that Jealous Owen is super-hot?
Although Jimmy somehow managed to survive being on Shane’s O.R. table, Papa Karev (yes, I know his name is actually Jimmy Evans…work with me here!) is circling the drain. Alex lies to Jimmy’s estranged wife (ex-wife?) Naomi to get her to come to Seattle. She’s not amused to find out that Jimmy is merely dying and not dead. She takes back her father’s guitar and gets out of Dodge, but not before telling Alex that he’s just like his old man. Thanks for that. Anyway, Alex lies to Jimmy that Naomi and their son, Nicky, are on their way. It’s okay for him to let go and die, which he does. Oh, Alex…
Accidentally Engaged
Not until he introduces her to Naomi as “my fiancee, Jo” does Jo realize that her boyfriend thinks they’re engaged. What the what? It finally dawns on her that the smoochfest by the barn was the “proposal”, but she’s not having it, saying she’s not ready to get married yet. Finally, some common sense on this show.
In yet another dose of refreshing reality, Miranda and Ben finally start communicating with each other. Their big fight led to the revelation that he didn’t want to give up his surgical residency at all and since there is a vacancy in the program at Grey-Sloan Memorial (RIP Mousey) Ben is now a surgical resident in Seattle!
Other Assorted Revelations
What else can I tell you? Calzona went from thisclose to calling it quits to buying a house together. Fresh Start or Lots of Unresolved Issues? Time will tell. Derek is going forward with his work for POTUS and Meredith is none-too-happy about it since it will mean going back on his promise to step back from work so she can step up. But in better news, The Twisted Sisters seem to be on the road to patching things up. Thanks goodness. Not a moment too soon. Which leaves us with the two big reveals of the night.
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An Anonymous Complaint
An unidentified surgical resident has filed a complaint to Human Resources. Count One: Hostile Work Environment. Count Two: Directed Sexual Harassment. Count Three: Quid Pro Quo Harassment. Rut roh. Owen convenes an emergency board meeting to discuss the matter saying, “We are too often letting our personal lives disrupt our work.” No kidding. HR wants an immediate ban on relationships between superiors and subordinates with a zero-tolerance policy. Wonder how well that’s gonna work out?
The Surprise Twist
And, finally, in what I consider to be a delightful turn of events, Japril lives! They did not break up. They have not been alone. In fact, they are MARRIED! I know. I didn’t see it coming, either. Well played.
The next all-new episode of Grey’s Anatomy, “You Got To Hide Your Love Away”, airs Thursday, March 6 on ABC.
(Image courtesy of ABC)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
