On this episode of Grey’s Anatomy, “Leave It All Inside,” Alex and Stephanie become embroiled in a controversial case, Meredith and Maggie confront the “Sistine Chapel” of tumors, and Eliza continues her ardent pursuit of Arizona. Meanwhile, Stephanie and Ben make crucial, career-altering decisions.
This is Fun. Like the Sorting Hat.
Miranda, Eliza…and Richard (apparently all playing well with others) are having a frank conversation about the residents and their respective futures. Josephine Wilson has done well overall and is particularly strong in orthopedics, plastics, and neurology. Stephanie Edwards is a “superstar” who can write her own ticket. She, of course, is most highly interested in neuro. Ben Warren is a “utility player” who does well wherever he goes, but Eliza observes that he tends to be overly cautious and seeks out cases with low risk. Miranda and Richard are shocked, which is understandable given Ben’s history of high-octane, high-risk decisions (operating in the hallway of the hospital, delivering April’s baby on Meredith’s dining room table, etc.) Eliza insists it’s a typical response. Residents who have had issues tend to either work smarter or work safer. Ben, whether he realizes it or not, has chosen safer.
Liam
A young boy walks into the ER. No, it’s not the start of a joke. It’s a “Case of The Week.” Liam turns up at the hospital all by himself and promptly has a seizure. Alex, Stephanie, and Eliza are soon on the case and they figure out that the boy has a brain tumor. Meanwhile, Liam’s parents, David and Marie, have been found. They’re grateful to have found Liam (who apparently wandered away from school?) but flat-out refuses medical treatment due to religious beliefs. Alex and Stephanie are outraged, but Eliza reminds them that although they may disagree, the parents have all the rights here. Papers are signed and Liam is released to his parents.
Later, Liam shows up again, this time completely blind. The tumor is likely bleeding and obstructing his optic nerve. Alex and Stephanie agree to falsify Liam’s medical records (!) to indicate that he had a another seizure in the ER. That makes his case emergent and they can operate without parental consent.
The aftermath of the surgery is complicated. Liam will make a full recovery, but his parents – particularly his father – are incensed. David threatens to sue the hospital and promises Alex he’ll never practice medicine again. Miranda warns Alex that he could be in legal trouble. Again. Alex declares, “I’d go to jail for this one.” Liam’s alive. Stephanie argues with David and ends up throwing a tablet (!) at the wall, narrowly missing his head. She’s put on suspension and will have to attend counseling. Eliza’s theory is that Stephanie has not recovered from her boyfriend dying and has buried herself in her work. She has classic signs of resident burnout.
Final twist? Alex questions Marie about how Liam managed to get himself to the hospital the second time since he was blind. It becomes clear that Marie drove her son to the hospital so he could get the medical treatment he needed. Whoa.
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Holly
Holly took a major fall down two flights of stairs. As the doctors prepare to read her scans, Holly feels it’s only right to let them know that she has a “giant inoperable heart tumor,” so they shouldn’t be freaked out when they see it. Holly’s resigned to her fate. She’s got less than a year to live. She just wants her spleen fixed and then she plans to continue having sex with as many men as possible before she dies.
Meredith and Maggie are assigned to this patient and Maggie is pretty sure she can remove Holly’s tumor. After initial resistance, Holly agrees to let Maggie try. Unfortunately, the tumor is just too big, has spread too much, and is impossible to remove. Holly’s actually okay with it. Remember, she’s accepted her fate. But this storyline isn’t really about Holly. This storyline is a parallel for Meredith who, despite some progress, can’t quite pull the trigger on her relationship with Nathan. It’s two steps forward and one step back. She removes the giant tumor painting that Derek made on the wall, but cancels an evening with Nathan. She puts the Post-It wedding vows in a drawer, but can’t seem to take the final step.
Thankfully, Maggie is over her hissy fit from last episode and is coming around to the idea of MerThan. Amelia also knows of the burgeoning MerThan relationship. The sisters decide that Meredith needs their support and act accordingly, which is so stunningly mature that I nearly fell off my couch. In the end, Meredith gives a wise speech to Holly’s boyfriend one-night stand who’s been in the waiting room. She encourages him to let go and move on with his life. Then she sees Nathan and takes his hand as they leave the hospital together. Yes!
Odds and Ends
* Ben picks the safe road when consulting on a patient with Jackson, but reevaluates his choices after a heart-to-heart with Richard. He vows to be nipping at Stephanie’s heels for all of the top cases and amazing surgeries. She tells him her privileges have been revoked until further notice.
* Eliza and Arizona make plans, but Arizona ends up having to work. The following night, they disagree on how the residents have been trained, but decide to put those differences aside and spend their first night together.
* Andrew tries to confess his feelings to Jo (who reappeared – pity) but she shuts him down.
* There’s no sign of Owen Hunt in this episode and only a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it Nathan sighting. This is unacceptable. I need some Owen. I need some Nathan. I need some Bromance. Come on!
* What? No resident assessment of Leah? She seems to have vanished again. Easy come, easy go.
* Alex makes a phone call, saying, “I need to find a guy.” One can only assume that guy is Jo’s husband. Nothing good is going to come of this. Am I right?
Only two more episodes to go this season! Hit the comments with your predictions and thoughts!
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Memorable Moments and Quotes
Meredith: “Do you want a giant tumor?”
Amelia: “Why would I want that?”
Meredith: “It’s the one from my wall that Derek drew. I thought you might like it.”
Amelia (to Maggie about Meredith): “That’s why she took the tumor out of her room! She didn’t want to have sex in a shrine to Derek.”
Meredith (to April about Holly’s guy): “She’s not wrong. He is cute. Maybe you should hit that.”
April: “You are a dark, dark person.”
Holly: “I don’t need a future. I have exactly what I want right now. Sex and death. That’s what I want.”
Meredith (to Holly herself): “The scary thing isn’t dying. The scary thing is surviving and accepting that you actually have a life to live. Don’t you want to stick around and live it?”
Meredith (to Holly’s guy): “It’s time to let (her) go. Hold the time you spent together close to your heart but don’t let it hold you back. No more sitting here and waiting. Grab your new life by the hand and go out there and live it. Change is good.”
Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursdays at 8/7c on ABC.
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(Image courtesy of ABC)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
