In retrospect, the foreshadowing couldn’t have been more clear. But then, hindsight is 20/20. On this week’s installment of Grey’s Anatomy, “OldTime Rock and Roll,” Meredith gets the shock of her life, Maggie deals with the fallout of her dalliance with Andrew, we finally learn more about Stephanie, Owen teaches the interns a crucial lesson, Arizona regains hope and Jo betrays a friend. All in one episode!
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It Never Happened. Deleted.
Remember when Maggie kissed intern Andrew DeLuca in a bar at the end of the episode 3? The ABC promo seemed to imply that they had a one night stand. Well, for once, the promo did not lie. Maggie awoke, hungover, the next morning to find Andrew in her bed. Which is in her room. In Meredith’s house. Where Maggie lives. With Meredith. And her three (still unseen as of late) children. And Amelia. Awkward. (Sidebar: Are carpool scenes the new cafeteria scenes? Discuss.)
In fact, the whole day turned out to be riotously awkward as a mortified Maggie (who is the queen of Awkward Land) struggled to cope with the repercussions of all the hot, hot sex. She lashed out at Andrew in her goofy Maggie way but also sought solace in Meredith who reassured her that these things happen. After all, Meredith and Derek started out as a one night stand. Derek was the attending doctor who slept with the intern. Repeatedly. And they ended up married with three kids. (Related Aside: Anyone else loving the Meredith/Maggie dynamic as much as I am? They have really grown adorably close and, as much as I liked Lexie, M & M have a relationship of equals which I find endearing and refreshing.)
Anyway, by episode’s end, Maggie apologized to Andrew for acting all crazy in the wake of their tryst and assured him that while their evening was nice it would never happen again. He responded like a total gentleman and completely understood. Done. Over. Clean break. No worries. Until they kissed passionately and began to rip off their clothes! I have to admit, they are pretty cute together.
Silver Flood
It turns out that a “silver flood” is code for when the ER gets swamped with senior citizens. In this case, a shuttle bus full of seniors was in an accident while on their way to board a cruise. Lots of injuries. Lots of deaths. After one of the interns (whose name I do not seem to know – blond, baby-faced, always looks in-over-his-head) totally botched a death notification, Owen Hunt (who characteristically remembers that Grey Sloan is a teaching hospital) took the opportunity to help the interns learn how to inform family members that their loved one has died. He gave them a framework to start from: the Four L’s (location, language, body language, leave) and then kicked things up a notch by having Meredith share her own personal experience of being on the other side of the process when Derek died, reminding the interns that “yours is the face they will remember for the rest of their life”.
Arizona befriended one silver fox, Abe, who was ninety years old and planning to propose to his girlfriend, Gabby. (I have to tell you, I thought Gabby was a goner.) Abe was so sweet and charming talking with Arizona that I would have bet money on Gabby not making it out of her surgery alive. Alas, it was Abe who died unexpectedly. He quietly passed away while AZ was off checking on a patient and making a JELLO run. “Raspberry or lime?” “Surprise me.” Sad! All the patients we get attached to seem to die. You’d think after twelve seasons I’d be more prepared for this, but I’m not. At least Arizona felt reassured that she could find love again in her life. Meantime, April lamented that she had already found her love … and he wants a divorce!
Stephanie’s Secret Past
I’ve often commented that as much as I enjoy Jerrika Hinton’s performance as Stephanie, her character is one of GA’s most underdeveloped. That began to change tonight as Amelia was gung ho to try a new protocol to push neuro surgical patients to get up and moving faster. Her protegee, Stephanie, was assigned to work with the patient, Rachel. Stephanie couldn’t do it. When pressed to say why, Steph confesses her past of being in a clinical trial as a child. Her treatment for sickle cell anemia, while “for her own good,” was excruciating and she refuses to put someone else through that.
Here’s where things got nasty: Jo, displaying jealousy, insecurity, and pettiness, assumed that Stephanie had once again worked the system and lied about her childhood experience. Jo tattled to Amelia who believed her! It took an intervention on Richard’s part to set the record straight. Though this storyline was yet another example of Amelia going off like an emotional tornado and reacting to a situation in a completely wrong-headed way, Amelia, to her credit, was big enough to admit her mistake and apologize to Stephanie. Jo still doesn’t know the truth and I’ll be interested to see if this plot point carries into the next episode, which centers around a dinner party being held at Casa Meredith by the Three Sisters. Either way, Jo becomes more insufferable to me with each passing episode. She is self-centered, mean and not worthy of Alex. “But she had a horrible childhood!” you say? That only goes so far. We all make mistakes but what Jo did to Stephanie was truly despicable. Can their friendship survive? Should it survive? #TeamStephanie
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The Final Twist
For the second week in a row, there was a final twist that I did not see coming, though I should have given all of the Meredith/Derek/widow/losing a loved one red flags. In particular that whole monologue in which Meredith says she is happy despite her widowhood should have set off alarm bells. But they did not. Remember how we’ve been hearing about Callie’s new love, Penny? The one Callie can’t stop gushing over? The one who causes Arizona to down a lot of alcohol in preparation of meeting her? Right. That Penny. Meredith opened the door to let Callie and Penny into the house for the dinner party and found herself face to face with the redheaded lady doc who couldn’t save Derek’s life. Mic. Drop.
Memorable Moments and Quotes
Amelia: “There is a jumbo box of condoms under the bathroom sink. I share. They are for everybody.”
Alex: “Jumbo? Seriously?”
Amelia: “I was being optimistic.”
Maggie: “There was so much sex. Hot, hot sex. Everything hurts.”
Maggie: “Who does that? Who screws the interns? What kind of person does that?”
Meredith: “The father of my children.”
Richard (to Amelia about Stephanie): “She’s been your right hand. So why was it so easy to question her integrity based on the word of a doctor you hardly know?”
Meredith (to Maggie): “I’m just not wondering what’s out there. Not feeling like I’m missing anything. I’ve had that great amazing love. And that part’s behind me now. I have the kids and you guys and surgery. And I’m happy. And I never thought I would be again. And I am. And that’s all I need.”
Amelia (to Stephanie): “I’m sorry I didn’t believe you. I should have.”
Callie (to Meredith): “This is Penny! Honey, this is Meredith.”
Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursdays at 9pm on ABC.
(imagine courtesy of ABC)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
