RECAP: “Grey’s Anatomy” Season 20, Episode 2
Hello ShondaLand Visitors! (Sidenote: What are "Grey’s Anatomy" fans called?) I’m back this week to report on all the goings on at Grey Sloan Memorial and, oh boy, this was another busy day in the lives of the interns and the doctors who order them around.
“Don’t give me that look, Grandpaw”
This week’s episode starts in various beds with the voice of Meredith narrating about happiness, relationships, and the effects of loneliness. First, we see Link and Jo staying up late; they’re parents, they should get sleep, they just can’t keep their hands off each other (there’s some minor story with them this episode, but it’s mainly reminiscing about their past and reconfirming why they’re together). Next, Yasuda is getting steamy with Helm in the hallway, and their loud sex is keeping up Griffith and Adams, who are not in bed together. More on them later. Then we cut to Amelia having a very sweet conversation with her new cat. CAT MOM ALERT! This is the most relatable she’s ever been (for me). Then Meredith texts with an update on the research in the middle of the night. She continues to haunt this show from Boston.
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“Your days as surgical cowboys are over!”
Bailey is rolling into her first day in charge of the “baby surgeons” with a plan and confidence. Pru is her little hype girl, and Warren warns her to expect these interns to be different. This feels like a reminder for us all. This intern class is not the OG Mer, Christina, Alex, and Izzy class. And it’s certainly not any of the classes we’ve seen since. They are from a different generation, and they require different incentives. Bailey’s plan, a procedure log. No surgeries until you’ve completed the list. This could take days or weeks. They can’t even go inside an OR until they’ve completed this exercise. Oh, and if you hate this, there’s always dermatology. Who can forget the days of the OG interns wistfully watching the dermatology floor as if it was a spa day? These surgeons never miss a moment to mock dermatology.
Ndugu is displeased; this little log exercise is getting in his way and holding the interns back, and he wants Bailey to know it. I’m still pretty much over this Ndugu with a ‘tude. Ndugu’s not entirely wrong, though. This method would be incentivizing to Christina Yang -- but not so for Yasuda, who will literally beat herself up; Griffith, who is an emotional wreck; Adams, who has zero confidence; and Kwan, who’s so confident and arrogant he’ll knock everyone out of his way to get this done. They’re all going into this as a competition rather than an individual task. This is made even more evident when Kwan asks for “credit” for literally saving a life.
By the end of the episode, Kwan has remembered why he’s a doctor, but now Bailey is unsure if this job is for her. She is not the same Bailey who created this role for Webber all those years ago. She’s not as hard-shelled as she used to be. Warren is back to remind her that she’s changed for the better, and she can do this.
“Can you please put me on another patient? This family is a lot.”
Millin and Hunt are trying to corral the large, loud, raglan-t-shirt-clad Best family that just came from an annual family reunion baseball game covered in blood.
Sidenote: before we dive into this family, can we just stop and appreciate one of the greatest TV Moms, Donna Pescow. She played Evie’s mom from "Out of This World" 1987-1991, also named Donna, who apparently had sex with an alien to conceive Evie. What an amazing, ridiculous, only-in-the-80s family show! She was also the mom on "Even Stevens" 12 years later. Well, here she is, 21 years after that, back on network TV for a moment, still playing a mom (now grandma), and she looks great!
Okay, back to this bloody baseball family. They are obviously quite competitive (this feels like a reminder of the dangers of being too competitive for the interns), and the battle over MVP is getting in the way of medical needs. Enter Hunt, who comes in demanding order in his ER. The pregnant woman, Allie, with severe back pain becomes her own subplot of the episode, and Millin handles the rest in the pit. Millin seems bothered by the family drama, and by the end of the episode, she lectures them on fighting in a hospital, getting in the way of people with real problems, and not appreciating that they have such a big family. Millin, as we are reminded, is without much family of her own. Apparently, that impressed them so much they decided to name Millin MVP and hand her the giant trophy. By the end of the episode, she’s polishing her new trophy and is quite smug about it.
I have questions! How will she return it before next year’s reunion? Will they actually add her name to it on a plaque? What’s the follow up here? I’m overthinking it.
“Smells like Pike Place Market”
A John Doe in his early 20s is brought into the ER by the EMTs, with multiple GSWs, and literally covered in cash. He smells like the fish market. Adams is left holding the bag (literally) of money. He and Kwan are watching from the sidelines as Ndugu and Bailey try to save this patient. He’s flatlined, and they are about to call time of death when Kwan asks for a training opportunity to try a heart massage. And wouldn’t you know, Kwan saves a life and gets a procedure done.
Adams is still holding the bag. Kwan is smug, Bailey is unsettled by this kid being close in age to her boys, and Adams is STILL holding the bag. He’ll eventually leave it behind after the Griffith incident and Kwan will once again save the day. Kwan gets an opportunity to become a better human (and save the day for the 3rd time today) again when he meets the family and comforts them. It’s dancing Harry Shum Jr.’s world and we’re all just living in it.
“Have you ever seen the Great Bake-Off?”
There’s a new patient brought in and he needs a lap chole. All seems routine… So routine Webber that has surprised Schmitt with making him lead surgeon. If you’re paying attention across the episode, you’ll notice all the sneaky ways Webber is removing himself from surgeries without anyone noticing. This new patient, Dante, is a baker and he has a quick crush on Schmitt. Get it, Levi!
Griffith comes in later and casually asks Dante about his HIV meds. He was unaware he had HIV and kicks her out of his room. He’s so angry he intends to leave AMA. Thankfully, Schmitt is there to save him from himself, and they have to rush him into surgery ASAP. Dante is recovering, and now that he has a clear head and a thankful heart, he admits he’s been ignoring red flags because he’s been working too much. Surgeons totally understand that. He and Schmitt end the episode talking about the off-brand "Great British Bake-Off," called the "Great Bake-Off."
No one tell Pillsbury they’re saying the words bake-off on network television!
“The table is shaped like a donut?
Allie, the pregnant daughter-in-law with back pain, has become the focus of Neuro, Ortho, and OB. What an excellent opportunity for Amelia to catch up on Link and Jo’s heart eyes. They figure out that she needs surgery on herniated disks, but this is not just any surgery. She’s got a 29-week pregnant belly and back surgery would surely cause complications. Enter the donut solution. Put her belly in a hole in the table to reduce pressure, and Jo will keep a close eye on mom and baby.
During surgery, complications arise. Jo eventually crawls under the donut table to monitor the baby. Something tells me this violates several hospital policies. But if you have a donut table, use it to its potential. They have to deliver the baby ASAP! Sure, let’s flip her over while her back is open and her spine exposed. This all seems REALLY safe. Don’t worry, everything went smoothly, these are world-renowned surgeons. The tiny premie baby is tiny and will be just fine and Mom’s spine is stable and will heal.
“We pounded on your heart!”
Teddy doesn’t know how to stop working and let herself heal. She tricks Yasuda into checking in on her patients. This is former Chief Richard Webber trickery here, it doesn’t feel very Teddy. But recovering is so boring, she’s got to get her kicks somehow. Yasuda is running around, getting nothing done, and Hunt gives her his Hunt face and she lets him know what Teddy’s up to. Hunt signs off on her previous procedures that saved Teddy’s life and relieves her of Teddy duty. When Yasuda returns to Teddy after Hunt's pep talk, she finally pushes back on Chief Teddy Altman’s insistence that she’s fine, and reminds her that they had to save her life, and she really just needs to rest. Teddy is not interested in hearing this and then she’s in tears. Owen drops by at the end to reinforce everything Yasuda said.
“From now on, we’re roommates. You and I are done.”
Throughout the episode, we see Griffith and Adams and their coldness and, worse, awkwardness. Then, in an emotional moment for Griffith (she just got scolded by a patient who thought she had misdiagnosed him), she texts Adams to the on-call room, where she kisses him. He finally realizes that she’s with him for all the wrong reasons and he pushes her away.
At the end of the episode, she admits this is the wrong time for them. He finally stops waiting around for her and learns how to set a boundary to end this toxic relationship. Can we all just stop and say, “FINALLY!” I’ve been worried about Adams since he showed up on the scene last season with this lower-than-low expectation for himself. His constant pining and desperate attempts to get Griffith to choose him have been depressing. These two are no Season 2 Derek and Meredith. She’s not going to choose you. So, finding his voice and protecting himself is a very positive change.
