Everyone survived the two-part event.
There were no casualties, and Addison was more determined than ever to get back on the road and continue her work by the end of Grey’s Anatomy Season 19 Episode 12.
Join former TV Fanatic writer Meaghan Frey, diehard Grey’s Fanatic, Caterina Scorsone/Amelia Shepherd fan, and aspiring actor still determined to get his guest starring credit on the series, Joshua Johnson, and TV Fanatic Senior Staff Writer Jasmine Blu as they discuss the hour.
Were you satisfied with the conclusion to the two-part event?
Meaghan: It was a bit anticlimactic in that the stories were not as dramatic as they were hyped up to be in the promos. However, I’m not complaining about that one bit.
We already saw one woman lose her life this season to drive home the potential consequences of the overturning of Roe v. Wade; we don’t need to continue to see women pay the ultimate price to make a point. The show is at its best when it shows the issue’s complexities but with a more nuanced approach.
Joshua: I spent the hour waiting to see who was going to die (I misremembered the promo for Grey’s Anatomy Season 19 Episode 11; we weren’t told that a doctor would die, we were just told that “No Doctor Is Safe”), and when no one did, I was pleasantly surprised that we got basically the Grey’s Anatomy version “happy ending.”
It’s been so long since we’ve got a Grey’s two-parter that was this compelling and didn’t have a bleak result.
The ending would have been miserable if Tia or her baby had died. If Addison had died, it would have been an unnecessary blow. While we know that Tia and her family have a long way to go to recover and that Addison’s work will truly never be finished, the happy ending comes in knowing at least they get to keep going.
Jasmine: I found it nerve-wracking but in a good way. We didn’t need to see another woman die for the cause, but the stakes were there, and the messages were getting across regardless. I feared Tia would die until the end, so I’m glad we got as close to a happy ending on Grey’s Anatomy as it gets.
Were you surprised that Addison got right back into the thick of saving Tia and Connor? How do you feel about her continuing her work on the road?
Meaghan: Not at all. If anything, getting struck by the car fueled her fire and gave her even more reason to fight. If she threw in the towel now, she would only let them win.
My only concern about her returning to the road is that she is doing so alone, not just for safety reasons but for practicality’s sake. She’s going to be doing a whole lot of one-handed pelvic exams. I wish we could’ve seen her team up with someone else for a while and continue to follow their story on the road.
Joshua: I wasn’t surprised that Addison got right back into the thick of it, but I was terrified the entire episode that something would happen to her because she didn’t get an MRI or head CT before she started working.
I was absolutely on pins and needles during the NICU scenes with Simone, waiting for Addison to succumb to some unseen injury. I didn’t breathe a sign of relief for her until she was sitting down with Amelia, discussing what had happened.
As for her return on the road, I feel like Meaghan does. Of course, Addison will go back out there, but I wish she’d waited until her arm was better or taken someone with her. The scene where she pulled the sheet off the PRT and drove off felt epic.
Jasmine. Addison is, has been, and will always be a badass, so I’m not surprised she pushed through the shock of everything and persevered.
I am worried about her on the road by herself. I was even concerned something would happen as she was pulling off. I feel she needs more assistance while on the road, especially after everything she’s encountered, and that would’ve been a nice way of addressing the issue.
Do you hope Addison will return soon? Does she do a great job carrying the series when she pops up?
Meaghan: Please! Kate Walsh’s return has been such a highlight of Grey’s Anatomy Season 19. I’d give anything for her to come back to the series full-time. No, seriously, writers, anything, name your price.
Every single storyline she has been involved in has turned into some of the best storylines of not only this season but of the entire series. Pay the lady whatever you need her to in order to make it happen.
Joshua: Bring Addison back. Just bring her back. Meg Marinis, please bring Addison back when you take over for Season 20.
Kate Walsh is an amazing actress, often overrated, and enough time has passed that she can stand on her own as a character in this particular iteration of Grey’s Anatomy.
Jasmine: Kate Walsh can do no wrong, and she’s been fantastic. She could effortlessly step in and steer the helm of this series if she were inclined to do so. At this rate, there’s never enough Addison. I already can’t wait until the next time she appears.
Do you think Simone will consider a specialty in OBGYN or neonatal?
Meaghan: It’s too early to tell, but I would be interested.
I don’t think we’ve seen a single intern go down the path of OBGYN or neonatal and stick with it from the beginning. The closest was Alex before Addison left for Private Practice, then he switched gears to peds. But, what could make it even better is her having Addison as her teacher.
Joshua: I also think it’s too early to tell if Simone will go down this path. What I got from her scenes in the NICU was the immensity of care that went into keeping her alive when she was a preemie herself.
I get the sense that when Simone thinks about her birth, she only thinks about the fact that her mother died and not that a team of highly skilled doctors and nurses worked around the clock to ensure she survived.
Jasmine: It’s probably too early to tell, but I loved her personal connection to this specialty compared to some of the other ones she’s worked on thus far, and I loved her bond with Addison.
With the season’s theme, it would be interesting if someone took that interest and kept it with anything related to women’s healthcare instead of the more traditional begrudging interest in it that we’ve seen before.
How entertained were you by Jules’s arc with her feisty senior-aged roommate?
Meaghan: I loved her roommate and the friend so much. I’d watch a spin-off of those two in a heartbeat.
Has anyone made a series centered on a senior living facility before? If not, we need to get on this. Between those two amazing ladies and their gentleman friend and Poker Face Season 1 Episode 5, this year proves we need one.
Joshua: This was such a good, lighthearted story needed to help balance out the rest of the hour and such a fun and easy way to give more backstory for Jules. I’d love to see her roommate again.
Jasmine: I absolutely adored this arc, and it was lighthearted enough to balance out everything else while still feeling like it was in tune with the rest of the hour. I adored everything about Max and would love to see her again. I’m with Meaghan; we definitely need a series about some senior-aged women.
Mika had an anxiety attack, and Webber helped her. React.
Meaghan: I’m so glad we have gotten back to this Richard instead of the Richard we had before Levi’s breakdown. He is an excellent mentor, proving why we still need him around.
Joshua: This was one of my favorite subplots of the hour, and I attribute it entirely to Midori Francis acting her ass off.
The shot of Mika standing against a wall and breathing heavily just before Richard showed up impacted me. I wanted to reach through the screen to give her comfort.
The tools that Richard used to help her–ice to shock the system, a process to ground Mika in her body in the present–are also real coping mechanisms people can use for panic/anxiety attacks (ones that I’ve had to use myself).
I think this also showed a new “era” of Grey’s Anatomy and is a step toward restructuring the intern program to emphasize care for the interns.
Just because they’re doctors doesn’t mean they’re meant to see pregnant women get hit by cars (or see men get blown up, have icicles fall into their chests, or get hit by cars while caring for patients in ambulances, etc.).
We’ve had 18 seasons of surgeons experiencing trauma after trauma without any recognition that they’re still people. Think of all the therapy that Meredith, Cristina, and Alex should actually have to go through for all the traumatic stuff they’ve seen or endured as interns!
This moment with Mika felt a bit like an acknowledgment and a reminder for the new interns that they have to take care of their minds as much as their bodies.
Jasmine: I loved this scene.
I appreciate the acknowledgment of mental health, especially following the pandemic and the massive burnout in the field. The days of glorifying the “conceal, don’t feel” approach to the job are long gone, and I appreciate that they’re doing things differently here.
Webber did feel like his old self, leaning into the best aspects of who he’s been as a mentor. It was a great scene all around.
What they saw isn’t what they go through regularly in a day, and Mika had a perfectly normal reaction as she processed that, and I’m just glad Webber didn’t make her feel inadequate, and she didn’t beat herself up about it.
Where are you with Winston and Maggie’s relationship, and how things are going?
Meaghan: I wish I could say I care. I loved Winston and Maggie, but I’m over them now. Kelly McCreary leaving the series is just the cherry on top of all the wasted potential of these two together.
Joshua: Just end it. Let Maggie go off to Chicago, let Winston become Chief of Cardio, and then it’s over. The writers really ran Maggie into the ground with this story and ruined what used to be a character you could actually root for.
Jasmine: Echoing Joshua, I’m so disappointed with how they ran Maggie’s character in the ground. I hate this Maggie and for Kelly McCreary’s legacy on the show as she exits. She deserved so much better.
Did you enjoy the Jolink elevator moment?
Meaghan: Dare I say, I ship Jolink so hard these days? They’ve been putting in the work this season to get us invested in them without beating us over the head like before.
The elevator scene was so powerful. Between Link knowing exactly what Jo needed at that moment and Jo letting out all the frustration and sadness she had bottled up — masterful.
Joshua: The writers are doing a great job at the slow burn between Jo and Link, and that’s what’s making me root for them as a couple.
I remember talking with my mom about the episode after it was over, and she said that she’d wished Link would’ve grabbed Jo and hugged her, but like what Meaghan said, that’s not what Jo needed at the moment. She didn’t need comfort; she just needed to release the emotion she had built up working with Tia.
Link allowing her to break down how she needed to showed that he’s willing to give her what she needs in a moment, which will only help them build trust between each other.
I didn’t start out wanting Jo and Link to get together, but the show treats this relationship with more respect and care than they’ve treated others, and that’s gotten me more invested.
Jasmine: I’m not much of a JoLink shipper. But this was a great scene that I could appreciate despite that. They’re doing a good job with the slow burn of this relationship.
I’m relieved to have the real Link back rather than that imposter they turned him into to prop Amelia up for whatever reason. He’s really stepping into his romantic lead own, and I love that for him.
I loved that Jo managed to keep it together the entire day until that moment, and then she got her space to release it. It is a mark of her growth as a character and professional.
And I’m a sucker for moments like that, someone knowing a person enough to give them exactly what they need, no questions asked, whether it’s a precursor for romance or not. It was a good moment, plus it paid homage to the elevator.
What was your favorite moment, storyline, character, etc., from the hour?
Meaghan: Everyone held their own during this episode, so choosing a favorite is nearly impossible.
One small moment I appreciated was between Addison and Amelia. This gives me even more reason to want Addison to become a series regular again. With Mer gone and Maggie leaving, I’m worried Amelia will float into obscurity.
Joshua: YES! I loved everything Amelia and Addison related, starting with Amelia getting the news and running off to the ER. When Amelia said she considered Addison a gift from the universe for saddling her with her other three sisters (and then also giving her Meredith and Maggie), my heart broke for her.
I’m also worried Amelia will float off into obscurity (she’s easily my favorite character on the show currently, and I think Caterina Scorsone is a phenomenal actress), so it was great to see her have this moment.
Jasmine: It was a strong episode all around. There were so many moving pieces to it, and they managed to have a lot going on, but the hour didn’t feel chaotic or overcrowded. It was all balanced well with the storylines and characters.
I loved everything about Addison. Everything.
And Kevin McKidd has become one of my favorite directors on this series. He absolutely killed it with this one. That one-shot opener was fantastic.
Are there any additional thoughts you’d love to share?
Meaghan: With the show getting renewed for a 20th season, I’m really interested in seeing if there will be even more major casting shakeups. I can’t see them going into another season with this large cast. I’ll be fine if we can keep Amelia, Levi, and the interns.
Joshua: Agreed, Meaghan. Now that we know the show is returning, I wonder who will stay and who will go.
Jasmine: You both raise an interesting point. I am also curious about the potential cast shakeups they may have under their belts and what season 20 could look like if we continue this revamped reboot theme within the series.
Over to you, Grey’s Fanatics. Do you agree with our round table? Do you disagree? Hit the comments and discuss it below!
Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursdays at 9/8c on ABC.
Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. She is an insomniac who spends late nights and early mornings binge-watching way too many shows and binge-drinking way too much tea. Her eclectic taste makes her an unpredictable viewer with an appreciation for complex characters, diverse representation, dynamic duos, compelling stories, and guilty pleasures. You’ll definitely find her obsessively live-tweeting, waxing poetic, and chatting up fellow Fanatics and readers. Follow her on Twitter.
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