Another installment brings another contentious round table.
They squeezed in a lot of classic Grey’s anatomy fun on Grey’s Anatomy Season 18 Episode 13 with that Python case. We also saw Mer and Nick take a significant step, Teddy and Owen make amends, Jo met someone new, and more.
Join Jasmin Pettie, Joshua Johnson, and Meghan Frey as they discuss the hour.
On a scale of 1-10, how entertaining and fun was the python medical case?
Jasmin: I’d say an 8 for me. It was the first interesting, out-of-the-ordinary medical case they’d had in a while. That was a part of the earlier seasons that I really enjoyed. Because the snake was so big and the guy’s reaction to it was absurd, some moments were a bit much for me, but overall I enjoyed it.
Joshua: I’ll agree with Jasmin and give it an 8. I thought it was interesting, entertaining, and new, and as Jasmin said, the extraordinary medical cases like this one definitely harken back to earlier seasons.
I had to suspend my disbelief when the doctors themselves unclamped and unraveled the snake from around the patient’s abdomen because, like…obviously. But it was fun to see Link, Wright, and Winston have a cute little bro moment together.
Meaghan: I’ll give it an eight as well. These types of cases were the hallmark of Grey’s Anatomy in the beginning, and we’ve seen less and less as the series has gone on.
While I think having them all the time would make the show even more ridiculous than it is at times, I do love any time they sprinkled them in. They never fail to make it a fun and interesting hour of the series.
Do you think Bailey was giving Wright mixed signals? Is this the last of their awkward exchange, or is this going somewhere else?
Jasmin: To be honest, I’m not sure. I think Bailey might have unintentionally been giving mixed signals because, as Wright points out, she doesn’t think of herself that way as desirable. As she says to Ben, they’ve been so busy working and looking after all the kids they adopted that they’ve been neglecting their relationship.
To be honest, I’m not sure where this storyline is going. It could be the last of it, or it could be the start of something it’s hard to say.
Joshua: I truly don’t think Bailey gave Wright any mixed signals. I think Bailey was just hyped to have a resident want to learn from her for once and was enjoying finding a mentee who had such similar interests.
For someone of Bailey’s age and generation, it’s just cool to find a new friend. For someone of Wright’s age and generation (and, let’s be honest, appeared gender), it could be easy to conflate those connections with something more romantic.
I think (or, at least, hope) that this is the end of the storyline. It seemed like a vehicle to get Bailey and Ben to talk about their relationship and what’s missing from it at the moment.
Meaghan: I don’t feel like she did at all. Wright saw exactly what he wanted to see. He wanted Bailey to be into him because he was into her, so he interpreted her actions to fit that narrative for himself.
I didn’t see Bailey acting any differently with him than with other surgeons she is friendly with there.
As Joshua said, I think it is a generational thing where men of Wright’s age don’t think men and women can just be friends, so friendly banter is seen as flirting. I’m worried that Wright will continue to push the issue.
Although Bailey and Ben have come to terms with the fact that they’ve neglected their relationship due to this, Wright didn’t get that type of closure.
However, perhaps Ben is coming back to the hospital since Prue’s grandparents want him to quit being a firefighter, and that is how we will see it play out further.
Teddy and Owen finally had it out but came out okay on the other side. React.
Jasmin: Meh? I mean, I’m glad they’re not fighting anymore, but that’s about it. I’ve never been a big Teddy and Owen shipper, and I liked Teddy much better with Henry and Tom than I ever did with Owen, so I’m not invested in the two of them.
Joshua: Honestly, once Teddy explained why she was upset, I got it, and I understood. Owen absolutely did something that potentially could have put their family in danger.
Unfortunately, it took so long to get there that I just don’t care. I’m glad that their feud seems to be over; if we went through everything we went through just to get them married, only to have them constantly fight afterward, I’d be annoyed as opposed to ambivalent.
Meaghan: I needed them to have this conversation. Teddy was coming across as extremely unreasonable without it, and I found myself taking Owen’s side; god, I hate when that happens.
Please let this be the end of it, though. I’m with Joshua; I can’t take any more of this drama between them. Would it be so hard just to let them be happy for once?
What’s your first impression of Todd and the chemistry between him and Jo? Do you think Link was jealous at the end?
Jasmin: I love it! I’m into it! It’s literally the only pairing I’m into right now.
I love Skylar Astin. He was great in Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist, and I loved his chemistry with Camilla Luddington. I’m super excited to see where this goes.
I had hoped that they would bring in a new love interest for Jo at the beginning of the season, and while it took longer to get there than expected, I’m happy we’re here, and I’m excited about it!
I think Link was jealous at the end, but he had his chance, and he blew it. I prefer Jo to end up with Todd than Link, so I hope that happens.
Joshua: I’m not the biggest fan of Skylar Astin, but I thought he and Camilla Luddington worked off of each other very well. I agree with Jasmin about Link’s potential jealousy, but I don’t think he blew his chance. The second he reveals his feelings to Jo, she’ll come back to him.
I thought it was more interesting that Jo was a talented, competent OB than she went out on a date with someone. Show me more of Jo being a great doctor!
Meaghan: Skylar Astin can do no wrong in my book, so I’m on board with this pairing if it means more of him on my screen.
I think the two of them had good chemistry that was light-hearted, something we don’t always get out of Jo’s romantic storylines.
Obviously, seeing as Skylar Astin is only a guest star, this will be the catalyst for Link to figure out his feelings for Jo. I don’t necessarily love that idea for either of them, though.
It comes across as Link just wanting what he can’t have instead of appreciating what he had in front of him. I guess we will have to see how it plays out.
Did you find Link’s behavior toward Amelia immature or understandable once he explained it?
Jasmin: At first, I found Link’s behavior immature, but when he explained to Amelia why he was behaving that way — Amelia is being such a jerk to him!
She decided their relationship was over without ever talking to him, left him in the dark, and then just moved on, and he had to find out secondhand. Now she wants to be friends and do small talk? She’s coming off as super heartless, which is one of the reasons I’m not digging her and Kai.
Joshua: I still think his behavior is immature. The only two choices that he has are hating Amelia and loving Amelia? Immature and, to be honest, a red flag.
If Amelia were trying to be buddy-buddy friends with him, I’d get it, but she was trying to talk to him about their child, and he was letting his feelings for Amelia overshadow his responsibilities as a parent.
I’d understand his feelings more if he said that he just needed a little more time to process his feelings, but this whole “it’s hate, or it’s love” spiel is not the business. If a man told me that, he and I would be done without a second thought.
Meaghan: At the start of the episode, I felt like he was being immature, but once he explained his feelings to Amelia, it made sense to me. It’s hard to just ignore the love you have for someone and the pain they caused you and just go on being friends with them.
I agree with Joshua that he needs to put those feelings aside when it comes to co-parenting Scout, but Amelia also needs to understand that their dynamic will not be what it used to be. Link is allowed to be civil without being warm and fuzzy.
Did Kai’s background with Hamilton give you a new perspective of him? Do you think Meredith will take the too good to be true offer in Minnesota?
Jasmin: It did, but I can’t say I’ve warmed any more to the character. Peter Gallagher does a fantastic job, but as Meredith says, Hamilton is a lot like her mother. I don’t think I’ll ever really warm to him, and I don’t think we’re supposed to.
I hope Meredith won’t take the job offer in Minnesota, not because it doesn’t make sense, but because it means her leaving Seattle, which is her home and where the show is based.
Grey’s has been greenlit for another season, which means if she takes the job offer, we get a whole season more of the back and forth from Seattle to Minnesota, which I would hate, or a whole season centered around a character that isn’t Meredith.
Who wants to watch that? Not me.
Joshua: I appreciated that Kai gave us more of a backstory for Hamilton (and for themselves–even though I loved the fact that we had non-binary representation without it being a big ordeal, I was grateful that Kai explained a little bit about their journey), if only because it makes him more three dimensional.
I truly cannot believe that Meredith will leave. It makes so much more sense for Nick to move to Seattle than for Meredith to move to Minnesota, for all the reasons I’ve already stated (she has more roots in Seattle, he has fewer roots in Minnesota). I’m just ready for this storyline to finish out so that we can get Meredith back in the OR.
Meaghan: It was nice to hear that Hamilton isn’t always just a pain in the ass, but I didn’t really care that much about it. I don’t think we as the audience need to like Hamilton as a character.
The only reason I can think of that they may be trying to get us more emotionally invested in him is that he will die because of the treatment. It would also probably serve as the push Mer needs to decide to stay in Seattle because we all know she isn’t leaving.
There is no way the writers continue splitting the series up into Minnesota and Seattle. It hasn’t been working this season. Sure, it was fine for the first few episodes, but the longer it goes on, the more tiresome it becomes.
Mer needs to reject the job offer, Nick needs to move to Seattle, and Kai and Amelia need to figure out how their relationship works with them being apart.
Nick finally met Mer’s kids. Discuss!
Jasmin: Disgust is my reaction. Nathan Riggs and Cormac Hayes, the two great love interests Meredith had post-Derek, never got the chance to meet her kids properly and have dinner and be introduced to them.
But I have to watch Nick, with his stupidly styled hair and lack of personality, meet them? Unbelievable.
I mean, even DeLuca, that jerk, met her kids though unintentionally. We never got to see Hayes meet them properly or see them date. They spent three seasons setting up this great blended family storyline with a great tie back to Cristina just to scrap the whole thing. It’s just nonsense. I’ll always hate this pairing.
Joshua: I don’t have an opinion here. It was funny how Nick interacted with Meredith’s kids awkwardly compared to how seamlessly Addison interacted with them at the beginning of the season.
I know it could speak to the fact of how nervous Nick was, but I think it’s more about Scott Speedman as an actor not being as comfortable around children as Kate Walsh. I think it’s one more reason why Nick will move to Seattle instead of Mer moving to Minnesota.
Meaghan: I loved it. It helps solidify them being a long-term couple and brings him further into the core Grey’s universe. I think fans need to face the fact that Mer and Nick are an endgame pairing, and I’m not just saying that because I’m someone who ships them.
The whole Minnesota storyline seems to have been created to reintroduce Nick to the series. They wouldn’t go through all that trouble just to have them break up at the end of this season.
The writers most likely sat down before this season and weighed out all their options.
The series probably only has a couple more seasons, so they have to start moving the pieces into place for the end. Richard Flood decided before the season that he wanted to exit the series, so that automatically ruled him out. I couldn’t see them bringing back Riggs with the Megan of it all.
Nick was a fan-favorite character during his guest-starring role, so he made the most sense.
I feel like a lot of fans of the series are taking their frustrations towards the writers for not writing Hayes and Mer well out on Nick and Mer.
I was also a huge fan of Mer and Hayes as a potential pairing, and I think we would have gotten it if it had not been for the COVID coma storyline.
The writers, unfortunately, wasted Hayes as a character for too long, and Flood had to make the best decision for his career. We can’t blame a whole other character for Flood’s decision, though. I just have a hard time wrapping my head around all the hate for Nick.
What was your favorite moment, storyline, and/or character from the hour? Is there anything else you’d love to address?
Jasmin: Winston’s reactions to hearing about and seeing the snake were pretty great! He was funny in this episode, and I like that he’s getting more storylines outside of his relationship with Maggie.
One thing that’s troubling me this season is that the writers don’t seem to be reading the room with how fans are perceiving the show’s pairings.
While I know I’m the dissenting voice on this panel, most of the time, if you look at the kinds of things people are saying online on social media, it’s clear I’m not the only one who’s unhappy with the direction they’ve taken. I don’t see a path forward that will lead to a satisfying ending for the show that’s not going to anger the majority of fans.
Joshua: Like Jasmin, I truly enjoyed Winston, getting to know him more as a person and getting to know him as a total dork. I think it’s super cute.
I also absolutely loved Jo rocking it in the OR as an OB, and to see her have that acknowledgment within herself. I don’t know why I champion Jo’s career so much, considering I hated her when they introduced her in Grey’s Anatomy Season 9, but I think she’s had wonderful character growth, and I want to see her be the badass she can be.
Meaghan: I love getting to see the fact that Winston is just as dorky as Maggie. He’s always come off as a really cool, suave guy, at least to me, up until this point. Seeing him geeking out over the snake reinforced why they are the perfect match.
I have to disagree with Jasmin regarding the writers. My problem a lot of times with shows is that they will end up catering to fans to the detriment of the series. Writers will have a vision for a season and then see fan reactions and change course, making the season feel disjointed.
Writers should stand their ground until the end of a season. I know it is easy for me to say as I am on board with all of the pairings, but we haven’t even seen the full season play out yet. There is still a chance that they could change people’s minds.
Part of the problem seems to be that they still had to end old ones at the start of the season to push some of these new pairings.
We needed closure on Amelia and Link and Mer and Hayes before starting the new relationships. It didn’t really allow viewers time to mourn those relationships before expecting fans to get on board with the next ones. I have faith that eventually, the writers can get the fans there.
Over to you, Grey’s Fanatics. Sound off below with your thoughts.
Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursdays on ABC.
Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.