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“Grey’s Anatomy” recap (11.3): Something Good

As Meredith’s voiceover talks about vulnerability, real time Meredith vents her own frustrations and vulnerabilities to a showering and thoroughly grumpy Alex. To add emphasis to the fact that she thinks Maggie is a stalker and liar (who is most definitely not her sister) she throws the shower curtains aside much to Alex’s horror. When Alex orders Meredith out, she tries to smooth it over by complimenting his junk (spectacular) and moving on. “Can we get back to me now?” she asks, using a sentence that essentially sums up her whole existence. Alex explains that he understands the requirements of being her “person” but he’s got to make his case to the board since right now he’s jobless. Meredith doesn’t really care that Alex is in crisis because her crisis is bigger. She once again tells him that Maggie thinks she’s her sister, a statement that Alex missed while he was practicing his speech.

Right outside the door is an eavesdropping Jo, who is becoming increasingly irritated at Meredith’s intrusion onto her relationship. Stephanie suggests that she just go and join them, but Jo wants Meredith’s respect, so getting naked in front of her isn’t going to help that. “She stole my Alex,” she tells Stephanie. Stephanie makes the connection that Jo is actually afraid of Meredith, which of course she denies. Of course, they both jump out of their skin when Meredith emerges from the bathroom. Meredith snarls at both of them to tell anyone who asks, that she’s sick that day.

Owen and Callie arrive at a VA hospital to give a speech about residual limb health, but Callie suspects this is Owen’s way of trying to get her to take on another project. She rattles off a list of things that will make it impossible for her (like Arizona’s fellowship, a new baby, her own research) and Owen nods in his Owen way. Owen introduces her to a group of Wounded Warriors. “But, you’re too busy to help our nation’s heroes…” Oh Owen. “I do not like you,” Callie tells him through an awkward smile.

Arizona and Dr. Herman chat about fetal surgery while walking the halls. Dr. Herman asks why she’s not taking notes, and Arizona whips out the dimples and assumes that they were just chatting. Nope. This is a fellowship, time to feel like a resident again. Dr. Herman reminds Arizona that they are not peers, and Arizona’s request to have three weeks to get her ducks in a row isn’t acceptable.

Derek and Arizona stop by to ask Jackson to change the board meeting to another day. Tired of being pushed around, Jackson puts his foot down. Amelia joins the party to confront Derek about ordering treatments for her patients. She kindly reminds him that she is Chief of Neurosurgery, a position that she isn’t planning to hand back to him.

Stephanie has gone ahead and rearranged Dr. Bailey’s day so that she has plenty of time to prepare for her big board meeting that night. Bailey appreciates the gesture, but it completely confident that only a group of morons would give Alex a seat on the board. She gets a text about a pile up accident on the freeway. The pit is supposed to Meredith’s but Stephanie weakly tells Bailey that Mer is “sick.”

Back at Alex’s, he and Meredith are drinking while trying to figure out what Maggie’s angle could be in all of this. Alex suggests that Meredith go to the logical source. The man who Ellis was intimate with 30 years ago. Meredith doesn’t like that idea. Plus, if Richard knew that Meredith had a sister, he’s say something. Right? Gulp.

Speaking of Richard, he’s looking rather glum when the elevator door open and Maggie Pierce joins him. After a little awkward small talk, she tells him about her conversation with Meredith. When the elevator stops, they come upon a chaotic scene. A dozen or more doctors, nurses and onlookers are crowded around a patient. Bailey appears around the corner and parts them like the Red Sea. The curiosity is a man impaled with a straight up tree. Like a tree is sticking out of his chest, and he’s awake. Camera phones are flashing everywhere, and Bailey takes a secret selfie with him.

Richard, Bailey, Stephanie and Maggie all get working on the man. He needs to be cut out of his chair, but in the meanwhile he’s having trouble breathing. Like you do when you have a tree sticking out of your chest. Maggie sticks a tube in his nose to help open his airway.

At the VA hospital, Owen and Callie sit with a veteran, whom Owen is trying to convince to participate in the sensory prosthesis program. The soldier is hesitant because he’s had nothing but issues with prosthetic legs. Owen really sells him on their robotic leg, but Callie shoots him a look of caution. Callie steps in and informs the soldier that they would need to run tests to make sure that he’s a viable candidate.

When Callie gets back, she and Arizona share their woes for the day. Callie is frustrated that Owen wants her to take on more work, and Arizona resents being treated like a resident by a doctor she’s worked side by side with. Callie worries that Arizona is trying to get out of their meeting with the surrogacy agency, but Arizona promises that’s not the case. She asks Callie to give her a pep talk: “You own a hospital, you are raising a beautiful girl. You save babies. You’re gonna save more, right? You can do this too, If anyone can, you can.” It works and a huge smile pops up on Arizona’s face. She tells Callie that she will carry that smile into the surrogacy meeting, so they can get themselves a baby.

Amelia and Derek both attend to a motorcyclist who was injured in the pile up. The two bicker as Amelia tries to assert her authority and Derek tries to get back into the work e loves. April who is assisting them suggests that perhaps they both work on the man like, you know, a family would.

Alex paces and practice his speech for a drunk and distracted Meredith. He’s nervous that he has to go up against Bailey, who Meredith reminds him delivered her baby and saved her life. That’s not helping, Mer. She’s still not really talking to Derek, which Alex thinks is ridiculous. Meredith doesn’t see Derek’s not going to DC as a compromise, but rather a forfeit. “I’m the sun, and he can go suck it” she slurs as Alex knits his eyebrows. He takes the bull by the horn and suggests that they do something about it.

Owen brings Jeff the soldier in to the lab, and gets him excited about the new leg. Callie cautions that they need to run an few tests, and caution is warranted. Jeff’s muscles aren’t communicating the way they need to in order to work with the prosthesis. He’s sadly not going to be a viable candidate. Callie tells Owen that she’s not seeing any readings from the muscles and he pulls her out of the lab before she can tell Jeff the bad news. In the hall, Callie accuses Owen of getting Jeff’s hopes up, while Owen orders her to make it happen. Callie reminds Owen that he may be the Chief on the surgical floor, but in her lab, she’s in charge.

Jackson pops by Callie’s lab to ask her about her screaming match with Owen. He agrees that she need not take orders in her lab, but if she could refrain from yelling at the Chief of Surgery in the hallway, that would be swell. Avery also needs a sounding board for his frustrations. He’s not practicing the surgery that he loves because he’s running the board. He has to break up petty arguments, deal with the news that Arizona isn’t taking Peds surgeries, and the Shepherd’s are fighting. Hold up. What? Arizona isn’t taking Peds surgeries? That’s news to Callie. She tells Jackson about why she and Owen were fighting in the first place, and Jackson realizes that he might be able to help Jeff. He can rewire the nerves in Jeff’s leg, making him a viable candidate after all.

In surgery with the Tree Guy, Maggie is closing up her section. She’s actually had a lot of fun working with Richard on the procedures. She’s feeling all inspired, but Richard is feeling guilty. He has Bailey close up for him as he runs after Maggie. Unfortunately, he’s just missed her.

Alex comes up with a brilliant plan. Breaking into the hospital’s private personal system to get Maggie’s date of birth. That’s pretty illegal, but Alex justifies it by suggesting that Maggie posing as Ellis’s daughter would be illegal too. Meredith points out that if Cristina was there, there would be dancing rather than logging in. Based on Maggie’s file, Alex estimates that Ellis would have been pregnant in spring on 1983. Meredith recalls that was when Ellis tried to kill herself.

After surgery, Stephanie offers to let Bailey practice her speech on her, but Bailey doesn’t want to dwell on such things. She may be afraid of spiders and snakes but she is not afraid of Alex Karev. Stephanie suggests that Bailey is not considering the big picture. It’s not Alex she should be worried about. It’s the rest of the board and their ties to Alex she should be concerned about.

Arizona runs into Dr. Herman and launches into excuses as to why she isn’t finished with the case file she was assigned. You see there was this very stressed out and excitable mother she had to deal with. Dr. Herman tells Arizona that all mothers are stressed and excitable and if she can’t deal with that basic aspect of the job, maybe she’s not suited for the fellowship. Arizona assures her that she’s awesome with moms! All the moms! Those dimples are not going to help her with this fellowship.

As Alex and Mer try to piece together that events of spring ’83, she recalls that was when her mother moved them across the country to Boston. Since Meredith was only five at the time, details are rather hazy. Alex finds the record of Ellis being admitted to the emergency room that spring. The records also show that Ellis was indeed pregnant at the time.

Owen finds Callie as she’s scrubbing is, and apologizes for his behavior. Owen admits that he really needs something to go right, something to be good. He’s happy and proud of Cristina, but her leaving has left this uncomfortable feeling inside of him that he can’t seem to shake. He’s worried that his dreams of one day having a family may be dashed. “She was my family,” he tells Callie. Owen thought that is maybe he could shine a little light into someone else’s life, then maybe his world would feel less dark. Callie forgives him and tells him about Jeff’s surgery, inviting him to watch Jackson perform it.

Derek and Amelia finally have it out, and he pulls rank on her. He wants his leadership position back, and as good as she is, he’s better. She responds to him in the best little sisterly way possible: “Bite me.” After Amelia leaves, April brings over the motorcyclist’s chart meant for her and Derek takes it right out of her hands. The chart shows a large aneurysm, which will need surgery, and Derek orders April to book an OR. He’s taking over.

Alex is trying to get ready for the meeting while Meredith waits for Richard to arrive. She’s not sure why Alex is so nervous about his speech so Alex admits how badly he wants the seat. When Richard arrives, he confesses that he’s known about Maggie since her first day. He didn’t know before that though, and it came as much of a surprise to him as it did to Meredith. She’s furious that Richard didn’t say anything to either of them. Richard wishes he had known from the start because he would have loved to have been a father, and he feels robbed of that opportunity.

When Amelia finds Derek working on her patient, she storms into the OR. She pushes April out of the way, and stands in her stead all the while yelling at her brother. The patient takes a turn for the worse, and Derek declares him likely brain dead.

Richard and Meredith sit, calmly talking this time. He’d really like the chance to know Maggie now. Meredith encourages him to tell Maggie the truth, and soon.

Jackson and Callie work on rerouting Jeff’s nerve endings, when Jackson suggests that with just a few added steps, this could have be done in the initial amputation. Callie thinks that’s a pretty awesome idea. Also, she’s decided to donate some of her research money to helping vets like Jeff. Owen is surprised and delighted. Jackson points out that it’s good for the hospital as well, and he wants in. Callie is pretty amazing. She managed to save the day for both Owen and Jackson. Someone deserves a Harper Avery.

Callie is so excited that she talks Arizona’s ear off about the new program. All Arizona can hear though is that Callie doesn’t think there is time for a new baby. Callie disagrees and tells Arizona that she wants her reassurance and support that they can do it all. “I mean, what if we can’t do anything and everything?” Arizona asks. Callie assumes this is Arizona’s way of saying she doesn’t want to go through with having another baby. She asks Arizona to just admit that she doesn’t want another baby, but Arizona doesn’t have a chance to answer because the surrogacy specialist interrupts them. It often feels like these two are so bad at communicating that misunderstanding becomes the only language they speak to each other.

Amelia dejectedly begins her post op report, when Derek comes in and offers to do it for her. He claims the patient was a lost cause, bur Amelia doesn’t care. He was her patient, and he’s gone now. She tells Derek to back off, and accused him of bullying her because he’s feeling lost and his ego is suffering. Derek laments giving up the White House project, and Amelia reminds him that it was his decision. Derek doesn’t feel that way though. He feels like Meredith backed him into it. Amelia gets that because she feels like Derek is pushing her back down the ladder in order to scramble back up. “You have to live with the choices you make,” she tells her older brother.

Callie stands with tears in her eyes, while next to a recovering Jeff. Owen and Jackson stop by to check in. Owen senses something isn’t right so he sticks around after Jackson leaves. Owen asks if she’s OK, and Callie begins to sob. “I need something to be good, too.” Owen reaches out and hugs her. Owen and Callie have a lot in common, so perhaps a friendship with these two could help them cope.

Jo helps Alex get ready for the meeting, all the while trying to grill him about his day with Meredith. He doesn’t seem to notice and heads off to make his case. He and Bailey take seats on the bench outside of the office together.

Richard and Meredith are heading into the hospital when they spy Maggie leaving. Richard approaches her and tells her that he knew Ellis very well. She interrupts, saying that at first she wondered if he was her father but when he didn’t say anything, she swept that thought out her mind. I mean, what kind of jerk would leave her dangling like that, right?! Maggie assumes that Richard knew all along, and just didn’t want her and that’s why he kept quiet. She gets it all wrong, but he doesn’t correct her.

When Meredith arrives, Derek is at first worried what she was under the weather. When he finds out that she was hanging out with Alex and drinking, all of his frustration from earlier comes bubbling out. Meredith doesn’t even answer him, because she knows that this goes so much deeper that words can muster right now. By the time the board meeting starts, everyone is raw and angry and depressed. How lucky for Alex and Bailey, who come in all cheery and ready to plead their cases. Meredith’s voiceover tells us, “Vulnerability isn’t the opposite of strength. It’s a necessary part. We have to force ourselves to open up, to expose ourselves, to offer up everything we have and just pray that it’s good enough. Otherwise, we’ll never succeed.” When Alex is called in first, Bailey allows herself to crack open for the first time, and all her nervousness and insecurity finally demand release. Alex flings open the door and croaks out a “congratulations” to Bailey. Inside they all give her a standing ovation, while Alex walks off alone.

 

Here are some of our favorite #GreysGays tweet’s from this week’s episode.

 

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