Welcome to the latest Grey’s Anatomy installment entitled “The End is the Beginning is The End.” But first let’s start at the beginning, shall we?
Meredith still hasn’t told Cristina about her pregnancy (but knowing Meredith she’ll probably name the baby Cristina if it’s a girl or a boy) Alex and intern Jo are drinking buddies (let’s see how long this lasts), Cristina and Owen are still doing it (even though they have signed divorce papers) and the verdict is finally in from the plane crash lawsuit. Oh goodie! Great news – the plaintiffs won! And they won big time. Each victim has been awarded 15 million dollars for their suffering. Callie wants to celebrate their victory but nobody else is in the mood. Callie convinces them all to meet for dinner to put the past behind them. They begrudgingly agree but are determined to hate every minute of it. Meredith calls her winnings “blood money” since Lexie and Mark died from the plane crash.
I miss you, Dr. Lexie Grey. Back at the hospital Meredith and Cristina ride in the elevator and dish about their judgments. Alex overhears them discussing the outlandish things they could purchase with their millions and the ever insensitive Alex quips, “I shoulda been on that plane.”
Derek blames Owen for the crash and believes as the Chief he should have known the plane company was shoddy. Owen apologizes as much as he can but he obviously can’t change the past. (Each week at least one cast member is mad at Owen. I’m starting to feel bad for the guy.)
Richard is (understandably) grieving the loss of his wife Adele. He’s not operating and he’s shutting everyone out of his life including Meredith and his new piece, Avery’s mom Catherine (aka Debbie Allen). When Catherine shows up to the hospital to check on Richard he scolds her.
Richard yells, “I’m fine. I don’t need your help. I need to be left alone. So please, let me do what I’m doing.”
After talking to Meredith about his guilt, Richard decides to meet Catherine at dinner.
Richard explains to Catherine, “I failed her (Adele) when she needed me the most. I failed her. I feel like I can’t grieve, like I lost the right to grieve when I started seeing you.”
Catherine asks to hold Richard’s hand so they can grieve together. After a little pause Richard reaches out and puts his hand on top of hers. (I like these two together.)
Back at the hospital, Avery reveals his new sexual relationship with intern Stephanie to April. April is heartbroken (and probably shocked that Avery slept with someone else so fast. I mean, I would be.) April says she misses their friendship but knowing that he’s with someone else means that she can’t be friends with Avery right now.
Avery has a full plate this week because he also has to deal with a determined Arizona. Arizona has a power struggle with Avery over a patient who used to be Mark’s patient. Avery wants to change the original treatment Mark had mapped out for the young boy’s facial reconstruction but Arizona fights him every step of the way. In the end, Avery does the surgery his way and Arizona stubbornly watches to ensure he makes no mistakes, which he doesn’t. (It is kind of charming to see Arizona fight for Mark since Mark is no longer around.)
Callie wants to get Derek’s hand back in tip-top shape. She assigns intern Shane to play ping-pong with him all day (like 8 hours straight) to act as his physical therapy, which means the whole staff has to stop by and watch, cheer them on and make wagers on who’s going to win. Shane wins, so Alex owes Jo $1,000. Then Jo turns around and spends that money on a couch for Alex since he has no furniture in his house. (Five bucks says Alex and Jo will have some sort of hook up during the next episode. Any takers?)
Now it’s time for the celebratory, yet not so celebratory, dinner. Arizona, Cristina, Meredith, Derek and Callie sit in silence at a fancy restaurant. Cristina starts sexting Owen at the table, which Meredith calls her out for. Then Callie tries to get everyone excited about the new chapter in their lives, but she ends up breaking down instead.
Callie delivers a heartfelt speech at the table: “It feels weird and sad and wrong, but it also feels exciting. I miss Mark and Lexie, and I’m heartbroken that they’re not here tonight. But I’m also grateful that all of you are, and I’m going to celebrate that, and we are going to toast. C’mon on, toast!” Meredith won’t lift her champagne glass even after Callie pleads and pleads. Finally Meredith announces, “I can’t because I’m pregnant. And I’m happy, so let’s celebrate.”
Of course Cristina already knew that Meredith was pregnant weeks earlier, but she waited to acknowledge it until Meredith was ready to confess her news. (Earlier in the episode, Cristina revealed to Derek that she knew Meredith was pregnant because she noticed the increase of her chest size. There is way too much subtext with these two.)
Now that the doctors are finally celebrating, Derek calls up Owen and pleads for him to join them at dinner. A tipsy Cristina also chimes in that she wants Owen to stop by so they can get it on in the restaurant bathroom. Gross.
Owen can’t join their celebration because he’s meeting with the hospital board. Owen hangs up and returns to find out there is an issue with the hospital’s insurance coverage. It turns out since there were more than two Attendings on the plane (remember Arizona switched out with Alex and boarded the plane at the last minute) then the insurance company won’t cover the crash. With the insurance policy that the hospital has, no more than two Attendings are legally allowed to travel together, which means the insurance company won’t be paying the plaintiff’s settlement. Therefore, Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital is responsible for their damages.
Owen says the hospital doesn’t have those kinds of funds. One of the board members explains to Owen (and me) that due to the outlandish cost of the lawsuit, the hospital will go bankrupt and close. Wait. What?
I didn’t see this coming, did you?
What did you think of this episode?
