"Greys" Finale Delivers a Lovely Meredith Moment
Here's a sentence I never thought I'd type, least of all in a recap of a season finale of Grey's Anatomy: Fire is ... kind of boring. Seriously. Compare the fire in last night's episode to some of the other major disasters that have ended past seasons of Grey's - the plane crash, the shooting, even the massive blackout. Those plot devices created tons of different stories, emotional reactions, injuries, and uniquely compelling situations. But that's not really something you can do with fire (and I'm polite enough not to mention that Grey's has already used a massive fire/explosion as its season-ending event). With fire, your options are basically run, hide, or burn, and none of those make for particularly compelling television.
Giving Stephanie a young girl to protect as they made their way through the smoky hospital corridors was a smart move, because it gave Stephanie a chance to talk about her past as a chronically ill child and saved viewers from an hour of watching Stephanie mumble to herself. But it also removed the suspense from most of their story - like the powers that be at Grey's were really going to let Stephanie and a child BURN TO DEATH? That shit might fly by Scandal standards, but it's still too over-the-top for Grey's, and thank goodness for that. I like things that are nice.
I've always liked Jerrika Hinton, and I think if Stephanie had the chance to develop alongside earlier Grey's interns like George and Izzie, she would've been a strong asset to the show. But it's hard to make a character you only really get to play every few weeks feel like yours and I understand why she's moving on. I'm also happy her character got to do so without getting murdered or fired, although she's probably going to be legitimately traumatized by the part where she burned a rapist to death? But I'm so confused about why Stephanie cited her childhood spent in hospitals as the reason she had to get out of surgery. That was her reason for getting into surgery. It just feels like lazy writing (or a willful ignorance of Stephanie's backstory).
Still, the fire itself felt just as lazy as BIG FINALE TWISTS go, as did all of the reasons why Stephanie couldn't escape from it sooner. The sprinklers never went off! She dropped her badge! Minnick never told the police she was missing! I'm actually totally fine with that last bit, since it led to Minnick getting fired. I would've preferred more meat to the end of her story than Bailey essentially saying, "Uh, sorry, but it turns out the real method of teaching surgery was here in our hearts all along!" but I'll take what I can get. I'm glad Bailey finally realized that Minnick isn't the right fit for the hospital and that she said so in front of Catherine Avery (all while telling Catherine to call her "Chief" Bailey, not "doctor," no less). It's a wonderful resolution to a story that absolutely should have never happened in the first place so … hooray?
Was there any Jo at all in this episode? There was barely any Alex, save for a quick mention of how his trip to find Jo's ex was apparently a waste of time. I'm all for keeping Camilla Luddington's IRL pregnancy off the air - there's one particular plot twist her character doesn't need - but it's definitely created some bizarre, choppy storytelling around Jo. Isn't Douchebeard still waiting to hear if she loves him back?
I should've seen this Jackson and Maggie quasi-romance coming - a few months ago, Jesse Williams retweeted a tweet about what nice siblings Jackson and Maggie are to one another, and his retweet added the word "step." I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with adult stepsiblings exploring feelings for each other, probably, but it also doesn't feel like something Grey's, like, absolutely must explore. Why not develop their relationship as a close friendship instead? The show hasn't had a strong male/female relationship since the days of Mark and Callie, and adding that dynamic back feels preferable to opening us to an entire season's worth of "But wait, aren't you guys related?"
The episode works best when it's focused on Meredith's story - the whole season has, really. Because Amelia and Owen are already off to the hospital to find Megan, it's up to Meredith to tell Nathan that Megan is still alive. We've seen Meredith in plenty of love triangles before - with Derek and Addison, Derek and McVet, and Derek and Rose. But her conversation with Nathan isn't a "Pick me, choose me, love me," moment. Meredith knows that this is good news for him, news that he's waited for and dreamed about. She doesn't have to worry about who Nathan is going to choose because she already knows. It's Megan. Megan is Nathan's Derek. Meredith's greatest concern in telling Nathan is his physical safety - he's been operating in the on-fire hospital - and so she listens to his ears and his heart before finally asking him to remember those dreams they have sometimes? Where Megan comes back, having just gone out for coffee, and Derek says he just forgot his keys? Nathan doesn't believe it, but Meredith patiently, lovingly, talks him through it, asking if he's safe to drive or needs her to take him. It's a moment of such grace and maturity from a character who has been through every last wringer in the goddamn universe - it's Meredith Grey, all grown up. And when Nathan realizes that, oops, he and Meredith are dating, and so his excitement about Megan could be hurtful, she waves him off. "If this were Derek, I'd already be gone."
Fortunately, we see Megan on the airport tarmac at one point, so we know the first six episodes of the next season aren't going to be a comedy of errors in which she accidentally flies into the wrong hospital, Owen doesn't have the proper ID, Amelia accidentally tears a contact lens and can't go into the hospital room, Megan leaves her sweater on the Army helicopter, etc. We're in good position for Owen and Megan and Nathan's story to be a part of season 14, right off the bat, and so long as we dive in right away rather than drawing things out extensively (cough, cough, Alex's prison storyline, cough). I can't wait. Also: SEASON 14 WHAT EVEN. See you then, pals.
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