19.08 – All Star
The episode starts with our new residents - Simone, Lucas, and Mika - trying to fix and then move to Grey’s house together. Painting the walls, placing furniture, choosing whose bedroom they’re gonna get… and, of course - as I predicted - Simone will be at the center stage of this new era. I like her, and I approve of this choice, but I wanna know more. There must be some connection we don’t know about that connects her to Meredith.
In the next scene, we see Jo and Link at their house, and Jo is cooking breakfast for him, saying it’s a big day considering he’s gonna operate on a football teenage star. I just love their interactions, they balance each other out so well.
At GSMH, Richard and Teddy meet accidentally before shifts and Richard asks her why she didn’t give him an answer about her becoming chief. She says she’s still deciding because it’s a hard job - as Owen has said already. Thanks to Amelia and Maggie we also get a peek at Zola’s future, she’s becoming a cellist, (Good for her!), and we also learn Maggie and Winston are still not talking.
Considering the other ridiculous cases we had in this episode - except Link’s one, which is absurd, but still functional to the storyline - the most important one is Jules’. She works on a pregnant woman case, who came to the hospital for spotting. At first, Jo examines and concludes the woman is only dehydrated, but there’s nothing wrong with the baby.
In the meantime, Teddy talks to Bailey about the chief’s position, and Bailey tells her they need her, so she should ask for everything she wants, even the moon. That’s why Teddy, with Bailey’s help, asks for a stipend for research, an assistant, and double the pay. And, to convince her to give up on some requests, he tells her he’s gonna be Chief of chiefs again (I have to admit, I loved that idea, I CRIED when I saw him at the desk again after so many years)
Back on her case, Jules comes back to her pregnant patient, Sierra, only to find her preoccupied and in a bad mood, and decided to sit beside her and ask her what’s going on. Sierra starts saying she shouldn’t be pregnant and she’s scared to be because, after her two past pregnancies, she ended up having postpartum depression for months. She even took medications for it but nothing changed.
In the next scene, Jo talks to Jules’ patient, saying she can get an abortion without any problems. And, as the patient decides she wants to do it to “stay alive for her kids”, we also see - probably for one of the first times on the show - Jo performing and explaining as accurately as possible the whole surgery to the patient, while Jules assists her. Considering all the conspiracy going around about this delicate procedure, I think it was a great scene, especially very important to the viewers to have a pseudo-clear vision of what happens during an abortion, medically speaking. Bravo to both Camilla (Jo) and Adelaide (Jules). By the way, we know Jules said she’s not made to work with kids, but as I said before, I’m 10000% sure she’d be perfect for OBGYN. And I’m glad Jo sees it too. I think those two would make a *brilliant* team.
Teddy and Richard start renegotiating her requests and salary until Bailey pushes Amelia into the Chief’s office to pretend she wants to be chief. The whole purpose of it was, of course, pushing Teddy to accept the offer. Thankfully she does.
At the end of the episode, we see - as always - Maggie and Winston fighting again about the whole specialty thing. I’m not even gonna spend words on this because it looks like the same scene repeating itself over and over again since November. I don’t like this at all, not for the couple itself, but for the useless storyline. Link’s surgery apparently goes well, until his patient starts coding out of nowhere, because of a clot…and both he and the rest of the surgeons end up at the center of the storm, attacked by the media, for “k*lling” the football player. At the end of the episode, we see him blaming himself - although it wasn’t his fault. In the elevator, we see Lucas joining Simone to go home, and while he starts talking about his patient of the day, she kisses him. But as they arrive home, they’re joined by Simone’s ex-fiancée…leaving Lucas a little shocked.
19.09 – Love Don’t Cost a Thing
This episode starts where we left the previous one, with Simone meeting her ex-fiancee at the house, but we see them fighting in her bedroom, just the day after Trey arrived. Mika and Lucas are organizing a party while talking about Simone and Trey…and Mika says she’s #TeamLucas. And I agree.
Maggie should perform a new complex procedure, and Blue is supposed to assist her in the surgery the next morning. While Jules tries to steal his place - they have a love/hate relationship apparently - she shows Maggie how good she is and how much she studied for it, leaving Blue proud, after all. (I love them)
In the next scene, we go back to Grey’s house, and we see Simone and Trey still fighting about how he betrayed her and didn’t understand her suffering (and I agree with her). They’re a very weird couple.
Maggie’s patient started coding while Jules was examining her, and Maggie asks the residents to page Amelia for a neurosurgical consult. She’s about to go home with Scout, and she runs into Lincoln, leaving the baby with him. While he’s preparing Scout to go, a pregnant woman runs into the OR and asks for help…Lincoln helps her but gets “stuck” with the patient because she doesn’t wanna let go of his hand, which would lead him to follow both Jo and the patient to a room.
Back at Grey’s house, the party has started, and while Mika is spending her time with Helm, poor Lucas has to watch Simone spending time with Trey, while he treats her like shit. He talks poorly about the people at the party, and when Simone tried to defend them saying those are “her people” he suddenly got defensive and started diminishing all of her friends and colleagues. He tells her she can come back to her old program, if she presents her case and apologize - she has NOTHING to apologize for, anyway. He clearly is a classist snob.
At Teddy and Owen’s house, they’re having dinner with Bailey and Ben, and they talk about how their lives are going…although there’s tension in the air after Allison bit Prue again.
Back at the hospital, we see Blue like we’ve never seen him before. He cares very much about Maggie’s patient and their economic situation. The illness, the treatments, and the hospitalizations are drowning them. He tells her it’s convenient to divorce so that the patient’s debts can’t hurt her husband too and get more insurance advantages…it’s called “medical divorce.” Maggie intervenes, stopping him from creating a mess, and scolds him, saying he shouldn't have done that. Blue pretended to be cynical in the first episodes, but he’s very - rightfully - emotional when it comes to patient’s rights and safety.
Simone and Luke reunite at the house, and Luke says she’s perfect to him, and that she’s the smartest woman he knows. She kisses him and they almost start sleeping together, until her ex stops them, knocking at her bedroom door. Luke detaches from her and tells Simone to choose Trey if the loves him. Still, at the party, Schmidt finally met a new guy, Carlos, a nurse. They start talking about their lives, and how their mothers tend to not appreciate their love lives specifically.
Back and Teddy and Owen’s house, they’re having dinner with Bailey and Ben, and Bailey asks Teddy if she’s reviewing some resumes for the Chief of Trauma position. Owen gets upset because he thought the position was his. She says it’s easier to hire a permanent chief than an interim one, and it’s not a personal decision but a business one. Bailey stops their infinite discussion saying they have to stop being this nasty to each other. If Allison is biting Prue, is their fault because their rage and nastiness are influencing others (Allison included), and they have to work on their issues.
Back at the party, Trey proposed to Simone and she…accepted. I really don’t know what to say about it. They wanna make us wait for her and Luke, but this engagement thing could’ve been avoided. Embarrassing. At the very end of the party night, we see Mika dancing with Helm and Lucas, to help Lucas distract himself from Simone’s situation. We also see Schmidt and Carlos making out so… I can’t wait to see where these storylines are gonna bring us.
As they go home, Bailey and Ben discuss her work. She’s busting her ass off to work but to also give time to her family, she’s cutting her hours and working weekends, but for Ben, this isn’t enough. He gave up this discussion but I think he’s gonna bring it up again, and I hope they won’t break them up too, or else- I don’t know.
In the next scene, we see Kwan discussing with Maggie what he did. And he explain her mother would’ve “divorced” him if they could, because he opened credit cards to help her get treated, and now when he has to pay his mother's medical bills, it feels very bad.
Jo's patient gave birth, with Link’s help. And as he goes home from the hospital, she asks Amelia how she let someone like him go, and Amelia said Link wasn’t perfect for her, but maybe she’s perfect for Jo. Maybe this will change something between them, finally.
At the end of the episode, we see Schmidt walking into the hospital, and finally talking to the residents like he’s not bored by the job anymore. I feel like this relationship is gonna be good for him.
What did you think of these episodes? Did you like it? Let me know in the comments!
