Thanks to medical shows like ER and GREY'S ANATOMY, I am terrified that my penchant for French fries as a meal in and of itself, mixed with tying my shoe laces too tight will cause an aneurysm to explode in my brain one day. In Thursday night's episode, cheesesteaks and fried food eventually lead to cancer in a patient who claimed to have so much to do in a day that Dr. Bailey (Chandra Wilson) had to trump him by reminding him that she was a doctor.
Wagging her finger at his indifference to keeping track of his health, sparked Bailey to do a work up on herself. Even doctors suffer from what we layman get when we get the sniffles and hit up Web MD. She decided she was in terrible condition, too, and started secretly jogging to prevent herself from dropping dead. Speaking of which, the aforementioned cheesesteak guy did die and we got to see his family's reaction to the news in a series of black and white cross shots. They're pain was disheartening, but it was Bailey's face that really brought the moment home for me.
McDreamy Derek (Patrick Dempsey) decided it was time to cure some family woes. He planned a dinner that Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) didn't want to have, featuring her half-sister, Maggie (Kelly McCreary), that she didn't really want to know. Oh, and he also invited Maggie's biological dad, Richard (James Pickens, Jr.), who Maggie didn't want anything to do with. The best part of this whole cluster, was when Derek said that these people were Meredith's family and wasn't family the reason why she refused to move to DC with him, causing him to give up his dream job working for Obama? Granted he didn't exactly say that, but Meredith read between the not-so-blurred lines and flipped out on him for tossing the White House in her face again. Derek apologized, she acquiesced to the dinner and all was well for at least two more seconds in Shondaland.
Fast forward to the night of the dinner where Meredith freaked out because what was sure to be a hella awkward dinner was about a half an hour away and they weren't near ready. The table wasn't set, she didn't want anyone to come, and she wasn't even showered yet. Way to go Derek; great planning! Oh wait, this was great planning because Derek had to shower, too. Their relationship is so weird. It's become increasingly strained this season; openly hostile, but in a comical way. While they had pseudo makeup sex in the shower, Richard and Maggie show up one after the other at their front door. They have what seemed like the beginning of a heart to heart. Richard apologized for not being there for her. He would've liked to have been a father. Cue the harps! Wait, hold the harps, because Maggie told him that he was nothing but her "genetic history," and that she already had a father. She wasn't pissed that he wasn't there for her growing up; she was pissed that he let her confide in him while knowing full well what their connection was. She felt like a fool and she wasn't ready to forgive that. She turned and left in a quick "bye Felicia" moment. Derek emerged moments later, all too pleased with his recent romp. Their contrasting moods were humorous for a second, before Richard's distraught expression brought me to tears.
Jo (Camilla Luddington) had some screen time, too. She flipped out on Alex about their eventual break up. He didn't know what the hell she was talking about. She claimed that everything eventually ended and that she was freaked about getting too attached to him, his home, his bed. Alex assured her that she was being insane and that he wasn't going anywhere. I had actually forgotten she was on the show.
A pretty pregnant April (Sarah Drew) was ambushed at the hospital by her hottie husband doctor, Jackson (Jesse Williams), and her mother, Karen Kepner (Connie Ray). Karen wanted April to take the day off and go with her to create a baby registry. April reminded her that she was a doctor and, you know, saving lives, etc. Jackson said he had a light day and would love to go shopping with Karen, so off they went. When April came home she found that they had purchased every baby item in the world, and had shipped some antique Kepner crib to their home. Surprise! When Karen offered to whip up dinner, April lost it and told her she wasn't needed. Jackson told her she needed to chill out. While April thought her mom was being condescending and pushy, it turned out that Jackson had asked for her help because he came from a robot family and was terrified about knowing nothing about raising children. His fear was beautiful. He built a chair! Karen called April out later in the episode; informing her that she wasn't judging her for her life choices and that she was entitled to help out because she was a grandmother and DEAL WITH IT. *Hugs*
Dr. Herman (Geena Davis) continued being unresponsive to Arizona's (Jessica Capshaw) bubbly personality and willingness to learn. Bad Dr. Herman! Don't you know that Arizona's marriage is OVER and she's basically living in the hospital in order to be at your beck and call? Herman had an emergency and abruptly left Arizona alone with the Bible of medical notes for an upcoming procedure. When Arizona asked if she was okay, Herman made it very clear that it was none of her concern, and that should Arizona have any questions, she needed to check the notes. Arizona thought Herman was hazing her, a point she brought up to Alex (Justin Chambers), who snapped at her that no one forced her into that Fellowship and she wasn't allowed to cry because it was getting hard. All this negativity and no Callie (Sara Ramirez) to fall back on. Arizona!
During the procedure, Arizona didn't repeat Herman's words verbatim and that was a no no. Alex decided that there couldn't be that many jerks in the room and stuck up for Arizona, but Herman shut that down, too. At this point I decided that it would either be revealed that she was the greatest teacher in the world or the biggest sociopath in Seattle. Later, Arizona explained to Alex that she felt like she had to allow Dr. Herman to treat her like crap, because she thinks taking the fellowship was the final straw that broke her marriage's back. Alex, who is becoming everyone's Cristina (Sandra Oh, #NEVERFORGET), told her that that wasn't a good enough reason to be a doormat.
Near the episode's end, Arizona was about to politely tell Herman that she needed to calm the hell down and just teach her like a sane person, when it was revealed that Herman was dying and only had 6 months to live. So yea, she could spend the time babying Arizona or she could beat her to death with information so that Arizona could be the next Grand Poobah of fetal medicine. Arizona didn't know how she felt about that new info, and Geena Davis was the human form of this emoji:
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What did you think about Thursday night's episode? Many, many plot lines; only one hour. Are you pumped for next week's Shondariffic rollercoaster? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below.
Photo Credit: ABC
