Grey's Anatomy recap: Boundaries are there to be pushed

Family dynamics can be tricky. Especially if your family doesn’t look like a traditional family one might find on a sitcom in the ’90s. Times are changing. Lines are often crossed. And at the end of the day, you have to choose if you’re going to respect the boundary that has been put in place or blow right through it without a care in the world.

Amelia/Owen/Leo/Betty
This family is about as unconventional as it gets. Betty, who we learned is Brittany, has run away from the rehab center and Amelia is in major freak out mode. Things get a little more complicated when Brittany’s parents show up to the hospital in search of details. It seems Brittany called mom and dad before ditching rehab. When her parents arrived at the center, their daughter was long gone. But management did give them Amelia’s name and they are ready for blanks to be filled in.

If you were distracted like me, wondering why Brittany’s mother Carol looked so familiar, never fear. I’m here to save the day, assuming you haven’t already Googled it. That’s none other than Jennifer Grey. The same one who was stuck in a corner during the last dance of the season on Dirty Dancing. Mystery solved. Let’s move on.

It’s been a year-and-a-half since Brittany left home. Amelia shares that “Betty” has been living with them for a few months. She tried calling her parents, but Brittany gave her the wrong number. Carol is dumbfounded. How did Amelia meet Brittany? Did she come to the hospital looking for drugs? Why did she start looking after her? Amelia explains that Brittany had a doctors appointment for Leo and she took her on because she knew she was trying hard to stay off drugs for him.

Carol: “Leo? Who’s Leo? Is that her boyfriend?”

See? Family dynamics can be hard. Just roll with it.

Needless to say, Carol and her husband John want to meet Leo. He is their grandchild, after all. They snuggle and cuddle as the vein in Owen’s head threatens to pop. He heads to trauma to cool off and is met with a sea of Scottish men in kilts carrying bagpipes. Although I really could have used some subtitles to translate the thick Gaelic accents, I was able to pick up through context clues that a boy was shot during a parade and a handful were injured trying to escape.

Seamus, the father of the boy, refuses to leave his side as Owen and Karev work to save his life. The parade of bagpipers decide to lift the boy’s spirits with an impromptu show in the ambulance bay but are quickly shut down. We don’t know if it was a safety reason or the quality of their music. When it’s time to take Seamus’ son to the OR, he melts down. Owen looks him straight in the eyes and vows to take care of his son. The man releases his grip and joins his plaid-clad brethren.

Back at the hospital daycare, Carol also melts down. She questions her ability as a mother and assumes Amelia thinks the worst of her. Carol admits that she lost her little girl a long time ago and wonders if she can ever get her back. Amelia consoles the distraught woman by offering some hope. She took Brittany in because she was an addict, too. She got help, just like Brittany, and Amelia knows Brittany misses her mother more than anything. But Brittany has to work through her shame. The girl Carol knew is still in there.

Over in the waiting room, Owen gives Seamus and the guys the good news that his boy made it through. There’s a lovely reunion when the son wakes up that twists Owen’s heart. He has to leave the room when Seamus tells his son that he will always be there for him.

Owen rushes down to hold Leo and he hears John tell Carol that the hotel is putting a crib in their room. Excuse me? Owen stands tall claiming that they can’t take Leo because they are strangers. Amelia and Owen are his family. Oh, and by the way, Owen is Leo’s legal guardian so if they want this baby they need to pony up a lawyer. This is the moment John shows his hand. Why would they leave their grandson with a drug addict?

Owen’s face turns to Amelia as John and Carol leave. He loses his mind, even when Amelia reminds Owen that he is Leo’s foster parent. Remember when he said he wanted Leo’s mother in his life? And why doesn’t he care more that Brittany is missing? Owen scoffs at the notion. Brittany has never been much of a mother.

So I’m guessing we aren’t doing family photos on the holiday card this year? (Continued on next page)

Maggie/Kiki/Meredith/DeLuca
Raise your hand if you totally forgot that Maggie and DeLuca once dated? That was me. I was surprised to see Meredith trying to get permission from Maggie to go out on a date with DeLuca and was equally confused when Maggie didn’t seem to care.

Scratch that. It’s not that Maggie didn’t care. Maggie was zoned out and extremely distracted. Why? Because her med school bully Kiki waltzed into Grey Sloan Memorial for a heart valve replacement. The old graft in her aorta is giving out and she wants Maggie to save her life since no one else is brave enough to take on her very dangerous surgery.

Worst day ever. Maggie doesn’t hide the fact that she can’t stand Kiki and even confesses that she often wished Kiki would die. It’s extremely dark, yes, but entirely true. And now Kiki has set her up to be the one to kill her either by doing the surgery or not doing the surgery. When she breaks the news to Kiki that she won’t open her up, Kiki softens and begs her to try. She knows she was horrible to Maggie and she doesn’t want to go to hell. Because if there is one, Kiki’s got a first class ticket.

After Meredith gets distracted by DeLuca’s hotness and then reprimands him for “looking at her that way,” she approaches Maggie again to talk about her pending date. Maggie is still conflicted by Kiki and ignores the relationship talk in lieu of a more important issue at hand. If you can’t operate on people you love, why isn’t it true for people you hate?

Meredith pushes her sister to think abstractly. Could she insert the graft from below? Maggie considers. It’s never been done. But no one said it couldn’t be done. Meredith offers to scrub in and have her sister’s back. Maggie saves her arch nemesis in less than forty minutes and basks in the glory of her accomplishment.

Riding this high, Meredith asks one more time if she can date DeLuca. Once Maggie realizes she’s completely discarded Meredith all day, she gives her permission. It’s weird, but DeLuca is a good guy. Meredith once again tells DeLuca that he can’t take her out, but she will take him out. Then they kiss like they’ve been dating forever. It was abrupt. I feel like we need their relationship to unfold a bit more. I’m still deciding if I’m Team MerLuca, but appreciate the build up. I just need more regular dating than two people acting like an old married couple.

Teddy/Senior Trio/Koracick
This storyline was the strangest of them all. An older trio comes into the hospital because the woman is dizzy and hears bells. Teddy and Koracick are on the job, yet they can’t really tell if the husband is the man on the left or the man on the right.

It turns out, one is the husband and one is the best friend. Isn’t that convenient? Teddy has to watch a husband dote on a wife while the male best friend stands on the sidelines. She doesn’t believe this can work. If one holds the torch, the other will get burned.

After a successful surgery to remove an aneurysm, Teddy tells the two men that everything is going to be okay. The husband holds back and assures Teddy that this is a healthy, functioning family dynamic. His wife and her friend made the decision a long time ago to let their love be a friendship. Alternatively, he’s her third husband, but she only has one best friend. And that relationship is just as important as family. Maybe more. Why would you want to jeopardize that?

Cue Teddy telling Owen that they should be besties. If Amelia is ever in the hospital, Teddy will be right there to give her support because if the senior trio can do it, so can she. Then Teddy goes to Koracick’s hotel room and makes out with him. I wonder if he’ll be invited to Amelia’s hospital stay?

Karev/Bailey
And in the most boring plotline ever, Bailey wants to be chief again because she’s jealous of Karev’s success. No one considers her the boss anymore (because she’s not) and she marches into Karev’s office to tell him that he is free to go back to pediatrics. Alex laughs at her and reminds Bailey that he has a six-month contract. The paycheck is dope and he’s not leaving until that last day.

Bailey: “I didn’t expect you to survive your intern year.”
Alex: “Huh?”
Bailey: “I’m saying I’m proud of you, Karev.”

Aww, look at the OG Grey’s Anatomy cast. They love each other. Just like family.

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