If there’s one thing that we know about Grey’s Anatomy’s Catherine — and let’s be real, there are several! — it’s that she isn’t afraid to throw her weight around. In Thursday’s episode, the ABC drama’s first since its (midseason?) break, she did exactly that, leaning hard on Link and Monica to make sure that the daughter of moneybags donors leaves the hospital in working order. Yet even that might not have been the tensest situation to erupt at Grey Sloan this week. What was? Read on…
‘THAT FAMILY FLIES FIRST-CLASS, YOU JUST OFFERED THEM COACH’ | As “The Marathon Continues” began, Link and Amelia squabbled about Scout’s screen time, Helm learned that Mika was ticked because her girlfriend had kept her off an impalement case (remember that?), and Catherine noted that Richard was taking yet another admin day. While Lucas passed on a night of “studying” with Simone, Bailey delivered wellness kits to the interns in hopes that they wouldn’t burn out. They were, predictably, more interested in finishing their logbooks. Blue had a different take on Miranda’s gesture: He suspected that Simone had blabbed to Bailey what he’d said on the roof in the last episode. (She had not.) “If Bailey wanted to make us feel better,” Griffith cracked, “she should give us raises.” Overhearing, Miranda sent them home. Ironically, that was when they began to appreciate Bailey’s wellness kit: Blue cooked them up a lovely meal.
After Link and Monica evaluated Missy, the cyclist daughter of Catherine’s VIP pals, the duo suggested giving the amputee a residual limb revision. That wasn’t nearly groundbreaking enough for the boss, though. She warned them that they’d have to come up with something more exciting, or when donations dipped, the docs’ salaries would, too. Link did come up with an idea — risky as per usual at Grey Sloan, but Monica agreed to it if Missy and her folks did. Later, with an assist from Beltran, who admitted, “This whole thing sucks,” Missy and her family got on board. Anything to get the teenager as close to back to normal as possible. In surgery, a complication arose that would require Link to take more of Missy’s femur than she’d already lost. “Maybe we should have stuck with the original plan,” Dad said. Catherine backed him. But Link managed to convince Mom and Dad that the potential reward outweighed the risk. Thankfully, his Hail Mary pass worked.
‘I WAS SHOT BECAUSE I HAD $40K IN MY PANTS — NOT ALL OF MY IDEAS ARE GOOD’ | Checking in on a still-hospitalized Dorian, Richard and Lucas reported that the patient was anemic. He was also sick of needles and tests and wanted to go home. “Out!” he ordered Adams. Not to worry, Webber told Dorian’s mom. They wouldn’t give up on him. But alone with Lucas, the patient made a compelling case for why he needed a break. Later, Dorian started vomiting blood — and not in an elegant Satine in Moulin Rouge way. When Richard arrived on the scene, he froze — only for a moment, but he did. Then he rode to the rescue like it was as easy as pie, in Lucas’ estimation. Still, Webber seemed shaken afterwards. In other developments, Levi pitched Monica the notion of her backing him for a peds fellowship — to no avail. Maybe if she knew how far he’d come since he was “Glasses”?
In a rarely seen area of Grey Sloan, Teddy and Mika treated a convict named Jimenez who was in for a TB test. A scan revealed that that was definitely not what was ailing the patient. What was? Teddy wouldn’t even say it aloud, it was so bad. Turned out the patient’s insides were covered in lesions. “It’s definitely inoperable,” Teddy thought. Mika was appalled — he’d been getting sick for a while, and nothing had been done to help him. There were treatments that could be considered, Altman said. But they might make Jimenez feel worse, not better — and they wouldn’t save him. That being the case, he elected to pass on treatment. Mika argued that they could get him into a clinical trial. “Just because the system failed him doesn’t mean that we have to.” In response, Teddy said that sometimes they had to trust that their patients knew their lives and their experiences better than they possibly could. It was good that Mika cared, though, she added. Not everyone does.
‘THE BEST STUFF IS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THIS’ | As the hour drew to a close, Bailey complained to Owen about how tired she was, what with her having four jobs and all. “When was the last time you took a day off?” Hunt asked. Maybe she needed to take care of herself a bit. Sweetly, Blue reassured Simone that, while med school had been rough, he’d gotten through it; she didn’t need to worry about him. Off Schmitt’s assist during Missy’s surgery, he pleaded with Monica to offer him some validation. It’s human, he said. “It’s needy,” she replied, challenging him to show her more passion for peds, and then they’d talk. Before Jimenez was taken back to prison, Mika raced to give him a piece of coffee cake. He’d really made an impression on Yasuda. Spying Dorian’s mom hugging Richard, Catherine snarked, “Do I need to tell that woman to keep her hands off my man?” When Amelia happened upon Monica playing something like Candy Crush on a bench outside the hospital, they actually bonded. Beltran had lost a NICU patient and was gutted. Helm apologized to Mika but maintained that she couldn’t play favorites. Taryn also said that Lucas had finished his logbook, so her girlfriend was one step closer to returning to the O.R. “It doesn’t matter,” Yasuda said. Something was definitely up. At Bailey and Ben’s, the couple enjoyed a little self-care in the tub. And finally, Lucas stopped by the intern house… only to find Blue moving in.