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Pretty crazy that there's no erosion at all from this time last year. Scandal is down 41%.

Meredith said she had filmed some 'fun' scenes so I assumed they were going to go light with the Will storyline, but who knows. It does sound like maybe they sleep together and she quickly regrets it. I'm actually really excited to see this story unfold. It's fun new territory for Meredith. Otherwise that PR is a yawn for me.... more Maggie / Andrew and MORE Amelia 'examining' her relationship with Owen. They're so stagnant. Where are the stories for Callie, Bailey, Arizona, Alex and the rest of the cast?

I really enjoyed this week again. I liked that almost everyone was given something to do. I also liked the cases, and I thought it was generally pretty well written and paced. I'm glad to see Meredith taking baby steps and it was definitely nice to see them throw Ben a bone and give the dude something to do. I hope he and Bailey get an actual storyline as the season progresses. There's still no reason for Penny to be there, I just don't get it. I think Meredith's line about wanting her over Jo was the writers just dropping a hint about the confrontation next week. I was happy that we got minimal Amelia scenes tonight, though. At this point the Maggie / DeLuca stuff is getting on my nerves a bit - the pacing of it all is odd and I just don't know much about him or really care. I feel like every time we see him he's leaving an on-call room. Let's give the guy some depth. I did love Arizona telling Maggie how painful her little speech to Riggs was. I feel ya, Arizona. Overall, though, I really did like the episode tonight. It was light and entertaining and it had some fun character interactions.

I'm actually struggling to remember the last time we had a multi-episode patient arc. I certainly would prefer him coming on that way. Especially with the continuity being sort of all over the place lately, it'd be nice to have a steady storyline carrying some doctors episode-to-episode. I also can't help think that maybe Windsprints is on to something in guessing that he's a love interest for Steph - Shonda has never kept a character around for this long without a romantic connection. As we get to the back-half, there's a good chunk of characters who have been given no real arcs or stories this year: Steph, Ben, Bailey, Callie and Arizona come to mind (I don't consider Penny an arc for Callie as she's more an after-thought in the whole thing.) I think Shonda was likely going to give AZ a love interest but when Capshaw got pregnant she probably switched over to the 'casual dating' storyline to minimize her screentime. I hope something substantial is given to Bailey, I really miss her.

Not only was Grey's the highest rated drama (on broadcast) in the demo this week, but it was ABCs 2nd highest rated scripted series overall in the demo: -Modern Family: 2.6 -Grey's Anatomy: 2.2 -The Goldbergs: 2.1 -Real O'Neals: 1.8 & 1.9 (Double-episode series premiere) -The Family: 1.5 (Series premiere special airing) -HTGAWM: 1.4 -Once Upon a Time: 1.3 -Castle: 1.1 -Quantico: 1.1 -Dr. Ken: 1.1 -Muppets: 0.9 -American Crime: 0.8 -The Family: 0.8 (Regular timeslot) -Agent Carter: 0.7

I think it would be cool if rather than a full-on reboot they did a Netflix mini-series revival or something (like they're doing with Gilmore Girls.) 4 episodes or so, telling one story, with the original cast. Victor Garber could appear as Jack in flashbacks rather than bringing him back from the dead - same with Ron Rifkin (although technically he's alive...) They could make it so that the flashbacks are integral to the plot, and Alias had enough players that I don't think it would feel too odd without him being alive. Bring back Syd, Vaughn, Marshall, Dixon, Sark, Will, Weiss, Kendall, maybe Katya for an episode. I think if they could get JJ committed to at least helping plot out the story, it could be great.

Grey's did a 2.2 in the demo last night, up 0.1 from last week. I believe that will make it the top-rated drama in the demo on TV this week.

Too much Penny and Amelia for my taste (ugh) otherwise tonight's episode is really great so far. Nice balance of a few different stories and just enough callbacks without being over-the-top. I've got 15 minutes to go.

I write for a TV website and the majority of comments I've been reading about Grey's this year really are a whole lot more positive than I've seen in a few years. Lots of "Grey's has their mojo back!" and the episode ratings from fans have tended to be a lot higher than I've seen in a while. I do agree, though, that a lot of events have certainly led to this season getting more easy buzz, and sadly the positive reviews / press / ratings likely really are giving the writers the idea that everything is going perfectly. For me, personally, I've enjoyed this season week-to-week certainly more than the last two, and probably more than I have since S8. I think the back-half of 10 was a real low-point for the show. What's so frustrating to me is the feeling that there are a few things the writers could so easily change that I think would make the show so much better, and they all seem so obvious. I thought they got off to a great start and now it just feels like everything is getting jumbled. I understand that's an easy thing to say from a fan perspective, but how can the writers not realize how sidelined so many fan-favourite characters have been or how lacking some of the stories are? It just sort of baffles me.

When I look back at early seasons, what sticks out the most in terms of difference to now is that we followed the SAME characters every week. Every regular character had significant screen time in pretty much every single episode, so there was never the feeling of stories being lost or not knowing what was going on. Of course there's always ebb and flow so certain characters would take the spotlight at times, but for the first several seasons we never had any regular characters as sidelined as they are now. When George got backburned in S5, it was immediately noticeable because it had never happened before. Now more than half the cast is underused, often given a line or two per episode or used as props for other characters. It just doesn't give the same experience because it doesn't allow us to invest in the stories - like someone pointed out, even as an Alex fan, it's hard to really give a shit whether or not Jo will say yes to his proposal because the story has just been told so disjointedly.

I know many disagree, but again for me the biggest single issue is cast size. There's just no way they can write deep, effective stories for all of these characters. I'm among those who didn't have a problem with the Meredith-centric episode and actually really enjoyed it, but I just wish the writers would figure out what they're trying to do and commit to telling those stories. Overall, I am really enjoying this season a lot more than I have the past few, but if we keep treading water it's going to get old very fast. Hopefully these next few episodes start to push forward - especially for Jo / Alex and Arizona. It's funny because the reaction online in other websites is overwhelmingly positive, and the consensus seems to be that Grey's is having a renaissance of sorts. I do partially agree, but I think there are a few key things that are really keeping it from being GREAT again (Penny, Amelia / Owen, Maggie edging out every other character for screentime, stories popping up and dropping, etc.) They've done it a lot in the past too, though - season 6 had two big time jumps, first after George's death and then the Holidaze episode. I don't think they've ever worked very well to be honest because all they do is skip over important emotional cues. After George died, I didn't buy that Meredith waited months to finally cry or that Cristina suddenly realized 'George is dead' after sex with Owen. It's almost always just a terrible idea. I get what they were going for after Derek's death, but it really robbed us of seeing a lot of emotional fallout and it just stunted so many characters (most notably, to me, Arizona and Alex / Jo.)

I actually didn't mind this episode. With 24 episodes per season, I guess there is naturally going to be some filler type episodes - but after getting a ton of screentime around Samuel's illness last year, this story sort of just dropped (in terms of watching how it affected them.) But, yea, I'll take this type of bubble episode over some of the ones we got last year (the horrific 'Owen and Amelia talking a little girl through surgery over the phone'....) I'm not a big Jackson / April fan (especially April) but I thought the actors were both great here and the writing ranged from OK to good. I certainly didn't expect her to be knocked up (those GSM men have some super duper sperm.) This episode actually drilled home to me how incompatible I think they are: like some of you have said, when the same argument recurs for years and it isn't something trivial, you think they'd maybe catch on that it isn't working. But it seems to me that Shonda believes these two are destined, so I expect a reunion by the end of the year. I'd sort of love to see Jackson start moving on before he knows April is pregnant..... Sarah Drew confirmed in her EW interview today that Jackson had already signed the papers. Please God, no :( Amelia / Owen / Maggie have been given enough forefront that we don't need any centric episodes. But, yea, knowing the way the writers clearly seem to feel about them it may not be that far off. As much as I hate Penny, I'd rather a Callie / Penny centric episode to maybe explain what the hell Callie is supposed to see in her. Even a Bailey / Ben episode, considering they never have anything to do. I'm guessing episode 3 is the only Alex-centric episode we'll be getting this year, but I'm hoping now that this and the Meredith episode are out of the way we're clear of these type of episodes for a while and can start to focus on telling some long-running and interesting stories for every member of the cast. The scene in the nursery where he asked her if she wanted to try again was, I though, particularly heart-breaking and despite being quick, gave a nice glimpse into both of their mindsets and how tough that entire processes was for them / how they coped. "Fine, I'll just go work."

Thanks for sharing. So this confirms the other actors will really only pop up in passing. On one hand, I love that we're getting a story in-depth that doesn't involve Amelia / Maggie, and I tend to like the more focused episodes because the storytelling is more organic and not so jumpy - but the other part of me knows that, realistically, they can't possibly do bubble episodes for every character that I think needs or deserves one. It also gets annoying when every other story is put on hold for weeks (this is our 2nd 'bubble' episode already out of just 3 since the show returned.) I wish that they weren't at a place that leaves so many characters so sidelined that they need these type of episodes. I'm starting to think Callie / Alex / Bailey / Ben / Jo / Arizona / Richard / Stef will continue to be after-thoughts this year, though I hope I'm wrong (except about Stef... I don't care about Stef at all.)

The Tweets segments are filmed over time so that they can get a wide group of actors / musicians altogether, so it's possible that she read some backstage. I'd love to see her pop up in an upcoming Mean Tweets segment, too. I expected fluff, no one really goes on late night shows to talk about anything of substance. It's just to keep her name / the show out there.

Totally random thought just occurred to me - Arizona went to trivia night with Richard, Callie was hanging out at Meredith's... WHERE WAS SOFIA?!?

I've been thinking a lot about what will happen if Sara decides to leave. I agree that killing off Mark and Derek made the most sense, because to me it would have been nothing short of character assassination to have either of them just up and leave their kids. I don't think anyone was interested in seeing a Meredith / Derek divorce story. In my mind, that would have undercut 11 years of writing for them as a couple. With Sara, I don't know how how Shonda would approach it if she decided to leave. Would they really kill off such a long-running cast member just a year after Derek's death? I'm really not sure. I hope we don't have to see Callie die, but I also hope they don't find some obnoxious way to write her off with Penny and leave Sofia in a house with Arizona and Andrew (honestly, does Sofia even exist anymore?) I hope Sara signs back on and continues until the series wraps. I'd really love all of the original regulars to stick around, at this point. Anyone beyond that I could do without. Here's a general question: How do people feel about Grey's without Meredith? I know there are a lot of people who really don't enjoy her character - do you think the show would suffer without her? Or could they go on? To me, I think her departure would be the one thing that could totally kill the series ratings-wise and storywise. I just can't see it working without her at the center.

The Oprah interview where Shonda discussed Dempsey's departure and then Ellen's interview in Cosmo basically sealed the deal for me. Shonda said Ellen wanted to continue telling this story and essentially Patrick was ready to go - ie, they knew he wouldn't resign after 12. So if Ellen was feeling the same, then they would have just kept Patrick around and wrapped up their story together. Having him leave seems, to me at least, a relatively obvious sign that they wanted to continue the show and bring in new stories to keep it fresh.

Cowardly? All actors do that unless they're given permission, lol. As for the title, I wonder if we're having someone's mom show up?

At this point I'd say there's basically 0% chance of Ellen not signing back on, whether it's for 1 year or 2. ABC will without-a-doubt pay her whatever she wants, basically. Grey's is still their most viable hit, and one of the most buzzed about and watched shows for young adults on TV. It seems that Ellen and Shonda both want to continue on with the show, which makes sense. Dempsey would not have been killed off last year if the they were ending it this year. We could have got a MerDer happy ending, no doubt. I think the appearance will be mostly fluff, but I wouldn't be surprised if they announced her contract soon.

New episode titles from SpoilerTV: 12.13 - All Eyez on Me 12.14 - Odd Man Out I think the next episode will be 99% April / Jackson with other characters thrown in for dressing on their storyline.

They can have someone 'guest' for as long as they want. Jason George guested in 40+ episodes before becoming a regular.

Those drops for Scandal and HTGAWM are crazy, but I actually stopped watching Scandal this season. It's always been ridiculous, but it used to be entertaining. Now it just isn't. Grey's is remarkably steady.

Just about 30 minutes in and so far it's pretty enjoyable. Therapy scenes are good, the main case with Alex is interesting (he's getting probably the most screen time aside from Meredith.) Penny has an incredibly annoying scene that will make people groan. Not sure why it was even in there. So far no Arizona or Ben tonight. Edit: WOW! A scene at Arizona & DeLuca's house. Edit #2: A Jo / Stef / Penny / Ben hangout scene.......

Again, the biggest issue to me is the cast size. When actors are made series regulars, it should mean that they're part of the main focus of the series and stories. It doesn't seem to mean anything on this show anymore. Bailey has been ridiculously underused for years now. Callie has been sidelined for two years, Arizona all season, and Ben and Steph have never even been given real arcs (not that I'm dying to see more of those two.) Alex and Jo have been stuck in a never-ending circle of nothing for several seasons. Fewer characters would mean more time to focus on each story - it means things can be told organically, without having to skip over important events and without sidelining some actors for entire seasons. If Maggie, Amelia, and Steph weren't around we could have instead focused on Meredith and characters that already exist, like Jo or Callie or Bailey. We could have more time to focus on Jo / Alex rather than Maggie / DeLuca and Amelia / Owen (another relationship which has been a never-ending circle of nothing.) Of course we need fresh blood every now and then, it keeps things fresh - but not every doctor that comes through the doors needs to be made a regular. As it stands, they're giving stories to Meredith, Amelia, Owen, Maggie, Riggs, April, Jackson and using other characters in supporting roles in each of those stories (Arizona as April's best friend, Alex as Meredith's). Every other character gets sporadic single-episode arcs or is inserted somehow into those main stories.

If Penny were written off, I think everyone would forget about her quickly. There have been plenty of guest stars in a recurring capacity that just didn't work out and ended up leaving - Sadie, Reed, Dr Dixon, etc.. But keeping her until at least 12x18 signifies to me that she's not going anywhere. I fear they'll go the way of Amelia / Maggie with her rather than Ben / Steph - I can see Shonda putting her in the forefront even more next year, finding a new love interest for her, or developing a story for Penny / Callie. I hope I'm wrong.