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A lot of TV shows do this. Grey's, especially, has always played with / disregarded time. The first 3 seasons took place over a single year and the rest have been all over the map. I don't really pay attention to timeline anymore. It's parallel Grey's universe now, lol. Anything goes. I'm a fan of Denzel as an actor, so I'm excited to see how he does here. I'm a bit of a film nerd, and I tend to pay attention to directorial choices and often think they can make or break an episode. I'm also excited for some scenes with the kids, finally! Probably my biggest complaint about the first 8 episodes was the total lack of seeing Meredith with her children. All 3 of those guys are (oddly) now series regulars. They get whoever is available. Lots of the cast is likely on set filming.

Me too. I'm very excited for lots of Meredith / Alex scenes. Everyone seems to be raving about both Ellen and Justin's performances in the episode. I really think this is going to be a great episode that will lead to some great storylines. I can't wait for next Thursday!

Looking through Twitter the reaction to the episode is overwhelmingly positive, which is great.

New Camilla interview here. Not much new, but she talks about 12x09 and beyond. http://www.ew.com/article/2016/02/04/greys-anatomy-camilla-luddington-scoop?xid=entertainment-weekly_socialflow_twitter

I really warmed up to Maggie by the end of last season. I was actually rooting for a potential pairing with Alex. But it seems like they really turned her up to 11 this year, and it just gets on my nerves. I think the actress is fine (good, even) but Maggie has become too obnoxious and I just hate to see any one character be given so much focus while so many others are totally ignored.

Meredith had several years around the middle of the series where she wasn't much more than a part of the ensemble and often got little, sporadic, or virtually no storylines. I believe it was a time when Shonda was prepping for the possibility of the series going on without Ellen. Now Shonda appears to be writing her as the lead again since Ellen seems to be committed to the show until the end, and I think that's a great thing (though I know not everyone feels that way, which is fine.) So, no, I don't think we'll see a drastic reduction in her screentime anytime soon. I hate Amelia, but she's been made a main focus since she entered last year. Ditto for Maggie, though I don't quite hate her, I'm just not a fan. She's gotten increasingly annoying to me this season, mostly because of her ridiculous dialogue. I'd much rather less screen time be given Maggie and Amelia than less time for Alex, Callie, Bailey, etc. They've been short-changed a lot recently. But I'm fine with, and in fact prefer, Meredith remaining the center of the show. The scene from the promo where Alex kisses Mer's forehead appears to show her sitting up in bed and smiling / laughing, so I think her recovery will happen fairly quickly.

That's probably the most likely explanation. Otherwise it must be a long-term patient arc. Either way, the last thing I'm interested in is another long-term cast member. I'm in the minority who is excited about the next episode / Meredith storyline and optimistic about the Alex / Jo stuff... but another recurring character just means less time for everyone else. Less time for Alex, less time for Jo, less time for Baily, Callie, Arizona, Jackson, Richard... and so on. Part of me hopes that this Meredith episode is the only major 'event' or 'trauma' episode of the season. The other half of me is praying that a Tornado rages through GSM and kills Amelia, Steph, Ben, Maggie, Owen, and Penny.

I think the episode must take place at least a week after 12x08. I was never really expecting them to pick up right where they left off... as long as we get an actual storyline out of it, I don't really care about seeing Jo actually say 'No.' I just hope they continue to give them focus now. I think their scenes in 12x08 were great, so I'm optimistic about wherever they're going with it.

I think her saying no means we'll get some actual Alex / Jo story. Saying yes would be been pretty odd considering her frustrations right before he proposed. In her interview Camila said that Jo would be more assertive both in her professional and personal life, so it makes sense that she turned down the proposal. If they got engaged and pretended like nothing had happened, it'd make no sense. We've never really had a true obstacle with these two, so I don't mind having them work to get back together. Anything that gives Alex more screen time I'm here for.

Not sure why they released this clip from 12x10, but we now know: 1) Jo must have said no 2) Alex moved out of their apartment and into Amelia's room at Mer's http://www.spoilertv.com/2016/02/greys-anatomy-episode-1210-all-i-want.html EDITED to add these scenes are indeed from 12x09, not 12x10.

I always assumed the therapist would just be for Meredith, but now I wonder if maybe it's a grief counselor who is brought in to speak with multiple doctors after Meredith's attack. The official description for episode 10 includes "as the hospital deals with Meredith’s trauma...", so maybe we'll get several short scenes with multiple doctors (Alex, Bailey, Callie, Arizona, Amelia, etc.) discussing the trauma-filled experience that is working at Grey Sloane Memorial.

Kevin McKidd said we'd get answers in 12x14, which is only 6 episodes after she was first mentioned... they've certainly dragged stories out a LOT longer than that. 7 - 8 episodes, give or take, is about the average range of a story arc on this show. Denny appeared in about 8 episodes before Izzie realized that she was sick, for example. Chest Peckwell appeared in 7 episodes. There were 9 episodes between Herman revealing her brain tumor and Amelia performing her 'superhero' surgery to save her. Harold O'Malley's treatment lasted 6 episodes, Alex's dad's arc lasted 6 episodes, etc. I don't think that's a long time to drag out a story on a serialized show at all, really. We're just getting to know Riggs so there's a lot to explore.

Very happy to hear that we'll be seeing Jo back in ortho. I think that can be a really great storyline for both Jo and Callie.

I just think we can't really say that it doesn't fit until we see the episode and the aftermath. Generally I think all of the disaster episodes (aside from the shooting) came out of nowhere, but I do think there was some build-up for this. When we left, Meredith was at a boiling point with so many characters - Jo and Alex's fight was about Meredith, she was arguing with Callie, and she had that blow-up with Amelia. I'm not sure what the purpose will be, but I believe (or maybe hope) that there is one. I'd especially like to see some Jo / Meredith stuff, and I hope for some good Meredith / Baily and Meredith / Richard moments. My biggest fear is that they use this as a further wedge between Alex and Jo. That would really annoy the hell out of me, and I think it would be a big disservice for her character. I think Jo also hit a low in the first 8, so hopefully the back-half is her getting her mojo back and finding her place in the hospital. Either way, I think my point stands. I guess we can't know whether he saw a script or not, but the entire episode had to have been plotted and so would the next several. I'm just saying I don't think this episode was written for Denzel. They do event / gimmick episodes every year, they just happened to get a big-name director this time.

The only issue with that is that the script would have had to be finished before Denzel agreed to do it. There's no way he said yes without reading a script and knowing the story. Now some last minute script changes are one thing, but if that script was already finished, then the next several episodes (at least) were already story-blocked. I know everyone thinks they're over-hyping the Denzel thing, which I get, but there's no way they just shoe-horned in this Meredith episode for him to direct. It had to be conceived and written long before he came onboard. I wish they got tighter with their arcs, too. I think the past few seasons especially have suffered from stories either going on way too long (buying the hospital) or getting short-changed with sporadic scenes and not enough depth despite great potential (Alex's father story). Conceivably they could do something like, for example, first 8 focusing heavily on Meredith / Maggie / Deluca / Amelia / Owen / Riggs / Alex / Jo / Steph (9 = the amount of regulars we had in S1) and the next 8 on Meredith / Callie / Arizona / Bailey / Ben / Richard / April / Jackson, then the final 6 on any combination that best suits build-up to the finale. I still wish some of the cast would get cut, but I've been enjoying this season a lot. I just wish it had tighter focus and some better stuff for a lot of characters that I love (Alex, Bailey, Callie, etc.)

I definitely see your point, but I don't think it's like the stories will just disappear. Alex is my favourite character, but I'm in the minority of people on this board that really love his friendship with Meredith. I'm not super invested in Jo, so I'm not at the edge of my seat waiting to find out about the proposal. I do really hope we see a lot more Jo / Alex in 12b, though. I want great storylines for Alex, so if they want to keep him paired with Jo then I genuinely hope she gets further development and some more inclusion with the cast. I'm hoping the hints about 12x10 point to Jo finally choosing a speciality, and I hope it's Ortho with Callie. That story had a lot of promise last year and I was sad to see it just disappear. Again, I appear to be in the minority on the board of people who are excited for the upcoming Meredith storyline. I totally agree that the amount these characters have suffered on the show is over-the-top, but it's season 12 - I've been saying they go overboard with traumas since S3, so I'm kind of past it by now. I just hope it has real effects that reverberate through the hospital and really affect the characters. I'm especially excited to see Meredith in therapy and for Ellen to get some great material. I also think it's good that this is happening in episode 9, so that we actually have time to deal with the fallout rather than the season-ending traumas that often only get an episode or two of fallout in the next season. I believe that they wrote this episode for a reason, so I'm going into it optimistically. With 24 episodes a season and a cast of 16 regulars PLUS recurring characters, there's always going to be some fans let down by stories being dropped and picked back up later. I think that's the biggest issue the show has had over the past 2 seasons. I know many people disagree, but I think unless the cast is cut down, this will be how the show works until it's over, which is a pitty. There are indeed a lot of great actors and characters who are being given virtually nothing to do.

Episodes are outlined and written long before directors are attached to them.

I'd say that a synopsis addressing a cliffhanger would be poor planning. They're typically meant to be as vague as possible, especially when there are so many looming cliffhangers that they don't want spoiled. What could they say about Alex / Jo or April / Jackson without giving up their relationship status? And you're right, Shonda and her team have no say in how the episodes are aired (ABC is in total control of the scheduling, such as the 8 / 16 episode runs) or the descriptions / promos. All of that is in ABCs hands.

Why are we supposed to feel bad for her based on that picture?

Her being alive makes me more curious about everything. My guess was definitely some type of assisted suicide that Owen didn't approve of (thinking back to when he freaked out in his military flashback episode about Teddy helping a dying patient.)

The article says his sister appears in 12x14, but it also says that news comes from "reports" which could just mean wild speculation.

I wish they let Penny just be a one-episode thing, for the 250 episode. That was a great installment, but she serves no purpose now. I do have some hope though - I think if they intended to make her regular, they would have announced it when they announced Giacomo's promotion.

Did they deal with Amelia's addiction in several arcs on PP, or was it just once? I know her backstory, I just don't know how long they stretched it all out. I hope it isn't dragged on too long here. I agree about the Owen / Amelia relationship... timewise it's so strange, and they always felt just thrown together to me. I'd much rather see Owen with someone else, but I think Shonda thinks they're a beloved power couple... I can't see Grey's going to great lengths to cover up any old character returning except for Izzie, and I don't think Shonda will ever bring back Izzie, so I don't think this is about Grey's. I think the embryo mention this season was the writers way of finally cutting off the Izzie story and fan demand for her return (which, not coincidentally, was riled up big time by a piece that Ausiello wrote last year.) Maybe it's....... Zombie George?? Vampire Mark?? Ghost Reed and Charles...

I doubt it's Katherine, but I do think that line could apply to her. It'd be 'no small feat' arranging her reappearance considering she basically just left the set and didn't return for the additional episodes she was scheduled to film. But yea, I just don't see Shonda going for it. She's shut it down several times. I'm not against it, though. In fact I'd love Izzie to come back, even for a single episode.