Chicken Wing

That's contrived. It's like, "She's still here ... over there." It's very awkward. That's why normally characters are written out by moving away altogether. It's awkward to the story to know that the person is still around, and another character is still interacting with them face to face on a regular basis, but they're never seen. Instead of being written out, April just becomes the Unseen Character.

With the Harriet situation, unless they have April die, which they didn't, that's pretty much the only option I can think of. But it's kind of lame, and there's a reason why, when a character leaves the show, they leave town or die. It's too contrived to think that they're still living in the same place -- and still sharing custody of a child with another character -- but we'll just never happen to see them.

Regarding April having no brain damage, her body temperature had dropped to, what, 68 degrees they said? That level of hypothermia basically froze her whole body, including her brain, to the degree that she was essentially in suspended animation, so to speak. The brain's need for oxygen actually decreases. But you have to be frozen just right, for just the right amount of time, and you have to be brought back in just the right amount of time, at just the right level of warmth administered in just the right way. Get any of them wrong and the person could still die. A lot of caveats to beat but people have survived this way in real life. Hypothermia is even induced in people who have suffered heart attacks or cardiac arrest to reduce damage to the brain or other organs.

After sleeping on it I realized that what was leaving a sour taste in my mouth about this whole thing was because it was April. If Matthew had been brought in and we learned that for the past few months he'd been seeing Mystery Woman who shared his experience of losing a loved one, I'd be like, "Oh, has it been months since we last saw him in Grey's time?" and not thought too much beyond that. But for him to have rekindled his romance with April, especially now, nags at me. They have a complicated history, to say the least, and their relationship has a lot of painful baggage built into it. And I feel like this kind of complicated, baggage-filled reunion is the last thing Matthew ought to get tangled up in while he's still grieving his wife, however the hell long it's been in Grey's time. Plus the fact that we didn't actually see any part of their coming back into each other's lives to growing close to falling in love, it was just thrown at us after the fact in an infodump, doesn't help. So it bothers me. And I totally get why they decided not to tell anyone to avoid the judging, because I'm judging them and I don't even care about them. But, I get it. The heart wants what it wants, you can't help who you fall in love with or when you're ready to love again, blah blah puke, but whatever.

With his mom or at whatever daycare he sends her to, I guess.

Exactly. It's not novel anymore, by a long shot, but it had that old school Very Special Episode feel like they had way back when this didn't happen every five minutes.

That was pretty cool. I had no fears that April was actually going to die -- was a little concerned about whether she'd have any long-term damage once they got her back -- but it was still very dramatic, very old school Grey's. Remember when it was a big deal when One Of Their Own was on the table? It felt like those days. When Jackson started praying and begging for God not to take her, I thought it would be totally cheesy for April to choose that moment to wake up, to answer his prayer. So naturally she did just that. Cheesy as hell but cute. I'm torn on the revelation that Matthew is the one April has been seeing (though it was obvious). On the one hand, I understand everything that Arizona said about how they came back together, and on paper that do and did make a perfect couple, but on the other hand, it's just too damn soon since his wife died. I realize that time within the show doesn't necessarily equal the time that passes in real life, so it's likely longer than the 3-4 months since Karen died and the month, singular, since Matthew seemed to extend the olive branch after April figured out what was wrong with the baby. But even if it's been twice as long in story time, that's still not terribly long for them, today, to have been seeing each other "for months." Just my opinion. Matthew seems to have a habit of falling in love with women who help him get over losing other women. Didn't he say before that he fell in love with his wife when he was getting over April the first time? Heh.' Very poignant of Meredith putting away Derek's scrub cap with the rest of her mementos of their time together. They had a good life together. It wasn't as long as she'd hoped, but it was still meaningful and something she will treasure, and she is lucky to have had the chance to have that chapter in her life, and it's okay to move on and close that chapter now. But I'll miss the scrub cap. Alex: "Put us down for a 'maybe.'" Heh. Roy getting all shell-shocked over hearing that April was possibly dying does not cancel out how much I despise him. Geena Davis continues to rock. And of course she slept with Koracick too. And blind sex is awesome? Lady, blindfolds? People already figured out that sensory deprivation thing. Catch up.

I have mixed feelings about this episode. I feel like just about every character annoyed me. (Except Alex, whose scenes with his mom, and at the batting cage with Jo talking about his mom, were superb. Why, writers, do you never give this man more to do??) I guess I kind of like that Meredith decided to do what she felt was the right thing and give Marie Cerrone her credit on the Grey Method, just because she deserved to be credited for her work and it was the whole Harper Avery mess that led to Ellis leaving her out. I kind of like that Meredith did it even though it clearly pained and sickened her to disrupt her mother's legacy (even though the legacy belonged to both women), but Marie was such a bitch to her that I'm kind of annoyed that she caved in and got all noble. I'd be like, screw you, Auntie Marie. Meredith gave her the credit because the credit belonged to her to share with Ellis, but Meredith will never forgive her for trying to screw her over in her own work because of something her mother did. Regardless of how Marie was screwed over by the Harper Avery situation and whatever right she had to be angry at Ellis, Meredith had nothing to do with any of that. So, bye! Webber was totally in the right to fire Roy -- he didn't mean to get high, but he knew that he was and he was specifically and directed asked to report whether he had eaten the weed cookies and he knowingly lied and continued to treat patients. Right there is a simple and perfectly reasonable defense for firing him -- he lied to his superiors, about his fitness to work no less. It was funny how everyone's arguments just made them all sound stupid and inappropriate, but yeah, Webber was in the right and I hate that he caved in the end and advocated to let him come back and I hate that Bailey eventually let him. Weak. I agree with posters above that it's getting ridiculous how Sofia is basically dictating her living arrangements between her moms. And it was Sofia who wanted to come back to Seattle, it wasn't "Arizona's turn" or whatever. I don't know what sort of arrangement Arizona and Callie made when Callie left, I don't think it was ever elaborated. Their custody battle ended with Arizona getting sole custody, she just decided to let Callie keep her in the season finale because she felt bad. (Which was total crap, IMO.) Whatever scheduling or custody arrangements they made after that, I don't think we were ever privy to that. But even though Sofia was the one who called Arizona saying she wanted to come home, I guess now she hates it and wants to go back to New York? Ah, kids. You can never make 'em happy. So now because Sofia wants to go back to New York, Arizona is going to agree and uproot her whole life to move with her? Le sigh. As far as Arizona's patient of the week, I spent the whole episode wondering how on earth this woman ever went to a doctor and why she ever chose to have a baby in the first place if she is so damn petrified of anything medical-related even coming within two inches of her. That question distracted me through the whole storyline, when her freakouts weren't getting on my nerves. So this Owen and Amelia thing with the baby and the birth mother? Why? Why am I watching this? Make it stop. Still not feeling Jackson and Maggie, never have, never will. Cut it out.

Yeah, but he's also not stupid. If this other doctor was the only one who could help Amelia's patient and the only thing stopping her was some kind of corporate politics, then I could see Jackson demanding answers, questioning Catherine about it, moving hell and high water to get to the bottom of it and try to settle things, because saving a patient's life is too important to just shrug it off because oh well the special doctor can't do it. I do not see him shrugging and going oh well forget that nondisclosure that says you're not allowed to work here, I'll just cancel it without knowing what it's for.

Jackson not bothering or caring to find out why exactly that other doctor was barred from associating with a Harper Avery hospital, unilaterally deciding to waive the contract that barred her, the lawyers just up and doing it just because he said so = utter nonsense.

They haven't spelled it out, but I've assumed that Mark died before Little Mark was born and he was named after his late uncle. When David explains that his brother's death was part of why he left, I didn't really take that to mean that Little Mark was born before OG Mark died and then David left. I assumed it was something he struggled with for years -- before their second baby was born and continuing after, until he finally left when Little Mark was about three.

Gosh, I am struggling so much with the idea that David would leave his children and barely see them for years. Breaking up with Darlene because they just don't work no matter how much they try? Sure. Realizing that he's not cut out to be a full-time hands-on parent because he can't deal with responsibility? Okay. But leave them altogether? It makes my heart hurt. As much as I ship Darlene and David as a couple, I was rooting for her not to take him back just for that. He abandoned your children, girl. Give him another chance to be a dad for the sake of the kids having a dad in their lives once again, but he fails the test of a good husband. Don't walk away from your kids.

But seriously. Ser-i-ous-ly. What sorcery is responsible for Estelle Parsons not aging a damn day in 20 years?

I think he meant that when David actually makes good on his plan to move to Lanford, when he's not just saying that, when it's for real and he's really officially here, then he can see them, but while nothing is yet set in stone and he could still back out and take off he doesn't trust him to let the kids get used to him being around. This, of course, pretending that Dan has any right or authority to decide when David can see his kids but whatever.

One of the stipulations for DACA is you can't have been convicted of any felonies, serious misdemeanors or more than three minor misdemeanors, or pose a threat to national security or public safety. Even if your papers are in order, if you have broken the law on one of these levels your status can be rescinded and ICE can detain you. Bello apparently just ran a red light. That's just a traffic violation and that does not count as a misdemeanor, because it isn't one. It actually makes no sense that ICE would go after her for that, even in today's "low hanging fruit" environment. Traffic tickets do not violate the DACA rules.

DACA currently does not have a pathway to citizenship. You have to have permanent residency to apply to be a citizen. Dreamers are only afforded temporary residency status and so typically* cannot apply for the green card that allows one to later apply for citizenship. Those "millions of others" who became legal citizens probably entered the U.S. legally to begin with, were lawful residents and so were allowed to go through the proper channels for citizenship. Dreamers did not arrive legally, are technically not lawful residents (DACA is basically a "You're illegal but it wasn't your idea so we'll look the other way for a while" mulligan) and so those channels don't apply to them. *I'm reading, however, that some 40,000 DACA recipients were able to apply for green cards and thus become permanent residents by getting permission to travel abroad for educational and employment reasons and be allowed re-enter the U.S. legally afterward. (As most know, if someone is in the U.S. illegally then if they leave they would have to first go back to their home country and try to return to the U.S. from there. Most can't get back in, hence the fear of ever setting foot out of the U.S. at all.) And since they entered the U.S. "legally" this time, they could apply for permanent residency. Perhaps, if Meredith's forged paperwork were really good, Bello could eventually come back to Seattle this way? Eh, I've given up pretending this show makes sense. Anyway, this is obviously not a viable option for a majority of Dreamers, if they don't have any such educational or employment matter to travel for, if they can't afford the means to travel, if they have ties now in the U.S. they can't step away from, etc., and even if the opportunity were there and nothing else were stopping them from going, the fear of not being able to come back would.

Exactly. We're not talking about random details that were mentioned in exactly one episode that only an obsessed superfan who's seen every episode 20 times would remember. I mean central storylines and basic and crucial plot points to the character's histories. Roseanne and Jackie being against spanking because they were beaten as children -- that was an ongoing story arc for years, and now Roseanne and Dan and apparently Jackie are all about kids needing a spanking. That's a continuity fuck-up. Becky had to have completed high school because she attended college classes -- it was even a big deal when Roseanne and Dan gave her a check to pay for tuition and they flipped out when she used the money to send Mark to a trade program. Now Becky apparently never finished high school? That's a continuity fuck-up. Jackie had a kid. Her pregnancy was a main storyline in season 6 and, oh yeah, her son existed afterward. Now, it's not clear, but they seem to be acting like she's not a mother, that Andy doesn't exist in this story. Again, Roseanne Barr implied that this is not the case, they just didn't have time in the limited number of episodes to include him, but they're kind of acting like he doesn't exist, and if that's what's going on, again, a continuity fuck-up. These are major character details that you don't have to have been a superfan to notice -- if you watched the original show at all and have a good general knowledge of the main storylines you ought to know this, and so one would think that people involved in writing for a reboot would take the time to familiarize themselves with the story they're writing about. It feels like they didn't bother.

It would help if they told us what Darlene actually did, i.e. what was her job before?

Roseanne Barr did say that there just wasn't room in these nine episodes to include Jerry and Andy (though they did briefly mention Jerry in the first episode), so I take that to mean that Andy still exists. At least, it's not their intention to retcon him out of canonical existence.

Where would he and his daughter be staying? With Darlene, Harris and Mark there's no room left.

Season 8 Becky wants to go to go into the medical field its the one where they live in a trailer and mark thinks hes going to lose Becky when she gets her GED and goes to college Becky left high school when she eloped with Mark at the beginning of season 5. Roseanne mentioned to Dan afterwards that Becky planned to get her GED and enroll in a junior college in Minnesota (where Becky and Mark initially moved to). We never really heard about it after that -- since Becky essentially left the show at that point -- but when she returned as Sarah Chalke she was enrolling in, and later shown doing homework for, classes at the junior college. You have to have a high school diploma or GED in order to be admitted to a junior/community college so based on the fact that she was in said college in 1993-1994 she had to have gotten her GED. So when Roseanne said Becky never finished high school, I at first assumed she was kidding to get a reaction out of Dan. However, I've resigned myself to the fact that this reboot is playing no homage whatsoever to continuity and pretending that no one has ever watched the original show and/or has no memory, so now I'm thinking that Roseanne was serious and RebootBecky did not finish high school or attend any college classes. We'll just pretend none of that ever happened.

Yeah, during Roseanne's pregnancy they learned the baby was going to be a girl and they referenced the baby being a girl, but in the birth episode she randomly had a boy. The girl references were never brought up again, I don't think. I remember reading that they (the show people and/or Roseanne Barr) decided to change the baby to a boy since she had a boy (her son Buck) in real life.

I really liked this episode. The first few episodes were kind of iffy on the writing and acting, but I expected that. I've found that the first few episodes of any show or basically like a rough draft -- passable but generally crap -- and the show starts to hit its stride around episode 4 or 5. I feel like this episode was that turning point. It started to feel more like a "real" show. The jokes felt less canned and forced, the actors seem to be settling back into their characters and the storyline felt genuine. I loved Becky and Darlene's moments -- more drunk sister bonding, please. From the episode title, I guessed beforehand that Becky was going to find out that her eggs weren't viable and she wouldn't be able to conceive a child. (Is that the end for Sarah Chalke's appearance?) And I assumed/hoped that this would lead to a discussion or at least a mention of how she and Mark had planned to have children someday and he died before they got around to someday and now she knows it'll never happen for her. I was pleased that they actually did discuss this. But for the love of God, just tell us how and approximately when Mark died already.

Yes, in the eighth season they had another baby, Jerry Garcia Conner. They mentioned in the first episode here that he's now on a fishing boat where apparently they don't get phone calls.