S11.E22: She's Leaving Home

[dr pepper]

I really do miss Jacob's commentary from TWOP. He would have had a field day with the metaphor of the carousel, Meredith's time jumping through her life, and all the parallels with her mother.

What with the time jumping, i'm surprised the show refrained from two cheap ploys. 1) Having Sofia and Child Meredith briefly see each other at the hospital. 2) In the Meredith Comes Home montage, have her see Ellis holding the new baby.

I guess when you have 2 seats on the board, you can take an unannounced leave of absence whenever you like.

Arizona was out of line yelling at the other doctor. She wasn't complaining that Derek's death was inconvenient to her, she was noting that Derek's death lowered the standard of care for some of her patients. Which was a valid point. And Amelia should have been the first one to say they needed more people in Neuro.

You can't designate Idris Elba as your backup sex partner unless you let your husband have Beyonce.

I never knew the burn ward could be such a hilarious place. Also, how come the patient's husband decided he couldn't with this *after* the worst was over?

I'm glad that Meredith didn't insist on sleeping in Alex's bed.

The real Chief is back!

Over all, this was a lot better than i had expected; but still, it seems a good time to get off the carousel (see what i did there?) and call it a series.

[dr pepper]

What was April's decision that Jackson can't understand?

 

To do a MASH tour.

[Chicken Wing]

Also, I found it amusing that April was listed in Jackson's phone as "April Kepner." She's your wife, dude. A little less formal contact, please. Unless he's just one of those people (like me) who has to fill out the first and last name on his contacts just to be orderly, but still, funny.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Jo's song suggestion of "I'll Be Home for Christmas" was terrible. When I was in choir and we used to visit retirement homes and senior centers at the holidays, songs like that (and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas") always made people cry and get upset. Jo was lucky that her two patients had such a good sense of humor.

 

That patient's husband was an ass. You didn't sign up for this? IN SICKNESS AND IN HEALTH. And if you're going to be a dick and dump your wife while she's in the hospital, at least have the decency not to do it on Christmas. Gawd.

 

When Callie asked the police guy if he wanted a second go at walking, I wondered if she was going to have him turn around, walk backwards, or what.

 

I have never liked Amelia and this episode didn't do anything to change my opinion. Part of my issue is with the actress because I don't like the way she talks. While I understand everyone grieves differently, I had no interest in watching her squash her feelings, yelling at Richard, or having a breakdown with Owen. Gawd, that scene with Amelia and Owen went on FOREVER. Ugh. When she said she didn't want to feel the grief, I thought, well, hop on over to the CW, have Caroline turn you into a vampire, and then flip your humanity switch!

 

Also no interest in April's tour of duty. I would have been fine with both her and Hunt extending their tours indefinitely.

 

On the other hand, I loved Arizona's outburst in the cafeteria. I totally get that the hospital still has a responsibility to their patients and that means having enough doctors on staff to handle the work load. But what Arizona said reminded me of when my friend's dad died and his girlfriend (the friend's girlfriend, not the dad's girlfriend) started complaining and his response was, "Gee, I'm so sorry that my father dying has been inconvenient FOR YOU."

 

But what I don't understand is how the hospital was getting by just fine without Derek when was in DC for months. They had Amelia take over as head of neuro but they didn't seem to hire any additional neurosurgeons. When he came back, they didn't kick anyone out of neuro to make room for him, so I'm assuming that they have had the same number of people in neuro the entire time yet suddenly some doctor is complaining that she had to wait too long for a neuro consult. So were they not having delays on neuro consults when Derek was in DC or before they added Amelia to the neuro staff?

 

And in fairness to the hospital not hiring a new neurosurgeon yet, Derek was supposed to be The Best Neurosurgeon Ever so I can see why they wouldn't want to just hire anyone to replace him (and I mean that on professional level, not on a "we miss Derek" kind of way). When you have a world renowned surgeon on staff, you don't want to hire some scrub to replace him (heh, although I don't know that there really is such a thing as a neurosurgeon scrub). But I guess now that Amelia is out from Derek's shadow, she is the super awesome neurosurgeon on staff.

 

Poor Alex. First he gets told that he is Meredith's new person which results in her constantly barging in. Then Derek dies and she refuses to respond to his phone calls or texts to let him know that she and the kids are alive and okay. Then months later she finally picks up the phone only to tell him to leave her alone.

 

Ben, giving someone a living will on Valentine's Day after having sex is NOT ROMANTIC.

 

As much as I love Debbie Allen, Katherine can be a bit too much for me. Yelling a proposal at someone? Also NOT ROMANTIC.

 

Next time I see a carousel, I'm definitely punching it.

Ha!

Edited May 1, 2015 by ElectricBoogaloo

[brandyelf]

My DVR had the same glitch in the same place--interesting.  Do you have DirecTV?  I was able to switch to live and rewind back to a few minutes into the second hour, since I found the glitch at 9:45.  But yeah, the DVR was right.  Terrible writing, terrible episode. And to think that I had been hoping all week for Cristina and Addison to show up!

I do have DirecTV. I don't watch Greys even close to live because my husband finds it boring (and I find him finding it boring distracting) so I waited until after he went to bed to watch it. Sounds like I mainly missed a lot of eye-rolling.

[dr pepper]

3: Burn Lady + JJ y'all were nice, but don't they give real drugs to knock you out (also what killed JJ?)

 

I'm guessing lung failure, albeit they didn't set it up by having her hoarse and gasping.

Edited May 1, 2015 by dr pepper

[suedehead]

 

I think I'm good. The story I started watching 11 years ago is over, and I'm free!

 

 

I watched the first couple of seasons, then checked out. Since I'm visiting my sister, and she's a fan, I watched last nights episode. Same sappy bs, clunky writing, overacting and convenient/typical outcomes to everyone's story. The burn patient that I think was Nicole Sullivan? I called her dying the minute she became the other one's "support.". My sister said she didn't see that coming when it happened. I was embarassed for her. I got 9 years in two hours. Thanks Shonda! Laziness approved!

 

At least the amputee guy and the ginger that came back from service (completely unscathed and unaffected, of course) were good looking.  

[RealityCowgirl]

Good heavens. Echoing others on some of this but needing to vent. As an "in it from the beginning but not 'in' it" viewer, these things bugged:

 

The lack of actual grieving. I get the practical reasons why they couldn't do a real funeral scene. I get that some of the expressed grief by other characters may come out as soon as next week. But even as a casual viewer not terribly invested in Derek or MerDer, I needed to grieve after last week's mess - or at least watch others grieve.

 

The frenetic time leaps and vignettes of storylines that seemed off in this context. I get what they were trying to represent. But many of them failed in those attempts, at least for the mood I was in as a viewer when I sat down to watch this episode.

 

The "Big Ellis" stuff. If those scenes represented some part of Meredith making sense of things, visualizing Ellis that way might work. But if it was supposed to represent Ellis in real time/decades ago, actually making the decision to give up Maggie (and, if so, why here? Why now?), it didn't work. Kate Burton in a bad brunette wig took me out of those scenes when I was trying to read them as "history." I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do with them - which ticked me off - so they ended up distracting and counterproductive.

 

Related to that: The hint that Meredith might actually try to commit suicide. One thing that has been made abundantly clear (including in this episode) is the impact her mother's attempt had on her as a child. As dark and twisty as Meredith can go, I don't believe for a moment that she would do the same to her own children. Especially when an attempt while still pregnant would risk the life or health of one of those children directly. No way do I believe she'd risk the baby's life, or put Zola and Bailey in that same situation, even if her attempt failed as her mother's did. The lingering suggestion was cheap, unbelievable, and not appreciated.

 

I get why she named the baby Ellis. But I do think it was a strange choice.

 

Please, Shonda, no more deaths. Even though I've never found any of the characters cornerstone (well, maybe Big Bailey or Webber - but don't test me on that), I'm sick of the damn deaths. They're now officially boring me.

Edited May 1, 2015 by RealityCowgirl

[Trillian]

Perhaps the new Zola and the super-aged baby Bailey were an attempt to make (8 month-old!) baby Ellis look smaller in comparison.

Didn't work.

[Deanie87]

I am ready to follow in the show's example and fast forward through to next season and forget this one ever happened.

This episode didn't do anybody any favors.

[Pallas]

Bailey is Derek Bailey shepherd.

 

"Hi, I'm a symbolic male-child sprung out of the head of Shonda Rhimes.  I'm named for the husband that my mother pulled the plug on, and her mentor, who just fantasizes about it.  My sister Ellis was named after the woman who hated my mother for loving my father.  She is not allowed to play with dolls or go on carousels; she plays with knives and trucks." 

[Jillybean]

Also, I found it amusing that April was listed in Jackson's phone as "April Kepner." She's your wife, dude. A little less formal contact, please. Unless he's just one of those people (like me) who has to fill out the first and last name on his contacts just to be orderly, but still, funny.

 

Hmm, my husband's in my phone with his first and last name.  I think Android probably populated that automatically from my Google contacts.  It never occurred to me to bother to try to change it.

Edited May 1, 2015 by Jillybean

[candall]

I'm sure a lot of Grey's fans went into this just waiting to hate it so it really didn't matter what they did. I enjoyed it for what it was. Derek's passing effected everyone in different/profound ways. He will be missed. But, that preview. Shut Up, Amelia.

^^^Agree.

 

Ha, I didn't even mind the carousel because that's been Meredith's thematic incident for years.  It's almost impossible not to cycle around and become the only thing you know, so good for her. 

 

The debriding metaphor--you hurt more as you heal, but laughter/sharing helps--was ridiculous.  They surely could have found a way to convey that message through characters we already knew, plus I don't think the first part is true for "real life," anyway.

 

Overall, I liked it.  I thought it was a neat trick to shorthand everyone's stories through the next year, although my preference would have been more of some stuff and less of other stuff.  I did a double-take at Owen in camo, but I liked his revelation about gutting out the pain instead of avoiding it.  (Maybe he can explain that to his superior officer and get a discharge.)  Too bad it was all peripheral to The Amelia Show, which continues next week.  Please, please, I'm begging you, enough with the fucking Amelia.

 

Disappointed they (per usual) wasted Bailey--ragging on for nine months and then totally reversing, complete with OCD flashbacks, when she got what she wanted.  Ben, you're one patient guy.

 

For the first time EVER, I liked Kepner.  Without any gasping or hysterical bleating, she went out and did what she needed to do to take care of herself.  And Jackson seemed to understand without being too much of a saint or a martyr about it, so I hope they can just let that be.

 

I'm surprised so many people hated the episode, although people seem to have disliked different parts.  I guess the only thing we all agree on is that Meredith's baby was a JUMBO.

[choclatechip45]

I really hope they don't break up Jo/Alex. I do like his friendship with Maggie it reminds me of season 6 episode when Meredith was looking out for his brother. It was nice to see how much Alex has changed in the last couple seasons from not wanting any roommates to having Arizona/Jo live with him. To having Jakson/Maggie over for Christmas and not caring that she invited Richard. It did seem Maggie wouldn't spend Christmas with her adopted parents.

[windsprints]

Related to that: The hint that Meredith might actually try to commit suicide. One thing that has been made abundantly clear (including in this episode) is the impact her mother's attempt had on her as a child. As dark and twisty as Meredith can go, I don't believe for a moment that she would do the same to her own children. Especially when an attempt while still pregnant would risk the life or health of one of those children directly. No way do I believe she'd risk the baby's life, or put Zola and Bailey in that same situation, even if her attempt failed as her mother's did. The lingering suggestion was cheap, unbelievable, and not appreciated.

 

I didn't think Meredith ever contemplated suicide in this episode. Each flashback of Ellis then had Meredith mostly reacting differently than Ellis. Each woman lost the love of their lives and left Seattle but Meredith left a note. Little Meredith was dragged out without even getting her doll/Meredith calmly told Zola they were leaving (and Zola had her doll), Ellis ignored Meredith and just worked once they got to Boston/Meredith didn't work and spent the time with her kids. Ellis told Meredith not to call 911/Meredith told Zola to call. Ellis didn't want to even see Maggie and gave her up/Meredith loved and wanted her baby.  Each step was handled differently by Meredith and Meredith returned to Seattle in the end as the final difference.

I am ready to follow in the show's example and fast forward through to next season and forget this one ever happened.

 

I want to see the last 2 episodes before deciding if I'm in or out for next season. While the specifics of why Patrick left aren't public I think its obvious that his death was unplanned from the start of the season and this episode seemed to have all the tacked on storylines to move everyone forward in time. The next 2 should be back to normal, or whatever the new normal will be. I think they'll be a better judge of what the show will be like moving ahead.

 

 

[suedehead]

 

That patient's husband was an ass. You didn't sign up for this? IN SICKNESS AND IN HEALTH. And if you're going to be a dick and dump your wife while she's in the hospital, at least have the decency not to do it on Christmas. Gawd.

 

The sole purpose of that marriage was for Shonda's subplot this episode. He played his part magnificently, even if it was off screen.

[Guest]

It's good to know that when my personal life is in a mess I can simply up and leave my job for an undisclosed amount of time, only to come back whenever I feel like I have dealt with my internal demons. They'll just keep my job on hold. Yeah my boss is totally like that. 

At this point, she owns her shares of the hospital as well as Derek's, so I'm guessing that gives her some leeway. 

 

But really trying to make sense of Grey's Anatomy at this point is like trying to make sense of a 10 month old's gibberish.  Much like the apparent 10 month old Meredith birthed last night.

[Boilergal]

After last week, Mrs Boilergal and I decided we were done, and not just because of Derek- but the whole thing.  It wasn't even fun to snark our way through the episodes anymore.  All week I teased her about being super excited to watch Grey's last night, love seeing a good eye roll from my wife.

 

We watched a Normal Heart instead, and from the looks of it we made the right decision.

 

You guys are awesome in your comments I almost feel like I watched the episode, and my eyes don't hurt - BONUS!!

[Deanie87]

I really hope they don't break up Jo/Alex. I do like his friendship with Maggie it reminds me of season 6 episode when Meredith was looking out for his brother. It was nice to see how much Alex has changed in the last couple seasons from not wanting any roommates to having Arizona/Jo live with him. To having Jakson/Maggie over for Christmas and not caring that she invited Richard. It did seem Maggie wouldn't spend Christmas with her adopted parents.

What the hell is going on? If they break up so be it, I wouldn't blame Jo at this point. But can we get any lead up to it at all before Maggie starts putting her hand on Alex's knee? And why is she constantly there? Does she live with Alex and Jo? I guess AZ still does? It's just silly.

My annoyance comes not only from what is happening but what never happened. I would have loved to see some of this during the Alex Wasteland of seasons 6.5-9 when he didn't have a girlfriend. Everyone enjoyed the holidays without him back then, but now that he has someone special to share this stuff with she is now where to be found.

Good to see that Meredith has become less self-centered with all she has gone through./sarcasm in case you couldn't tell.

My favorite part was Richsrd asking Carherine if she wanted to split the check. Ha!

Also who was watching the kids while Meredith was giving birth? We will be asked by that question a lot I imagine.

Edited May 1, 2015 by Deanie87

[candall]

I didn't think Meredith ever contemplated suicide in this episode. Each flashback of Ellis then had Meredith mostly reacting differently than Ellis. Each woman lost the love of their lives and left Seattle but Meredith left a note. Little Meredith was dragged out without even getting her doll/Meredith calmly told Zola they were leaving (and Zola had her doll), Ellis ignored Meredith and just worked once they got to Boston/Meredith didn't work and spent the time with her kids. Ellis told Meredith not to call 911/Meredith told Zola to call. Ellis didn't want to even see Maggie and gave her up/Meredith loved and wanted her baby.  Each step was handled differently by Meredith and Meredith returned to Seattle in the end as the final difference.

 

Excellent!!  I mainly just noted approvingly that Zola got her doll, and that it wasn't a Betsy Bodyparts or whatever.

 

I wonder if each one of those "different path" decisions was emphasized with a carousel shot and that's why it kept popping back on the screen (an annoying number of times.)  All those scenes of Meredith staring off into space and it didn't occur to me that she was consciously reversing each of Ellis' choices, saving her kids from being emotionally stunted little nuggets, like herself.  I may have to watch it again.

Edited May 1, 2015 by candall

[Chicken Wing]

I didn't think Meredith ever contemplated suicide in this episode. Each flashback of Ellis then had Meredith mostly reacting differently than Ellis. Each woman lost the love of their lives and left Seattle but Meredith left a note. Little Meredith was dragged out without even getting her doll/Meredith calmly told Zola they were leaving (and Zola had her doll), Ellis ignored Meredith and just worked once they got to Boston/Meredith didn't work and spent the time with her kids. Ellis told Meredith not to call 911/Meredith told Zola to call. Ellis didn't want to even see Maggie and gave her up/Meredith loved and wanted her baby.  Each step was handled differently by Meredith and Meredith returned to Seattle in the end as the final difference.

 

This. I did like this aspect of the episode even though I felt the episode as a whole was handled rather poorly. I liked the parallels between Ellis and Meredith and their reactions and actions after losing the men they loved (although, Richard is still alive, he just don't want you no more, Ellis, so shush). It showed how much Meredith is like her mother but still oh so very different, in all ways that matter.

 

Like her mother, Meredith reacted somewhat rashly in the wake of losing the love of her life, up and leaving out of nowhere, not telling anyone where she was going, not answering when they try to contact her, just cutting everyone and everything out of her life and disappearing. But at least Meredith let her daughter stop to grab her doll on the way out. At least Meredith left a note letting people know that they're all okay, even if she didn't tell them what was going on. She did take a moment to think about the other people in her life.

 

Like her mother, Meredith dealt with being unexpectedly pregnant in the immediate aftermath of her loss, while she's still in the midst of running away from it all. She doesn't tell anyone and keeps hacking at her new escapee life. Except Meredith seems to spend much of her time with her children, while Ellis buried herself in her work. Meredith seemed to share the new developments with her kids, as we see Zola was excited about her soon-to-arrive sister, while Ellis most likely didn't mention anything to Meredith at all to imprint any memory of her pregnancy, which is part of why Meredith never remembered until Maggie's arrival forced her to rack her brain.

 

Through all of this, we see the flashbacks of Ellis (where young Ellis is inexplicably played by Kate Burton in a god-fucking-awful wig) talking someone, the adoption counselor maybe (I was tuning in and out for most of this), and is steadfast in her decision to give her baby up. Now, you'd like to think that her decision to give up Maggie was because she knew she wasn't able to take care of both her and Meredith, that she wanted her baby to be with a family who could love her and want her, but here we see it's clear that she was surrendering her baby because she was desperate to close the door on that chapter in her life for good, in every way possible. She was still running away.

 

And this is where Ellis's and Meredith's paths diverge completely, because while Meredith walked almost the same path as her mother through all of this with little but still very significant differences along the way, Meredith was able to see the light at the end of the tunnel where Ellis couldn't. Meredith didn't keep running away. Meredith was able to see the good that could come out of pain and loss. Meredith was willing to face the hardships and push through so she, Zola, Bailey and little Ellis would carry on. Together. She finally got off the damn carousel and moved on to the next ride, because she paid full admission, dammit, and she's going to do it all.

 

I probably would have liked the episode a lot better if they had focused and concentrated more on her, and this, instead of sprinkling in scenes interspersed with everyone else's stupidness, none of which ever really came off poignant enough to make an impression on me. If they had spent the first hour on everyone else, and written their "aftermath story" much deeper and more powerful, and then devoted the entire second hour to Meredith and Meredith alone, and had that deeper and more powerful, then this episode would have worked better for me. But as it is it felt like they were only half paying attention to everyone and it all ended up falling flat.

Edited May 1, 2015 by Chicken Wing

[Fostersmom]

What the hell is going on? If they break up so be it, I wouldn't blame Jo at this point. But can we get any lead up to it at all before Maggie starts putting her hand on Alex's knee? And why is she constantly there? Does she live with Alex and Jo? I guess AZ still does? It's just silly.

My annoyance comes not only from what is happening but what never happened. I would have loved to see some of this during the Alex Wasteland of seasons 6.5-9 when he didn't have a girlfriend. Everyone enjoyed the holidays without him back then, but now that he has someone special to share this stuff with she is now where to be found.

 

 

I just came to post about Alex and Maggie. When did they get all cozy? I watched most of the show wondering if I missed when Alex and Jo broke up and he started something with Maggie. Or when the three of them had moved into some kind of threesome relationship. 

 

I did like when Alex showed up at the hospital and his little "I know" to Meredith when she said she had a baby and a totally different "I know" when she said Derek was dead. Alex needs a real and functional story line, but I know that's too much to ask for at this point. 

[Evie]

I didn't dislike the episode, but my reaction to a lot of things was why. I'm still sad about Derek, but I kind of ended the episode wishing all the males would be freed.

Alex is a good friend. Unfortunately, he's been reduced to that and nothing else. He barely has scenes with his girlfriend. He doesn't have cases of his own. He just worries about Meredith and is a friend to women. I hope he has more to do next season.

It took me a minute to remember April and Jackson's baby died. April leaving felt random. I'm glad Jackson got to express that he lost a baby too, not to mention his wife for nine months, but I thought there should have been some kind of follow up to the happy reunion scene.

It took me a minute to remember that Maggie is Richard's biological daughter during the Maggie/Catherine scene. I wish they had explored that relationship more. I'd rather see that than Richard and Catherine. I don't like that woman, and I found the proposal cringeworthy.

I dislike Owen, but even he deserves better than Amelia and her endless monologuing.

Why did I have to watch Bailey and Ben talk about dying every holiday and Bailey basically call his wishes stupid only to have her cry and claim he doesn't love her when he gave in.

Arizona's still living with Alex? It's been a year at least. She has a kid. Does Sophia have a room there too.

[questionfear]

Hmm, my husband's in my phone with his first and last name.  I think Android probably populated that automatically from my Google contacts.  It never occurred to me to bother to try to change it.

Yup Android does this. Also, I entered my wife's full name in when we first met, and never changed it. I would assume jackson would have had april's number for years before they married, so it's not that weird to me. 

[windsprints]

All those scenes of Meredith staring off into space and it didn't occur to me that she was consciously reversing each of Ellis' choices, saving her kids from being emotionally stunted little nuggets, like herself.  I may have to watch it again.

 

That's how I took it.

 

I also thought it showed Meredith standing on her own without Derek or her person. Through the years Meredith always ran to Cristina then Alex for any decision, annoyingly so IMO. She didn't in this episode, she made each decision and worked through it all on her own.  I do think it was selfish not to send Alex even a text for months just to let him know she and the kids were ok. I'm cautiously optimistic that the "person" crap has been put to rest now and that Alex and Meredith can have a normal friendship.

Also who was watching the kids while Meredith was giving birth? We will be asked by that question a lot I imagine.

 

Excellent point. Going forward the kids will be in 24 hour magical daycare. What's one more?

Edited May 1, 2015 by windsprints

[noname1]

found it! around the ten second mark Derek Bailey Shepherd https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mgfCG8Xts8

. Which actually makes sense because as Meredith went under she told Shane and Ross that she knew the baby's name but she didn't know Bailey would be her hero until afterward.

Edited May 1, 2015 by noname1

[AriAu]

Who was playing Ellis in this episode?

Clearly wasn't Sarah Paulson, who played young Ellis in earlier episodes and didn't really look like Kate Burton in a horrible wig. Looked like Joanne Gleason in a horrible wig....sorta.

Bad episode, but somehow could not turn away from it.

[Chicken Wing]

Clearly wasn't Sarah Paulson, who played young Ellis in earlier episodes and didn't really look like Kate Burton in a horrible wig. Looked like Joanne Gleason in a horrible wig....sorta.

 

It was Kate Burton, but now that you mention it the wig did make her look like Joanna Gleason.

[noname1]

 

Also who was watching the kids while Meredith was giving birth? We will be asked by that question a lot I imagine.

The kids were being watched by the hospital social worker. She met them at the Ambulance when they brought Meredith in, the assumption is they were cared for by the social worker while Meredith was in surgery. This happens in hospitals all the time.

[Evie]

What the hell is going on? If they break up so be it, I wouldn't blame Jo at this point. But can we get any lead up to it at all before Maggie starts putting her hand on Alex's knee? And why is she constantly there? Does she live with Alex and Jo? I guess AZ still does? It's just silly.

I felt like they were trying to make Maggie/Meredith/Alex the new Christina/Meredith/Alex in the last scene. Everything before that was weird. Maggie spending every holiday at the house. Jo off with the burn victims. I would have understood somewhat if we had gotten some insight into Jo or if she had taken something away from the case, but she was just there. I don't know if the lack of Alex/Jo and the sudden closeness of Alex/Maggie is deliberate. I do think Jo the resident not being part of Alex and his attending friends' scenes is deliberate. It sucks because I like Jo and it would do her wonders to be developed and integrated more.

[Elle8]

I don't like the pregnancy storyline. As a former MerDer fan I would have loved a third baby in normal circumstances, but not like this. This is a idea that a bad fan fiction writer could have developed. Feels like a candy that was given to viewers to placate their anger. In season 7, Meredith had hostile uterus; Now, she gets pregnant at the first try. I already said also that I'm doubtful about her name. Did you remember the one episode where Ellis was lucid? Did you remember actual Ellis Grey?

Oh, and at the end, when ellis said: "i can do that, i can move on", and then they turn at meredith in the or. Seriously? that woman moved on? she gave up a baby and neglected the kid she already had. she abused her daughter psychologically, the whole show is about that. You can convince yourself you're what you want, but don't try to sell to me that ellis was a healthy stable single mother that moved on. Even during her sickness with Alzheimers she only remembered the surgeries and her affair with richard. That's your role model? you want to call your baby after her? 

Oh, and they should really stop with the carousel reference. They abused it. 

 

 I didn't like also the too many flashback, as others said before, they just reminded me of how great this show used to be. Plus, What kind of mourning was that? Not only for meredith, but for everyone. I'm sure they have done it because fans were already depressed and, let's say this, this show has too many people to mourn. too many deaths. and since they couldn't do a proper tribute to derek, mostly to evitate even more backlash (because i'm sure people would have been even angrier and sadder), they switched the attention to the parallels between her and her mother. From next episode, derek will be surely forgotten. 

 

I laughed at the massive newborn and ellis' wig too. How sloppy can you be? didn't you just saved 10 million dollars thanks to the early release of patrick's contract?

Bailey had a lobotomy, don't tell that Bailey is Bailey because i don't believe it. Hated all her scenes in the bed with Ben.

Can't stand Amelia, sorry, jmo, she finds a reason to yell in every episode, i can't sympathize. Really can't.

Alex is always at Mer's service: no other storyline for him. I'm sorry for Justin Chambers.

Total disinterest for the others. I have no feeling for this show anymore.

The only thing I liked is Mer wearing the ferryboats scrub cap. I wish I could say I like something else.

 

Stacy McKee wrote episodes like Raindrops keep falling on my head,  Elevator Love Letter, White Wedding. What happened? When will downward spiral end?

Edited May 1, 2015 by Elle8

[cam3150]

I am torn. I liked parts of this episode and I hated parts of it.

 

HATED:

- the Bailey story line - so not necessary to drag it on for a year

- the Richard / Catherine story line.  Seriously? They throw an engagement into what should have been Derek's farewell episode? That could have waited.

- I HATED that we did not get to see anyone really grieving Derek's death, most of all Meredith.  Straight up, I have cried WAY more over this than any of the characters have. Even through the sludge of this episode, I stayed weepy through most of it.  I get that two hours of "Izzie laying in the bathroom floor" type mourning would have been too much but -- couldn't we have gotten something? Anything to indicate how much Derek meant to the show, the characters, the fans?  Did anyone even cry? Oh sorry, an intern or two did. People who had only known him for a brief time. His actual friends? His wife?  Even his sister?  Nope, barely a tear.

- If I see that @#%! carousel one more freaking time

- WAY too many Ellis flashbacks.  Way.  Too.  Many. It was seriously distracting and I felt a bit like I was on a tilt a whirl trying to keep up.  We get it, show.  Meredith's actions mirrored her mothers sometimes.  No need to spend  a good chunk of the show on Ellis flashbacks. (Have we seen the "bad wig" ones before or were those filmed for this ep? I can't remember)

- Speaking of Ellis -- the baby's name is Ellis?  Really? Meredith name her baby after a mother who mostly hated her?  I....just....I...-

- whatever sick person thought it would be clever to frame the shot where the nurse announces that "your husband is here!" and Alex comes into the room in such a way that, for the briefest of brief moments, even though we all knew it was not true, there was the barest sliver of hope that maybe, just maybe, this had all been some awful dream and Derek was really alive!  NOT!-

- the cheesy green screen of Meredith where? On a bridge? In a field? In the middle of the highway? I have no idea what that was but it was bad. So very bad.

-the cheesy floating Derek head when Meredith told Alex she saw Derek in baby Ellis.  Show, we know what Derek looks like. We've just spent 11 years watching, not to mention 2 hours with flashbacks.  We didn't need the floating Derek head during that scene.  

 

 

LOVED:

- any and all Derek and Derek/Meredith flashbacks. I will take this all day long, if only just to see that beautiful smile he had. 

- Ellen Pompeo was the glue that held this episode together

- I didn't mind Mer being pregnant, I had a feeling Shonda would pull this on the audience.  Derek lives on after all!

- I loved that last few minutes after she finally came home, and that dang song got me.

- loved the scrub cap

 

 

QUESTIONS:

- I really thought when we did not hear all of Derek's voicemail to Meredith last week that we'd get an Alicia / Will Gardner type scene with her discovering it and listening to it at some point but nope. Surely after A WHOLE FREAKING YEAR, she's already heard it and we just get to wonder what it said.

- Why is Alex Meredith's Emergency contact? Would it not have been Derek? I guess maybe she changed it at some point?

- When will the hospital change it's name to Grey Sloane Shepherd Memorial? I half thought the sign would have been changed to this when we saw Meredith looking up at it upon her return.

- Would his white coat still be hanging in the locker room after all this time?  As mentioned, I really liked that part, it was just curious that it would still be there?

- I wonder if PD got paid $400k for an an episode he was in only through flashbacks?  Just wondering.

- was this time jump Shonda's way of saying Derek is gone. For good. Everyone's over it here in Seattle. So he will now be forever referred to as "He who shall not be named"?

[Greysaddict]

This episode was really all over the place.  It seems like it was good on paper, but the execution was really poor.  I wonder if its a case of rushed production.  I feel like a lot of stuff happened, but yet nothing at all (except for the fact Meredith now has 3 kids).  

 

I want to be invested in characters other than Meredith, but the stories are so un-compelling.  Bailey & Ben....boring.  Japril...i thought April going off to war was interesting.  Buuuut we know that will never be brought up again and they will be back in the same place in next weeks episode. Jolex....i really thought i has missed something and they had broken up.  Why did they only spend Thanksgiving together through all the holidays.  So weird.  Callie and the cop...were they dating?  I saw a few people referring to him as her boyfriend.  Did I totally miss that?  I may have dozed off.  

 

I actually really enjoyed the Meredtih and Ellis parallels.  They both lost the great loves of their lives (though Richard is still alive) and both were pregnant at the time.  I like that Meredith was able to do what is right for the kids and not have them suffer through the crappy childhood she did.  I am guessing she took that entire 9ish months off, which is why no one could find her at any hospitals.  I can buy that, as I'm sure they had the money.  I like Meredith now knows what her mom was going through when she was a child, and understands her better.  

 

I thought Amelia's grief scene with Owen was really good, but why 9 months later?  i know everyone grieves differently and she was clearly coping with the bad jokes....but she stays sober for 9 months and finally has a breakdown when Owen is there to save her.  Yea, sure...ok then.  i don't mind the time jump at all but instead of plotting around the time frame, they seemed to jump time and then just fill in random scenes.  

 

i'll admit, I am sap and loved that she wore Derek's scrub cap in her first surgery back.  

 

all that being said....i'm still not convinced this was "real".  Why are Meredith and Amelia all smiley and happy apparently raising baby Ellis together at the end, but in next week's promo they are fighting.  Amelia brings up that she should have been called, which is completely valid...but why would that only come up nearly a year later?  Makes no sense.  

 

One more thing.  I know some people were talking about Ellen Pompeo not being up to the same lead actress status as Kerry Washington and Viola Davis.  But Shonda and ABC better be so thankful for Ellen right now.  She is the only thing that saved this episode from being completely terrible.  She has such a great way on conveying emotion with no words.  

Edited May 1, 2015 by Greysaddict

[Julie23]

Well, I swore I was done with Gray's last week, and I did not watch this "very special" episode. But I did record it, just in case I decided I needed to get the closure I thought it would bring. It seems from the recap and comments that it was a pile of crap that didn't give the long-time fans anything they wanted, so I will delete without watching. Clearly Shonda does not give a F&*# about the fans who have watched this show from the beginning and were really invested in MerDer. Most show runners would pay homage to the loyal viewers (Justified = perfect ending), but not Shonda. I watched the first season of How to Get Away with Murder, but I won't watch any more. Her shows always go off the rails after season 1 anyway.

[taanja]

 

I fan wanked this - Cristina knew where Meredith was the whole time, of course she did.   She simply honored Meredith's request to keep it secret.  Cristina also visited several times, and skyped daily.  I won't believe otherwise.

 

I ALWAYS fan wank this! I believed Shonda when she said Mere and Cris were the soulmates of Grey's. I miss seeing my girls together. ****Sigh.****

 

I only saw bits and pieces of last nights ep. Every time I flipped people who were NOT Meredith were screeching and crying and basically being annoying messes.

 

[izabella]

Amelia brings up that she should have been called, which is completely valid...but why would that only come up nearly a year later?  Makes no sense.

 

That part makes sense to me because Meredith was GONE.  Amelia didn't have a chance to talk with Meredith about her not calling since she disappeared after the funeral.  I guess Amelia could have said something right away before the funeral, but she seemed in shock, as was Meredith.

[Greysaddict]

 In season 7, Meredith had hostile uterus; Now, she gets pregnant at the first try. I already said also that I'm doubtful about her name. Did you remember the one episode where Ellis was lucid? Did you remember actual Ellis Grey?

I hate the pregnancy/baby storyline as well, but something in this episode implied Derek had been home for at least a few weeks/months before the accident.  It makes sense since when he returned he told Owen he would have to fly back and forth a few times to wrap things up and then the day of his accident was supposed to be the last time.  Did any one else catch that?  i'll have to go back to pinpoint exactly what was said.  

 

Anyway, I hate trying to apply any logic to this show because really there is none...however I am choosing to believe that Meredith didn't get pregnant just from one time they had sex.  Hostile uterus be dammed!

That part makes sense to me because Meredith was GONE.  Amelia didn't have a chance to talk with Meredith about her not calling since she disappeared after the funeral.  I guess Amelia could have said something right away before the funeral, but she seemed in shock, as was Meredith.

You're right, she was completely gone so there was no way for them to talk about it.  but, maybe they shouldn't have shown the two of them smiling and happy at the end of this episode, only to bring that up next episode.  It was just a strange transition for me to go from that end scene to next week's promo.  

[Elle8]

I hate the pregnancy/baby storyline as well, but something in this episode implied Derek had been home for at least a few weeks/months before the accident.  It makes sense since when he returned he told Owen he would have to fly back and forth a few times to wrap things up and then the day of his accident was supposed to be the last time.  Did any one else catch that?  i'll have to go back to pinpoint exactly what was said.  

 

Anyway, I hate trying to apply any logic to this show because really there is none...however I am choosing to believe that Meredith didn't get pregnant just from one time they had sex.  Hostile uterus be dammed!

 

 

I'm sure you're right. Still, a few weeks compared to a whole season of trying with meds and fertility treatments feels forced. But there is no logic and continuity in this show anymore, so I give up. 

Edited May 1, 2015 by Elle8

[noname1]

 

I hate the pregnancy/baby storyline as well, but something in this episode implied Derek had been home for at least a few weeks/months before the accident.  It makes sense since when he returned he told Owen he would have to fly back and forth a few times to wrap things up and then the day of his accident was supposed to be the last time.  Did any one else catch that?  i'll have to go back to pinpoint exactly what was said.

It was certainly a few weeks and not just one morning. Derek had already gone back to work at Grey Sloan in the episode the week before and mentioned the multiple trips back to DC and then in the last episode on the day of the accident he said it was the final DC trip so some time had passed.

 

I'm sure you're right. Still, a few weeks compared to a whole season of trying with meds and fertility treatments feels forced. But there is no logic and continuity in this show anymore, so I give up.

But that is how baby Bailey came around as well. They had stopped fertility treatments pre adopting Zola and were just going to let nature take its course, which is what happened post plane crash the following season Meredith announced the surprise pregnancy with Bailey. They even flashbacked to that conversation last night.

 

You're right, she was completely gone so there was no way for them to talk about it.  but, maybe they shouldn't have shown the two of them smiling and happy at the end of this episode, only to bring that up next episode.  It was just a strange transition for me to go from that end scene to next week's promo.

I feel like yes the conversation didn't happen earlier because Meredith left right after the funeral and Amelia was in a hey "it's no big deal Derek died" mood at that time(literally her words at that time ). I think those brief smiles in that scene were of being at peace more than ha hah happy. They showed Meredith giggling with Alex and Maggie with Amelia it was just two soft smiles.

Edited May 1, 2015 by noname1

[rachel1496]

Oh man, the baby's name is Ellis?  I thought it was Alice, as a nod to Alex, and it was the sweetest thing ever. 

April hiding out in her unnamed combat zone as a way to avoid coming home and dealing with the baby made sense but it was terribly set up, they haven't mentioned Samuel in weeks.  The reunion scene didn't bother me though, at that point Jackson was afraid she was dead so the relief at seeing her alive and in Seattle would probably override any anger he had for the moment.

 

[AriAu]

I wonder if PD got paid $400k for an an episode he was in only through flashbacks?  Just wondering.

 

Probably got paid at the rate of when the episode was shot!

Was there any new footage of him?

[Shellie]

Well, I swore I was done with Gray's last week, and I did not watch this "very special" episode. But I did record it, just in case I decided I needed to get the closure I thought it would bring. It seems from the recap and comments that it was a pile of crap that didn't give the long-time fans anything they wanted, so I will delete without watching. 

 

This is how I handled it too.  A friend called right after the show but he had only seen the last hour and he was totally confused.  He described some of it and I was confused too.  Then I read recaps this morning and commentary and thought, ugh, what a mess.  

 

If we thought the last episode was lazy writing, this is over the top.  Let's just not really address what happened, and skip forward a year and start over.  

[windsprints]

I wonder if PD got paid $400k for an an episode he was in only through flashbacks?  Just wondering.

 

Probably. I believe actors are paid their rate for any episode they are credited in, whether or not they actually appear.

They showed Meredith giggling with Alex and Maggie with Amelia it was just two soft smiles.

 

Agree. I thought Amelia was looking at the baby and seeing Derek living on and her smile to Meredith was an understanding of what she went through (ties back to the speech just before Derek died). The smiles were more of a nod of understanding.

Edited May 1, 2015 by windsprints

[readster]

Probably. I believe actors are paid their rate for any episode they are credited in, whether or not they actually appear.

Agree. I thought Amelia was looking at the baby and seeing Derek living on and her smile to Meredith was an understanding of what she went through (ties back to the speech just before Derek died). The smiles were more of a nod of understanding.

 

 Oh like that matters. Arizona all of a sudden found out that Alex was the person who really removed her leg and realized she should have blamed Alex the entire time for her leg instead of Callie mean they probably wouldn't have divorced. Or how about how Mariah dwelled on signing a will for 10 MONTHS and then hated when he finally did it. I love how Owen can just go right back into the military and Richard can be chief again for almost a year. Doesn't work that way. 

[JAYJAY1979]

To me, this episode robbed the audience and characters of properly grieving Dr. Shepherd's death.  It would have made an excellent story arc for next season with seeing the hospital, staff and most of all.. Meredith, grieve and move on with their lives.

 

http://www.chicagonow.com/confessions-coffeeholic/2015/05/derek-shepherd-greys-anatomy-prime-time-soap/

[jschoolgirl]

-the cheesy floating Derek head when Meredith told Alex she saw Derek in baby Ellis

 

Wow, I didn't see that!

 

Ellen Pompeo is a much, much better actress than Kerry Washington, who relies on histrionics and sneering.

[Starscream]

-the cheesy floating Derek head when Meredith told Alex she saw Derek in baby Ellis.  Show, we know what Derek looks like. We've just spent 11 years watching, not to mention 2 hours with flashbacks.  We didn't need the floating Derek head during that scene.  

That's the only thing I can say I legitimately hated about this episode.  It was SO cheesy.

 

I guess last episode's colossal amount of errors set me off because I've been nitpicking the hell out of this episode. 

 

As was already mentioned, there's no way Jackson would be watching the "National League playoffs" in early summer.

 

Does Maggie live at the frat house now?  She was over there more than the two women we know actually live there, combined.  I keep forgetting that Arizona still lives there, but still.

 

I don't know why I just started obsessing over this last week, when it has been an issue since Derek was living in the trailer, but there's no way Owen could surprise Amelia at the dream house by appearing a matter of minutes after she got there.  They have to take a freaking ferry to get there, which means being grouped together in close proximity for at least the good part of an hour.  Or did Owen make the two-hour drive from Seattle to Bainbridge so he could surprise her?

[bluebonnet]

To me, this episode robbed the audience and characters of properly grieving Dr. Shepherd's death.  It would have made an excellent story arc for next season with seeing the hospital, staff and most of all.. Meredith, grieve and move on with their lives.

 

http://www.chicagonow.com/confessions-coffeeholic/2015/05/derek-shepherd-greys-anatomy-prime-time-soap/

The most surprising thing I learned in this article was that Shonda Rhimes doesn't know her shows are soap operas.  That's some serious delusion right there.  Further, what possible reason could she have for denying that her shows are soap operas?  That's been her niche, it's what has made her rich and her name known.  

[John M]

At this point, she owns her shares of the hospital as well as Derek's, so I'm guessing that gives her some leeway. 

 

Also the only other owner of the hospital that doesn't have an extremely close personal connection to both her and her dead husband is the Avery Foundation which is controlled by a woman that is an extremely close personal relationship with a man that basically considers himself Mer's father. Frankly that is one of the most plausible parts of the episode, it's hard to imagine a situation where they wouldn't give her a job whenever she wanted, plus it's not like she would be displacing another specialist head, she is a general surgeon.

 

Also I am going to make a completely ridiculous assumption which I feel is completely fair given this show, Mer has millions and millions of dollars and not job, it doesn't seem unreasonable that she spent a good chunk of those 9 months with Christina in Zurich. And no, Alex saying Christina saying she hadn't talked to Mer doesn't discount that, a good friend would feel completely justified in lying in a case like this and it would explain why she wasn't central in the concern.

Edited May 1, 2015 by John M

[thewhiteowl]

I liked this  much more than last week which was too heavy on the cheesy contrivances. I am so, so, very glad they skipped the endless scenes of everyone sobbing at Derek's funeral. I can assume they would and didn't need to see it.  Loved the time jumps, hated the time wasted on Bailey/ Ben as she has become unwatchable to me.