S12.E23: At Last

[TheresaW1934]

57 minutes ago, pennben said:

Okay, so no real surprises, but I thought it was a good set-up episode for the finale.

Of course Callie blamed Penny for the mess, of course.  I thought everything Arizona did vis a vis Callie was just about as much (if not a lot more) as someone in her shoes could do given the ordeal she was put through by Callie--I mean seriously, asking Arizona to change scheduled dates for who has the kid after trying to paint her as an unfit mother for doing so and for working too much.

Since we weren't shown the actual ruling in the case, I'm assuming it went something like this:  "Sole custody in this case, assuming one mother moves to NY and the other mother stays in the child's current hometown, goes to the mother remaining in Seattle as that would be in the best interests of the child.  However, I have heard nothing in this case that deems either mother unfit, so that child custody shall remain as previously agreed assuming both mothers continue to reside in Seattle".  Which I think, without all of the hoops and dramatics the show went through, is essentially the right result.

Meredith made me laugh a couple of times (running away from dealing with the crazy parents; her reaction when Penny hugged her). But then made me crazy with her crazy.  Pretty much par for the run of the show with Meredith.

As for Penny, if this is her last episode, I thought there could have been a much better final scene with Meredith.  I've never really bought they they would interact like they have in this episode.  I would have preferred it actually go back full circle to the episode last season when they talked outside the hospital after Derek died.  Penny there was apologizing for failing, Meredith yelled at her to be better, don't waste my husband's life, get better and save many more.  I would have liked her exit with Meredith to go back to that:  "I promised you that night to get better.  Thank you for helping me do that.  I promise to continue to do that going forward".  That makes more sense to me than how they made Meredith be there for weepy Penny.

And finally, we all know that someday, maybe not next episode, but some day, Meredith is going to be with Riggs and in walks his "dead" wife and "so, you are the woman sleeping with my husband" is going to be uttered again, right?

ETA:  I meant mention I loved Alex's line that he and Jo had been together "a million years".  Hell, even they don't know how long Alex/Jo have been together given all the time jumps!  As someone said above, fourish years sounds right.

Grey's Medical Twitter account stated the following:

Grey's Medical ‏@GreysMedical May 10

Sole physical custody = which mother Sofia will live with and which mother will control the parenting plan...

 

Grey's Medical ‏@GreysMedical May 10

...Meaning whoever wins this thing gets to set the rules of custody. It's not going to be the simple 50/50 thing going forward. #LegalLegal

 

Arizona drives the schedule and determines when Callie gets to see Sofia.

[pennben]

I stand corrected:)

[BabyBBQKendall]

Well, that was ultra boring for a pre-finale episode.

Kyle and Stephanie? These multi-episode patient arcs are usually a reliable way to pull a few heartstrings, so I'm not sure what went wrong here. God knows, they threw everything at it but nothing worked. Jo slo-mo running through the ER was more laughable than dramatic. Bye, Kyle.

Penny went out with a whimper instead of a bang. After all the trouble she caused, it was unbelievable that Callie wouldn't even attempt a long-distance relationship. That's been a big problem this season, the lack of believability in the character's emotions and the decisions they make based on those emotions. It all feels very false.

Omelia are doomed. I don't care about either of them, so I just hope their train wreck is entertaining. Amelia needed to bitchslap Meredith, that outburst was completely unwarranted. It's not Amelia's fault that Derek's dead, that they happened to have the same occupation, or that she's been in a happy relationship for 0.2 seconds. 

The Mer and Riggs hookup was not hot, and I'm not sure if it was meant to be. I do want some bacon, though.

This show desperately needs a dose of Sandra Oh! 

[photo fox]

I thought it was particularly shitty of Meredith to say that to Amelia about living in her house and taking care of her kids. She invited Amelia to move back in, and she's certainly never complained about the many hours of free daycare. God forbid Amelia have a man and a friend. 

The Ben and Bailey stuff was so juvenile, but I did chuckle at his "you know, you have April" line to Jackson. They're so obviously still emotionally a couple.

Didn't Jo just give Alex the "I need to know where this is going" speech when she found out about Izzy's eggs? If she wasn't free to get married, what was all that about? 

I'm not sure there are enough seats in the hospital for Stephanie to take.

Were Meredith and Riggs climbing in the backseat to have sex in the parking lot? It looked like he was trying to get the back door open when they cut the scene.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

It's really difficult for me to feel any sympathy for Callie because she is used to getting her way and now she's a sad panda because things aren't going the way she had planned. Boo hoo, now you don't get to basically go on a year long vacation with your girlfriend to New York with your kid. Oh, now you realize how terrible it would be if your relationship with your daughter was limited to flying across the country to visit her for a few days each month? But it was totally fine to expect Arizona to do that. "You can come visit any time!"

Tonight made me realize that Callie has been the one making 99% of the decisions in her relationship with Penny too. Callie yelled at Penny for daring to speak to Sofia when she was brought into the ER because she hadn't told Sofia anything about her new girlfriend. Then a few hours later, Callie decided it was time for Sofia to meet Penny and spend time with her. Callie decided that she wanted to go to New York with her. Callie decided she would bring Sofia and the three of them would live together as a family. Callie decided she couldn't go to New York without Sofia. Callie decided that a long distance relationship wouldn't work. Callie decided to end her relationship with Penny. When I started thinking about how little input Penny seems to have in this relationship, I say go be free, Penny! Get your ass away from bossy Callie and enjoy life in New York!

Similarly, Callie wanted to dictate the terms of Arizona's relationship with Sofia. She figured she could just take Sofia to New York and Arizona could do all the work to maintain her relationship with Sofia. Callie was willing to drag Arizona through the mud and present things in a way to make Arizona look bad (because obviously going to trivia nights and agreeing to do emergency surgeries makes her a terrible mother, according to Callie). And then after all that, Callie still expects Arizona to just roll over every time she asks to change Sofia's schedule. I get asking to switch nights for a surgery but to then ask for another change the same day? She is so selfish. Not only is she disregarding Arizona's schedule but she is disrupting Sofia's schedule. Yes, kids are adaptable but Sofia shouldn't have to keep switching nights for reasons like "dumped my girlfriend."

 

5 hours ago, candall said:

Jo's already married.  Put your money down.

That was the first thing I thought too. I can't wait to hear why she's already married. Got paid to give someone citizenship?

5 hours ago, Amethyst said:

It was sad when Fez died, but damn Stephanie.  When the patient, his family, and the freaking doctors are telling you to leave, you have to leave.  Not just railroad over them.

Seriously. First she dumps him because she needs/wants/likes surgery more than Fez but then she keeps butting her nose into his case when everyone in the damn state of Washington has told her to get out. I'm glad that Amelia respected her patient's wishes and kept telling Stephanie to go away.

On the other hand, Amelia and Owen getting married? What a terrible idea. They're still in the honeymoon period of their most recent reconciliation, but what about all the reasons they broke up and fought before? When Owen said that it's better to get straight to the marriage stuff instead of having a long engagement, I just rolled my eyes. "That marriage stuff" is also known as "that relationship stuff," which you both suck at. If you guys can't even go a few months without breaking up again, why in the hell are you getting married? It's a lot more difficult to get a divorce than it is to break up, so considering how many times they've started and stopped, this seems like a really stupid decision.

Watching Ben talk about how he can keep up the silent treatment forever because he's right made me want to smack him upside the head. He was so obnoxious about it. Heh, I loved that Jackson was obviously not buying any of that.

[Deanie87]

The only shocking thing about this episode was how much I enjoyed it :)  I liked that that nearly everyone had something going on, but it didn't seem too overcrowded and I thought there was a pretty good balance between the stories.  Plus, it was funny!  And Normal Alex was back - being sarcastic and telling Meredith about herself.  God how I have missed him!  Plus, I kind of love Riggs, his box of bacon, his Drano comment and him telling Meredith that she wasn't the only person trying to save the patient. But I wish that he seemed to be a better kisser.  That kiss came dangerously close to a mauling.

I agree with everyone that it seems like Jo's secret is some kind of closet husband.  I noticed that the voiceover right after she said no was something along the lines of "Remember that terrible thing that you thought you had laid to rest, what if you didn't?"  So I am hoping that she somehow thought whatever it was had been taken care of years ago and she put it out of her mind and moved on, and then just recently found out that wasn't the case.  This show has been absolutely terrible with inconsistencies and retcons, but she has NEVER acted like there was some huge thing preventing her from marrying Alex.  She was just skittish, and to be fair, I barely count the first proposal and the second came during a breakup.  So she had valid reasons to be skittish.  If this isn't explained even relatively believably I'm going to be really annoyed.  Also Jo burning dinner and trying to put out a fire with the cutting board (?) made me laugh.

Owen and Amelia are weird and likely doomed.  And boy do I love Richard Webber, I was so, so happy for him when Catherine showed up, overbearing harpy that she is!

If that was Penny's sendoff what a complete letdown, she didn't even say goodbye to any of her friends (of course both had stuff going on what with Denny 2.0 and possible Hidden Husband), but that afterthought of a farewell makes me doubly question why she was ever here.  But I also don't ever want to see her again.

Edited May 13, 2016 by Deanie87

[Bort]

A common divorce agreement when one parent has sole custody is one or two afternoons a week and every other weekend for sleepovers.

3 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I'm glad that Amelia respected her patient's wishes and kept telling Stephanie to go away.

Amelia was way too nice about it, though. After it happened for the bajillionth time, Amelia should have threatened to report Stephanie and not let her see the inside of an OR for a month, maybe that would have worked better.

[RealityCowgirl]

I had an entire response built up in the shower, but it's passed. I'll just affirm what others have noted: Callie is reaping what she sowed with that "thinking with my loins" move-to-NY plan and custody hearing.

Life's not always about you and your needs, dear - especially when there is a child in the mix.

[walnutqueen]

Yo, Riggs - the last person you should be taking kissing lessons from is Owen-eats-face-off-Hunt.

[LydiaMoon1]

UGH.  That was some terrible kissing between Riggs and Meredith.  In the words of Phoebe Buffay --*MY EYES! MY EYES!*

Speaking of Meredith, she must have really been the bomb in previous years for her to still have such devoted friends.  She’s been nothing but a sour pill since I’ve been watching.  I keep wondering why anybody bothers with her.

Owen and Amelia.  UGH.

Although the outcome was absolutely predictable, I finally got into Stephanie/Kyle this episode because it was the first time I understood the motivation behind her behavior.  She felt regret for ending the relationship. That I understand, although I still don’t understand why she dated him in the first place if she didn’t want to deal with his illness.  Still, as soon as Amelia arrogantly announced her surgical infallibility, it was obvious that poor Kyle was a goner.

Jo is a terrible runner.

Callie, Callie, Callie.  Honey.  Please take this time away from Penny and Sophia to learn to be alone.  You act like an overgrown toddler. Here, stick this pacifier in your mouth and shut it.

Overall though, I enjoyed this episode and look forward to next week.  Owen and Amelia get married?  Yeah, like that will happen.   

[ElectricBoogaloo]

3 minutes ago, LydiaMoon1 said:

UGH.  That was some terrible kissing between Riggs and Meredith.  In the words of Phoebe Buffay --*MY EYES! MY EYES!*

[butterbody]

Oh Phoebes, you were everywhere tonight. Jo even runs like you. Clearly she cannot marry Alex because she's already married a gay Canadian ice dancer so he could get a green card.

I can't with Stephanie. Exactly who does she think she is? Who's service was she supposed to be on when she kept lingering on a case that she was told to stay away from? And where was I when this relationship was developing into this great love story his sister knew all about?

Bug bye Penny. Sorry Callie blames you for her choices.

[GreysFan89]

Since everyone has guessed Jo is already married, Jo is most probably already married, the show doesn't do big shocks any-more. Can you imagine how over the top Shonda and co will be when Owen's sister shows up? 'It's the biggest twist in Grey's history' etc lol 

This ep is a good example of how lazy the writers have become, they want the big payoff moments but don't do the work to make the payoff interesting for the viewer. I'm referring to the Stef/Kyle storyline, how are we supposed to be invested in that couple when we've seen so little of them and they haven't even giving us enough to care about who Stef dates in the first place. 

And next week yet another time jump, that is such lazy storytelling. The show needs to start showing us the build up to a story and stop skipping ahead to the payoff moments.

[Guest]

I've only seen a few episodes this season, so I don't know the backstory on who Meredith was kissing, but that had to be the least hot, least sexy kissing ever.  I was like "Who does that?"  I think that was the opposite of what they were going for.

Boo hoo, Callie. Boo-freaking-hoo.

[Catznip]

Quote

UGH.  That was some terrible kissing between Riggs and Meredith.  In the words of Phoebe Buffay --*MY EYES! MY EYES!*

Lol

Quote

Speaking of Meredith, she must have really been the bomb in previous years for her to still have such devoted friends.  She’s been nothing but a sour pill since I’ve been watching.  I keep wondering why anybody bothers with her.

Yes, Mer in seasons 1&2 awesome, loved her. Season 12 she's the pitts, don like the character at all. 

The Callie/Penny/Arizona SL went from one good episode to the next bad episode. Glad it's over. 

[Joana]

1 hour ago, butterbody said:

And where was I when this relationship was developing into this great love story his sister knew all about?

LOL, exactly. They went out a couple of times. It's obvious the writers realized they hadn't given Stephanie a romantic interest since she broke up with Jackson (other than the time she mistook that 17 year old kid for a teacher, which was a comic relief more than anything), so they rushed to give her a doomed love story for the ages of her own. Needless to say, it was a far cry from the impact of Denny or even Henry. Poor guy, though. 

Jo's big secret has to be a BS retcon of some kind. I too believe she's already married, but whatever it is, it shouldn't have taken years of a comitted relationship and basically three marriage proposals before she came clean. Alex should be pissed.

Callie continues to have her head up her ass. Approaching Arizona twice in the same day about changing Sofia's schedule is beyond dumb. And sure, blame Penny, because she's the one who pushed the move to New York and encouraged her to take Arizona to court. Except she did none of that. Like it's been said already, Penny did everything to make that relationship work, and as pathetic as it is, I've been in her shoes. I know what it feels to give everything - and then some! - to accomodate the other person and it's not enough. Because it's never enough. Her storyline has to be one of the absolute most pointless things ever to happen on this show, the way everything played out, but anyway, she's better off alone in New York. 

It's disgusting how self-absorbed Meredith is. Honey, not everything is about you. I'm so glad Alex called her out on her BS, except that it should have happened seasons ago. And Amelia's constant need of Meredith's approval and validation is pathetic and bordering on disturbing. Meredith was actually unintentionally right about one thing - Amelia should get a life of her own: the one that includes Meredith in very small doses. I'm far from sure the life with Owen is a good idea, though, but whatever. 

Edited May 13, 2016 by Joana

[Chicken Wing]

Meredith: The "My husband is dead and I'm unhappy so I get a free pass to poo-poo on everyone else's happiness just because" card does indeed have an expiration date and it's high time she had that fact thrown in her face. I did not, however, need my eyes subjected to Riggs being thrown literally on her face. Were they kissing or eating?

As a longtime fan of Callie's character, I really, really hope there will come a time, sooner rather than later, where I can empathize and root for her in her troubles, but that will not happen so long as she continues to show regret and remorse for only herself and no one else. I don't like Penny and never did, but only because she's so bland and dull it's hard to even notice she exists, but I felt sorry for her with the way Callie treated her and then dumped her. Not that I think she and Callie should be together, because at this point Callie is such a horrible person that Penny deserves better, but I felt bad that Penny felt so bad about everything. And none of it was her fault. I giggled at her hugging Meredith, though, and Meredith just took it like, um, okay? Heh. And Arizona showed a lot more restraint in her smackdown of Callie than I would have in her position. It's one thing to ask to switch nights because she had a work thing come up -- but only when Callie does it, because apparently when Arizona dares to have to operate on her childcare night it makes her an unfit parent! -- but now she's pushing it, begging for an extra night just as a favor when she showed absolutely no consideration for Arizona's needs or feelings. Arizona owes her nothing. They were friends before. They had a great co-parenting relationship. They were the nicest divorced couple ever. But Callie took Arizona for granted, showed no respect or consideration for her rights with regard to their daughter, and she ruined it all. And now she has no girlfriend and can only see her daughter at Arizona's discretion. And she has no one to blame for it but herself.

I really don't know what's going on with Jo. I like the guess that she's already legally married, but I'm not sure. I feel like if that's what's preventing her from marrying Alex, then why didn't she get that handled in the 57 months since he proposed the first time? It seems like there's some fundamental thing that she literally can't change -- like she can't have kids, and she knows he does so she refuses to let him tie himself to her. Or maybe I don't even care.

Owen and Amelia are sad.

Ben and Bailey are still married?

April and Jackson are still divorced?

Stephanie's still here?

Webber hasn't ditched these idiots and found a new job where the coworkers aren't all stupid?

[Daisy]

Also: When did they flat out get a bed with sheets in the on call room? like. a legit. two person bed with sheets? Because that's where Owen + Amelia were rolling around in. Normally the on-call romp room = small twin bed and you really had to spoon, but Amelia had space to roam. 

Someone really hit it on the head. Callie is a selfish cow. and I  really have to wonder if she even acknowledges it. But really thinking back, she's always been this way (so yay? for staying consistent to character?). like she pushed George into being a relationship, she didn't really go "No this is a BAD idea" when she became Callie O'Malley. She pushed herself onto Arizona (and her grant too), and while Arizona was grade a douche about the Africa thing (and I was very much on Team Callie when she unleashed the whole You hurt me, this isn't about you, I don't want to see you, I was pouting and you left me speech - when she was pregnant with Sofia & the affair thing). Callie's a sucky person to "fall in love with" or really be involved with becuse she really does take that mile and then some when you give her an inch. 

 

Meredith was a cow all day and she really needed to be snapped at and it wasn't even because she was horny for Riggs either. She saw the trailer go and she was just a big cow. And she never apologises either. or she'll apologise and ... everyone is happy. And i think it's kind of funny that everyone on the cast is all like "move on, PD is gone..." but these are the kind of episodes where it's obvious what PD/Derek brought to the show I can't really name it - (and I say this as someone who never forgave Derek for calling Meredith a whore), but he's missed. I think he would be the one to flat out tell Callie she's wrong. He'd tell Bailey to stop this stupidness (Warren too). He'd tell Steph to back the hell away from the OR and ban her if need be. 

oh I know now. 
He's the adult. 

[dmc]

Yikes.  Right now there are so many story lines that I am not feeling.  I had stopped watching Grey's for awhile and then came back post McDreamy but about to bail again.

Owen+Amelia- I do not like these two together, there I said it.  Amelia annoys me in any story line connected to Owen and the fact that she is barely hanging on to her sobriety does not make marriage advisable.

Amelia+Meredith-  I wish they would stop with this plot line.  It's getting stale. 

Arizona+ Callie- I hate this whole story line.  First I don't believe there is a chance in hell that Callie would lose custody...that is a Shondaland fantasy but Arizona...I told have any grace to give seriously...what about your affair at work, your being horrible for months when you lost your leg...

Jo+ALEX- They are like Fetch, never going to happen...they don't have any chemistry whatsoever...

Riggs-Meredith-  I appreciate this show showing us all of Riggs' chemistry with Maggie so they could have this happen.  Thanks. Also not interested.

[marceline]

11 hours ago, Amethyst said:

It was sad when Fez died, but damn Stephanie.  When the patient, his family, and the freaking doctors are telling you to leave, you have to leave.  Not just railroad over them.

Stephanie's behavior was beyond disgusting. I know this is Grey's so everyone is an utter narcissist but Stephanie just walking into the room with the family acting like she had any right to be there made me insane. 

Owen and Amelia bore me so much that when they started talking about furniture I was surprised because I'd completely forgotten they were even dating.

I was glad to see Arizona read Callie the way she did. She was right. This all happened because Callie caused it all for the love of that dishrag she couldn't live without then turns around and blames said dishrag for losing her daughter. Callie, please sitchoassdown.

[Black Knight]

In an otherwise sad storyline, I did enjoy the brief moment of levity of April’s “I’d lose the crazed smile before you start cramping” and Arizona’s immediately dropping the smile with a “Yeah.” Very reminiscent of her persona change upon entering the OR last week that posters commented on.

I’ve been thinking more about what Callie could say and do here, and I really do think it would help if she approached Arizona with a speech along these lines: “I realize that what I did was wrong. I should never have tried to uproot our daughter from her life here and move her away from you for a new girlfriend. I was selfish. I completely devalued your relationship with Sofia both in that and in what I let my lawyer say in the trial. I misrepresented everything from when I first got pregnant to the way our joint parenting worked to your general character and fitness as a mother. I put you through hell, and our friends through hell, and I see now that I would have put Sofia through hell as well in separating her from you. After all my dishonesty, and the things I did, you have every reason to ask why you should believe me now, and my answer is that it’s because I’ve seen the damage and pain my words and actions caused, not just to me, but to you and everyone else, and I’ve taken it to heart and it has taught me a lesson. I will prove it to you through my future words and actions, and earn your trust back. If there is anything you specifically need or want, just let me know.” It would greatly help if she could manage to deliver such a speech without the sad “I am the victim here, please feel sorry for me” eyes she was employing on Arizona in the second scene or the chuckling “I’m a fuckup, yes, but I’m an adorable fuckup, please find me charming and melt” grin that she tried on Arizona a few weeks back in the NICU. This speech would in no way fix everything, she can only earn the trust back by how she acts in future, but it would be a good first step in that long process. One of the things that is clearly driving Arizona nuts right now is Callie’s continued, characteristic, refusal to take any personal responsibility, instead blaming others and playing the victim, or to acknowledge what she did. Trying to simply gloss over what happened, as Callie was doing in this episode, is not the way to go here.

Another poster called Callie an emotional child last week, and that’s so true. And that informed how Arizona treated her in the second scene. She knew Callie was trying to manipulate her, and push to find out how much she could get away with, and like you have to do with any child, instead of falling for the manipulation Arizona set clear limits and explained the situation, the consequences of Callie's actions, in no uncertain terms. She will accommodate requests within reason, but Callie cannot just ask for anything and everything (especially when it has nothing to do with Sofia's needs or wants, only Callie's). Arizona is not an endless fount of patience and goodwill. Arizona also made reference to rules, presumably rules the judge imposed about the way the new custody arrangement is supposed to work. Since swapping was such a huge issue at the trial – thanks to Callie – likely Arizona, as the custodial parent, is supposed to be enforcing a more fixed schedule going forward in which swapping is kept to a minimum, and she could get in trouble if she doesn’t. The more fixed schedule makes it harder on both women to balance work and parenting, but as Arizona noted, Callie ruined everything.

[Gladrags]

Last night's episode, I believe, was the first time I have ever been glad to see Catherine. LOL Poor Richard looked so forlorn among his idiot co-workers, and I felt such joy for him when the elevator doors opened. Maybe I was just glad to see at least two happy characters for a few seconds. 

Stephanie ... is a bull-headed, self-involved jerk. Of course, you could apply those words to more than half the characters on the show. 

[BaseOps]

I quite liked this episode. Aside from the Steph storyline, which I had no real interest in, I liked how everything moved along. 

The big divisive storyline is Meredith / Amelia, it seems. I really liked the first scene with Mer seeing Owen sell the trailer - I've been watching some older episodes recently, and a lot of stuff really did go down in that trailer. I felt Mer's pain there. Do I agree with how she treated Amelia? No way. Did I understand it? Yea. I know some fans feel the same way (saying that Amelia came in to replace Derek), and in a way I felt like the writers were almost nodding to that. What I really liked is that the writers also acknowledged how awful Meredith was being by having both Alex and Riggs point it out. I really wish they had kept Meredith in therapy, but I get that twisty Mer is more ripe for drama. It seems her and Amelia are fine by next week (a time jump?) but I wonder if we'll actually see the direct resolution of that 'get your own life' scene.

Mer / Riggs... I liked that they held it off until now. I thought Riggs was really charming in this episode. When the actor was announced, everyone said he was put in for Meredith, so I'm glad that onscreen the writers didn't make it so obvious. Or, at least, they developed other connections for him and gave him a full season apart from Mer. I hope we'll see him soften her edges a bit, so to speak. I do like prickly Meredith here and there, but I want to see her happy.

Alex / Jo... she seemed quite troubled when she said no to his proposal. I liked how all throughout the episode Alex was slowly realizing that he didn't want to wait anymore. I wish we had seen some actual Jo / Alex scenes lately to drive the point home, but I'll take what I can get. I loved him telling Meredith that he was going to have a big wedding and she'd be his best man. I wonder what Jo could possibly be hiding that would make her say no so abruptly.  

Bailey / Ben - Meh. I mean, whatever... 

Owen / Amelia - So a few weeks of on-again and now they're ready to get married? I used to really like Owen (I'm talking back in S5), so I'm happy to see him happy and not so shouty. But this just seems so under-developed and odd to me. They've had the entire season to give them a real love story and build to this, and instead we got weird on-again-off-again stagnation and now suddenly after being back together for 2 weeks they're ready to get married. Lets see how this pans out... 

Callie / Arizona - DID WE JUST GET RID OF PENNY!?!? Okay, well there's one major point for this episode. I did feel bad for Callie a bit, but I'm glad Arizona is standing her ground. I hated how Callie acted a lot of this season, and it's hard to feel sympathy when she was the one who initiated this whole thing and was willing to take Sofia away from Arizona. Now that it's happened to her (to a much smaller degree, mind you, because Arizona hasn't taken Sofia out of state like Callie wanted to) she's struggling. I hope she realizes in the finale what she was asking of Arizona when she decided to follow Penny with their daughter.  

Predictions for next week: A 3 month time jump. Amelia and Owen are getting married in Meredith's living room. Alex and Jo haven't spoken a single word since the last episode; he finally asks her why she said no. She tells him that she cheated with Cross, the blonde intern that had a crush on her. Meredith, already feeling dark & twisty envy on Amelia's wedding day, continuing on a secret affair with Riggs, gets word from Alex that Jo cheated. Meredith murders Jo and drags the body back to her house. Meanwhile, Maggie gets drunk waiting for the wedding and reveals to Riggs that she has a crush on him. He tells her he's been sleeping with Meredith and then Maggie cries and talks about her sad vagina. Meredith and Alex are hiding Jo's body in her bedroom; they have sex on Meredith's floor just as Maggie walks in to confront Mer about Riggs. At the same time, Ghost Jo rises and sees Alex and Meredith. "I KNEW IT! I KNEW IT!" Meanwhile, Callie sees Arizona across the room at the wedding. She apologizes. They get back together. April goes into labor. Ben delivers the baby. Bailey realizes he is a good doctor and loves him again. Jackson realizes he loves April. Richard says something wise. Just as things are looking peachy, Ghost Jo hovers down to the ceremony in the living room where Amelia and Owen are just about to say I do: Ghost Jo reveals she is Meghan, Owen's sister. Owen is overwhelmed and runs away (why? who cares...) Amelia rushes into the bathroom crying and rails a line of cocaine. She realizes Riggs was on the toilet the whole time!!! He asks if she's okay and they have sex. When they're done, Amelia is like 'Hey, by the way, your ex-wife is here. And she's a Ghost. And she's Jo. And your girlfriend Meredith killed her.' Riggs tries to head downstairs but runs into Maggie in the hallway, who is crying and tells her that she has loved him her entire life. Also, she mentions, Mer is boinking Alex now. Meredith comes out of her bedroom, Amelia comes out of the bathroom, Ghost Jo / Meghan hovers back upstairs, and all of them stare at Riggs. Steph isn't in the episode and no on cares. THE END. 

Edited May 13, 2016 by BaseOps

[izabella]

5 minutes ago, BaseOps said:

It seems her and Amelia are fine by next week (a time jump?) but I wonder if we'll actually see the direct resolution of that 'get your own life' scene.

I'm hoping during the time jump that Amelia and Owen are happily playing house, and Amelia has indeed gotten her own life.  And that we get a scene where Meredith, Maggie and Amelia are together, and Maggie asks Amelia if she can come by the house because the kids miss spending so much time with her every day and she, Maggie, is exhausted as the full time nanny, while Meredith remembers, "oh yeah, those kids Maggie watches are mine!"

Edited May 13, 2016 by izabella

[GreysFan89]

5 minutes ago, BaseOps said:

DID WE JUST GET RID OF PENNY!?!?

[Joana]

9 minutes ago, BaseOps said:

He tells her he's been sleeping with Meredith and then Maggie cries and talks about her sad vagina.

I actually... wouldn't be surprised if something like that happened. God, what has this show come to.

Quote

Meanwhile, Callie sees Arizona across the room at the wedding. She apologizes. They get back together.

Sadly, this wouldn't come across as a huge shock either.

Quote

April goes into labor. Ben delivers the baby. Bailey realizes he is a good doctor and loves him again.

This will definitely happen.

Quote

Jackson realizes he loves April. Richard says something wise. 

And so will this.

Quote

Steph isn't in the episode and no on cares. THE END. 

And this.

[Qoass]

My guess is that Jo is hiding in plain sight from an abusive husband.

I expect Bailey and Ben to wordlessly reconcile with a clasp of hands while watching Owen and Amelia recite their vows.

Two adversarial people suddenly fall into each others' faces while they're arguing?  Gee, never saw that before.

[Primetimer]

Owen and Amelia's relationship takes a serious turn, prompting a less than positive response from Meredith.

View the full article

[Maukie99]

So that was one of the best episodes in Season 12. She had everything going for it. Emotional scenes between Meredith and Amelia, then that between Owen and Amelia. And Alex can feel sorry. Jo has again rejected his marriage proposal, just as I have understood it. Jo hiding something from him. And Stepahnie has a very sorry for him. Why is Kyle died? The recall time of Izzie and Denny. And the moments between Maggie and Nathan were funny. Maggie seems Nathan very to like, but Nathan she likes just as colleague and good friend. He has instead feelings for Meredith and I think so since 12x07. I am very curious how it goes with the two, as in Meredith and Nathan. Both share the same fate and fit well together in my opinion.

[Joana]

28 minutes ago, izabella said:

I'm hoping during the time jump that Amelia and Owen are happily playing house, and Amelia has indeed gotten her own life.  And that we get a scene where Meredith, Maggie and Amelia are together, and Maggie asks Amelia if she can come by the house because the kids miss spending so much time with her every day and she, Maggie, is exhausted as the full time nanny, while Meredith remembers, "oh yeah, those kids Maggie watches are mine!"

I would be super thrilled if the next episode revealed that Amelia moved out the same day Meredith shat ALL OVER her just as she was starting to be happy again and that they hadn't spoken since. Sadly, the promo seems to suggest otherwise.

Because, really, that's what should happen. Amelia shouldn't be fighting for the scraps of Meredith's attention and affection. None of them should. It's been more than enough. 

[Maukie99]

Or it happens is a 6 weeks jump between 12x23 and 12x24 and Meredith finds out the night with Nathan not remained without result and she is pregnant. Then Meredith Nathan wants to say, and just in the moment appeared to Megan. Owens thought dead sister. So so what I would Shonda also trust.

[izabella]

2 minutes ago, Joana said:

Amelia shouldn't be fighting for the scraps of Meredith's attention and affection

Not only that, she shouldn't be Meredith's punching bag whenever Mere is feeling the sadz.

Edited May 13, 2016 by izabella

[Chicken Wing]

Meredith lets Amelia in her life because of Derek, proceeds to beat her up for not being Derek. Rinse, repeat.

[PamelaMaeSnap]

ETA: Apologies because not only did someone suggest this but apparently EVERYONE suggested it ... my bad for working backwards and writing from the heart ... but yeah, my theory on Jo was immediately that I think she's already legally married to someone somewhere. Maybe it was a toxic relationship gone bad that she's on the run from.

Also, I spent the entire episode worried that Webber was going to die (again). I will not be happy if they kill him off (again). Wasn't there some spoiler somewhere that said someone dies in the last episode?  And I don't think anyone would be expecting him because they already sort of did that ... and since he's the only guy who's arguably HAPPY now, he'd be the likely victim.  And by the way, he looks GREAT ... has he lost weight?

Edited May 13, 2016 by PamelaMaeSnap

[Black Knight]

24 minutes ago, BaseOps said:

Meanwhile, Callie sees Arizona across the room at the wedding. She apologizes. They get back together.

I can't see it. Arizona was just forcibly reminded of everything she disliked about being in a relationship with Callie, and to a greater degree than anything she'd ever experienced before. Now maybe this is a vehicle for Callie to change, but that would be a long process and Arizona would need more than an apology given Callie's dishonesty. Arizona also wasn't evincing any lingering feelings or attraction to Callie even before their relationship went to hell. Nor was Callie showing any lingering feelings for Arizona, and if Callie hit on Arizona now, I think AZ would have to question Callie's true motives. Now some of the previous showrunners for Grey's, maybe they wouldn't care, but these showrunners really have a good grasp on why Callie and Arizona didn't work as a couple, and actually care about Arizona's point of view.

On a practical level, given that the writers had no idea whether Sara Ramirez would return next season when they wrote the finale, they'd need to leave things up in the air. It's already going to be hard enough to write Callie off the show as it is if SR leaves, as realistically she'd never leave her daughter, but they could kludge together some kind of "Callie finds life too hard in Seattle after having royally fucked up and decides she needs to leave for a bit to regroup" excuse and have it not be entirely ridiculous. But if they put her back with Arizona in the finale, they'd basically have no choice but to kill Callie off. I know Grey's loves killing off characters, but SR is one of Shonda's favorites and someone she'd want to leave the door open for to return.

It would actually surprise me less if Arizona shockingly died in the finale, thus giving Callie full custody of Sofia, and thus the writers got to have their pie and eat it too - they didn't devalue Arizona's role as Sofia's other legal mother (which Shonda as an adoptive mother would loathe) but they can then write Callie off without any plausibility problems, since Callie would be able to take Sofia with her. No, I don't actually think that will happen, just saying, I would find that less surprising than a Calzona reunion.

I was really worried about Webber at the end of this episode. I was so relieved when the elevator doors opened to reveal Catherine, as I was quite afraid Webber was about to collapse on the spot. Good on you, Catherine!

[Maukie99]

That was not fair, that's Meredith Amelia so approached. Amelia Derek misses her as much and wants him back well. Only they want to live and they do not want to live determines Derek's life or the place of taking Cristina where she marries Owen. She wants Owen marry because she loves him.

[taanja]

13 hours ago, candall said:

Jo's already married.  Put your money down.

Ding! Ding! Ding! we have a winner!

[Chewy101]

Callie put Arizona through hell over Sophia, only to turn around and dump on Penny the second it got hard. She continues to amaze me with her selfishness. AND her cluelessness. She thought AZ should be able to live with Sophia only getting visits across the country, but she is adamant that that arrangement is not an option for herself. Penny should have smacked her.

Everyone on the show dumps all over Penny. She definitely needs to get far away from Seattle.

Stephanie is behaving like a nut job. So out of line. 

Maggie has continued to be endearing to me this season. I can forgive the Mary Sue crap of last season, finally.

Meredith's constant hot/cold with Amelia is so baffling to me. I wish Meredith had died with Derek.

Webber's "children" are all acting like lunatics and it is definitely wearing on him.

Poor Alex. No one has grown more than he has and he cannot catch a break.

Amelia's wanting to advance things with Owen is typical addict behavior, and why she isn't supposed to be in a relationship in less than a year of sobriety. I wish Owen could see that. However, if their union craps on Meredith in any way, I am all for it.

Meredith sublimating her rage with a one night stand puts her back in seasons 1 and 2. So gross.

Edited May 13, 2016 by Chewy101

[lorbeer]

Boy, that was good episode for me.

(Hopefully) we get rid of Penny for good, Jo broke up with Alex - it could only get better if Jo went away along with Penny, and Meredith my beloved character finally did something interesting. I hate she's such a bitch to Amelia, though. Amelia helps her a lot and love the kids - it was really low to say all those things to her.

Hunt's boring me but I like Amelia and I like the fact that he finally have someone who also wants to have kids and puppy and all happy family package.

Now that we're done with Penny and Jo, Stephanie is my number 1 to hate.

And please, please, please give Alex someone likeable, I don't want for him to get back together with Jo. But I agree with the theory she propably is already married.

[berly57]

Don't know if someone has already addressed this, because I haven't read every post, but something that kind of bothered me last night was when Weber was looking around at the different couples (before he saw Catherine in the elevator), everything was kind of fuzzy & I noticed him rubbing his neck . . . I hope that's not a hint of something to come . . . I may be wrong, but I think that may be a sign of a stroke or tumor or something.

[Chicken Wing]

I don't think there was anything wrong with him. I think he was just saddened by all the unnecessary drama with all the couples and it was just everywhere.

[pennben]

31 minutes ago, PamelaMaeSnap said:

Also, I spent the entire episode worried that Webber was going to die (again). I will not be happy if they kill him off (again).

Okay, I didn't spend the entire episode thinking that, but when he was watching the other couples with relationship problems at the end there; it seemed to go slo-mo for a bit, and then he was rubbing the back of his neck, and I was thinking oh no, oh no,oh no, he's going to go down.... I was relieved to see Catherine and hopefully that was just a fakeout!

[readster]

44 minutes ago, taanja said:

Ding! Ding! Ding! we have a winner!

I agree and its going to be one of these reasons. 

1. She did it so the person could get a green card.

2. She is married to an abusive husband and is either hiding in plain sight or they had a child together. And for some bullshit reason they are still married.

3. She is legally separated from her ex husband but he won't let her get a divorce.

4. Someone was watching Castle and Jo got married in Vegas, didn't think it was real and found out just before Alex proposed that they are still married and he won't give her the divorce because he is a big drama king. 

5. Her real name isn't Jo and she is in witness protection from Fitz from Scandle. 

Edited May 13, 2016 by readster

[izabella]

6. She married someone to get or give health insurance.  (What?  Teddy did it!)

[GreysFan89]

I don't know if it's been mentioned in the show or not and I've just missed it but how did Jo go from living in her car to medical school? Wouldn't you need a fair bit of money to do that?

[BaseOps]

8 minutes ago, GreysFan89 said:

I don't know if it's been mentioned in the show or not and I've just missed it but how did Jo go from living in her car to medical school? Wouldn't you need a fair bit of money to do that?

She was a prostitute for several years (this could also be her secret...) 

No, I'm kidding (I think.) I can't remember if this was ever addressed actually... 

[Bort]

25 minutes ago, GreysFan89 said:

I don't know if it's been mentioned in the show or not and I've just missed it but how did Jo go from living in her car to medical school? Wouldn't you need a fair bit of money to do that?

Scholarships and financial aid, just like everybody else does. Most people can't afford to become doctors and pay cash for it. We're not all underwear models like Izzie. 

[PamelaMaeSnap]

So maybe she married someone REALLY RICH to put her through med school and he's the guy who won't give her the divorce so she's in hiding from him ... 

[Joana]

14 hours ago, Evie said:

I could see Jo being married but if so it doesn't make sense she told Alex to keep the ring in the drawer unless she's secretly been trying to get divorced or something.

That's pretty much the only half-plausible explanation I can come up with. That he wants to marry her couldn't have come as a surprise to her considering he had already asked before. She knew the offer was on the table - or in the drawer, rather. If that was some brand new information, to keep up with the Phoebe-theme :), that she found out in the meantime and that's keeping her from getting married, surely she should have talked to him about it. 

If she was married and trying to get divorced all this time but for some reason couldn't do it, that would be at least a tiny bit less insultingly stupid that just about anything else. 

[esco1822]

Oh Callie, I don't even know what to say that everyone else hasn't already touched on.  She got to take some personal responsibility for what is going on in her life, including breaking up with Penny.  An apology (which is desperately necessary) is going to be meaningless without that part. Arizona has to feel betrayed on a number of levels and i'd dare say questioning her entire relationship with Callie.  If I had been in her position during that trial, I'd have to question whether she ever actually loved or knew me at all.  Arizona was very stern with her and I can't blame her especially considering that type of delivery tends to be the only thing Callie responds to.  Remember Callie trying to intervene with Meredith when she wasn't giving Penny anything to do?  She was asked nicely to butt out and it did nothing.  It took Penny chastising her publicly to make her realize she was out of line.  This is a character long trend for her.  Arizona was right to set boundaries and not just because she had already bent to Callie's request earlier in the day. I think it would also be concerning to hand off your child, who has already emotionally acted out due to the drama around her, to a parent who is going to use said child as an emotional security blanket.