S14.E22: Fight for Your Mind

[Deanie87]

Alex and Jo go on a road trip to Iowa to find Alex's mom, whom he hasn't heard from in a very long time. Meanwhile, Meredith gives a presentation on her mini-livers project, which attracts a ton of attention; and Jackson works to rebuild the foundation after its reputation is threatened, on "Grey's Anatomy," THURSDAY, MAY 3 (8:00-9:00 p.m. EDT) on The ABC.

 

ETA - oops I didn’t realize there was already an episode thread.

Edited May 4, 2018 by kariyaki
Fixed airdate

[Guest]

An okay episode overall. 

I’m happy Alex was able to find peace with his mom. 

Still bored by the Harper Avery storyline and annoyed by the “Catherine Fox Foundation.”

You can’t let your young child keep dictating cross country moves. 

[Biggie B]

I am surprised that the pregnant woman even decided to have a child, given her extreme phobia. Not every child will need surgery or major medical procedures, but there is a really good chance that at some point during childhood, your kid will get hurt to some extent - whether it's falling off a bicycle, a sports injury, a bloody nose, or any number of things, you as the parent are very likely going to be in the position of seeing your kid injured and having to deal with it, even on a low level. And take it a step back - just giving birth - given her mental state, you'd think she'd be utterly unable to go through giving birth. Her husband/partner did mention her therapist, so perhaps she was on her way to being able to deal with medical procedures, but still - I just found it odd that she'd even be pregnant in the first place, knowing (irrationally) what could happen to her and/or her child.

Spoiler

So is the actress who plays Arizona leaving the show?

 

I'm glad for Alex that he and his mother are in a fairly good place. I wonder if they could stay in touch somehow. Maybe a phone call once a month could become part of her routine. I'm glad he didn't get upset that she likely won't come to the wedding. They can send her pictures, perhaps. Lindsay Wanger looked nice.

I still don't see any sexual connection between Jackson and Maggie. To me, they come off well as really good friends, but that scene where she said, hey let's find a private place and then he leaned down awkwardly to kiss her seemed completely strained and artificial. 

I knew that Betty wouldn't last. Felt bad for Amelia that she trusted the girl - that was a mistake. I still wonder why Betty's parents are nowhere to be found - just that brief mention of them last episode. 

[WhosThatGirl]

47 minutes ago, deaja said:

An okay episode overall. 

I’m happy Alex was able to find peace with his mom. 

Still bored by the Harper Avery storyline and annoyed by the “Catherine Fox Foundation.”

You can’t let your young child keep dictating cross country moves. 

Yeah.. I mean the writing was on the wall with Arizona for a few episodes now and Sophia. And I dislike DeLucas sister(I can never remember her name) but she’s right at this point, Sophia has had Arizona wrapped around her finger for weeks now. Or maybe it’s days, but for us it’s been weeks per the episodes. One episode she didn’t want to go to school so Arizona brought her to work, one day she went half a day, and now she’s stealing money so she can’t be at school for the day. and how Arizona’s changing her life? 

And here’s the thing, this is why unfortunately when Arizona let Callie have part time custody  while she moved to  NY it probably wasn’t going to work. Kids shouldn’t have to go to a school in one state for half of the year and then another. That’s why when Arizona and Callie went to court, it was obvious only one mom  was going to get sole custody. It’s confusing for a child to be in two different places.

Also as much as I get Amelia wanting to help Betty, I know right away when she was at te bathroom door that Betty had probably run away. 

They keep giving Mer guys she bonds with and then they disappear. I wonder if this is what they want. I mean I know EP has said a few times over that the network has pushed for a love interest since PD left so I wonder if they make a conscious choice now with guest stars.

Edited May 4, 2018 by WhosThatGirl

[anna0852]

Well at least the junkie mom running off probably means Owen will have a better chance at actually adopting Leo.

[chocolatine]

I thought Mere was a bitch to Marie Cerone. Marie only decided to compete with her in the tiny livers project after Mere initially refused to acknowledge Marie's contribution to the Grey Method. She was more than happy for the guy she met at the bar to be the Pete Conrad of abdominal wall surgery, but heaven forbid she ever becomes the Pete Conrad of anything. I have the feeling Meredith only acknowledged Marie in the end to rehabilitate her own public image after the Avery scandal, not because she felt Marie was owed the credit.

17 minutes ago, WhosThatGirl said:

It’s confusing for a child to be in two different places.

But wasn't Sofia the one who asked to move back to Seattle earlier this season? She obviously always misses the mother she's not with. I still think it was incredibly selfish of Callie to move across the country for her "true love" - excuse me while I barf - Penny without a thought for her child's well-being.  

Edited May 4, 2018 by chocolatine

[WhosThatGirl]

2 minutes ago, chocolatine said:

I thought Mere was a bitch to Marie Cerone. Marie only decided to compete with her in the tiny livers project after Mere initially refused to acknowledge Marie's contribution to the Grey Method. She was more than happy for the guy she met at the bar to be the Pete Conrad of abdominal wall surgery, but heaven forbid she ever becomes the Pete Conrad of anything. I have the feeling Meredith only acknowledged Marie in the end to rehabilitate her own public image after the Avery scandal, not because she felt Marie was owed the credit.

But wasn't Sofia the one who asked to move back to Seattle earlier this season? She obviously always misses the mother she's not with. I still think it was incredibly selfish of Callie to move across the country for her "true love" - excuse me while I barf - Penny without a thought for her child's well-being.  

I don’t think Sophia asked, but I could be wrong, I’m pretty sure it was just Arizona’s time to have her. 

Yeah.. I hated when Callie made this big decision to move and didn’t get why Arizona wouldn’t be into it. And I believe when it happened, Callie thought she would be the primary caregiver and Arizona would just let it happen.

[funnygirl]

I loved the sweet moment with Alex and his mom at the end. It's tough, but I'm glad she has her routine and is doing better. 

Deluca's ornamental sister has no business dating a mother if she can't be bothered to understand that the child will always come first. And she's the last person who should be dolling out parenting advice. There's nothing parents love more than when a childless person tells them how to parent. /sarcasm 

I enjoy a good Miranda Bailey speech. 

6 minutes ago, chocolatine said:

I still think it was incredibly selfish of Callie to move across the country for her "true love" - excuse me while I barf - Penny without a thought for her child's well-being.  

Selfish (and stupid) though it may be, in the end it was Arizona who bought Callie the plane tickets and told her to go. 

Edited May 4, 2018 by funnygirl

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, WhosThatGirl said:

I don’t think Sophia asked, but I could be wrong, I’m pretty sure it was just Arizona’s time to have her. 

Yeah.. I hated when Callie made this big decision to move and didn’t get why Arizona wouldn’t be into it. And I believe when it happened, Callie thought she would be the primary caregiver and Arizona would just let it happen.

I’m almost positive Sofia asked to go live with Arizona. There was a scene where Arizona got off the phone with Sofia and told Catarina “she wants to come home” or something like that. 

[pennben]

7 minutes ago, chocolatine said:

I thought Mere was a bitch to Marie Cerone. Marie only decided to compete with her in the tiny livers project after Mere initially refused to acknowledge Marie's contribution to the Grey Method.  

I think Marie not only decided to compete with Meredith, she decided to deceive Meredith to get all of her end of the research that needed to go with the polymer she inherited from her father that was thought necessary for the tiny livers to work.  The only reason she didn't win is because they learned the polymer wasn't needed.  I thought it was bullshit to take her anger at Ellis out on Meredith.  At the time Marie first visited, Meredith didn't move heaven and earth for Marie, she didn't have sufficient information, now she does and did the right thing.  Doesn't mean she can't decide to cut Marie out of her life for trying to steal her work. 

[chocolatine]

48 minutes ago, WhosThatGirl said:

I don’t think Sophia asked, but I could be wrong, I’m pretty sure it was just Arizona’s time to have her. 

Yeah.. I hated when Callie made this big decision to move and didn’t get why Arizona wouldn’t be into it. And I believe when it happened, Callie thought she would be the primary caregiver and Arizona would just let it happen.

 

44 minutes ago, deaja said:

I’m almost positive Sofia asked to go live with Arizona. There was a scene where Arizona got off the phone with Sofia and told Catarina “she wants to come home” or something like that. 

The way I remember it, they had the custody battle that Arizona won, but when she saw how miserable Callie was, she let Sofia go with Callie. I don't remember any arrangement at the time that Sofia would be splitting her time between both parents during the school year.

Then, like @deaja, I remember Sofia calling Arizona and asking to move back with her. And now, after a few months with Arizona, she misses Callie, which is only natural for a kid who's equally attached to both parents. Callie really put her daughter in a no-win situation.

Edited May 4, 2018 by chocolatine

[readster]

I don't know if anyone noticed, but one of the books in Alex's mom's office was Flashpoint and Alex did the voice of Barry Allen a.k.a The Flash in the animated adaption of the Flashpoint Story line from DC Comics. I really did enjoy their story and even Alex saying now his mother is functioning years after all the crap happened, now she finds "normal". Which is true, Alex's anger and issues started with his father and then after he was gone had it all go to hell again with his mother being schizophrenic, which his brother inherited too. It is known that some people when they get older, medication and brain chemistry changes, so people become more functioning or able to be more regular. I thought Lindsey Wagner looked great. The one thing with Roy's story now and having it where Miranda had to apologize. No, Richard was pissed off, Richard fired him, Richard was in charge of the interns, Baily just agreed with him. So, now Richard is: "Just apologize, even though I fired him." What? Oh look, Arizona does have only one leg again and they explain her skating thing and why she got so pissed off an ruined her marriage with Callie. 

[WhosThatGirl]

14 minutes ago, deaja said:

I’m almost positive Sofia asked to go live with Arizona. There was a scene where Arizona got off the phone with Sofia and told Catarina “she wants to come home” or something like that. 

Oh, okay, I didn’t remember that, but again.. I think the problem is that she was living in New York and she got used to that school and that place. There’s a reason why only one parent was going to get sole custody and I get why Arizona changed the plan, Callie was all depressed about her girlfriend but still. Now Arizona has to Change her whole life?

Also for some reason I remember Arizona going to Callie and telling her they would be spitting time with Sophia. Maybe I’m misremembering that too but I feel

like it did happen.

eta: I found this clip it starts at 2:00. 

So it wasn’t exactly a spilt schedule but Arizona said every other school year.. which to me is still a bad idea?  Like.. really? That’s confusing as well. Also I’m still bothered by the whole situation with the whole thing because it never made sense for Callie to do that. Also I’m always bothered by Arizona taking the blame for the situation when it wasn’t her fault. Callie just up and decided she was moving to Ny with their daughter and kind of told Arizona as if she wasnt Telling her that they were moving across the country.

But yeah I do have to agree with DeLucas sister, Sophia is calling the shots and that’s not okay or how it should work. And I get her missing Callie when she’s with Arizona’s and then vice versa but again.. this is why you can’t really do what’s callie up and decided to do.

Edited May 4, 2018 by WhosThatGirl

[roundtheworld]

I was trying to figure out who played Teresa, but she wasn't listed on IMDB...  - solved it! She was on Eli Stone

[SnoGirl]

Other than I love Alex, and I hate this ridiculous short fuse-putting his hands on other people, I laughed hard at Alex at the batting cages. FINALLY a better outlet for his anger. Until he threw his bat and I said outloud “two steps forward, one back.” 

I, for sure, thought in true Grey’s style, Alex was going to get hit by a softball when he was having his meltdown. I was surprised when he didnt take a hit. 

[LaughingOne]

This episode made me sad because I realized the only thing I really cared about in it were the Arizona and April scenes. Even Alex isn't entertaining me anymore. Sigh...

[beautifulGA]

I really enjoyed this episode, and it probably happened because this episode had some really fleshed out scenes with Alex and Arizona which I always appreciate. Imo both the characters aged 10 years in this single episode.

I'm neutral about the Arizona Carina dynamics. One one hand I think Carina should have been prepared for the 'sofia being Arizona's priority' when she choose to date a single mom while on other hand I agree with Carina that a child should not be the reason for a cross country move.

And every time I look at this situation, I dislike it more. Why should Arizona always be the one making the sacrifices? Like uprooting your life so your daughter could deal with the situation your ex put you in? Ugh. I get where sofia is coming from, it's one thing to have divorced parents, it's a whole different thing to have your parents at two different locations. Whatever Arizona & Callie decided about working out the schedule was never practical in the first place. You can't expect a 7 year old to have a school one year and then a new one the next year. It was a red herring when Sofia asked to come home mid year, and I think that should have been enough for Callie to consider what Arizona is considering now (aka moving back). But of course that's not how this show rolls.

I just wished that the whole Arizona moving closer to Callie was based on the potential career opportunity first and then sofia but Greys totally missed that point and in a way disserviced the character once again. Smh.

P.s I liked the talk Arizona had with the mother, the whole skating thing monologue, made me wish we could see the character skate around at least one more time.

I loved all the alex scenes with his mother. I was livid at first, I thought he'll go all cage fighter on her mom like he did with his father. I'm glad Jo understood him well and let him get the anger out of his system first. And what's better way to do that then some batting. Makes me miss the days when Greys used to have dudes playing golf and others playing softball etc.

And now that he has mentioned Aaron and Amber, I really hope both show up at his wedding. I hope mama karev shows up as well but I'm not putting my money on it.

I'm glad Bailey didn't actually apologised to Vik. Even if he was justified to some degrees, he & his brother looked way too arrogant to me. Let me just cut the chase, the character is just too irrelevant for me to care.

Hmm I hope Jackson securing Harriet's future is not some writing on the wall co-related to something happening to April (oh wait! That promo...)

Now I did felt some chemistry between Meredith & doctor McKidney but this guy? yeah it just felt like they just wrote a character(which otherwise would have been Alex) so meredith could have the conversation/ reach conclusion about the cerrone situation.

I hope Betty comes back, I can't handle a depressing Amelia. 

Also, yay to the Cristina Yang mention.

[bybrandy]

I don't think it is cool that Sofia is calling the shots, but my dad moved cross country twice because my mom moved and he didn't want to live thousands of miles away from me.   I was too young to ask him the first time.  And I don't think I asked him the second time but I really, really wanted to stay with him and not live with my mother (my mom is great, but she travelled a lot (300 days a year at the worst) when I was a kid so my dad always felt like the more stable place for me) she agreed to let me stay with him for one last summer but when school started I'd have to move back with her when school started.  I was devastated especially when my dad told me I should go with my mom during the summer because she was going to do things like decide where I was going to school and where we were going to live and I was going to want to be a part of that. But that he would start sending his resume out and as soon as he could he would come.   He was there by September.   

I don't love that Sofia's behavioral issues are predicating this but parents do this.  My mom absolutely would have sent me to my dad for long vacations and summer holidays but he was't going to be a dad 3 months a year.  So he moved.  He also turned down a job once because he thought my mom wouldn't have moved to keep us closer.  My mom was pretty pissed when she found a out a couple of years later because he never asked her.   

[NUguy514]

I wanted to punch Bailey in the face this entire episode.  She was looking for any reason, any at all, to justify Webber's frankly unjustifiable (in the world of this fuck-rules, LVAD-cutting, HIV-infecting-a-kid-against-parents'-wishes – Bailey – show) decision to fire Roy.  When every reason one is looking for ends with one's side looking wrong, one needs to self-reflect.  Not Miranda Bailey, though!  Oh no, she is never wrong, even when Webber admitted he jumped the gun in firing Roy and told her he had knowingly operated under the influence.  Her speech made me wish that heart attack had killed her, and I thought Roy showed remarkable restraint in not telling her to fuck off and prepare to be sued into oblivion and proved that he really just wants to be a surgeon by eagerly accepting her smug, condescending bullshit for the opportunity to learn and work.[/endrant]

Meredith was such a bitch to Marie.  It took Meredith way too long to come to the correct decision regarding publicly acknowledging Marie's work with Ellis, and I'm glad she at least did that, but I just don't think – in the context of everything we know about this situation and what it cost Marie – that Meredith's bitchiness toward Marie is deserved.  Team Marie here.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I had to laugh when Jackson told April that he had managed to set aside some money for Harriet so that "she'll be okay." Uh, she is the daughter of two successful doctors. I'm pretty sure she's going to be okay having her needs provided for by just their salaries. There are lots of people who manage to live their lives safely and happily without trust funds.

Whatever Meredith's true motivation was (whether she was truly trying to right a wrong or if she was just doing it for some good PR), I'm just glad that she changed the name to give credit to Marie Cerone.

Am I supposed to believe that the guy at the bar didn't recognize Meredith after they put her picture on the cover of a scientific journal? Still cracking up that this show thinks that is a thing, but if we're going with that then the Grey groupie should have known what she looked like!

7 hours ago, roundtheworld said:

I was trying to figure out who played Teresa, but she wasn't listed on IMDB...  - solved it! She was on Eli Stone

She will always be Parker from Veronica Mars to me!

[llewis823]

Spoiler

Googled and found this after seeing the previews for next week. Looks like April & Arizona are leaving...

http://deadline.com/2018/03/greys-anatomy-jessica-capshaw-sarah-drew-exit-abc-medical-drama-1202316987/

Edited May 4, 2018 by llewis823

[Chicken Wing]

Spoiler

I forget sometimes that not everyone keeps up with entertainment news, but yes, it was revealed in regular media several weeks ago that both Arizona and April are being written out of the show at the end of the season. Official party line is that the writers felt their characters had run their course.

 

I have mixed feelings about this episode. I feel like just about every character annoyed me. (Except Alex, whose scenes with his mom, and at the batting cage with Jo talking about his mom, were superb. Why, writers, do you never give this man more to do??)

I guess I kind of like that Meredith decided to do what she felt was the right thing and give Marie Cerrone her credit on the Grey Method, just because she deserved to be credited for her work and it was the whole Harper Avery mess that led to Ellis leaving her out. I kind of like that Meredith did it even though it clearly pained and sickened her to disrupt her mother's legacy (even though the legacy belonged to both women), but Marie was such a bitch to her that I'm kind of annoyed that she caved in and got all noble. I'd be like, screw you, Auntie Marie. Meredith gave her the credit because the credit belonged to her to share with Ellis, but Meredith will never forgive her for trying to screw her over in her own work because of something her mother did. Regardless of how Marie was screwed over by the Harper Avery situation and whatever right she had to be angry at Ellis, Meredith had nothing to do with any of that. So, bye!

Webber was totally in the right to fire Roy -- he didn't mean to get high, but he knew that he was and he was specifically and directed asked to report whether he had eaten the weed cookies and he knowingly lied and continued to treat patients. Right there is a simple and perfectly reasonable defense for firing him -- he lied to his superiors, about his fitness to work no less. It was funny how everyone's arguments just made them all sound stupid and inappropriate, but yeah, Webber was in the right and I hate that he caved in the end and advocated to let him come back and I hate that Bailey eventually let him. Weak.

I agree with posters above that it's getting ridiculous how Sofia is basically dictating her living arrangements between her moms. And it was Sofia who wanted to come back to Seattle, it wasn't "Arizona's turn" or whatever. I don't know what sort of arrangement Arizona and Callie made when Callie left, I don't think it was ever elaborated. Their custody battle ended with Arizona getting sole custody, she just decided to let Callie keep her in the season finale because she felt bad. (Which was total crap, IMO.) Whatever scheduling or custody arrangements they made after that, I don't think we were ever privy to that. But even though Sofia was the one who called Arizona saying she wanted to come home, I guess now she hates it and wants to go back to New York? Ah, kids. You can never make 'em happy. So now because Sofia wants to go back to New York, Arizona is going to agree and uproot her whole life to move with her? Le sigh. As far as Arizona's patient of the week, I spent the whole episode wondering how on earth this woman ever went to a doctor and why she ever chose to have a baby in the first place if she is so damn petrified of anything medical-related even coming within two inches of her. That question distracted me through the whole storyline, when her freakouts weren't getting on my nerves.

So this Owen and Amelia thing with the baby and the birth mother? Why? Why am I watching this? Make it stop.

Still not feeling Jackson and Maggie, never have, never will. Cut it out.

[anna0852]

 Disclaimer, I'm saying this as someone who has been harassed in the workplace. I don't like the implication That Jackson is responsible for his grandfather's sins. If I was one of those women, I would happily take the job training or the job offer but I'd have a real hard time accepting settlement money Out of an innocent person's pocket. I understand where Jackson is coming from in trying to preserve the foundation so that 72 hospitals don't shut down with resultant job loss And I applaud him for doing all he can to make this right. I just like to think that at least some of the women would refuse the money Once they realize where it is coming from.

[Pallas]

4 hours ago, anna0852 said:

I just like to think that at least some of the women would refuse the money Once they realize where it is coming from.

The money is coming from Harper Avery, via the $250 million inheritance he left his grandson Jackson. The grandson has benefitted in many ways, throughout his life, from his association with Harper Avery. He will continue to wield great influence in the medical world as a trustee (and presumptive future Chair) of a foundation that operates 72 hospitals and research centers worldwide. A foundation re-named, by him, for his mother. He did not earn this money. It came from someone who treated women like property, and blocked them from earning their own. That is the blood money that Jackson is freeing himself of.

Harper Avery was alive six months ago. If the story had surfaced them, would Jackson have kept silent, so as not to jeopardize this windfall? I doubt it. Jackson would likely have taken a stand. Avery would likely have then spent millions of this same money defending himself and the Foundation against lawsuits, while donating the bulk to the Foundation (instead of Jackson). The defendants would have been left seeking compensation solely from a non-profit doing inestimably valuable work, and employing thousands. 

[blondiec0332]

2 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

10 hours ago, roundtheworld said:

I was trying to figure out who played Teresa, but she wasn't listed on IMDB...  - solved it! She was on Eli Stone

She will always be Parker from Veronica Mars to me!

Dallas for me.

[AnnieHeights]

I loved the scenes with Alex and his mother (The Bionic Woman!!).....they handled it really well.

I liked Meredith with the guy in the bar, it was nice seeing a good conversation w/o it ending in a hook up.

Deluca's sister did her best acting in that 2 minute scene than her entire storyline.  Refresh my memory, did Callie go to NY to be with the Dr. who kind of killed Derek?

Was kind of bummed smug intern got his job back and I hope Bailey gives him hell.  

[marceline]

11 hours ago, roundtheworld said:

I was trying to figure out who played Teresa, but she wasn't listed on IMDB...  - solved it! She was on Eli Stone

Her name is Julie Gonzalo. She drove me crazy on Eli Stone so I have this admittedly irrational dislike of her.

[Deanie87]

This episode felt really crowded to me.  I loved all of the stuff with Alex and his mom, but as always I'm left with wanting more.  I can't believe that his siblings' current whereabouts/situations weren't mentioned.  (Yes I can.)  I really liked Jo in this episode too.  She was supportive but put Alex's anger to better use and didn't coddle any of his self-pity.  She was honest in telling him that he may never get what he wants from his mom but that a relationship can be salvaged now that he doesn't have to be a constant caregiver.  As cliche as it will be, I really hope that the show delves into Jo's birth parents in some way.  I also appreciated that Alex's mom didn't come off as a fragile saint. I also understand his mom feeling that her stability was the most important thing in her life and if that meant that she couldn't deal with Alex then so be it.  Similarly, I get Alex just wanting to get out of such a toxic environment to work on himself and be there for his family materially but not being able to deal with the day to day dysfunction.  This is such an interesting topic to me, I wish that it wasn't shoehorned into 6 other storylines and I wish that this wasn't going to be the last we see of his mother, but I have no doubt that it is.  Fun fact - Justin Chambers had a huge crush on Linday Wagner when he was younger and I was very excited for him when she told him that he was her one true love.  I know it was as mother and son, but still.

Didn't Meredith used to be kind of fun and goofy?  I realize that she has 3 kids and more tragedies than the Perils of Pauline, but drinking coffee in a bar and discussing medical politics while wearing a very smart button down shirt (no matter how flattering) with a clean cut, mature gentleman is boring as shit.  Can she please go back to banging guys in cars and downing the occasional tequila shot?  How about that nice Scott Speedman?  She had great chemistry with him.  She is just so clipped and matter of fact these days.  She never doubts herself and, of course, is always successful and in the right.  Its boring.

I get that Sofia is acting out because she's unhappy and I understand Arizona feeling the need to put her first while simultaneously doubting her parenting abilities.  All parents have been there.  But Sofia didn't just talk back to the teacher or push a classmate, she stole a LOT of money.  That's more than just acting out to me.

[RedbirdNelly]

11 hours ago, SnoGirl said:

 

I, for sure, thought in true Grey’s style, Alex was going to get hit by a softball when he was having his meltdown. I was surprised when he didnt take a hit. 

I was seriously expecting him to get clocked in the head by the next softball.

[proserpina65]

I fast-forwarded through all the non-Alex parts, and missed the credits, but was that Lindsay Wagner playing his mother?

Okay, based on multiple posts, it clearly was Lindsay Wagner.  She looked great, and was very effective as Alex's mother.  I hope she and Alex manage to keep in touch even if they can't see each other often.  And I actually ended up really liking Jo for a change.  She handled Alex perfectly in this situation, understanding that he needed to work out his anger.  (Why, again, hasn't anyone ever made him go to counseling and/or anger management therapy?  Oh right, this is Shondaland.)  I wasn't a fan of the two of them together because I thought she was too immature, but this Jo works with Alex.

Edited May 4, 2018 by proserpina65

[RedbirdNelly]

I'm surprised some people are Team Marie. I'm with Meredith for a few reasons:

a) Marie was a jerk. It's a nice example of how 2 wrongs don't make a right.

b) the storyline makes no sense to me --how Maries signs an NDA (which normally involves non-disclosure obligations) but somehow Ellis knows all about it. . . So good enough to me for Meredith to fix the situation once she fully knew.

Even though I think this whole situation is based on bad, inconsistent writing, I thought last night's episode showed nicely how in real life people can be good and bad at the same time. TV shows often act like it's all or none. Marie was hurt by Harper Avery; Ellis (somehow without Marie violating her NDA) compounded it---so Marie is the harmed party there; gets our sympathy. BUT that doesn't mean we have be Team Marie for everything Marie does from then on. She was quick to try to steal work from Meredith which was not ok. So Meredith was justified to feel sympathy and anger at the same time to the same person.

[PepSinger]

What Meredith did for Marie was a professional courtesy, nothing more. She owes her nothing else. Marie punished Meredith for something Ellis did. That’s petty. I wouldn’t exactly want to take Marie out to tea, either, if I were Meredith. 

I do not understand why they don’t give Alex more screen time. It baffles me. I loved his storyline in this episode.

[proserpina65]

13 minutes ago, PepSinger said:

What Meredith did for Marie was a professional courtesy, nothing more. She owes her nothing else. Marie punished Meredith for something Ellis did. That’s petty. I wouldn’t exactly want to take Marie out to tea, either, if I were Meredith. 

I do not understand why they don’t give Alex more screen time. It baffles me. I loved his storyline in this episode.

Ellis was a toxic human being, hurting pretty much everyone she touched.  I'm glad Meredith gave Marie the credit she'd been denied, but that doesn't mean she had to be friends with her.

[Evie]

20 minutes ago, Deanie87 said:

This episode felt really crowded to me.  I loved all of the stuff with Alex and his mom, but as always I'm left with wanting more.  I can't believe that his siblings' current whereabouts/situations weren't mentioned.  (Yes I can.)  I really liked Jo in this episode too.  She was supportive but put Alex's anger to better use and didn't coddle any of his self-pity.  She was honest in telling him that he may never get what he wants from his mom but that a relationship can be salvaged now that he doesn't have to be a constant caregiver.  As cliche as it will be, I really hope that the show delves into Jo's birth parents in some way.  I also appreciated that Alex's mom didn't come off as a fragile saint. I also understand his mom feeling that her stability was the most important thing in her life and if that meant that she couldn't deal with Alex then so be it.  Similarly, I get Alex just wanting to get out of such a toxic environment to work on himself and be there for his family materially but not being able to deal with the day to day dysfunction.  This is such an interesting topic to me, I wish that it wasn't shoehorned into 6 other storylines and I wish that this wasn't going to be the last we see of his mother, but I have no doubt that it is.  Fun fact - Justin Chambers had a huge crush on Linday Wagner when he was younger and I was very excited for him when she told him that he was her one true love.  I know it was as mother and son, but still.

 I loved Alex and his mom, but I wanted more too, as usual. Trying hard not to be bitter (Flashes to Maggie and her mom and Owen and his sister) but it's hard. I didn't have any expectations, but I found Alex's mom really interesting; the dynamic was something I've seen play out in my extended family, so I found both Alex and his mom's feelings relatable. Jo was great. I liked the touch of Jo going in for a hug and Alex's mom a handshake. I wish we could have seen Alex's mom talk a little more about her life (and mention his siblings) and also seen Alex tell her about Jo and his life in Seattle. 

Arizona deciding to move to New York is what I expected, but the issues with Sophia just remind me of the stupidity of the custody battle.

[Deanie87]

29 minutes ago, PepSinger said:

I do not understand why they don’t give Alex more screen time. It baffles me. I loved his storyline in this episode.

I know I'm a broken record when it comes to this, but unless Justin Chambers just doesn't feel the need to work that much anymore, I don't get it either.  Just as an example, why don't the writers feel that Alex warrants either a multi-episode arc or even a semi-centric episode about his myriad family issues when Jackson got an entire episode to explore his father issues and Maggie got two multi-episode arcs with her mother?   Maybe because Alex's family isn't connected to other characters?   I don't presume that Alex is anyone's favorite character but I don't think he is hated and those rare episodes that do explore him beyond Jolex and friendly peds surgeon are usually pretty well received.

ETA - Evie you got to the bitter horse beating a little earlier than I did but I co-sign your post 100% right down to the similar family dynamics.  I think that this topic (all kinds of family dysfunction) would resonate more than the Current Topic of the Week episodes, but again, I'm clearly biased.

Edited May 4, 2018 by Deanie87

[marcee]

For me, Teresa will always Amber from Dodgeball. "Good luck to you, making your judgments."

From my point of view, Cerone wasn't *punishing* Meredith because of Ellis, she was *extorting* Meredith to get her name put on the method her name should have been on in the first place. It wasn't punishment for the sake of punishment, it was basically, "I won't give you the polymer you need unless you put my name on the method I created with your mother." So, yeah, it was shitty - but not quite as shitty as some are making it out to be.

Roy was/is a smug little jerk and he specifically lied about something dangerous and put the hospital and his patients at risk. At any other hospital, his actions would have been just cause for firing. But since many other surgeons at Grey-Sloan have survived worse and turned into pretty good surgeons, I think Bailey may have realized Richard shouldn't have fired him. Still, he didn't deserve an apology. I think her Bailey-esque lecture was pretty spot on and fair to everyone.

I want Alex to have a happily-ever-after.

That is all.

[RedbirdNelly]

15 minutes ago, marcee said:

 

From my point of view, Cerone wasn't *punishing* Meredith because of Ellis, she was *extorting* Meredith to get her name put on the method her name should have been on in the first place. It wasn't punishment for the sake of punishment, it was basically, "I won't give you the polymer you need unless you put my name on the method I created with your mother." So, yeah, it was shitty - but not quite as shitty as some are making it out to be.

Roy was/is a smug little jerk and he specifically lied about something dangerous and put the hospital and his patients at risk. At any other hospital, his actions would have been just cause for firing. But since many other surgeons at Grey-Sloan have survived worse and turned into pretty good surgeons, I think Bailey may have realized Richard shouldn't have fired him. Still, he didn't deserve an apology. I think her Bailey-esque lecture was pretty spot on and fair to everyone.

I want Alex to have a happily-ever-after.

That is all.

I would agree with you on the Cerone thing if Cerone had stopped with "not giving you my polymer." That part I get. Telling Meredith "and now I've got your research!! ha hahaha" and trying to steal it is where she went to shitty territory. And I get Meredith not wanting to talk to her. If it was purely "not willing to do Meredith a favor" I would be Team Cerone.

I agree on Roy and I liked Bailey's speech. A flat out apology would have been wrong and he responded by dropping the smug look which was nice.

[themightymouse]

Agree that the show has been signposting the manner of Arizona’s departure for several episodes now. Pleased though that this episode not only showed her role as a mother but also as an exceptional highly skilled surgeon. I always love the scenes with Arizona in the OR doing her stuff and nobody does the expressive eyes between scrub cap and mask better than JC.  And so the scene is set for the return of the great Geena Davies as Nicole Herman next week. I hope that this indicates that for once the writers have come up with a potentially satisfying conclusion to a previous story arc, several excellent episodes in series 11 (IMO one of the best story arcs Arizona has had and brilliantly played by both JC and GD) and Arizona’s story arc in this series. I wouldn’t be a fan of an Arizona/Callie reunion-too much baggage and frankly Arizona deserves better. 

[taanja]

1 hour ago, PepSinger said:

What Meredith did for Marie was a professional courtesy, nothing more. She owes her nothing else. Marie punished Meredith for something Ellis did. That’s petty. I wouldn’t exactly want to take Marie out to tea, either, if I were Meredith. 

I do not understand why they don’t give Alex more screen time. It baffles me. I loved his storyline in this episode.

I agree with everything you wrote. (Especially the bolded part) But I am Team Meredith-- forever and always. I thought she had more chemistry with the doctor/patient/liver transplant(?) dude from a few eps back but it was nice seeing her talk and smile with that dude at the bar.

That was Lindsey Wagner playing Alex's Ma? Cool! I love her and she looked great! What was it she said to Alex just before she got on the bus? It was poignant and so lovely. Something about him being her true love???

[Chas411]

12 minutes ago, jschoolgirl said:

Who was she on Dallas? Angelica? 

It was the reboot - she was Pamela Barnes.

[TigerLynx]

Arizona shouldn't be letting Sophia dictate where they live, but this situation should never have happened in the first place.  It's not fair for Sophia to have to live in two different states.

Will doctor guy Meredith spent the day with be back?  I hope so.  I'm glad Meredith gave Marie the credit on the Grey-Cerrone Method, however, I also understand why she is still upset with Marie.  What Ellis and Haper Avery did wasn't Meredith's fault, and it wasn't fair of Marie to threaten Meredith's research because of what someone else did.

 I hope Alex's SL means we are going to be seeing less of angry Alex.  I like Alex when he's being a good doctor, and saying what no one else wants to say even though its the truth.

[statsgirl]

3 hours ago, Deanie87 said:

I get that Sofia is acting out because she's unhappy and I understand Arizona feeling the need to put her first while simultaneously doubting her parenting abilities.  All parents have been there.  But Sofia didn't just talk back to the teacher or push a classmate, she stole a LOT of money.  That's more than just acting out to me.

I missed the resolution.  Is Arizona going to take her to family counselling?  Because they really, really need it. Before Sofia turns into Betty.

[Pallas]

Arizona called Callie and said Sophia should be in New York. And so should she. 

[Lady Calypso]

I can't really blame Sofia for having asked to live with Arizona, only to want to go back to New York. She obviously has missed both of her mothers in her life, and with both at the opposite ends of the country, it's bound to have made it hard on Sofia. I mean, Sofia shouldn't be dictating as much as she is, but she's seven years old, and isn't old enough to fully understand. Sofia was still living with Callie for at least a year (I'm pretty sure it's been a year). Being moved around clearly isn't easy, and Arizona did figure it out by the end. But, with the custody battle and with this, it's odd that Arizona keeps coming to these big realizations instead of Callie. 

16 hours ago, chocolatine said:

The way I remember it, they had the custody battle that Arizona won, but when she saw how miserable Callie was, she let Sofia go with Callie. I don't remember any arrangement a the time that Sofia would be splitting her time between both parents during the school year.

I remember that scene kind of clearly. I remember that Arizona was going to get the summer with Sofia, and a couple of other stipulations. I think it was every other school year? 

Carina's clearly not getting that Arizona is a mother and that it would have definitely become a big issue if they continued to see each other. See the fit she threw when Arizona presumably told her that she was moving to New York with Sofia. I do hope Carina takes off, because I have no interest in seeing her stick around. 

Alex's story with his mother was good. Why it took so long for the show to have Alex's mother show up is beyond me. 

The Meredith/Marie stuff is shitty all around. I don't think two wrongs would make a right, so Meredith isn't wrong in not wanting anything to do with her mother's ex friend. On another note, Meredith's scenes with the other doctor were nice. It's great to see her branch out of the hospital with new characters. 

Bailey's so stubborn, isn't she? It's not that Roy is right in his approach right here, but I like Richard's realization that he was hasty in his firing, and he brought up some good points about how worse things have happened without consequence. 

I'm not convinced that Amelia's story with the runaway teen mother is done yet, though I hope it is. 

[anna0852]

You know I keep seeing references to Sofia dictating where she's going to live in that Arizona is going to move. But if we actually seen her or heard reference to her saying she wants to go back to New York or whining about living in Seattle? what's been portrayed so far is a miserable 7 year old who's been going back and forth across the country and seen her parents split up in the previous couple of years. Arizona even said that she swiped the money So she could go back to New York without hurting Arizona's feelings. I'm not saying seven-year-old should make the decisions about where a family lives but at the same time her mom's can't discount the fact they put her in a terrible position That's making her miserable. Frankly, it's on them to fix that.

[lorbeer]

5 hours ago, PepSinger said:

What Meredith did for Marie was a professional courtesy, nothing more. She owes her nothing else. Marie punished Meredith for something Ellis did. That’s petty. I wouldn’t exactly want to take Marie out to tea, either, if I were Meredith.

Exactly! It was a courtesy, nothing more... Meredith put up some puzzles together and figured out what happened, but she doesn't REALLY know what actually happened, does she? I still think it's really weird that no one remembers that Cereone took part in the "Grey method", e.g. Richard Webber who was there when it happened. In earlier seasons it was told that Ellis Grey was the only woman on her residency, so another thing that doesn't sum up.. I think Ellis Grey should be left out of this Harper Avery drama...

 

48 minutes ago, anna0852 said:

I'm not saying seven-year-old should make the decisions about where a family lives but at the same time her mom's can't discount the fact they put her in a terrible position That's making her miserable. Frankly, it's on them to fix that.

I didn't think that way, frankly I didn't think about Arizona's situations at all, but I agree with what you said. It's on them to makes things right not on the child. It's though when parents split up... For one time I feel for Carina - she did nothing wrong, Arizona didn't stop loving her and yet they won't be together because of a child and what's best 'for the child'. I think it's tough to fall in love with people who already have kids - not because children are a burthen, but because something like that can happen. There are two people in love and they can't be together... The situation also shows what the parent love really mean. It's beautiful and sad at the same time..

 

And on the Roy's situation - I think Richard Webber acted totally out of his character, but luckily Bailey acted like the old Bailey. :)

[Joana]

I really, really liked Alex and Jo in this episode. And I really, really wish the writers hadn't wasted so much of their material on utter nonsense like the beating of DeLuca, Jo's secret identity and such. It made it very difficult for me to care about them anymore, but they truly deserve to be happy. 

I'm neutral on the Meredith/Cerone situation. I do think Meredith could have been more gracious towards her in the end, but that's the same woman who had previously told her point blank that she was going to steal her research, so she loses points for that. Anyway, I thought Meredith and the other doctor were kinda cute. Of course, he's probably not attractive enough to be the love interest for Meredith the Sun, so there it goes. 

"Your life must be really pathetic for you to have all this time to just sit here and watch me puke!" Preach it, gurl! But I don't get this Betty person at all. Wasn't she supposed to have a normal life until she got hooked on painkillers, and now she's a homeless single mother getting pregnant by her drug dealer, by the age of 15. So, where the hell were her parents while it all went down?! 

What is it about Sofia's character that makes the writers come up with ridiculous storylines time and again? The entire custody battle madness and its braindead resolution weren't enough, now Arizona is going to uproot her entire life just like that without even trying to get some counselling for Sofia or get Callie to come back at least for a while or something. I did feel bad for Carina.

Edited May 4, 2018 by Joana

[jschoolgirl]

Well, with the Sofia story we got her age, and that gives us a clue to where we are with the time jumps. 

[Evie]

30 minutes ago, Joana said:

"Your life must be really pathetic for you to have all this time to just sit here and watch me puke!" Preach it, gurl! But I don't get this Betty person at all. Wasn't she supposed to have a normal life until she got hooked on painkillers, and now she's a homeless single mother getting pregnant by her drug dealer, by the age of 15. So, where the hell were her parents while it all went down?! 

 

 It did sound like she had a normal life. Maybe she ran away, but did her parents try to find her? Leo being placed in a foster home is realistic, but his social worker would be attempting to see if any family could/would take him. Do her parents know about him? Do they not want him? Do they know about Betty? Too many questions, and I'm someone who tries not to think too hard while watching the show. 

[Biggie B]

26 minutes ago, Evie said:

 It did sound like she had a normal life. Maybe she ran away, but did her parents try to find her? Leo being placed in a foster home is realistic, but his social worker would be attempting to see if any family could/would take him. Do her parents know about him? Do they not want him? Do they know about Betty? Too many questions, and I'm someone who tries not to think too hard while watching the show. 

I raised these questions last week as well. When Amelia was laying down to Betty the rules of coming to stay with her, one of the things she said was that Betty had to call her parents and let them know she was OK. Obviously, that must have happened. And even if the parents hadn't heard from Betty since she left home, they now know where she is. So...where are they?? Even one throwaway line from Amelia would have gone a long way - something like, "I'm glad your parents are letting you stay with me," or something like that. Or, if the parents have written her off, perhaps Amelia could've said to Owen (out of Betty's hearing), "My heart breaks that her parents have washed their hands of Betty..." Seriously, just some little tidbit to let us viewers know that Betty's parents are at least aware of what's happening, whether they are supportive or not. Betty's 15...a minor...so you'd think her parents would be involved on some level. I find it maddening when something so glaring is utterly overlooked, especially when there's such an easy solution.