S14.E23: Cold As Ice

[Dagny]

I have a person that works for me, that worked on a study decades ago at Purdue that proved that the two person CPR method shown on April was far more effective than standard CPR for the exact reason stated in the show - it helped recirculate the blood through the body. Chest compression pushed the blood out, the other pushed it back. I don't remember the reason why it was never implemented if it worked better.  First time I have ever seen this shown on TV or movies. Cool.

[shantown]

18 hours ago, kariyaki said:

They never stopped doing that. They’re all song titles — with the exception of that one who’s title got changed to the 800 number for domestic violence. 

The 1-800 number is actually the title of the song! 

[CarpeFelis]

On 5/10/2018 at 9:33 PM, LaughingOne said:

However, the two minutes of Jackson promising to believe if God saved April made the episode for me. Jesse was the best he’s ever been on this show.

He was great, but it just didn’t make sense to me for Jackson of all people to do this. YMMV of course.

Loved Geena Davis’ return. I was half expecting Amelia to come up with some off-the-wall new surgery to reverse her blindness. Cracked up at Herman matter-of-factly revealing that she already knew about Amelia’s tumor.

Did anyone else think that as soon as April was alone after waking up, the next person to go into her room would find she’d suddenly died? I was glad they didn’t do that. (Seems the show has done that before, but I can’t remember what character it was. Maybe Mark Sloan?)

[transitfan]

On 5/11/2018 at 11:24 AM, TGinKY said:

Showing my age I guess but Foreigner's Cold as Ice comes to my mind.

Same here.  I was a Foreigner fan back in the day (I own their first 4 albums), plus Cold as Ice is one of Sirius/XM 70s on 7's "leadoff songs" (played around the top of the hour, either just before or just after the station id), so I hear it a lot.

[transitfan]

On 5/12/2018 at 8:24 PM, kariyaki said:

They never stopped doing that. They’re all song titles — with the exception of that one who’s title got changed to the 800 number for domestic violence. 

I seem to remember an episode awhile back called "Put me in coach" (one of the plots were a bunch of the doctors playing baseball or softball).  IIRC, that wasn't an actual song title, but a line from a John Fogerty song in the 80s called "Centerfield" (unless there is a different song called "put me in coach" that I've never heard).

[txhorns79]

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But with April and Jackson having a child, her exit will be harder. I can’t see either of them being all right without Harriett.  My guess is that they don’t know yet and are trying to figure out something for fall. It’s why I expected April to die. 

I just figured it would be something where the near death experience gives April some kind of life-altering epiphany and she simply leaves Grey Sloane Memorial Whatever to go work somewhere else local, but off screen. 

Quote

Pretty nice to have Geena Davis on the bench to come in for an episode here and there....! Capshaw deserved an all-star to help escort her on her way out. Well-done here.  I honestly thought there would be a Callie reappearance at the end, but this stands up well on it's own. 

Geena Davis gave the episode some desperately needed levity. 

[Chicken Wing]

37 minutes ago, txhorns79 said:

I just figured it would be something where the near death experience gives April some kind of life-altering epiphany and she simply leaves Grey Sloane Memorial Whatever to go work somewhere else local, but off screen. 

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

[Pallas]

On 5/14/2018 at 12:20 PM, Chicken Wing said:

But it's kind of lame

Why lame? April would have lots of good reasons to make a new start at a workplace not owned by her ex and his mother. She loved the clean slate and crucial role she found in combat medicine. At the rural hospital, she doesn't have to be a former-anything (wife, intern, wash-out, surprise chief resident, patient/patient/patient). And she and Matthew are already donating weekends to it. 

[blondiec0332]

3 hours ago, Chicken Wing said:

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

It's not contrived.  Jackson would still see her to do the custody exchange.  Viewers just won't see her.

[doLLish]

On 5/10/2018 at 10:58 PM, shantown said:

I have never been a huge fan of April and surprised myself when I was actually quite sad when I thought she was going to die - and incredibly stressed out for the last 12 minutes when I was waiting for the other shoe to drop after she woke up. I was waiting for a Mark Sloane situation.

The music in this ep also got me. The first few seasons had such memorable music (“Where Does The Good Go”, “Life is Short”, etc) and the past several seasons have been pretty unforgettable in terms of music. Nothing that really fits the scene or the characters, and some really questionable choices with the acoustic covers. 

I've wanted April dead/permanently gone forever so I was absolutely shocked at how sad I felt throughout the episode. Literally on the verge of real tears. As it went on I found myself no longer wanting her to die. I'm happy that she lived but even happier about her impending exit.

I also agree that the music in this episode fit really well.

On 5/11/2018 at 11:32 AM, BaseOps said:

To me, while Jackson & April have incredible chemistry and would have been an ideal endgame for the series, they never really WORKED as a couple. And yes, that comes down to how the writers wrote them, but it is what it is. They were plagued with issues that they never resolved – April ran off to the army, Jackson treated her like crap when she returned, etc. The beginning of her pregnancy with Harriet was totally toxic (restraining orders, fighting… her neglecting to even tell him at first). I thought they worked better as friends and co-parents with a deep respect for one another this year than they had a couple in the past.

For years, I thought I was the only person to see this so I started thinking maybe I was the crazy one. So thank you.

[marceline]

On 5/12/2018 at 11:06 PM, KaveDweller said:

Wait, has there ever been an episode where HIPAA exists? 

HIPAA always exists when they can use it for plot purposes. Remember Jackson treating Maggie's mother? He couldn't tell her because of HIPAA.

[Guest]

Perhaps April will retire from doctoring and instead take a job as nanny for Meredith’s kids. Then she would really be off screen.

[Layne]

On ‎5‎/‎10‎/‎2018 at 7:07 PM, BaseOps said:

It's been quite a while since they actually operated on one of their own... Meredith back in season 12? Bailey had her heart attack at another hospital and many of them never even knew about it. 

DeLuca at the beginning of season 13, Stephanie at the end of season 13, Amelia at the beginning of season 14, Bailey in the middle of season 14, now April.

[Chicken Wing]

7 hours ago, blondiec0332 said:

It's not contrived.  Jackson would still see her to do the custody exchange.  Viewers just won't see her.

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

[LexieLily]

48 minutes ago, Chicken Wing said:

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

And like someone else said up-thread it handicaps Jackson/Maggie, an unpopular pairing to begin with, to have April simply Somewhere Not At Grey-Sloan and interacting with Jackson as much as weekly for custody drop-offs, not to mention the weeks Jackson has Harriet. (Unless Harriet goes the way of Meredith's kids to the 24-hour daycare/nanny service). The rushed way they slapped April and Matthew together for April's departure doesn't do much to alleviate the problem unless we get dialogue next season that April and Matthew get married or some such thing. IMO, the way they showed Jackson's concern all episode for April even if it was only for her as the mother of his child wasn't a good juxtaposition against the Jackson/Maggie lack-of-any-chemistry scenes we've seen all season.  

[Shellie]

15 hours ago, Chicken Wing said:

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

I personally don't find it awkward at all.  It seems totally natural.  For instance, Bailey's ex-husband gets mentioned occasionally but we don't see him.  I assume Meredith and Cristina are in regular contact even though Cristina lives far away.  This seems like reality to me.  It's why I've always griped about them killing off Mark.  He could've simply transferred to a different hospital because he didn't want the constant reminders of Lexie. 

[Guest]

28 minutes ago, Shellie said:

I personally don't find it awkward at all.  It seems totally natural.  For instance, Bailey's ex-husband gets mentioned occasionally but we don't see him.  I assume Meredith and Cristina are in regular contact even though Cristina lives far away.  This seems like reality to me.  It's why I've always griped about them killing off Mark.  He could've simply transferred to a different hospital because he didn't want the constant reminders of Lexie. 

I think it could go either way. Bailey’s ex was never around that much for his absence to stick out. I think they killed Mark off for this very reason- he had a child with Callie so it was hard to imagine him leaving his child or being there but not onscreen. 

[St. Claire]

On 5/14/2018 at 11:40 AM, txhorns79 said:

My guess is that they don’t know yet and are trying to figure out something for fall. It’s why I expected April to die. 

I swear to [diety; fill in your favorite] that I will love the writers forever if they handle an actor leaving the show by just moving the doctor to a different shift. Keep April as a trauma surgeon, but working the times when Owen isn't. Have Jackson open to do some adventure with Maggie because "...April's got Harriet this weekend..." There are dozens of doctors at Grey-Sloan who we never see, so April could easily be one of them. 

Quote

Wait, has there ever been an episode where HIPAA exists? 

They even gave a nod to HIPAA in this ep, when Herman said she found out about Amelia's tumor because she overheard a call, not because of a HIPAA violation. And I think Arizona used HIPAA as her struggling point about telling Jackson that April was pregnant.

Edited May 16, 2018 by St. Claire

[Joana]

3 hours ago, St. Claire said:

They even gave a nod to HIPAA in this ep, when Herman said she found out about Amelia's tumor because she overheard a call, not because of a HIPAA violation. 

The funny thing about this is that a whole bunch of doctors found out about dr Herman's tumor when Amelia openly told her name during her infamous superhero presentation.