S15.E14: I Want a New Drug

[Madding crowd]

I might be the only one but I like Owen. He seems like a real person to me with real feelings. Meredith often comes across as cold and I'm not a fan of big speeches either. I think Owen was calm when handing over Leo because he cares about him and wants him to be calm, and he can't do anything about it . I don't yet trust Betty's parents. They may be perfectly lovely there was a reason she ran away from them. And as far as Owen not acting right about the fostering process, there are different types of fostering. Some people agree to watch a child for a short while until there parents can take them, some foster long term with the hope of adopting and everything in between. Owen and Amelia had every reason to think Betty would continue to be a part of Leo's life but they would be his parents. They were not told it would be a short foster situation. They only recently found out Betty was really Britney.

I wish Alex could have a meatier story too but I hope he can continue on as chief because he does a bettter job than Bailey. In regard to the homeless man and the camping gear-I agree they hit a wrong note there. I guess the camping stuff was bettter than nothing and Jackson can't pay for every homeless person that walks in, but it still seemed wrong.

Glasses and his constant "love talk" in the ER just seems juvenile.

Edited February 22, 2019 by Madding crowd

[taanja]

I thought it was weird that Maggie was all over the place saying how much she needed to be there for her "sisters" and yet-- in the end-- she wasn't.

When Mere came out of that very long surgery and could barely stand-- Maggie notes that (the camera even panned to the expression on her face when Mere is leaning against the door jam sound asleep) -- and the next scene is Mere asleep on a gurney somewhere in the hospital. So? Maggie didn't drive her home like a good sister? She just dumps an exhausted Mere onto some random gurney in some random hallway and leaves her? say what?

I hope the Betty shit is finally resolved. Sorry I didn't care whether she lived or died.

Glasses and Asian doc? I don't know enough or care enough about them to care about their relationship. I don't even know the characters names! They are just strangely arbitrary.

Alex's reaction to the father /husband of druggie wife was realistic. Look out for the child indeed! 

Edited February 22, 2019 by taanja

[izabella]

1 hour ago, taanja said:

I thought it was weird that Maggie was all over the place saying how much she needed to be there for her "sisters" and yet-- in the end-- she wasn't.

She didn't do anything for Meredith or Amelia!  I didn't understand why they made such a point of it, and then Teddy is there for Amelia and Maggie doesn't go near her.  And then DeLuca finds Meredith in a hallway. 

Did the writers do that on purpose to show Maggie isn't a "good man in a storm," or did they just blow the writing?

[esco1822]

18 hours ago, statsgirl said:

That said, Teddy saying that she would do the surgery because Amelia needed Maggie was stupid. It was an aeortic dissention (I think) and while Teddy is a good trauma surgeon, Maggie is the cardio-thoracic surgeon.  We also didn't see Maggie once with Amelia supporting her.

Teddy is a cardio-thoracic surgeon. In her first go-round, she was chief of cardio. She was the "Cardio God" Owen got for Christina. Her reasoning holds. 

[SoMuchTV]

On 2/15/2019 at 4:29 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Promo:

Original Canadian air date: 2/20/19
Original U.S. air date: 2/21/19

On 2/15/2019 at 4:29 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

and Levi and Nico's relationship continues to develop.

Ok, I'm a pretty casual viewer, but I can't remember that I've heard those names before. I'm guessing Glasses and Hot Asian?  You mean everyone doesn't refer to them that way?

Edited February 23, 2019 by SoMuchTV

[CrazyInAlabama]

The group of people ODing in a park or in a single city in high numbers is very common.    One city (sorry I don't remember where, Ohio maybe?) had so many overdoses in a few days that they ran out of Narcan (the antidote to opioids), and had to borrow additional supplies from any place that would get it to them.     I know it was over 25 people.     So 50 or so isn't that unusual.   Actually, everyone being in the park helped, because usually the OD's happen where ever the users are, and may not be found until it's too late.

Teddy was the cardio chief after Erica Hahn left.      And she took charge of the triage in Emergency when the ODs started arriving.      She's used to running trauma from her Army experience, and being at Grey-Sloan before.   

I really thought Jackson would give the homeless man scrubs, and let him use an on call room until he could get a placement.   

Edited February 23, 2019 by CrazyInAlabama

[Court]

I don't buy Glasses and Nico at all. I wish I did, though. 

I miss Alex and Mere scenes. All I could think of that the end scene would have been better with Alex as her person. 

[Joana]

I thought it was hilarious how people were making such a big deal about how amazing Meredith is, and then in the end everyone completely forgot about her and let her sleep on some random gurney in the middle of the hallway!

Anyway, one of the better episodes this season, IMO. No one was outrageously annoying (although Jackson came close), which is already a success. I'm more OK with Owen coming to terms with the fact he'll need to give Leo up off-screen, because God, I really don't need to see more angst from him. I'm just concerned he'll start inserting himself into Teddy's relationship with Koracick now that NotBetty's storyline has (hopefully!) come to an end. Speaking of Teddy, it was so good to finally see her in a real medical role. She probably won't be having too many of those again given how far along in pregnancy she is. 

My biggest complaint about this episode is that the resolution of most storylines felt weird and rushed. It was like there were 3-4 extra minutes that got cut out by mistake and a lot of stuff was left hanging. Like most people have already noted, Maggie is SO concerned about Amelia the entire time, and then nothing? Not even a brief scene of her holding Amelia's hand or something? WTF? Also, with Jo looking slightly perplexed when Alex basically threw that woman under the bus, they could have made a point about how the father does need to put his child first, but ALSO make sure his wife gets the help she needs. Instead, it turned out be yet another Jo Gets Alex Like Nobody Else Does moment, which is sweet, but I agree with those who say we really need something more substantial at the moment. And of course, like everybody else has already said, Jackson giving the homeless man his camping equipment was entirely pointless.

But still, it was a massive improvement from the last week's mess. 

[Joana]

22 hours ago, Bringonthedrama said:

Amelia and Maggie are not sisters in any way. Realistically, they should see each other from time to time in the hospital since they are both doctors, and also possibly at events for Meredith or her kids, since they are both aunts. Amelia and Maggie don't appear to have any reasons to have a loving sisterly relationship, so I am perplexed.

That sisterhood is basically one of those Grey's cutesy shticks like "my person", but Maggie and Amelia really have a good, strong relationship. They bonded as soon as Maggie came to the hospital and I think even before she revealed she's Meredith's half-sister. Then they all lived together in Meredith's house and grew even closer. As I see it, they're consistently shown as being closer and more understanding to each other than either is to Meredith and IMO it's one of the few friendships/relationships the show has produced in a long while that really feel organic instead of forced. 

[MrWhyt]

On 2/21/2019 at 6:46 PM, dmc said:

Do people really do opioids in the park in groups?

it's not like they all had a groupon or went there on a school outing. The dealers are in the park, ergo junkies go to the park to get their drugs, junkies not being known for self restraint they do their drugs once they get them which would be in the park.

[dmc]

39 minutes ago, MrWhyt said:

it's not like they all had a groupon or went there on a school outing. The dealers are in the park, ergo junkies go to the park to get their drugs, junkies not being known for self restraint they do their drugs once they get them which would be in the park.

So how come like 30 people oded in the park 

[MrWhyt]

22 minutes ago, dmc said:

So how come like 30 people oded in the park 

cause 30 junkies came to the park and bought their drugs there. I don't think the show said it outright but  I assumed it was a bad batch of drugs being sold, not that everyone took an OD amount of the drug.

[dmc]

Just now, MrWhyt said:

cause 30 junkies came to the park and bought their drugs there. I don't think the show said it outright but  I assumed it was a bad batch of drugs being sold, not that everyone took an OD amount of the drug.

No the show just kept saying oded not what caused it.  But that many people buying drugs in the park you would think would get a lot of attention 

[MrWhyt]

1 hour ago, dmc said:

No the show just kept saying oded not what caused it.  But that many people buying drugs in the park you would think would get a lot of attention 

I'm sure the attention these ODs will bring will cause the police to do a sweep of the park and clear out the dealers for a few weeks but after awhile the manpower will be needed in another area and the police will be reassigned and the dealers will filter back in, at least that's what I learned from The Wire.

Edited February 23, 2019 by MrWhyt

[Joana]

I admit I don't know a lot about drug abuse, but dozens of simultaneous ODs in the same park, in broad daylight, on a regular day (that is, not a festival or a street party of some kind)? Does that really happen? What kind of park is that?

[statsgirl]

22 minutes ago, MrWhyt said:

cause 30 junkies came to the park and bought their drugs there. I don't think the show said it outright but  I assumed it was a bad batch of drugs being sold, not that everyone took an OD amount of the drug.

Someone said, I think it was Ben, that there was a bad batch of drugs out there and that is why there were so many ODs.

ETA: carfentnil

Quote

A November 2016 article in Time, "Heroin Is Being Laced With a Terrifying New Substance: What to Know About Carfentanil", reports over 300 cases of overdose related to fentanyl and fentanyl analogues and several deaths connected to the drug since August 2016 in several of the United States, including Ohio, West Virginia, Indiana, Kentucky and Florida.[8] In 2017, a Milwaukee, Wisconsin man died from a carfentanil overdose, likely taken unknowingly with another illegal drug such as heroin or cocaine.[9] Carfentanil is most often taken with heroin or by users who believe they are taking heroin. Carfentanil is added to or sold as heroin because it is less expensive, easier to obtain (until China added it to its list of controlled substances on 1 March 2017, it was legal for Chinese firms to advertise and sell carfentanil over the Internet, offering advice to customers in other countries on how to import it illegally) and easier to make than heroin.[10] Health professionals are increasingly concerned about the potential escalation of public health consequences of its recreational use.[11]

Edited February 23, 2019 by statsgirl

[marykat71702]

For all of you questioning whether or not the OD story line is realistic, it actually happened at a park in Connecticut back in August. More than 70 people OD'ed on a bad batch of drugs.

 https://www.livescience.com/63345-mass-overdose-connecticut-park.html

The scenes with Glasses and HOAG were cringeworthy.

Edited February 23, 2019 by marykat71702
added a link

[madpsych78]

4 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

The group of people ODing in a park or in a single city in high numbers is very common.    One city (sorry I don't remember where, Ohio maybe?) had so many overdoses in a few days that they ran out of Narcan (the antidote to opioids), and had to borrow additional supplies from any place that would get it to them.     I know it was over 25 people.     So 50 or so isn't that unusual.   Actually, everyone being in the park helped, because usually the OD's happen where ever the users all, and may not be found until it's too late.

I get that mass OD is a thing, but this reminds me of Jonestown and Jim Jones.

[Bringonthedrama]

3 hours ago, Joana said:

That sisterhood is basically one of those Grey's cutesy shticks like "my person"

Ugh, I dislike the cutesy stuff. As I recall, the "my person" stuff started because Christina needed an emergency contact/someone she could rely on and she and Meredith were too emotionally stunted to say "my (close) friend." In a friendship gathering or in Meredith's house, I get calling each other "sisters." But colleagues in the hospital calling them sisters, especially when they all work together with interns, nurses, etc. it's absurd to be cutesy because it could potentially confuse people who aren't part of Meredith's inner circle. There's no reason for Teddy to acknowledge/use the cutesy terminology for the relationship between her baby daddy's current girlfriend and his ex's best friend's half-sister. 

I guess I just don't like how much Grey's always brings the personal stuff into the workplace, like Maggie and Jackson talking about their camping trip/relationship in front of a patient and Maggie talking about Betty OD'ing and that Amelia will need her. 

I know plenty of women who will tell this or that person that girlfriend B or C (upon introduction) is "like a sister/family to me" and I've told people in the past "D and M are my sorority sisters" but I would never just say "this is my sister" of someone who's not related via blood, marriage or adoption. What is the problem with just saying close/dear friend.

[Joana]

8 hours ago, Bringonthedrama said:

 There's no reason for Teddy to acknowledge/use the cutesy terminology for the relationship between her baby daddy's current girlfriend and his ex's best friend's half-sister. 

I agree with that and I found it especially odd considering that earlier in the season Teddy was adamant that Amelia is NOT Maggie's sister - and then even a random patient they were discussing their personal stuff in front of (because, of course they did) agreed with her. The only half-reasonable explanation I can think of is that there has been quite a bit of friction between Teddy and Maggie and now Teddy is trying to amend it by ackowledging the relationship between Amelia and Maggie the way they see it. But then even that is a bit silly.

There's also some inconsistency in the way Maggie is being written. When she was first introduced, it was made clear that her adoptive parents adored her and she adored them, which was backed up several times, most notably when her mother was dying and her father came to visit her. But then we've also had those moments when she's saying how she never knew what a family meant until she met Meredith and Amelia, and that's so weird. I get that having siblings is a different kind of a relationship and something she really hadn't known before, but still, it's hardly like she never had anyone she loved and cared for. It's like that time on Friends when Phoebe was meeting Mike's parents and acted like a total moron "because she had never met any of her boyfriend's parents before", to which he replies "But you have met humans before, right?!" 

[Deanie87]

This is the first episode I've watched since the break and you guys...the dialogue is SO bad.  I swear every other scene was exposition.  As soon as one character would finish dialoguing about a medical procedure, the next would start in about The Very Serious Opioid Crisis Going on In This Country.  And THEN to add insult to injury they have Jo Alex-plain that yes Alex has some experience with this sort of thing.  Is that really necessary to anyone who isn't tuning in for the very first time?  Are our attention spans that short?  Nearly every piece of dialogue between Alex and Jo this season has been one thanking the other for marrying them, exchanging ILY's or Jo providing a Previously On about Alex so that we can prepare for some possible upcoming storyline.  What is happening?

[tomsmom]

The Hell Jackson??? You’re a freakin millionaire! You gave him camping gear??? You couldn’t put that poor man in a cheap hotel till he’s off the waiting list??? God I hate this show sometimes.🙄

[MarylandGirl]

37 minutes ago, Deanie87 said:

This is the first episode I've watched since the break and you guys...the dialogue is SO bad.  I swear every other scene was exposition.  As soon as one character would finish dialoguing about a medical procedure, the next would start in about The Very Serious Opioid Crisis Going on In This Country.  And THEN to add insult to injury they have Jo Alex-plain that yes Alex has some experience with this sort of thing.  Is that really necessary to anyone who isn't tuning in for the very first time?  Are our attention spans that short?  Nearly every piece of dialogue between Alex and Jo this season has been one thanking the other for marrying them, exchanging ILY's or Jo providing a Previously On about Alex so that we can prepare for some possible upcoming storyline.  What is happening?

Yes! This whole episode just felt like a PSA about opioid use and then later about homelessness, too. 

[skermac]

how come Owen didn't go to court and try to keep the kid, I was hoping to see him is a little bit of courtroom drama, instead he just hand over the kid, total bs imo

[GSMHvisitor]

Sidenote: I hated that they made Bohkee speak just so she could kiss Meredith's ass. There's already too much of that going around anyways.

[Bringonthedrama]

4 hours ago, Joana said:

But then we've also had those moments when she's saying how she never knew what a family meant until she met Meredith and Amelia, and that's so weird. I get that having siblings is a different kind of a relationship and something she really hadn't known before, but still, it's hardly like she never had anyone she loved and cared for. 

I wonder if that's a clumsy attempt by writers to convince the audience "Maggie fits  in well on GA because she's part of this established sisterhood now." Like there was a scene where Jackson was about to kiss Maggie (poor writing and acting there) and Meredith barges in calling to Maggie about "mom's journals" as she runs up the stairs to go find them.  Maggie never even met Ellis; that line makes it sound like Meredith and Maggie grew up together and need to conspire to figure out a secret "Mom" was keeping from them.  

It just seems like Maggie, a character I find immature/inexperienced, would never fit in a relationship with Jackson or in a real sisterhood with Meredith. Meredith has been a doctor with these colleagues for more than a decade, was married to a now deceased well known colleague, and has three children.   

I guess I'm saying that some of the current writing for relationships strikes me as forced, or manufactured. Just a couple years ago, Jackson declared he was in love in with April. Now the audience is supposed to believe he's totally over April (his best friend/ex-wife, occasional sex partner and mother of his daughter) and all about Maggie. This DeLuca doc said at the Alex & Jo disaster/non-wedding that he "used to be in love with the bride"; now he's staring at Meredith and then kissing her ass in the OR? Don't even get me started on Owen. Amelia and Teddy can both do better.

[MrWhyt]

14 hours ago, Bringonthedrama said:

What is the problem with just saying close/dear friend.

cause she feels that they are more than close/dear friends.

[meatball77]

I figured they were calling each other sisters because of the complicated relationship.

Amelia is Dereks sister.  So Amelia is Merideth's Sister in Law.  Maggie and Merideth are half sisters.  So Merideth connects all of them and because she's so co-dependent (runs her house like a commune) and has no other family she's decided that they are all sisters.

[hookedontv]

I just binge-watched the last 3 episodes. 

Why didn’t Betty/Brittany die? Such a bad, wooden actress and the show gets dragged down by her. 

I want the old confident Bailey back.

Maggie acts like she’s 13 years old. She doesn’t have resting bitch face, she’s got resting “I smell something that stinks” face.

I have so much more to say but I think y’all have covered it. That is all. 

[Madding crowd]

9 hours ago, skermac said:

how come Owen didn't go to court and try to keep the kid, I was hoping to see him is a little bit of courtroom drama, instead he just hand over the kid, total bs imo

Social services would be involved but foster parents don’t have legal standing over decisions made by the social worker. In real life the grandparents would be checked out to see if they are capable of raising the child but this show shortens the timelines for everything.

[Layne]

5 hours ago, meatball77 said:

I figured they were calling each other sisters because of the complicated relationship.

Amelia is Dereks sister.  So Amelia is Merideth's Sister in Law.  Maggie and Merideth are half sisters.  So Merideth connects all of them and because she's so co-dependent (runs her house like a commune) and has no other family she's decided that they are all sisters.

Then Jackson is her brother. 

2 hours ago, Madding crowd said:

but this show shortens the timelines for everything.

For everything but Teddy's long ass pregnancy. 

[auntiemel]

13 hours ago, hookedontv said:

I want the old confident Bailey back.

I felt like I got a glimpse of her with the "I love Ben, but I don't love fantasy basketball. Therefore, I do not participate in fantasy basketball," line. So great!

[ams1001]

On 2/23/2019 at 1:23 PM, skermac said:

how come Owen didn't go to court and try to keep the kid, I was hoping to see him is a little bit of courtroom drama, instead he just hand over the kid, total bs imo

At least show us a conversation with the social worker (or even a passing mention that she was involved). You'd think she'd be present for the grandparents taking the baby.

[FnkyChkn34]

On 2/22/2019 at 12:23 AM, Bringonthedrama said:

I knew that, but it was so long ago I think that may have been when she was still on PP.  I recall that her baby was born without a brain, and died. 

The wording of a previous post had me thinking that Amelia lost a family member soon before or after Maggie's mother died.

Sorry if this was already answered, but Amelia lost Derek too.  So just like Meredith still mourns her husband, Amelia mourns her brother.

[Joana]

On 2/23/2019 at 4:40 PM, Deanie87 said:

This is the first episode I've watched since the break and you guys...the dialogue is SO bad.  I swear every other scene was exposition.  As soon as one character would finish dialoguing about a medical procedure, the next would start in about The Very Serious Opioid Crisis Going on In This Country.  

Oh, Deanie! You were missed! It was so much worse the previous week. A child GOT SHOT. So, you can imagine. And of course, he was treated by Owen, who was facing the prospect of losing his foster child. So, you can imagine how that went down, too.

And the week before, Alex only showed up to arrange a wedding ceremony for a dying patient and her fiancé, that every single doctor attended, even though the vast majority of them had nothing to do with the case. 

[Guest]

Jo lecturing the guy whose wife took a child on a drug buying excursion was ridiculous, as was Alex interrupting her. 

Of course not-Betty survived. And of course her boyfriend did not. So predictable.

I think I’m on the verge of quitting this show yet again. I really don’t care about any of the characters or storylines anymore. Maybe Alex’s character, but his story has been boring.

And there have been much longer surgeries than that one.

[Deanie87]

20 hours ago, Joana said:

Oh, Deanie! You were missed! It was so much worse the previous week. A child GOT SHOT. So, you can imagine. And of course, he was treated by Owen, who was facing the prospect of losing his foster child. So, you can imagine how that went down, too.

And the week before, Alex only showed up to arrange a wedding ceremony for a dying patient and her fiancé, that every single doctor attended, even though the vast majority of them had nothing to do with the case. 

Yeah I saw an image of the docs standing around with their damn cell phones held aloft and got such secondhand embarrassment that I deleted the episode right off of my DVR.  Yikes.

[OpalNightstream]

On 2/21/2019 at 10:19 PM, chitowngirl said:

Sometimes family is what you make with the people around you.

 If this is the case then all the main characters are brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers (which would be Nice because then we can end All the ridiculous in-dating amongst them all)

honestly they have to eventually put an end to “oh look another kinda sorta sibling for Meredith”, right? How many can there possibly be??

[OpalNightstream]

On 2/22/2019 at 3:30 PM, Madding crowd said:

I might be the only one but I like Owen. He seems like a real person to me with real feelings. Meredith often comes across as cold and I'm not a fan of big speeches either. I think Owen was calm when handing over Leo because he cares about him and wants him to be calm, and he can't do anything about it . I don't yet trust Betty's parents. They may be perfectly lovely there was a reason she ran away from them. And as far as Owen not acting right about the fostering process, there are different types of fostering. Some people agree to watch a child for a short while until there parents can take them, some foster long term with the hope of adopting and everything in between. Owen and Amelia had every reason to think Betty would continue to be a part of Leo's life but they would be his parents. They were not told it would be a short foster situation. They only recently found out Betty was really Britney.

I wish Alex could have a meatier story too but I hope he can continue on as chief because he does a bettter job than Bailey. In regard to the homeless man and the camping gear-I agree they hit a wrong note there. I guess the camping stuff was bettter than nothing and Jackson can't pay for every homeless person that walks in, but it still seemed wrong.

Glasses and his constant "love talk" in the ER just seems juvenile.

I like Owen too but partially because i love the movie Trainspotting. I don’t think his character here gets a fair break. I think he is no more annoying/overlydramatic/selfish than any of the other greys characters. Let’s face it, every character on this show has numerous flaws that make them unlikable. 

I would rather listen to glasses love talk any day over Meredith’s middle school talk and drama. At least he’s a young guy who is experiencing love for the first time and is figuring it all out. Meredith acts like an immature schoolgirl around men. I’m just happy Linc is seeming to back off because he can do better than her. 

Edited March 3, 2019 by OpalNightstream

[Tallulah7606]

Am I the only one that was actually willing Betty to die? I know she’s just a child, but let’s face it, the girl who plays her is a terrible actress-and the character isn’t remotely likeable. 

And while I’m on the subject of Betty/Britney-what in gods name has Jennifer Grey done to herself?? 

[chitowngirl]

5 minutes ago, Tallulah7606 said:

Am I the only one that was actually willing Betty to die? I know she’s just a child, but let’s face it, the girl who plays her is a terrible actress-and the character isn’t remotely likeable. 

And while I’m on the subject of Betty/Britney-what in gods name has Jennifer Grey done to herself?? 

Jennifer underwent two rhinoplasty procedures—the second of which was necessary to correct problems stemming from the first—that resulted in a nose that caused even close friends to fail to recognize her.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

2 hours ago, chitowngirl said:

Jennifer underwent two rhinoplasty procedures—the second of which was necessary to correct problems stemming from the first—that resulted in a nose that caused even close friends to fail to recognize her.

She played a version of herself on a sitcom in the late 90s after her rhinoplasties, and the fact that no one recognized her anymore was a longrunning joke on the show. 

Edited March 17, 2019 by ElectricBoogaloo