RECAP: "Grey’s Anatomy" Season 20, Episode 6
Grey McSloaniacs, I’m back after a long hiatus. Apologies for the delay on this recap, but I’m back, I’m 30 seconds into this episode, and I'm ready to defend screen time, especially where "Bluey" is concerned. This episode brings back Natalie Morales’s Dr Monica Beltran, Meredith returns to narrator-only, and Bailey has… water bottles. Let’s jump in.
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“'Bluey.' It’s Educational.”
We open up to the parking lot (I continue to be baffled that this new set we’re seeing all season is a PARKING LOT?). Amelia runs into Link, Jo, and the kids on her way, and we are reminded Amelia is the mom to Scout, though we rarely see it because the wholesome family of a mom, dad, and two kids is more interesting. Amelia is put off immediately by a label on the tablet Scout is watching "Bluey" on, “Property of Scout,” because it implies he may be getting more screen time than she’d prefer.
To which I say, IT’S BLUEY. This is not brain-rotting kid’s screen time full of ads, chaos, and dumbed-down language. "Bluey" is a brilliant, fun, imaginative, concise, educational (and 20 more adjectives I can’t think of) program for all ages, and I will be over here, dying on this particular hill. Join me. It has a delightful Brisbane house at the top, and it’s full of children and adults partaking in imaginative play for hours and hours. Before anyone yells at me about how a Neurosurgeon knows about the dangers of screen time and has every right to want to set boundaries for her child: I hear that. But for me, "Bluey" is the exception.
Moving on. This particular moment feeds awkward interactions across the episode, but nothing really notable shakes out, so we’ll leave this story here. There is a lovely bonding moment between Monica and Amelia at the end, and I wonder when this will go somewhere.
“My ‘Meditations for a Woman Scorned’ podcast advises waiting until you’re no longer angry before speaking.”
Yasuda has yet to confront Helm about the incident from the last episode (which I’ll remind you all is that she found out Helm kept her on the puking med students cases instead of the impaled med student case). But Helm doesn’t know Yasuda knows, and she has no idea Yasuda is pissed. It’s my experience that your anger and your path to resolution is more efficient if the person at least KNOWS you’re pissed. This is very passive, not aggressive. Helm apologizes at the end of the episode, explaining she can’t play favorites, but nothing really comes from this. I would argue that her apology was weak and doesn’t account for the lies/misleading that happened that day. This is not a good relationship, ladies. MOVE👏ON👏.
“Why Peds?” “Dr. Webber suggested it.”
Schmidt is trying to get Beltran to help him get a Peds fellowship. But he’s selling it like someone who needs two more credits to graduate. And she sees right through him. Her use of “noted” speaks volumes, and if Levi can’t hear how disengaged he sounds, he really has no business in Peds. Beltran asks where his heart and passion are. Because she hasn’t seen anything more than someone seeking validation. The burden is on Schmidt to prove himself and understand why he’s doing it.
“These are wellness kits”
Griffith seems surprised that Adams isn’t wildly interested in hanging out and studying together. Girl… NOTHING has changed; you haven’t talked about anything of substance, and he doesn’t trust you. MOVE👏ON👏. A quick observation: three random people are in the intern classroom today. Where did they SUDDENLY find these people, and why are they just joining the class now? Did they have to memorize Bailey’s five rules? Is the intern program now thriving with Dr Ben Covington (I mean Nick Marsh) gone?
Anyway, Bailey is on a wellness kick this week. After witnessing the patient (med student) on the roof during the last episode and understanding what stress, burnout, and pressure can do, she believes a wellness bag of healthy foods, a stress ball, a fidget spinner, warm socks, and 1-gallon water bottle will be just what they need.
Um, can I please go off on this bullshit for a moment?
Burnout and depression cannot be suppressed by vegetables and a good dose of Hygge!! People have individual needs based on every factor that makes them who they are; their mental and physical health journeys are unique. Telling these “baby residents” that they have to drink a gallon of water daily will solve nothing, and now you’re giving them even more work. This is such a relic of those office pedometer challenges and weight-loss competitions. Are you offering them time off, better pay, and support services during their work hours? If not, you’re wasting your time and money. If you’d like to know more about the dark side of workplace wellness, the Maintenance Phase podcast has some great content.
(It looks like I’ve just found another hill to die on. I’m getting my stairs-climbing count today! J/K-ish)
The moral of the story: Bailey has no understanding of what these individual humans need to prevent burnout, and she’s about to take their disinterest and criticism VERY personally. She’s calling the interns ungrateful for the burden she gave them. When did the doctor who trained doctors to perform abortions get so out of touch?
Griffith and Kwan are bonding over how dumb these wellness bags are when Bailey overhears them and in outrage (and frankly answering their prayers), sends them both home. Even better news: these two are finally bonding! Over studying! I love nerd-ships. Now Kwan has won ME over with cooking skills and the mention of soft-boiled eggs in Ramen. This guy DOES have layers! We learn that they both lost their mothers, and they have a bit more in common than they realized. Stir-frying and studying, Kwan is finally opening up to Griffith. Maybe he should move in? When Adams shows up at the end of the episode to see about studying with Griffith, we find Kwan in his former room. Things change fast at Grey Sloan; keep up!
So, I’m not about to walk back my outrage over the wellness bags, but Bailey did include quite a few groceries. These bags were not cheap! And she’s handing them out like Oprah with a parking lot of new cars. She gave an extra bag to Owen, who has the gall to ask her for another because they didn’t do the grocery shopping this week. She flips out at Owen, and he reminds her that she might need a dose of her own medicine. Take a day off, Bailey! I’ve been saying this since Episode 1 of the season. And by the end of the episode, she’s gone home early and is drawing herself a bubble bath with candles everywhere. In walks firefighter husband Ben Warren, who does NOT admonish her about all the candles, but encourages self-care too. People are looking out for you, Miranda, listen!
“Is there a burger inside your lab coat?”
Catherine is here, doing her make-up in Richard’s office. She’s getting ready for a VIP arrival like she owns the place or something... because she does. She stops to comment that she’s noticed that Richard has had more admin days lately. Richard deflects as per usual, but I’m glad someone is noticing. Maybe this will be the kick he needs to get back into surgery.
Richard’s patient in this episode is the recovering-from-GSW Dorian. Dorian is desperate for a break from hospitals and feeding tubes. He says no to more tests and medicine and tries to convince Adams not to do more tests and bring him food. We learn Adams never wanted to be a doctor, but a near-death experience changed his mind. Suddenly, Dorian starts coughing up blood, and Adams pages Webber.
Webber might be in need of one of those wellness bags, because he’s been out of it for way too long while Adams is catching him up. Then, in a flash, he’s totally connected, and Webber hops in, clips an upper GI bleed like it was a regular Tuesday, and Adams is blown away. Richard’s feelings afterward seem complicated; he’s both proud, relieved, and worried. But later on, we see Dorian’s mom bringing Dr. Webber (not Adams?) a thank-you box of chocolates for saving her son’s life. And he and Catherine (the legend Debbie Allen) shimmy together. And I am always in for a shimmy:
“Anything can be a weapon.”
So, apparently, there’s an unused wing of the hospital that can be made super secure for prison patient visits. Before they even jump into this storyline, I can already tell you what we’ll see. We’ve seen this trope dozens of times in medical dramas, at least three other times in "Grey’s" alone. An inmate of unknown risk (did they murder someone, theft, drugs?) is being brought into the hospital. We will be reminded that prison medical services are basically inhumane, and this person can’t get the support they need for whatever is wrong. They’ll discover something even more wrong than initially thought, and the young-buck intern will try to fight the system, but to no avail. Let’s see if I’m right.
Patient Daniel may have TB; they’ve taken him out of prison to contain the spread. Teddy listens to his lungs, and they order a test and do an x-ray. The x-ray revealed a giant mass, and they sent him to CT. The CT reveals just how bad Daniel’s tumors are, and Yasuda is under the assumption they can help him and give him chemo. However, an inmate doesn’t exactly have the same rights as a regular patient, and they have to put him back in the care of the prison system. This is looking like a death sentence. They give him their prognosis, and with treatment, he may only get a few months. Daniel doesn’t want to seek treatment; it’s just too little too late.
Yasuda is not ok with giving up on him, but Teddy reminds her that sometimes treatment is just alleviating suffering. On his way back into the transport vehicle, he’s chained up again. Drs. Altman and Ndugu are letting him know everything they can do for him, including a compassionate release application. And Yasuda comes running out with a coffee cake, the exact one he remembers from school lunches as a kid. (Wait, what? Are you telling me school cafeteria lunch desserts haven’t changed in 30 years?)
“She’s experiencing discomfort.” “Try freaking agony.” “She’s now experiencing extreme pain…”
Misty, a 15-year-old amputee and cyclist, is here, and her parents are super-rich VIPs of Catherine Fox. Presumably, these are donors; oh yes, they just said “The Maldives” in high spirits. Misty’s mom lets everyone know about Misty’s dream of cycling a century ride, but Misty seems to have grown sour on it. Maybe because of that “freaking agony”? Link and Beltran have a plan that follows the standard of care, but it’s not good enough for Misty, and it’s certainly not good enough for surgeons at a Catherine Fox hospital! Once Debbie Allen (I mean Catherine) has given both a dressing down in front of their residents, they return to the drawing board.
Link pushes for a risky implantation surgery, and Monica, who seems very, very risk-averse, thinks this is a terrible idea. She tries to give him a dressing down of her own, talking about growing bones in a 15-year-old—who Link points out has an adult skeleton. Ultimately, Link has the best offer and the best chance to get Misty moving again. They discovered that more bone must be removed during the surgery to implant the rod. When they go back to the family for permission, Catherine’s angry glare could shoot fire darts. Never get in the path of Debbie Allen's angry eyes.
When they go back in to finish the surgery, Schmidt gets the opportunity to see the implantation through, and it’s a success. When we next see Misty, she’s awake, everyone is celebrating, and Misty has a face on her. I wonder what that means for her cycling plans. Maybe we’ll learn in the coming four episodes that remain this season. See you all for episode 7!