After Meredith inadvertently stirs up negative press for Grey Sloan, she tries to make things right with her former colleagues, jeopardizing her community service hours. Ben and Vic bring a young woman into the hospital. Jackson stands up to Koracick when he goes too far with a patient's family. Bailey receives unexpected news. Owen finds himself at Pac-Gen North, which Alex sees as a recruiting opportunity.
In 2018, there were 495 scripted shows airing amongst the linear channels and streaming services. The way people are consuming content now is so different than it used to be. It happens according to one's own schedule. As such, there is less necessity to provide ample coverage of each specific episode in any given season from a show. Moreover, it is simply impossible to watch everything. As such, this site is making the move to shorter episodic reviews in order to cover as many shows as possible. With all of that being said, here are my thoughts on the next episode of ABC's Grey's Anatomy.
"It's Raining Men" was written by Mark Driscoll and directed by Michael Watkins
Is the final twist with Bailey all that necessary? Maggie gives her the news that she is both in peri-menopause and pregnant. That's a huge surprise to Bailey. She doesn't think it's possible because of her mood swings and hot flashes throughout this busy day. But the show now presents her with the same conversation she must have with Ben that Amelia and Link had just a few episodes ago. It means there are two pregnancies at the moment. It is a surprise. But again, is it necessary? A sincere story about the realities of menopause is something that just isn't seen in television. It's important though because so many women experience it every single year. It presents as something new that the show hasn't done before. Remember, Bailey was pregnant and had a traumatic delivery way back in the second season. Her son is now a teenager who has factored into stories both here and on Station 19 from time to time. That all has a vital purpose that is unique. This twist may have the same impact eventually. Right now though, it feels like the show is embracing the familiar instead of challenging itself with something new and unique. That's strange considering this season's willingness to change up the status quo. In fact, it seems like the narrative is confronting the privilege these characters have long had. They may have superiority complexes because they've been built up as the only doctors in the world who can pull off complicated and revolutionary surgeries. They have long been positioned as pioneers of science. They are changing their field. But it just dawned on Meredith recently that there are poor people in the world who are currently being abused by the health care system of the country. She took action in order to alleviate some of that pain in one specific case. That got her sentenced to community service and her medical license being under review. Those are significant consequences that she is still in the middle of. She has been determined to move forward with her newfound passion though because that's all that she can see. She has tunnel vision about fixing a broken system. This week articulates her awareness of systemic problems throughout the medical field. It's not just at the hospital she was fired from. However, that's the way her article comes across. The world immediately turns against Grey Sloan because they view it as a place where this corruption exists. A former doctor is bravely speaking out. That's the sensationalized take of this story as contorted by the news. It basically just proves that Meredith really doesn't know the right place to publish her pieces about the failings of the system. If she trusted a source like this, then she may not truly understand the world. It can come at a great cost as well because she would rather run around explaining to her colleagues what happened instead of finishing her community service hours for the day. That's an active choice she makes. Andrew sees that as self-destructive. It's an action that ensures she will remain in the tornado fighting when she doesn't have to. She is causing more problems for herself. Now, some passion is good. She just isn't in the right position to make a difference right now. Jackson can. He knows how uncomfortable a family is over having their daughter's surgery filmed. He ensures the cost is taken care of completely. It's not a big deal to him whatsoever. But again, he has the privilege of not caring what the public perception may ultimately do. He has the resources and skills to emerge from all of this well off. The same cannot be said for those in the system still learning and trying to do better. Alex and Richard may be starting over but have the resources to make an effective entry into the business. Right now, they are struggling and need as much support as they can get from surgeons they know are capable of doing a strong job alongside them. They are creating change. It's just slow to materialize especially in a world where Teddy continues seeing all of the despair as a result of seemingly random chaos.
