Thursday, November 21, 2019

REVIEW: 'Grey's Anatomy' - Meredith Receives a Present While Maggie Makes a Huge Decision in 'Let's All Go to the Bar'

ABC's Grey's Anatomy - Episode 16.09 "Let's All Go to the Bar"

Jo becomes a safe haven volunteer and gets a call that a baby has been dropped off at Station 19. Meredith moves forward with her life after facing the medical board. Jackson takes a big step in his budding romance with Vic. Bailey and Amelia swap pregnancy updates.



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.

"Let's All Go to the Bar" was written by Kiley Donovan and directed by Kevin McKidd

Did Cristina send Dr. Cormac Hayes to Grey Sloan because the hospital needed a skilled pediatric surgeon or because she thought he would be a good romantic match for Meredith? Throughout this hour, there is the running idea of Cristina having sent Meredith a present. It's a way to celebrate her keeping her license and returning to Grey Sloan to work. She is welcomed back with so much love. She returns with the same level of respect she had before. It's as if nothing truly changed during her time away. The show may move past all of that a little too easily. Schmidt is the only one really dealing with ongoing consequences. Meanwhile, Meredith is just allowed to be an incredible surgeon once more. She didn't want a family to worry about potential cancer. She was right in that belief because the mass was simply a gallstone that had traveled elsewhere in the body. That story really highlights her expertise in her field. She knows what she's doing. She's brilliant and deserves all of the praise she gets in the world. Conversely, Cormac doesn't come across as impressive in the slightest. He just barges into the rooms expecting people to know who he is when they have no clue. He's very isolated in the hospital as well. He only pertains to Meredith's ongoing case. She doesn't even discuss him with anyone else even though she's curious who hired him. She has to do damage control when he alarms the family for no good reason. He believes it's important to be armed with all the information. That's the same advice that Bailey gives Amelia regarding her pregnancy. People have to be ready to face their fears by knowing exactly what they are dealing with. In this case though, Meredith was right and Cormac was wrong. That doesn't really offer him up as an impressive or engaging present though. Meredith may be curious why her person thought this would be a meaningful gift. Again, it could be for romantic interests because they are both widows. Cristina does refer to him as "McWidow" after all. That conjures up the same thoughts that used to be applied to Derek and Mark with their nicknames of McDreamy and McSteamy, respectively. But that would also mean Cristina is in the dark about Meredith's relationship with Andrew. That's odd considering the show highlights just how engaging this friendship remains even though Cristina lives on the other side of the world. It's odd and hard to really follow what the show is hoping to achieve. It suggests that Andrew may have made a mistake that allowed Meredith to question their relationship when she had no reason to. He has to fight for her despite his offer to give her space. He wants respect. That may prove that the relationship is fundamentally dysfunctional. And now, the show plans on testing that by throwing this new guy into the mix. It just would have been simpler if the show allowed Meredith's brilliance to be the focal point during her first day back at the hospital. The melodrama is more than present elsewhere. It's absolutely devastating that Bailey has a miscarriage. She doesn't know how to process that right now either. Meanwhile, Maggie quits because she continues to spiral after her cousin's death. That burden may be too overwhelming to her. It may also be setting her on a path of great destruction if her friends aren't there to help her through this challenging time. Elsewhere, Jo bonds with a baby left at Station 19 and eventually takes him home while Alex is out of town. Sure, it's questionable if she got approval from the social worker or if she did this impulsively. But that too is bound to create a ton of drama. And finally, aspects of this hour play as preparation for the upcoming season of Station 19. Pruitt's cancer is back, Vic struggles to define her relationship with Jackson, Ben has suffered a tremendous loss and there is a major accident at the bar that places characters from both shows in harm's way. It's an effective tease of what's to come in this shared universe. It's just a lot of heavy lifting for that other show that has been off the air for months while this one struggles to find that cohesive sense of itself after a dramatic start to the season.