Dinner Nightmare
I have always been a fan of Grey’s Anatomy. My daughter and I have been watching since the beginning and we always look forward to the next episode. Unfortunately, over the years the show has started to lack its more dramatic and shocking twists in favour of the same sort of rehashed premise. This latest episode felt like a massive filler, spending no time in the hospital but instead concentrating on some of the less interesting characters. The episode starts with Maggie arriving in the hospital to talk to Koracick about her returns. She comes face to face with Jackson who asks her if she is coming to their parent’s anniversary dinner. She tells him she is while Webber asks his wife to cancel their dinner as they’re now separated. She refuses though as she worries about how it would affect the kids. Meanwhile, Schimtt struggles with how his mum is dealing with his sexuality. However, she mentions that his uncle Saul is now in a hospice. This prompts him to visit him with Nico and as they arrive, Schmitt introduces Nico as his boyfriend, which unfortunately leads to him having a heart attack and dying. In Catherine and Richard’s house, the day of the dinner arrives and all four gather to talk around drinks. Suddenly, the door bell rings as Jackson has invited his new girlfriend Vic. Only she has brought Dean with her which surprises him. Maggie confronts Jackson about the man Vic brought as she believes it’s a set up. He denies it though but we see that it was in fact Vic’s idea as he’s interested in Maggie. As dinner starts, tensions are in the air as there is a lot of unspoken words between them. Maggie manages to smooth things over by telling everyone how Catherine proposed to Richard. Catherine speaks to Richard privately and tells him they should try harder. Unfortunately she adds the word “but” after “I am sorry” which prompts him to reject her apology. Schmitt has to stay with his uncle until another member of the family comes to claim the body. After his aunt shows up to say a quick goodbye, a man called Daniel Schwartz arrives, crying. We find out that his uncle was also gay and Daniel was the love of his life. While preparing Saul’s body following Jewish tradition, Schmitt speaks to Daniel about his uncle keeping his homosexuality as a secret. Daniel explains that things were different back then and Saul also wanted Schmitt to come to see him and show that things will be okay. The dinner slowly gets worse when Richard and Catherine start arguing. Richard reveals that he is considering Maggie to be head of Cardio in Pac North and Catherine finally reveals that they’re separated. Jackson goes to comfort his mum and as Vic enters the room, the ice is finally broken between the two while Maggie speaks with Richard about the situation. He then shows how much Pac North is offering her for the job and she accepts it. Before leaving, Maggie clears the air with Vic and apologises for how she has been acting around Jackson. Schimtt returns home and tells his mum about his uncle passing away. He decides to move out and confronts his mum about his sexuality. He thanks her for everything then leaves with Nico. The episode ends with Richard telling his wife that Maggie accepted the offer, which doesn’t please her. This prompts her to call her associate to put feelers out to buy Pac North. He protests but she tells him she heard the place is getting better or she might just close it down. While I understand Grey’s Anatomy is as much about the character drama as it is about the medical issues, this latest installment felt too much like unnecessary filler, with no time spent in the hospital. The episode spent its entire run time showing us two different stories that could have been done in less than half the time. The whole Jackson and Maggie issue is a little overdone now and it needs to move on, just like the former did with Vic. Richard and Catherine’s separation has been coming for a while now and a new rivalry seems to have sprung this week. Yet another doctor from Grey Sloan is joining Pac North which we have found out has been doing a lot better. Hopefully we see more of both hospitals in the next few weeks and maybe some more interesting story lines for our characters. Also, Meredith doesn’t show up again this week. It’s such a shame too as this latest episodes will probably go down as one of the worse one in Grey’s Anatomy’s history. Let’s just hope this is a blip and we get back to the more consistent storytelling next time out.
