Click here to read the recaplet of the first episode
So what Mere, Bailey and Cristina forgot to take into consideration with Richard's surgery is that Catherine would come blowing into the hospital like a screaming tornado, hollering at Bailey to put down the scalpel. She gets in some very low blows about how Bailey is just trying to ease her own guilt about what she said to Richard by operating on him when it's too risky. Owen and Bailey do ultimately decide to close up, but when Bailey talks to Mere, Mere asks her what she feels in her gut, since Bailey taught them all to go with their instincts. Bailey is sure something is in there that is making him sick, so Mere sets up another surgery. This time, Bailey and Owen find the problem, cut it all out and while he's still unstable, Richard is in much better shape. Catherine (who was somewhat calmed down by Jackson) is still making a huge fuss but while she, Bailey and Meredith are arguing at Richard's bedside he finally opens one eye and we realize that he correctly picked who would be his girlfriend and who would be his family and make his medical decisions. And thank goodness, because I was going to have to boycott if they killed him off.
Owen and Cristina -- still full of all their Feelings -- decide they need better Last Time Together sex than what they had a few days prior so they do it in the on-call room. Then later, they decide to do it again for good measure. But after that time, Cristina admits that she thinks they can't be friends since this will just keep happening. Then she completely breaks down in his arms, saying that while this was her choice, it's still ridiculously hard for her. Basically, it's totally heartbreaking. Less heartbreaking and more infuriating is April -- she moons around after Jackson until finally he reminds her that she didn't want him when he wanted her, and that she's wishy-washy and just agreed to marry someone else and needs to actually grow up and make mature decisions. She decides that means she really does want to marry Matthew (who realized Jackson was The Other One and is really not happy about it) and she manages to convince Matthew that this time, she really, truly means it.
Heather, sadly, doesn't survive her surgery, and the interns are all horrified and sad. Derek leaves them to take Zola back to the house and tells them that if Heather's mom arrives before he returns, they are to tell her fun Heather stories until he can return and give her the bad news. We learn that these kids really are as awful as they seem when they can't come up with a single nice thing to say about their colleague. Fortunately, they eventually use the time waiting to try and learn some things about each other and when Heather's mom shows up, they use each other's stories (and one that Mere told about George) to fake that they were friends with Heather until Derek shows back up. Smash hasn't been able to bring himself to utter a word because of all of his guilt, but when he sees injured firefighters going back to the mudslide to help more victims he decides to go along and help. The others think he's crazy until Stephanie points out that they are all each other's People now, so eventually they all go. Presumably, they start to become actual human beings who care about other people from here on out, but I'll believe that when I see it.
Callie decides to move out of the apartment with Sofia, so Mere offers her some room on the McMansion couch for the time being. Arizona has an absolute meltdown when she realizes Callie is gone and this eventually turns into a drunk, screaming fight at the house while Derek plays with the little girls outside to avoid the noise. Later, at the hospital, Callie apologizes for things she said but tells Arizona she's staying there for the time being and they will each take two nights with Sofia until they figure out what the plan will be long-term. Arizona can't seem to believe that this is really happening, and later shows up at the house in tears, asking for just five minutes with her daughter. Callie doesn't want to allow it but Cristina (who is there helping out) finally convinces her to allow it. These guys could teach the interns a thing or ten about actual feelings for others and what it means to be good people going through actual heartbreak.
Welcome back, everyone!
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The episode blends right into the first, but Richard's brand-new voiceover gives away the break and this hour he tells us that waiting can kill you. A nod to Bailey's opinion about his needing surgery, perhaps? He then adds that the only thing you're sure of during the wait is that your decision was wrong. Bailey and Owen keep exchanging glances over Richard's body as if trying to reassure each other that they are doing the right thing. In another OR, Derek is still trying to save Heather.
Meredith is still completely confused and annoyed and rants to Cristina and Alex that she's told Richard for years that he's not her father, and she knows he still feels guilty that he broke up her parents' marriage. By the way, knowing what we do now about Thatcher and Ellis, can we admit that that marriage probably wasn't going to make it even if Richard hadn't come into the picture? There are some tension-busting jokes about Richard maybe really being her father, but when Alex leaves Mere's phone rings and Cristina answers and gets updates on both Richard and Heather. Judging by her face, neither is good.
And as if the situation weren't tense and complicated enough, Catherine arrives at the hospital. Jackson gives her an update on Richard and as she glances at his test results, she yelps, appalled at them bringing him back into surgery, and she storms off.
Heather, meanwhile, is getting ready for the Veronica Mars movie so she flatlines on her Grey's Anatomy table. Derek begins doing compressions.
As Bailey and Owen begin to despair that they can't find anything wrong in Richard's torso, Catherine stomps into the gallery, smacks her fist into the PA button, and demands to know what they are doing. Really helpfully, she continues to scream at them from above and completely blows off Bailey's answer when she points out that she wants to find what is wrong before it kills him. Unfortunately, his vitals plummet and alarms start to blare. As Catherine very dramatically pulls The Graduate against the window above, Smash runs in to tell Owen that Heather is crashing. The two guys run off, but in Heather's OR, things are bleak and Smash begins to panic.
Jackson then walks up as Smash runs out and asks how it is going; in response, Smash tries to sprint away from his smothering guilt. Jackson watches him go and then turns to Owen as he walks out, and Owen's face says it all -- she had another job and couldn't stay on this show.
Alex, meanwhile, is about as successful at keeping the firefighters in the ER as he would be at herding cats. He orders one guy who just gave blood to at least stay and drink his juice so that he doesn't actually pass out when he goes back out to work. He turns around and sees Princess crying, and she croaks out that Heather didn't make it so takes her hand and leads her away.
Leah the Ruthless One stands and watches from the scrub room as a nurse pulls the sheet over Heather's head.
Owen explains to Cristina that he gave the interns the rest of the night off, and she of course offers to help with whatever he needs. However, no one told Steph yet, so she runs up to talk about her patient and is very confused when Owen tells her that Cristina is taking over. Confused until it hits her -- and she realizes they are staring at her sadly -- that this means Heather must have gone to operate to the grey OR in the sky.
Jackson asks April for her help with Sasha's flesh-eating surgery and she interrupts him to breathily tell him of course. He's not interested in staying for any further hopeful, devoted assurances so he tries to leave, but she can't leave well enough alone and stops him. Fortunately for all, Stephanie runs up crying and Jackson takes her in his arms. April looks like she was punched in the gut, as does Matthew, who saw the gut-punch and just realized who it was that took his fiancée's precious flower.
Owen is giving Meredith all of the various crappy surgical updates, and she's trying to figure out if Bailey closed up Richard because his vitals were dropping or because Catherine was about to rain hellfire down on her. Then Derek comes in, very upset, and Mere can just sadly say his name. Aw. Now that these two have been consistently functional, they make my heart melt just a little. Who knew that eventually the most steady, functional people on this show -- both as a couple and as human beings -- would wind up being Meredith and McDreamy? I know I've said that before but it's still just so foreign after all these years that I can't seem to stop myself.
Arizona sees Callie sadly staring at her wedding ring and decides that this is the perfect time to try and have a conversation. Callie shuts her down, but Arizona can't help herself and starts talking anyway until Callie snaps at her. Callie can't even look at her, and Arizona seems as if it's finally starting to sink in just how dire this situation might be.
Derek gathers up the interns and tells them that he'll be back in an hour, and if Heather's mom shows up before he gets there they are to just tell fun Heather stories until he can return and give the horrible news. He adds that she'll want to know that Heather died among friends. Poor Smash really needs to work on his poker face -- he just flees, looking like he's about to barf. Princess snottily wonders what his problem is since he and Heather weren't friends. They all try to weasel out of waiting duty so Princess finally says that they are all going to wait together. There's some more bickering to really drive the point home that none of these interns seem to really like anyone but themselves and the obvious takeaway is that it's going to take a lot of work to convince Heather's mom that she, in fact, died among people that love her.
Callie shows up at Mere's room with Sofia and asks Cristina to watch Sofia for one second; it's not difficult for Mere to realize that something is up. Callie explains that they are going to spend the night in a hotel, and then runs off to get her computer. Once she's gone, Mere tells Cristina that they can't let her do that -- in the "we need to find her someplace better" way, not in the "leaving your home is dumb" way. Just to clarify.
As Jackson works, April asks him if this patient is the firefighter who is engaged. When that doesn't get much of a chatty response, she begins to talk about the wound but Jackson cuts her off.
Time warp! So, last we saw, Derek was going to pick up Zola and run home, in a trip he figured would take no more than an hour. Callie and Sofia were in Meredith's room sometime after he left. Even if they passed in the hallway… let's say it's been 40 minutes. Derek opens his front door to find Callie, sobbing and drunk on his sofa. That is some very powerful wine, right there. She tearfully explains that Mere said she could stay and Sofia is asleep in Zola's bed but she can go move her… Derek, meanwhile, thinks about how he really should have checked all of those text messages that kept coming in from his wife. Zola is just gazing around at the ceiling like she can't even witness the pathetic spectacle in front of her, and Derek seems to think she might have the right idea.
Bailey then goes to talk things out with Meredith and wonders if maybe she was being too emotional in her decision to operate. Mere points out that she is emotional too, so she's basically no help. Eventually Bailey adds that Catherine is reviewing Richard's chart, and Mere considers the idea that maybe Catherine should be the one to make all of his decisions, after all. With all of the terrible things that happen to doctors in this hospital, how do they not just have a Directive-O-Matic set up in the lounge so that the staff can easily and often change their of kin depending on who they are dating or who has died that day?
Owen finds Cristina outside of Lydia's room, and after Cristina updates him on the patient he stares at her fondly for a while until she suspiciously asks what's up. Owen casually replies that he wishes he'd known that their last time together was going to be their Last Time Together because he thinks they could have done better. Cristina is at first a bit insulted about her bedroom skills but then Owen reminds her that they broke a plate and he spent the night pulling shards of it out of her let's-not-think-about-it-shall-we? She's appalled, and Owen thinks it's just a shame. So, determined to give their relationship the sendoff it deserves, they had to an on-call room for a sexy-music Making The Last Time Count montage.
Derek looks incredibly out of his depth as Callie sobs that everyone she loves cheats on her or dies… or both, in George's case. She's not comforted when he says that Arizona isn't going to die. Derek gives her permission to continue drinking all of their wine while she cries about Heather and Richard and everything being horrible, and she eventually gives up the glass completely and chugs straight from the bottle. If she wasn't doing that for 40 minutes straight before he arrived, there's no way this timeline works at all. Oh, Grey's, I missed your playing fast and loose with the laws of time!
Arizona, meanwhile, is screaming at a nurse to page Callie 911 and refuses to listen when the woman insists she can't do that without a patient emergency. Alex comes up and finally relieves the poor woman, and when Arizona says that Callie took Sofia and is ignoring her calls, Alex finally agrees to page her himself.
Sasha is out of surgery, and Brian is sitting to her on the bed as Jackson and April explain that they got all of the bad tissue but that as a fun little side effect her organs are beginning to fail. They have her on massive antibiotics to try and stop the process but Sasha realizes that she still might not make it. She and Brian exchange a glance and then with a nod he tells the docs that they want to get married right away, and they need a chaplain. In their approximately two minutes of screen time together, and with one of them possibly about to die, these two seem more solid than April and Matthew by… a landslide. (Sorry.)
Cristina heads up to Mere's room and reports on Arizona losing her shit downstairs. Mere thinks the obvious solution to this is to let her know where Callie and Sofia are, since they are letting a friend crash at the McMansion, not harboring a battered woman. Cristina, who is suddenly much peppier than before, scoffs that this is a terrible idea, and thinks that since they are friends with both of the women they shouldn't take sides. Mere tries to insist that this isn't taking sides, but is distracted when Cristina bends over and Mere sees that her hair is completely mussed. I think the only reason she doesn't immediately call her on it being Sex Hair is that they've all been working for, like, three days at this point so who knows, maybe everyone's hair is getting a little bit crazy?
The interns, meanwhile, have gathered in the locker room and are trying to figure out what to say about Heather, but because Smash is still not speaking and they all are kind of horrible, they can't come up with any stories, nice or not. Steph points out that Leah was her roommate so she must have something, but Ruthless Leah just goes through a list of annoyances like how Heather turned her sweater pink and didn't wake her up for work one day. Princess asks why, then, Leah is all puffy from crying and Leah rightly shoots back that even if they weren't close she didn't want her dead. Maybe the floor can open up and just swallow all of the interns whole? I mean, that actually seems like a fairly legitimate storyline given all of the other disasters that have happened here.
Arizona responds to a page to go to Mere's room, and Mere tells her that Callie and Sofia are staying at her house, they just need a little bit of space to cool off, and she knows Arizona isn't going to run over… she can't finish, because OF COURSE Arizona takes off to go right over there. Cristina shows a remarkable amount of self-control to ask if "I told you so," would be inappropriate, rather than just starting to dance around and sing while doing a lot of pointing.
Jackson is then on the phone with some Board member, presumably Meredith, having her try to find a chaplain for the firefighting lovebirds. Catherine comes up as he's getting off the phone and after he asks how Richard is doing, ("Hanging by a thread.") he asks if she's going to lay into him in spectacular fashion like she did Owen and Bailey. She tries, but this job has definitely helped firm up Jackson's spine and he cuts her off and tells her that he knows she is terrified, but they are all doing the best they can to help Richard and her biting the heads off of anyone she disagrees with isn't going to help. She seems to visibly calm down and gives him a hug, but then adds that as soon as she's stable, she's moving him to another hospital.
Cristina walks out of Lydia's room and sees Owen, so she updates him that she's going to book Lydia for a surgery later. Owen agrees and then thanks her, "For before," as if she helped him change some light bulbs. He laughs at himself and his god-awful approach and Cristina is charmed enough -- and turned on enough -- that she points out that if they were REALLY trying to make a great last memory they would have done something that can only be whispered in his ear. He's pretty taken by whatever unspeakable act she suggested, and the two hustle off to make it happen.
Princess, Stephanie and Leah go to Mere's room and hover in the doorway, staring into the dark while trying to figure out if Derek is there. He's not, but an exasperated and exhausted Mere is and she turns on the light to find out what's going on. The girls confess that they can't think of anything nice to say about Heather, and Mere awesomely couldn't look more disgusted at this admission. She explains that any silly story will do, like the one she told George's mom about the time he stole jello cups for all of them but then dropped them everywhere and made the mess worse by trying to clean them up with a bed pad. Only slightly as chastised as they should be, they shuffle away. Jackson then comes in and explains that if Mere hands over the decisions to Catherine, she's going to move Richard. Mere asks for a wheelchair, but Jackson laughs in her face and tells her and her stitched-up abdomen to stay put. April then runs in to report that there are no chaplains, and she could go ahead and get internet certified but today she and weddings don't seem to be a good combo and WOE IS ME BECAUSE I'M IN LOVE WITH A LOT OF HOT GUYS. Alex then comes in looking for Brian, mad that all the firefighters still keep taking off, injured. Everyone storms out and Mere makes an attempt to get a wheelchair through April, but even April pulls her head out of her backside long enough to shake her head at the insane idea before she leaves.
In bed in the on-call room, as she pulls Owen's arms around her, Cristina admits that she doesn't think they can be friends because this kind of thing will just keep happening. They both quickly say they want to be able to work together, but talking on the phone and having lunch seem unrealistic. She's then quiet for a moment and her voice is two octaves deeper as she fights off tears and admits that just because she is the one who suggested this, doesn't mean it's not easy for her. He knows that, and she breaks down in tears and turns to bury her face in his chest as you can see her heart breaking all over again, sobbing that this isn't easy for her.
Somehow, Mere finds herself a wheelchair and gets to Richard's room, where she has a heart-to-heart with Bailey. Mere asks what Bailey truly believes is the best course of treatment, and when Bailey starts to waffle Mere tells her that she is the one who taught them to trust their gut. Bailey reiterates that she thinks something is in there that is making Richard worse. As she explains some more, Mere picks up the phone and books an OR for an immediately exploratory surgery. It's actually a really sweet, understated, wonderful moment and Bailey's look of gratitude is priceless.
Once she's back in her room, Alex joins her and is making adorable faces at Lil' B when Cristina comes in to talk about Richard's surgery. She claims to respect Mere's decision but adds that when she's the one on the table, Mere is to let her heart rest for at least 24 hours before she does anything. This starts a conversation about proxies -- Alex is surprised to hear that Mere, rather than Owen, is Cristina's. They deflect that by asking Alex about his, but he doesn't have one since he was about to name Izzie when that whole relationship crashed and burned worse than the airplane. Alex tells Cristina that she can be his, and she seems genuinely delighted about it; basically, it's an adorable scene created entirely to show how close the three of them have gotten and what a contrast that it to the nitwits that make up the surviving members of the current intern class.
Catherine has gotten wind of the surgery, and when Jackson tells her she can't go bully her way in and shut it down, she retorts with a determined, "The hell I can't!" He finally stops her by reminding her that Richard chose Meredith and not her to make his decisions. If a look could turn a person to stone… Catherine Avery is clearly not used to being scared nor is she used to being challenged. Today is a rather rough learning experience for her all around.
Princess finds Alex making some food and admits to him that she and the other ungrateful doofuses can't come up with any good Heather stories, and that they consequently have realized that they aren't a tight group. Alex has already been to this rodeo, and just tells her that she thinks that now, but when the shit hits the fan she'll be glad they have them. She takes the words right out of my fingers when she points out that one of them just died, so wouldn't that mean the shit has, in fact, hit the fan? They then start to tease each other about how the other is going to be crying when they get dumped, and Alex walks over and reaches up into an extra-high cabinet and pulls out a bottle of booze he has hidden for emergencies. He tells Princess that he's got Cristina and Meredith to cry to no matter what happens, and there will be a time when Princess needs her people too. In the meantime: liquor.
As it turns out, Jackson went and got himself internet ordained so he can marry Sasha and Brian while April is the awkward witness who is going to make it all about her. He actually gives a really sweet speech about the couple's devotion, and how they are what people should picture when they talk about marriage. Unspoken: "Ahem, APRIL, you don't go around changing your mind willy-nilly about which attractive hunk you might want to marry." Psst, April -- the answer is always Jackson.
April is standing in the hallway, where Jackson catches her rather wistfully watching Brian and Sasha canoodle. She sighs about how it was a beautiful wedding, he doesn't want to talk, and so she finally asks why he's snapping at her. She gets all defensive and claims she's sorry she asked The Question earlier, and clearly his actions have given her an answer. But Jackson refuses to let her get away with this wallowing and snaps back at her to really look at Sasha and Brian, who can't imagine not being together. He points out that instead, April keeps waffling minute-to-minute about who she might want to marry or not. Of course he can't help but get kind of crude when he says he was some guy she banged in a bathroom when she flipped out about her boards, and points out that when he was interested she couldn't handle it but then when he almost died she suddenly couldn't live without him. April yells at him that he's being unfair but I think what she really means is that he needs to stop trying to get her to own up to her not-great behavior. I'm not going to say "bad" because she really is just kind of immature and dumb. Jackson adds that he thinks she's just scared now because she's in a relationship that's real and that's terrifying for her. He then tells her to marry Matthew because she wants to, or don't, but that none of what she's feeling has to do with Jackson, but rather just with April herself. Well said, sir. April quivers with fury as he walks off.
Over sad music so we don't have to hear Derek give the actual notification, we see Derek walk up, introduce himself to Heather's mom, and then say a few words that cause her to emotionally and physically break down. Leah and Princess are there and just look terribly sad, while Smash looks like he's going to pass out.
Stephanie is visiting Lydia because she wanted to apologize for how she spoke to her earlier. She then gives her the sad news that her house and all its fabulous crown molding didn't make it. However, she reminds the woman that she did save a bunch of people's lives. Stephanie asks if she was a doctor, but Lydia answers that she's just lived on that mountain for a long time and they've had a few mudslides -- during one, an ex-Marine showed her the Sharpie trick. When she talks about rebuilding her house for what doesn't sound like the first time, Stephanie tactfully suggests that maybe she find another location. I mean, seriously, especially if people are getting hurt trying to rescue you each time. But Lydia just tells her that no one else would have her. I realize that this then nicely parallels the bonding of the interns, but… lady, you can still have the same friends even if you move a few miles away out of a landslide zone. I'm just saying.
Ben must have flown back to LA as soon as the airport reopened since Bailey is now leaving him a voicemail and it sounds like they've been playing phone tag. She stutters as she explains that something happened to Richard, and he's still unconscious, but he's alive. Finally, she starts to cry and she has to set the phone down for a moment to try and compose herself.
The interns are all sitting in the waiting area when Derek walks up and thanks them for staying with Heather's mom. If only he knew what a struggle it was for them -- not at all in the way he would have imagined. He tells them to go home and get some rest but as he walks off, they see Alex yelling at another firefighter who is about to go out, injured, to try and rescue more folks. Shane seems to suddenly find a purpose and jumps up to ask if he can go along. As he runs off to the ambulance the girls holler at him and call him stupid but finally Stephanie swears and says that they are his people and they have to go too. The other girls are so not on board with this, so Stephanie gives a short inspirational speech about how she has no idea what the deal was between Heather and Smash but he hasn't said a word and they are all he's got. She adds that maybe they'll get through this program as normal people but maybe they will end up lunatics who no one else can stand so they have to stick together. She has it a little bit backwards -- they'll be lucky to turn into normal people. Regardless, her speech works and when she yells at the others to get up, they do and then all walk out to join Smash.
That night, the fancy ER electronic status board is finally back online. Cristina passes Owen as she leaves and explains that she's going to the McMansion to help out and give Zola some much needed attention as well as visit with Derek and Callie. Owen asks if there's anything she can do but she thinks about it, and then just tells him good night. He gets it, and just sadly replies, "Yeah." Aw, man. This is going to suck for them both.
At the house, Cristina is doing dishes while Derek relaxes and Callie plays with Sofia. It's all nice and comfortable and basically the complete opposite of the interaction between the interns. The doorbell rings, and when Cristina answers it she finds Arizona, looking exhausted and on the verge of tears, who asks to see Sofia just for a moment. Callie is having none of it, and insists that she'll get her on her own nights, and that doing this will just confuse the little girl even more. Arizona is an absolute mess, and Cristina and Derek both seem super uncomfortable. But after a moment, Cristina jumps in and tells Callie to let her have five minutes. Callie can't believe it and calls Arizona's tears an act, but Cristina calmly says that she is Callie's friend, but five minutes. She then picks up Sofia and takes her over to her other mommy while Callie fumes. Arizona looks so relieved as she gives her girl a big hug and takes her outside. Richard tells us that when the storm is raging, we all are just hoping to make it through to the other side.
Arizona sits outside and tells Sofia how much she loves and misses her. Richard asks what we do if the storm passes and we have nothing left, and admits that he thought he could handle anything, but he was wrong about that and a lot of other things.
All of his ladies are gathered in his hospital room where he is still unconscious. Catherine strokes his face while Bailey checks his status, and the two argue politely about whether they need a second opinion or not. Cristina pipes up that she counts as another opinion and gives full credit to Bailey for making the right call. Mere is there in her wheelchair and finally cuts them all off by saying that she'll be the one to make the decisions, and she'll take everyone's opinions into consideration when she does that. Catherine is about to fight back when Mere calmly reminds her that Richard picked her to be his girlfriend, but picked Mere to be his family. When Catherine tries to protest that Mere floundered a little, Mere cuts in and points out that no one said she would be good at it, and Richard himself would have definitely known that. At this point, Richard's eye has opened a crack as he's watching all the women that love him fight over his well-being. He hears Mere say that she's his family, and to please not get involved. Bailey calls their attention to his face, and Mere gives him a very happy and gentle, "Hi!" He wraps us up by saying that the one thing he was right about was this. Dammit, Grey's, you got me again! It's this kind of warm feeling in my chest when I re-watched this scene. You're sneaky.
Lauren S is a writer who lives and works in Atlanta and has never tried to clean up jello with a bed pad. She wants everyone to know: "The views expressed in my recaps and anything else I might write on TWoP are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views of my employer."