The black cloud hovering over Grey’s Anatomy it appeared bigger and darker in Thursday’s episode. How could you not, with DeLuca not making any more rounds, Meredith lingering in the limbo between life and death and, oh yes, that whole soul-sucking global pandemic as well. But on a more cheerful note – hey, we’re going to get what we can get! – we had another glimpse of Derek, as well as a new drinking game courtesy of Jackson, Jo and Link. Keep reading and I (hic) will tell you all about it.
‘CLOSE THE DOOR TO YOUR WAY’ | When “It’s All Too Much” started, did our protagonists reel in the loss, with Owen tidying up DeLuca’s closet, Catherine comforting Richard and Teddy coming face to face with the deceased? No, it was actually Cormac. “We really need some good news,” she said to Meredith unconsciously. Speaking of which, on limbo beach, she found Derek, who was fishing. Because, you know, why not? At Jo’s, she admitted to Jackson that she needed joy in her life. “So, I’m switching specialties to OB.” Did she really think her booty call would judge her? Considering his habit of taking a walk, he was unwilling to do so. At Mer’s, Maggie was concerned about the children’s reaction to DeLuca’s death. Instead of forcing her to dance with the youth, Winston stepped in, allowing his better half to cry. Back at Gray Sloan, Helm hesitated to record his DeLuca tribute video. Were they that close?
At Bailey’s office, Owen, Teddy and Richard met with the chief, who, despite the obvious cause of DeLuca’s death, demanded the results of his autopsy. Nearby, Winston, having received privileges (in addition to the obvious ones) from Maggie, joined his boo in the case of a guy named Byron, who feared that he would be treated by giving him COVID. Outside, while Levi explained to Nico that his destiny under duress was guilt, especially as far as DeLuca was concerned, his connection shared that his was numb. Back at Mer’s, Amelia freaked out when she discovered that Link was hiding alcohol around the house. He was stressed all the time, he replied, and damn, he it could drink if he wanted to. He he was not an alcoholic. “Sometimes, Amelia, you drive me crazy,” he protested – and took the bottle of whiskey with him when he left. But “I’m coming back,” he added, “because I’m not a bad guy.”
‘DID ANYONE LOSE A NAKED MAN?’ | In Mer’s room, Teddy and Cormac lowered their settings in hopes of getting Gray out of ventilation. “You can do that,” Hayes said. Meanwhile, on the beach, Derek told his true love how much she looked like her mother. “You never met Ellis,” said the youngest. But apparently, he was watching. He knew everything about their daughter. While Byron was doing an MRI scan, Winston deduced that the patient had a tooth infection. “I thought about it,” Maggie insisted. “You just said that first.” Unfortunately, Byron soon went crazy and started to cry in the hospital. In a conference room, Richard shared with Catherine that he surrendered his sobriety to a higher power. “My faith is rooted in the confidence that there is a meaning and wisdom that I just can’t understand … Today I’m struggling to trust anything and I just can’t see any wisdom in it.” In response, she reminded him that he lived with stage 4 cancer and that his most recent tests were fine. No, none of that made sense. “You can look for pain or you can look for beauty.”
At Jo’s, she asked Jackson WTH the stock market wasanyway – which made him joke that it was good that she already knew how to live outside the car. Only then did Link show up saying it was Jackson there for a quick hit. “Happy day all our friends are dying,” he said as they poured the whiskey. “Oh, we are drinking during the day,” said Jo. And indeed, they were. In no time, a pity party started. Back at Gray Sloan, when Winston and Maggie found Byron, he was upset that he wasn’t wearing his mask. “Honey, you’re not wearing anything,” noted Pierce. If he needed to leave, she wouldn’t stop him. But she would follow him, because his heart could not take much more. “I think we owe it to those we have lost,” she said, “to live a life that they cannot.” Finally, he put his gloved hand in hers. At the same time, Richard yelled at Bailey for wanting to interrogate his team about DeLuca’s death. “You’re doing me harm,” Webber stated simply. And she would only do more to suggest that they hadn’t done everything they could to save DeLuca.
‘I must write a whole page about living forever’ | On limbo beach, Derek reminded Mer of his experience teaching Zola to ride a bicycle explaining that if she wanted to be closer to him, it was up to her. The more she relaxed, the closer he got. Back in real life, Teddy changed Mer’s settings back, telling Cormac that she would stay in the vent. At the same time, Zola pondered aloud if there was a medicine that could make you live forever, Amelia would take it. Nah, said your aunt. Impermanence was what made each life special. Back at Jo’s house, she set the rules for her drinking game, Jackson’s and Link’s: Whoever the saddest story wins the last sip. First, Link told his dark story. Then Jo admitted that she even bought “clothes” to go on dates just before the end of the world. She almost won too, but as Link pointed out, she had a loft just for her. Fortunately, since Jackson was on duty, he was still sober enough at the end of the round to take them to DeLuca’s memorial. Speaking of the deceased, Teddy mistook Owen for him. While Meredith was almost face to face with Derek, he encouraged her to hear Cormac back in reality while he told her about his children calling every day. Suddenly, Cormac was on the beach. “They need you, Gray,” he said. “We all need you to fight.” She wasn’t sure if she could. She felt so relaxed there. Uh-uh, he insisted. She did not want her children to go through what his went through when they lost their mother. “It’s okay,” Derek told her. “I’ll be right here.” And with that, Mer seemed to shift in his hospital bed – to the point that even Cormac noticed.
As the hour drew near, Bailey became irritated when Levi told her that Richard had set up a memorial for Andrew. But he softened it when he confessed to being a bad Jew. What was probably important was traditions. “It doesn’t bring the person back,” he acknowledged, “but it starts healing.” That being the case, could she not allow those who cared for her to suffer with her? They needed it, and so did she. Finding Taryn out of the hospital, wandering over DeLuca and the pandemic, Maggie calmed her by turning her back to her – an insanely sweet gesture. When the memorial was about to begin, Bailey told Richard that he needed a break. “As long as you need,” he said. Among the crowd were Carina, Maya, Tom and the daytime drink club. Painfully, the tribute to DeLuca ended with his Gray Sloan application video. “I will give you the best of me,” he promised. And that he had. Finally, Link returned home, at which point Amelia said that what she needed from him were no longer secrets. “Okay,” he said, and although it smelled like whiskey, they hugged. At the hospital, Owen found Teddy perched on the side, where she had been since the memorial. “I’m going to take you home,” he said – and then he carried her, yes he did, though.
What did you think of the consequences of DeLuca’s death? The episode as a whole? Get the comments right.