The fall season finale of Grey’s Anatomy Season 18 Episode 8, “It Came Upon a Midnight Clearing,” really threw as much spaghetti at the wall as it could. With viewership at an all-time low for the series, they finally put all of the cards out on the table, leaving us on a literal cliffhanger. Is Owen dead?!

While they still have the rest of the season to finish in 2022, they needed to make sure viewers were left desperate for more. Not only was Owen’s survival left pending, but so was Schmitt’s career, and Farouk’s surgery. So, when we return, we’re in for a LOT of answers.

They finally pulled off a Grey’s Anatomy midseason finale. But, was it enough to bring back viewers or to even raise viewership?

At this point, 18 seasons in, there’s bound to be repeatable storylines. While not a direct comparison to the plane crash at the end of Season 8, nowhere near as nailbiting, the car dangling off the cliff with Teddy, Owen, and Hayes is certainly trying to regurgitate similar feelings of uncertainty.

Owen on Grey’s Anatomy. (ABC/Liliane Lathan)

And as much as I don’t want to believe Owen is being written off, I can’t imagine he survived a fall like that! According to the preview for the next episode, a clear crossover with Station 19, the rescue team found a dead body, but as we learned in this episode, the driver likely suffered a stroke. So, it’s most likely they’re trying to make us believe it’s Owen.

Meanwhile, Bailey’s reveling in compliments from her new surgeon student. During the tabling session in the last episode, she went on about how their surgeons used to attract new students. Yet, she never saw herself as the surgeon to attract a student.

And, of course, the new Weber Method couldn’t come without its hiccups. I hate to say it, but Schmitt’s ego and extreme confidence in his abilities is to blame for the death of his patient. However, this is definitely not going to look good on the hospital’s residency program. I hope Schmitt didn’t put Bailey and Weber’s careers in jeopardy.

We can’t go through another lawsuit that puts the hospital at risk of bankruptcy.

Amelia on Grey’s Anatomy. (ABC/Liliane Lathan)

Also, what did Schmitt do! There’s no way they’re going to put him on a complicated surgery, so how could the surgery have gone so wrong so fast?

Just as Megan received good news about Farouk’s donor heart, she’s going to be devastated when she finds out it might have been compromised by the car crash.

Somehow Teddy’s going to find a way to get to the hospital and save the heart and Farouk.

I do wonder though if Megan’s comment about not wanting to live if Farouk doesn’t survive is a foreshadowing of Owen’s death. Because, would she want to live if Owen ended up dying?

Maggie and Richard on Grey’s Anatomy. (ABC/Raymond Liu).

So who is it going to be, Farouk or Owen? Unless they do go down the path of a Christmas miracle and everyone is safe and sound. But, we want some drama! So, give us a death. Owen finally got his happily ever after with Teddy, but that hasn’t stopped Grey’s before!

What did you think of this Christmas special? Was it enough to make you come back for more? Don’t forget to leave your comments down below!

Stray Musings:

• This might be picky, but Jo’s elevator phone call has perfect reception, and I know for a fact that elevators easily cut out service. Maybe Grey Sloan Memorial is stealing all of the good cell reception!
• Teddy easily foreshadowed the car accident. She raved too long about how perfect the heart was. Whenever the doctors are in a car and the cameras stay too long on them, you know it’s not going to end well.
• It was Meredith’s first time talking about her COVID-coma beach dreams! I like her friendship with Hayes, they can relate as widowers.
• We finally got the queer kiss between Amelia and Kai!! I couldn’t be happier. Sorry, Link! It was obvious he was going to walk out at the wrong time and witness the moment. Now things are set up nicely for Link and Jo.

Rating: 4/5

Grey’s Anatomy Review: Today Was a Fairytale (18×07)

The doctors’ personal lives are what keep us coming back for more. Plus, the cool surgeries don’t hurt. It was a balancing act, at least for the original Grey’s Anatomy. However, as time has passed, there were moments both the storytelling of personal lives and surgeries faltered. But, “Season 18 Episode 7, “Today was a Fairytale,” pulled us back in and positioned the storylines of the doctors for exciting new developments.

One major revelation came when Jo and Link’s friendship entered new territory–romantic territory. They’ve always had a close bond that never crossed the friend boundary, but as two beautiful and single people always do, they’ve found the spark. It seems like an easy setup between the two, as they’re both basically raising their children together and have known and been there for each other during the hardest life moments. Although, one thing I appreciated about their connection was that it really seemed platonic.

Especially since they’ve both been mourning the loss of their relationships, there haven’t been moments for them to explore any feelings they may have harbored or continue to harbor for each other. That is until Link makes the mistake of confessing his past crush on Jo. And what’s a girl to do when their attractive best friend admits that? Jo attempts to reciprocate her feelings, but clueless, Link ruins the moment to plan ways he can win Amelia back.

Jo and Link on Grey’s Anatomy. (ABC/Liliane Lathan)

Sorry Link, but it looks like you may be too late in your discovery, and Amelia’s nursing a new crush over her coworker Kai. The tension between the two masterminds is overflowing. But for whatever reason, the writers have decided to take their time with this pairing.

While Meredith and Nick have only started seeing each other and already seem to be in a serious relationship, granted, they’ve known each other much longer and have already gone through the courting phase years prior. Still, why can’t things speed up between Amelia and Kai?

One theory is that Amelia’s serious about Kai, and her intense feelings and attraction are scaring her. Amelia’s known for her impulsivity, which burned her in the past. So, perhaps she wants things to progress slower with Kai.

Before, they hadn’t shared many scenes, but this entire episode felt like the final escalation before they inevitably jump each other’s bones.

Kai and Amelia on Grey’s Anatomy. (ABC/Liliane Lathan)

As Kai and Amelia are saving the study from being pulled out from under Meredith, Meredith’s back to feeling like an expendable employee again, rather than the star surgeon.

Without much progress on the study, Hamilton’s losing patience as his Parkinson’s is advancing. He threatens to find a replacement for Meredith. My biggest question is, what is Meredith doing for the study? She’s hardly in the lab, and this time she jumps in on an emergency surgery for Nick. One that’s completely unrelated to the reason she’s in Minnesota.

At this point, Meredith is just a face for the show. She’s becoming a side character whose name is used more often than her actual person.

There’s a constant buzz around the viability of Grey’s Anatomy revolving around how long Ellen Pompeo wants to continue. Still, I don’t think there would be much difference if Meredith left the series entirely.

As she mentioned, she’s pissing off both bosses, so she might as well move to Italy. Is that a threat?

Dr. Hamilton and Meredith on Grey’s Anatomy. (ABC/Liliane Lathan)

Don’t forget to comment down below what you thought of this installment. Do you foresee Link and Jo getting together?

Stray Musings:

• Amelia and Kai had their moment!! They were so close, and I really thought we were going to get that kiss. Stop teasing us! Give us what we want.
• I wonder if their research and study to cure Parkinson’s is founded on fundamental research currently being done.
• What was the point of Winston and Maggie’s scenes? They were basically in bed the entire episode.

Rating: 4/5

Grey’s Anatomy Review: Every Day Is a Holiday (With You) (18×06)

Just when things were maybe starting to pick up this season, Grey’s Anatomy Season 18 Episode 6, “Every Day Is a Holiday (With You)” kept things stunted. Nothing moved forward, nothing happened, despite the number of tears that were shed. I’d argue that this might have been the worst episode we’ve seen.

Weber and Schmitt waited for gory accidents that never came, minimal interaction between the doctors left storylines stagnant, and Meredith stayed in a hotel the entire hour!

The episode set itself up for failure by introducing the dryest patient cases. A woman who comes in with abdominal pain from her pregnancy could’ve made for an interesting lesson on the patriarchal system’s oppression of women. Instead, we were left clueless as to who this woman was and why she mattered to the storyline. Until finally, Jo gave context at the very end for what this woman symbolized.

Meanwhile, Noah comes in again with a collapsed lung and there’s nothing that can be done to save him. So, all he did was pop on the screen to let us know he’s going to die. There was never enough depth to his storyline to make for an emotional goodbye. The old Grey’s Anatomy would’ve given us substance to the plotline and made us weep alongside the characters.

Richard and Bailey on Grey’s Anatomy. (ABC/John Fleenor)

Now, we have to talk about Meredith’s situation. She was on her way home to be with the kids for Thanksgiving, and then the weather delayed her flight. There was absolutely no conflict in the situation, making for an easy advancement in her relationship with Nick. It was a cheesy turn of events. She literally stayed in a hotel on the phone with Nick, until he surprised her and they spent the night together. That’s it.

As a result of Meredith’s delayed return, Amelia and Link were put in charge of Thanksgiving. This is one of the first scenes they were given together since Amelia turned down Link’s proposal. I was hoping Amelia would tell Link about Kai, but she did no such thing and instead slept with him. At least she prefaced the moment reminding him that her feelings toward marriage remain the same. But, what about Kai?! At least we know they’re still in Amelia’s life and making her smile and giggle, as per the text exchange in the first moments of the episode.

Finally, Farouk’s health is left in peril. Of course, we know they’re only doing this to give us something to worry about, but there’s no way they’d kill Farouk. That would be too cruel to Megan.

And one of the ways Megan and Hayes have bonded has been through parental understanding. Without a son, Megan would be an emotional mess and there’d be no hope for the romantic future the writers have planted between her and Hayes. There’s no subtlety in their intentions.

Megan and Hayes on Grey’s Anatomy. (ABC/John Fleenor)

Unfortunately, nothing of importance happened. It’s like they’re fearful of repeating too many storylines. But at some point, they’re going to need to embrace repetition. Until they do, old fans are going to continue cheering for the end.

What did you think of this episode? Do you have different opinions? Please leave your comments down below!

Stray Musings:

• “I cut on Thanksgiving, just not a turkey.” Weber jinxed himself early on.
• Let’s hope that Bailey’s gratefulness for them all still being there isn’t a foreshadowing of anything bad happening soon. The show cannot afford to lose Bailey or Weber. That would literally be the last string.
• Poor Nico, getting the marriage and children talk from Schmitt’s mom. I hope it didn’t scare him off!

Rating: 2.5/5

Grey’s Anatomy Review: Bottle Up and Explode! (18×05)