#myfinalthoughts

Thinking about how lonely and scared she must have been out on the streets until she woke up one day and decided to stop giving a crap about everyone except herself.

Thinking about how she’s so closed off to the people around her because she was conditioned to believe that she’ll never be a positive force in someone else’s life.

Thinking about how she put herself through college, study abroad, medical school, business school, flight school, and countless other programs on her own. Thinking about how her self-esteem must have dipped every time she realized that she wasn’t happy where she was.

Thinking about how it must have felt the first time Jake called her a friend, Amy told her she looked up to her, Charles brought her homemade lunch out of sheer kindness, Terry complimented her, and Captain Holt told her he was proud of her.

Thinking about how she hadn’t experienced those things for so long that she must have forgotten what they felt like.

Thinking about how she’s still tough and badass but more receptive to others and more willing to let them in than she used to be. Thinking about how the good in her life now outweighs the bad. Thinking about how far she has come since we first met her seven years ago.

Honestly? this was one of the better episodes of TV I’ve seen that specifically set out to tackle “racial issues.” I liked how the topic lowkey spanned two episodes instead of just a “very special” one – I hope it isn’t dropped after this but continues as an existing plot-point through the season(s), because there’s still definitely more that can be explored. 

Give John Clarence Stewart ALL the awards please!!!! His performance was phenomenal. 

Kapil Talwalkar can get a few as well haha, Tobin’s development has been pretty subtle thus far, but I’m looking forward to seeing where it goes

at the same time, had sprq point better reflected the “diversity” of a silicon valley tech startup, this ep would have been a great opportunity to tackle racism toward Black people within, for example, the Asian community.

they got so close with tobin. so close. don’t get me wrong, his whole thing about “stirring the pot” and the repercussions of that are also an incredibly important convos to have – as a second-gen Indian immigrant, it definitely hit close to home – but the connection back to how it actively harms Simon and the other Black employees at sprq point (besides “they feel alone in their struggle”) could have been stronger – eg. “model minority” and how that plays into perpetuating negative stereotypes both ways

(7x01)

Or, a compilation of my thoughts while watching the episode because I was too lazy to actually liveblog. 

"Always managed to get rid of [previous bad bosses” Jake, killing your captain isn’t something to be proud of lmao

Rosa gave Charles the jacket? someone please write that interaction bc I need to know how and why that happened. Also, how would she feel about him just giving it away?

Charles was on fire tonight and I loved it

Amy's face when Captain Kim mentioned being the “first Asian-American Female Captain”!!! She’s basically everything Amy wants to be, and I’m actually kind of upset she’s gone :/

I was so happy to see Amy being supportive of Jake’s job offer! ngl, I was a little afraid she would be upset for whatever reason

I love that Holt is still hanging out with the squad during breaks

Jake and Amy’s banter is so s1, I love it. 

I’m living for all the excellent parallels to the dinner party!!!

AHAHA someone getting cornered by a dog after breaking into the captain’s room is the best one

“that's why I never take mine off, except for surgery.” — EXCUSE ME? they really are just going to pretend Alex is okay, huh

On that note, I really can’t handle Jo giving Link romantic advice right now, it’s too sad

That being said, I am here for this new Jo & Jackson & Link brotp the show seems to be developing. Jo & Link for obvious reasons, but I’m surprised by how well Jackson works his way into there too…and, at this point, any storyline not focused on his abysmal love life is a good one

 “you call the ER the pit? why?” “…i dunno.” — this was funny. I like this new doctor a lot more than Deluca, and honestly, Cristina has good taste. I hope he and Meredith at least become good friends, if not something more.

“Light a candle.” — okay, not gonna lie, Tom was acting like an asshole tonight, and I didn’t care for it. I wish the writers would figure out something else for him to do besides fuck-up-and-reveal-something-about-his-past-in-the-apology. However, this was a really sweet moment, and Bailey lighting that candle at the end beautifully paralleled the time when the doctors all lit one for Cristopher.

Teddy and Owen’s plot was actually somewhat entertaining, but Teddy definitely can and should do better. Something about Owen saying that he “never should have given [her] that ring” just didn’t sit right with me.

“We’re talking about Owen, right?” So anyway, we should set up a gofundme to buy the grey’s writers some calendars

Amelia and Link better be endgame because they both deserve happiness and that’s that

But I do have to admit that Link has every right to walk away if he chooses to do so; if the timelines really do line up the way the writers want us to think, Amelia should have gotten a paternity test as soon as she realized she was pregnant, and I can see why Link’s feeling like he can’t really trust her at the moment.

(7x02)

I want to preface this by saying that I was absolutely and completely against them even thinking about trying so early in the season and I was even more against the idea of a pregnancy scare, but although those things happened, this episode still managed to exceed my expectations tenfold. I loved 99 (heh) percent of it, and the stuff I didn’t was mostly due to me being a worrywart and not because there was something wrong with the ep. Let’s get started. 

First of all, can I just say how happy I am that Amy verbally said that “[they] agreed not to start trying for at least a year”? After what happened in a certain episode last season, I was convinced that the writers had no idea how to handle this storyline properly (more on that later), but the acknowledgment that Jake and Amy mutually agreed to a time frame and had every intention of sticking to it is a really important step in correcting those wrongs, and I’m really glad they chose to include a line about it not once, but twice.

I also loved seeing the Sleuth Sisters back on screen together! Rosa’s attempts at calming Amy down and helping her were absolutely hilarious (“you know hat keeps me relaxed? kicking stuff” / “glub glub glub…is this helping?” / etc) and the fact that Amy went to her for help made me so happy. I especially enjoyed the bit where they were sorting through the weird pregnancy tests from a bodega—especially because it parallels a similar conversation they had in Grey Star Mutual.

Lastly, the scene at the end between Jake and Amy was lovely and soft and nearly perfect in how it was written and executed (more on this later, too). The part when Amy told Jake about the pregnancy scare and then proceeded to—convincingly—pretend to be bummed until he brought up his feelings himself was excellent: it’s clear from the way they spoke and acted that neither was feeling any pressure to say something they didn’t truly believe, which is why the end result—Jake saying he’s ready to start Trying—is just about as good as it could have been. 

Miscellaneous stuff that made me grin: 

These two episodes were a clear return to the form/style of seasons 4-5, and I am here for it! 

I didn’t write much about the A-plot above, but it was good, clean comedy. Debbie is amazing, as were her interactions with Holt. The end scene between Jake and Holt was especially sweet, and I’m interested to see how their new dynamic progresses in the future. 

Jake, concerned about his finances (when he asked Charles to download that app)? Growth.

My remaining thoughts about this episode in the context of season 6 and what I think about what will happen going forward with regards to the themes and issues brought up in it are under the cut. The vast majority of them are not criticisms (of this episode), but they’re not exactly glowing reviews either, so proceed at your own risk. 

Amelia’s pregnancy was a surprise last week, and I would be lying if I said it was a good one. However, tonight's scenes almost made it worth it. They’ve only been together for a few months, but Amelia and Link fit together so beautifully already. Both of their fears towards parenthood and regarding their past trauma are valid, but they’re fears – things that can be overcome, if you’re with the right people, and I’m absolutely confident that they are those people for each other. It won’t be easy, but I can’t wait to see what happens.

I didn’t know what to expect from Jo this week, or what state of mind she would be in, and I was pleasantly surprised to see the light back in her eyes after so long. As for Alex, well, he’s always been a supportive husband, and it was heartwarming to see that side of him again this week. Jo has a long road ahead of her, and I know there’s a flashback episode coming up that might bring up new issues, but she’s bounced back so beautifully from where we left off last season.

I am so, so proud of both Jo and Amelia tonight. Only. Freaking. Superheroes.

Miscellaneous Matters:

Link is an absolute sweetheart. I love how the show is highlighting his relationship with Amelia and his friendship with Jo and making him a central player in both storylines. He’s quickly become one of my favorite characters, and I hope we get to see as much of him as possible this season. 

Alex and Webber also provided some cute comic relief this episode, although it does break my heart that they no longer work at GSMH. 

To be honest, I skipped over a lot of the scenes featuring Meredith, Jackson, Owen, Bailey, and Maggie. That being said –

Meredith: Why? Just, why?

Jackson is an ass. Maggie needs to learn to move on; she deserves better.

Can Owen stop. doing. anything? Except for going to California to visit his sister for a while; I’ll be okay if he does that. I’m tired of him.

I have no idea what’s going on with Bailey/Koracick, but a) what exactly is Koracick’s new role? and b) Bailey’s getting really annoying. I understand why, but it’s tiring.

First of all, I had to rewatch that episode twice before I finally figured out everything that was going on. It didn’t exactly help that I fast-forwarded every scene with Jaggie/Merluca/Towen the first time around…but yes. Lots to talk about, and lots to complain about in this episode. Let’s get started. 

Richard, Catherine, Bailey, and other Insurance-Fraud Matters: 

I feel bad for Meredith, Alex, and Richard; they were just trying to do the right thing for the little girl, and yes, the system is broken. However, something about Webber really irked me in this episode. It seemed like he was complaining a lot for no reason. Same goes for Bailey – Webber’s right: he trained her and made her into the doctor she is today, and she didn’t give him a second glance. It will be interesting to see him and Alex working at a new hospital, though.

I didn’t really pay much attention to Meredith. I think her trial will be interesting, but there wouldn’t be a show if she can’t practice medicine, and there are at least 40 episodes left of Grey’s, so her license will definitely not be revoked. I think. Honestly, with KV in charge, we can’t really be sure. As for Deluca, he’s way too cocky and needs to be taken down a peg, in my opinion.

On the other hand, I was very happy to see Catherine’s actions this week. I wish we got to see the scene where Koracick got promoted (and to what, exactly?), but I’m happy she sort-of stood up for her husband as well. She’s right; he deserves much better than making house-calls like it’s 1965 (at the same time, though, Bailey’s right – that was a false-equivalence).

Jackson and Maggie:

To be honest, I didn’t pay much attention to their storyline after I realized that the cool surgeries would be skipped over with “1 Week Later”s. 

However, I am very very happy that Maggie came to her senses and they finally ended things. That scene at the table where shes says, “I deserve better than someone who regularly abandons me for…trees” and sometime later, Deluca says, “[you guys are] like siblings”? Iconic. Love that.

Teddy, Owen, and Koracick:

Okay, first of all, how did Koracick find out that Teddy’s leaving him? Also, side note, he deserves so much better than Teddy.

I skipped the rest of the Teddy/Owen scenes. I’ll probably read a recap somewhere later and figure out what I missed.

Link (and Alex and Amelia):

This guy deserves his own section because a) he was a part of two different storylines tonight and b) I love him.

I loved his first scene with Alex! I’m so happy that the show hasn’t forgotten his friendship with Jo either, and it’s nice to see Alex have someone to talk and vent to.

I’m also (mostly) happy with the way his relationship with Amelia progressed. They’re talking things through, she’s not closing-off, and their date was adorable. It’s very healthy and a stark difference from her relationship with Owen. Also, Amelia swooping in to save the day? Fantastic.

Amelia (and Carina and Link):

aka. the pregnancy no one saw coming. 

Given her history with pregnancy, along with a lot of other things, I can’t help but feel like this plotline is unnecessary and not-great writing. Let Amelia chill for once, please. Out of all the characters on this show, she deserves the most rest. On the other hand, I could be on board with her and Carina…but Link. I don’t want to see him get hurt. Also, who’s kid is it? Could it even be Owen’s?

It should be an interesting plotline overall, but I’m wary nonetheless.

Jo and Alex:

I wish I had more to say except “I love them,” but honestly, I can’t find the words. I’m happy they’re not just resolving Jo’s issues in one episode, but they’re also not dragging it along unnecessarily. The scene in therapy was so incredibly moving, and the proposal outside was the absolute sweetest. 

The only complaint I have is that…what do you mean, Alex file the license? 

My favorite lines from their scenes:

“Nobody makes you feel anything. Those are your feelings.”

“Coming to a place like this makes you stronger than most”

“I don’t want an out.” <3 <3 <3 

Next Week’s Promo: