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Grey's Anatomy Recap: Decision Time for Meredith — Life With Her Family and Friends… or Afterlife With Derek

Just when we thought we had left the beach, back Thursday’s Grey’s Anatomy took us. There, Derek took on the impossible task of convincing Meredith to leave him and return to the land of the living. Did he pull it off? As if you couldn’t guess, read on, and we’ll go over not only their bittersweet goodbye but everything that happened in “Good as Hell.”

‘I HATE ER DAYS; EVERYTHING’S SO URGENT’ | As the episode began, Team Grey Sloan gathered to cheer on Nurse Jenna Lynn, who after six weeks was being discharged fully recovered from her bout with COVID. Levi told Jo that he was bailing on their movie night to hook up with Nico — this, despite the fact that she had to talk to Bailey that day about switching specialties. While Link consulted with patient Felix virtually, Amelia, sensing a possible underlying neurological issue, butted in. And Richard and Teddy fretted over why Mer wasn’t waking up and staying awake for more than two minutes at a time. Webber feared that, like other recent patients, she had rebounded only to crash later. “We can’t let that happen to Meredith,” he said. Meanwhile, on the beach, she and Derek recalled his passing. Dying is exhausting, he remarked. “There comes a point when the desire to rest is greater than the desire to live.” She’d given him permission to let go, he continued. For that matter, she’d given him everything that he needed until his dying breath. When Mer suggested that the kids would be fine if she didn’t pull through, Derek agreed that sure, sometimes a loss like that made kids stronger. But sometimes a loss like that made them… Amelia. Had Derek seen the last couple of years? Had it been hard to watch? It had been harder, he told Mer, to see her lonely.

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Back in reality, Winston encouraged his future sister-in-law to wake up so they could meet. “I heard you were tough,” he joked, “but I didn’t think you were cold.” Shortly, Richard, Teddy and Winston discovered what the problem was — a clot; surgery could rectify it, but Winston didn’t want to perform it himself since the patient is Maggie’s sister and also, because Teddy was available. Was she up to the task, though? Richard wondered. She’d have to be, Altman said, because Meredith didn’t have time to waste. Later, Owen related to Teddy that he’d told Richard if something went wrong with Mer, he wasn’t sure if his ex-fiancée would recover. With that, she had Hunt page Winston. Mer was all of their family — he was going watch her, she was going to watch him, and by God, they were going to remove that clot! On the beach, Mer and Derek found themselves in wedding garb. What did he want her to vow? To torture herself less, he said. With that, she admitted that she didn’t want to leave the kids. He didn’t want her to, either. Back at Mer’s place, Maggie discovered that Zola had seen the news about George Floyd and wanted to go to a protest but not without her mother. Sweetly, the girl’s aunt encouraged her to engage in Catherine therapy. In other words, scream.

greys-anatomy-recap-season-17-episode-13-good-as-hell
greys-anatomy-recap-season-17-episode-13-good-as-hell

‘LOOKS LIKE SHE’LL LIVE TO SKATE ANOTHER DAY’

| In Bailey’s office, Jo was chagrined to hear that her boss wouldn’t OK her change of specialties. “I need surgeons, Wilson,” the chief barked. “I can’t afford to lose you right now,” especially with Meredith… well, you know. Later, they could revisit the topic, but for right now, Bailey said definitively, it’s a no. Elsewhere, treating Erica, who was bleeding beneath her abdominal muscle, Levi was inspired — she’d quit a lucrative career to do what she really wanted, which was make peanut brittle. Bailey was significantly less impressed. When Erica had to be rushed back into surgery, Miranda suggested that maybe the pandemic gave people a chance to transform. You mean like Jo? Levi asked. Why would he say that when she’d just gotten to her happy place?!? After Erica got out of surgery, she decided that she had to be realistic and go back to the job she detested. Bailey told her that that feeling that she had to keep going was something that they were taught as Black women. “Rest is not a dirty word,” she said. “Rest is love… Rest is a beautiful model for your children.” She’d been forgetting that till she met Erica. Afterwards, Bailey paged Jo and said that if she had to hire a new general surgeon, she would. All she wanted from Jo was for her to love being an OB/GYN.

greys-anatomy-recap-season-17-episode-13-good-as-hell
greys-anatomy-recap-season-17-episode-13-good-as-hell

‘I JUST REALLY MISS CUTTING’

| As soon as Maggie got home to take over with the kids, Link and Amelia ran off to meet aspiring baseball player Felix at Grey Sloan. There, Amelia was elated to see that the patient had a tumor — she’d get to perform surgery! Dangerous surgery but surgery nonetheless. Before she dove in, Link gave her a pep talk. “You are Amelia Shepard, you’ve got this,” he assured her. And as she went into superhero pose, it was hard to imagine that she didn’t. After surgery, Felix was excited to see that he still had the use of his arms. Amelia had nailed it yet again. In an unrelated matter, Levi asking for a drawer at Nico’s prompted the world’s worst boyfriend to ask him to move in with him. He loved Levi, he said. Ack, no, Levi! Run!

greys-anatomy-recap-season-17-episode-13-good-as-hell
greys-anatomy-recap-season-17-episode-13-good-as-hell

‘IT’S TOO MUCH TO PUT ON A CHILD’

| After operating on Mer — successfully — Teddy freaked over the fact that the patient wasn’t waking up. Owen tried to soothe her through a panic attack during which she kissed him. Uh-uh, nope, he said. He was there for her — but not like that. Meanwhile, Winston championed the idea of bringing Zola to the hospital to see her mom. Maggie worried that that was too much pressure to put on the kid, but Richard was all for it, too; there was, after all, a psychological component to recovery. As for Zola, “I want to see Mommy!” she declared. As the hour neared its conclusion, Zola arrived at Grey Sloan and slipped into her protective gear. Then, at last, Maggie, Winston and Richard brought her to see Mer. “It’s OK if you’re scared,” Maggie told Zola. But she ran right to her mom and hugged her unconscious body. Sadly, this resulted in no change in Mer’s condition. Winston was crestfallen. “She’s not just Maggie’s sister, she’s Dr. Meredith Grey.” When Bailey happened by the room, Maggie said Zola had been Winston and Richard’s idea. But it was a good one, Miranda said. When Amelia arrived, she was panicked — she hadn’t known why Maggie had taken Zola to the hospital. Mer had to live, they all agreed. Thankfully, on the beach, Derek was telling Mer that it wasn’t her time yet. “There’s no pain here,” she said. He actually missed the pain, he admitted. Anyway, their kids needed her. “You have to go.” Finally, finally, in the middle of Zola telling her mom a story, Mer woke up. Happy tears all around!

So, what did you think of the episode? MerDer’s farewell? Hit the comments with your reviews.

Launch Gallery: <i>Grey's Anatomy</i> Season 17 Photos

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