Last night's episode of Grey's Anatomy belonged to Alex Karev — to that smartass kid from an abusive household in Iowa who somehow grew up into this mature, whip-smart surgeon who fist-bumps kids while they talk about their poop. (It's less weird than it sounds.) Alex spends the episode in charge of the care of two newborn twins, a boy and a girl, with identical liver tumors. The father can donate his liver to one of them, and Alex say's he'll be the one to decide. What follows is less "Alex's Choice" and more a showcase of who Alex has become. He calms the parents' fears. He commands the team of doctors working to save the babies and perform surgery on the dad. He researches, tirelessly. And finally, after tests on tests, he chooses the girl twin for the transplant.
Alex tries a last-ditch surgical save on the boy twin, but he dies, and Alex unhooks him from life support to hold him as his heart stops. It's supposed to be a gut-wrenching moment, and in some ways, it is. But trouble is that the baby is a prop, and what's worse, it's a prop that's supposed to look like a premature, jaundiced (and therefore yellow) infant. This means that at what should be the emotional apex of the episode, Alex is cradling what looks like an oversized Sour Patch Kid.
Throughout all of this, Intern Douchebeard, who's sort of shaved his beard, which makes me wonder if he could possibly be renamed Shadow of a Douche, considers being a pediatric surgeon, but waxes rhapsodically about how he hates to hear mothers cry. It's … weird.
The potential pregnancy teaser at the end of last week's episode was just that — a tease. Jo's not pregnant, but she discovers an invoice from the fertility clinic that's been housing the fertilized embryos Alex and Izzie had frozen just before her major tumor surgery way, way back in season five. It's an excellent callback — seriously, how long has it been since anyone's even mentioned Izzie, let alone the embryos? — but Jo's response is really confusing. She's all, "So you have embryos with another woman?!" and Alex is all, "Yes, but she was literally about to die when I agreed to fertilize them and also it was a really long time ago," and then Jo is basically all, "Right, fine, so I guess you don't want a baby with me?" and Alex is all "Dude, I just told you the situation with Izzie has nothing in common with our relationship, so…" and then Jo is sort of absently upset with him until the end of the episode when he declares his immediate willingness to put a baby in her. I don't love Jo's response, because I think she's pragmatic enough to understand the big picture here, but I loved these scenes between the two of them.
Also, Maggie's ex-boyfriend is getting married, which sends her into a weird fit of talking about aliens and drinking tequila, and surprisingly enough, it's kind of an awesome look on her.
Back at April and Jackson's place, April continues to fight for their marriage by … refusing to leave? I honestly can't decide if this is a ballsy move or an act of emotional abuse, because there she is, getting dressed, making dinner, promising to break in with a crowbar, even after Jackson patiently, repeatedly tells her that he's finished with their marriage and wants her to leave the home with his name on the lease. (He at one point calls her a "bunny boiler," a reference to a horrific scene in Fatal Attraction, if you aren't aware.) Let's look at it this way: If Jackson were telling April that no matter what she wanted, he'd continue to come home and be there, waiting, with tools to knock down the door if necessary, it'd be undeniably creepy, no? By extension, that means April's being creepy too.
Meanwhile, Meredith gets her contract for the chief of general surgery position (there's a moment of celebration in the carpool car over the abundance of Lady Chiefs at the hospital). But over wine and Beyoncé covers at a girls' night in, Meredith quickly finds out that she's making much, much less than the other department heads. Let's pause here for a brief moment of appreciation for a scene of television that consisted of four smart, professional women talking not about dudes or clothes, but about pay equity.
The Old Chief (who I guess I'm going to have to start calling "Webber" officially now) pulls Bailey aside and takes her to task for underpaying women, but Bailey assures him she knows exactly what she's doing, and she's giving Meredith the opportunity to ask for what she's worth, all on her own. Bailey points out that she's looking out for her own bottom line here — after all, why should Bailey shell out money from her hospital budget if people (Meredith) aren't going to ask for it? I think Meredith deserves a bit more slack than Bailey's giving her here, but it's all ultimately worth it for the moment where Meredith finally asks for the salary she deserves, and Bailey complies. And hey, if Meredith can do it, why not the rest of us too?
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