BWW Recap: GREY'S ANATOMY offers up a Big Twist a Blossoming Romance, and a Heartfelt Wedding Under the Stars. Grab the Kleenex!

After spending last week's fabulous standalone episode fully invested in Catherine Fox's surgery and Meredith's closure with her dying dad, GREY'S ANATOMY viewers had the chance to dive back into all the other storylines that have been playing out in the hallways of Grey Sloan memorial. This week's episode, entitled "Girlfriend in a Coma" delivered some delightful romance, a heartbreaking love story, and a mind blowing bombshell of a reveal.

This episode, written by Kiley Donovan and directed by Debbie Allen, covers a span of several months using Christmas and Valentine's Day as bookends. Another way viewers can observe the passage of time is via the medical recovery and subsequent complications experienced by Natasha (Siena Goines), the patient from two episodes ago who had fallen off a balcony on her wedding day. With fiancé Garrett (DaJuan Johnson) taking vigil at her bedside and the doctors monitoring her closely, we finally see her wake up and be taken off her ventilator, only to have to be put back on it when she catches pneumonia. Unfortunately, that's not all. In surgery, it is discovered she has dead bowel. She eventually throws a pulmonary embolism and is again dependent on her ventilator as her organs start shutting down and her body becomes weaker and weaker. This is almost too much for Garrett to take. He is convinced he can't live without Natasha: "If she dies, I die!" They were supposed to have a wedding "under the stars" in a planetarium and now his fiancée is likely going to die in a hospital bed. Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) gives Garrett a much-needed pep talk-the kind that only someone who has been in his shoes can give him. He will survive even though right now, it feels like he couldn't possibly. He has to fight, just like Natasha is fighting. She encourages him to take a walk, have a shower and get something to eat. "We will be here fighting to keep her alive and you are going to go fight to keep yourself alive." Fight he does, and eventually he and Natasha are on the same page. They have decided to have her taken off the ventilator. Natasha thanks the doctors for doing everything they could to give her as much time as possible. "You gave us the rest of our lives together." The doctors find a way to give them their wedding under the stars as well. As the staff of Grey Sloan gathers in Natasha's room holding up images of the cosmos on their cell phones, Meredith reads Natasha and Garrett's vows and Natasha dies after they are officially married. I'm not crying, you're crying.

Natasha does manage to give a piece of love advice to Meredith. "Kiss the one who turns back time for you" she says, referencing Garrett rewinding the New Year's Even live stream so they can have their own New Year's countdown.

Meredith is in the middle of a love triangle, no matter how much she tries to deny it. This has got to be the nine hundredth love triangle on Grey's Anatomy, and it is not a plot device that I particularly enjoy...however...seeing Jo's (Camilla Luddington) glee over Meredith's predicament was somewhat entertaining. It was also entertaining to see how fully Jo has picked a side-that of her best buddy Lincoln (Chris Carmack) of course. It looks like Meredith has picked a different side though, as this episode ends with a romantic rooftop kiss between her and Deluca (Giacomo Gianniotti). This was after Meredith stood both men up on New Year's Eve and Deluca rightfully stood up for himself to let her know he's not a doormat. After Natasha dies (and Meredith makes dinner plans with Link) Deluca then brings Mer to the rooftop for a romantic dinner under their own set of stars. I'm choosing to reserve judgment as we wait to see where this budding romance goes. I am also intrigued to see what Link gets up to once he is no longer competing for Meredith's affections. Or perhaps the competition has just begun. Again...I choose to reserve judgment!

Onto more crying...Catherine Fox (Debbie Allen) is breaking my heart. She is recovering from her surgery and living with the knowledge that she still has cancer...and she is also taking time to hate on the overly perky physiotherapist. Jackson (Jesse Williams) is torn up seeing his mother struggling like this and Maggie (Kelly McCreary) is there to comfort him. I wondered how Maggie would do now that Catherine has survived her surgery. Maggie has always struggled to do or say the right things when she couldn't understand what Jackson was going through. She certainly understood his pain last week and she rose to the occasion. Now, Catherine is on the other side of her surgery though. She lived. Maggie doesn't really have a roadmap for that in terms of the situation with her own mother. Or maybe she does. She knows what it is like to see your mother in pain. She shares some of her darkest moments from that time. This allows Jackson to open up about his own anxieties now. It's sweet.

Speaking of anxieties, Bailey (Chandra Wilson) finally tells Ben (Jason George) what was really going on with her. His job wasn't the problem, her job wasn't the problem...it was deeper than that. After her heart attack, she had been focusing so much on her physical health that she forgot to take care of her mental health. Quick PSA from someone who works their day job as a mental health professional: The two are connected. To focus on one, it is crucial that you focus on the other as well. Your mental health will affect your physical health and vice versa. Good for Bailey for recognizing her oversight and for seeking the help she needed to do something about it. And good for Ben for following through on that tree house promise. It's better late than never!

I would be remiss if I didn't mention the Schmidt and Nico storyline. When Meredith, Jo, and Deluca notice that there is something different about Schmidt (Jake Borelli) and he explains that he has met someone. He then clarifies "And I'm gay. And he's gay. And we're gay together" just in case there was any confusion. Later Schmico share a moment during Garrett and Natasha's vows. I LOVE THIS COUPLE and I love this storyline. Schmidt's emerging confidence is beautiful because, let's face it, he's still Schmidt. He is still a little bumbly, and nerdy, and all the things I liked about him from the start...but now, he understands himself and he sees himself as a person of value. He is more comfortable in his own skin and he is starting to love himself. That absolutely affects how the people around you will see you. It is just wonderful witnessing his transformation. I do kind of miss the glasses though!

Lastly, let's talk about Betty...er...Britney. Whaaaaaaat? Wasn't there a whole story at the start of the season where Amelia explained that lying to yourself and others puts you at risk for relapse? Betty chose to come clean at that time about why she ran away and came back, but she still managed to keep the fake identity thing going??? Oh Britney!!! In all seriousness, this is a very accurate depiction of drug addiction. Kudos to the writers and to Britney's portrayer, Canadian actress Peyton Kennedy. Both Betty and Amelia mention "readiness" at different moments in the episode. According to the Transtheoretical (or 'Stages of Change') model of addiction, change is a process, and someone cannot make and maintain intentional change until they reach a state of readiness. Britney has been contemplating getting clean, but she misses drugs and does not yet have a clear vision of a happy life for herself without them. The fact that she chooses to come clean to Owen and Amelia is huge. Sure, she's standoffish and a little rude...but I think she just doesn't want Amelia to get too attached to her because she doesn't want to let her down and right now, she knows she's going to. My heart breaks for her. What's beautiful is that Amelia clearly gets it. As an audience, we have only seen Amelia dealing with this struggle in her adult life...but let's not forget, she has been in this place as a teenager too.

So Betty is Britney and Britney is a runaway whose parents are probably worried sick...and...just to hit them (baby) one more time (I had to), her parents don't know about Leo and will very likely want him when they do find out.

Here's where I got super stressed. Amelia (Caterina Scorsone) wants Betty to be the one to reach out to her parents and tell Leo's Social Worker the truth. This is admirable, and I hope she does...but if she doesn't, THEY BETTER TELL SOMEONE BECAUSE OTHERWISE THEY ARE KIND OF BASICALLY KIDNAPPERS! That isn't information that you can just sit on. Owen (Kevin McKidd) doesn't want to sit on it at all. If he's going to lose Leo, he wants to know right away, because the thought of it is breaking his heart. He expresses his frustration with Britney by stating: "Yes, I know that addiction is a disease, but since when does its symptoms include lying and stealing from people who are trying to help you? It just all feels like an excuse for justifying piss poor life choices."

So....Amelia is offended (obviously). Owen thinks she is offended over the "piss poor life choices" line, and I'm sure that stung...but if I were Amelia, I would be far more hurt by the fact that the man who claims to love me has clearly taken zero time to try to learn about or understand addiction at all. To answer your question Owen: lying and stealing from those who care is pretty darn common among addicts. That doesn't make it right and it doesn't make it excusable...but as stated earlier, the duplicity and lies on Britney's part are a very realistic depiction of someone who is homeless and struggling with addiction. It's all about survival. Amelia gets it. She is teetering on enabling Britney if she is actually going to hold off on calling the Social Worker...but her heart is undoubtedly in the right place. In Owen's defense, he's terrified...and he does apologize with flowers, but then immediately pouts over the budding Teddy and Tom romance--which I will save to talk about another day! It is a brief pout, but Amelia certainly notices it and looks like she has been punched in the gut. And here I thought we were finally at the point where fans could no longer call the Owen and Amelia relationship 'Toxic' (yes, that's another Britney Spears reference). If the promo for next week is any indication, this whole situation is going to get a lot more complicated before it even has the possibility of working itself out. Buckle up!

What are your thoughts on this week's episode of GREY'S ANATOMY? Are you happy Meredith is going to give things a try with Deluca? Did you see the Britney twist coming? Do you miss Schmidt's glasses as much as I do? And what did you think of that heartbreakingly beautiful wedding under the stars? Tweet me and let me know!

Can't wait til next week. I'm ready for GREY'S ANATOMY to 'Gimme More'!

'Oops! I did it Again!'

GREY'S ANATOMY airs on Wednesdays at 9am on CTV in Canada and on Thursdays at 8pm on ABC in the US and around the globe.

Photo Credit: Disney ABC Press

To post a comment, you must register and login.