Grey’s anatomy
This post contains spoilers from Thursday’s episode of Grey’s Anatomy.
In classic Grey’s Anatomy fashion, the winter finale of season 18 had us on the edge of our seats!
During Thursday’s episode, Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) and Dr. David Hamilton (Peter Gallagher) geared up for a surgery that could potentially be a major breakthrough in their attempt to cure Parkinson’s. Also, Amelia (Caterina Scorsone) found comfort in a new love interest (that is not Link!), and the three Grey Sloan doctors found themselves at the center of a major car crash — leaving the fate of two character’s lives up in the air.
First, as Meredith and Amelia prepared for Hamilton’s top-secret surgery — which Amelia described as “drill[ing] a hole into a renowned surgeon’s head using a piece of equipment we just invented to inject a cellular solution that has never been tested on a human being before to cure what has been considered an entirely incurable disease” — the pair hit a roadblock.
Hamilton needed to undergo emergency surgery for a perforated bowel — meaning Meredith and her team which includes Dr. Kai Bartley (E. R. Fightmaster) were unable to perform the scheduled surgery within the FDA time frame.
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“You can’t report this to the FDA,” Hamilton told Meredith. “Just repair the bowel and tell them we had an equipment malfunction.”
“I cannot lie to the FDA,” Meredith said. “I’m going to tell them everything and they’ll just give us a new window.”
“Do you know how long that will take?” he asked. “I’ll lose weeks. You’re a rule-breaker, Grey. So break the rules. You’re compromising my only chance at getting my life back.”
“You’re not the only one with Parkinson’s,” Meredith said. “There are 10 million people around the world living with this disease. They don’t have your money or your access to health care. They still live … the only thing that’s stopping you from living with this disease is your ego.”
“Is that what you said to your mother,” Hamilton asked, referring to Ellis Grey who suffered from Alzheimer’s before she died. “Oh, come on, Meredith. If our procedure is even a little successful it’ll have huge ramifications for the treatment of other neurodegenerative diseases. You never wanted to cure me, you wanted to cure Alzheimer’s.”
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Bonnie Osborne/ABC Ellen Pompeo, Peter Gallagher
Meanwhile, Link (Chris Carmack) was determined to win back his ex, Amelia.
“I’m going to Minnesota,” Link told Jo (Camilla Luddington), who seemingly has developed feelings for Link, her longtime friend. “I have to tell Amelia and it can’t wait another day. I want to be together on Christmas and I want our family to be together on Christmas morning so I have to tell her I love her and I don’t need her to marry me right this second. I have to go.”
Though, after realizing that Amelia was actually in Seattle, he began to panic about how he would express his feelings to her.
After gearing up the courage, he walked into a situation that was unexpected (for him and for fans!): Amelia was kissing her research partner, Dr. Kai Bartley (E. R. Fightmaster), who she’s been crushing on for the past couple of episodes.
Grey’s Anatomy
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While Amelia and Kai — and Link — are sorting out their feelings, Megan Hunt (Abigail Spencer), whose son Farouk is awaiting a heart for transplant surgery, was having a difficult time staying positive given her child’s situation.
“If he doesn’t make it neither do I,” she told Dr. Cormac Hayes (Richard Flood). “If he dies, I go with him. I’m not interested in surviving another chapter of earth-shattering pain. I’ve survived enough in this life I’m not willing to survive this.”
It appears that Christmas miracles do exist because a heart suddenly became available for Farouk.
Grey’s Anatomy
On their way to Tacoma to go pick up the heart, Hayes opened up to Teddy Altman (Kim Raver) and Megan’s brother Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd) about his concerns for Megan.
“She’s not alright,” he said. “I’ve been sitting here for the past half hour trying to figure out how to talk to the two of you without overstepping.”
“She’s sleep-deprived and anxious like any parent would be,” Teddy said.
“This is different,” Cormac said. “Owen, I know she’s your sister and this is hard for you to hear but…”
Owen responded, “Megan is tougher than you think and she’s been through way worse than you can ever imagine.”
“I’m aware but I’m still telling you she needs serious help,” Cormac said. “She’s not alright.”
As the trio was on their way back to Grey Sloan Memorial, their driver suffered a major stroke and wrecked the car — leaving the car hanging off a cliff.
Grey’s Anatomy
Thinking of the viability of the organ and Farouk’s condition, the doctors were racing against time. Ultimately, they decided that Teddy would escape the car first to retrieve help and get the heart to Farouk — whose doctors had already begun the surgery as they had not heard about the accident.
While Teddy escaped and flagged down a car, Owen and Cormac were still struggling with how to survive.
Owen insisted that Cormac, who has two kids of his own, jump out of the window and save himself. After some back and forth, Cormac quickly jumped out of the car — which ended up sliding down the cliff with Owen inside.
ABC Grey’s Anatomy
As for Owen and Farouk’s fate, fans will have to tune in to the next episode, which airs in February on ABC.