Grey's Anatomy recap: The ER is riding high

Grey Sloan Memorial is a teaching hospital. Whether it’s a broken bone or a broken heart, the doctors are there to educate and coach future medical professionals.

There are also days when surgical instruction is trumped by more important life lessons. For example, breathe out of your mouth when something funky-smelling rolls through the ER. Don’t make a face. You smile and nod when your boyfriend reveals the romantic weekend he planned is actually camping. Who cares that you’re not outdoorsy? And practice mind over matter when you’re standing in the OR during a 24-hour surgery. Peeing can wait when hospital records are on the line.

That’s right, Dr. Meredith Grey is just hours away from the longest surgery ever performed at Grey Sloan and everyone around her feels the weight of achy muscles, tired feet, and red eyes. Dr. Grey, of course, feels nothing but victory. She’s a surgical superhero. Or, according to the darling older Asian lady Bokhee who is my favorite scrub nurse, Meredith is Wonder Woman, with DeLuca encouraging her every step of the way with accolades and praise.

Is it genuine or are they in the lovey-dovey phase of their relationship? Hard to tell. What I do know is that Maggie’s relationship status reads “it’s complicated.” Jackson has every piece of camping equipment in the trunk of his car and he can’t wait to get Maggie in an environment that, according to the toilet paper and tiny shovel he’s holding, has no bathroom. She plasters on a smile because the SS Avery has been sailing smoothly lately and she does not want to rock that boat.

There’s no time to be schooled on the logistics of relieving oneself in the forest. Why? Because a body has been dumped at the doors of the ER. Clearly an overdose, Teddy and Bailey rush to help the boy, when another one comes in. And another. And then five. And then ten. Total overdose body count? Fifty.

At first, I thought there was something in the air, but no one in the hospital seemed to think it was weird that 50 people were shooting up in the same park at the same time. They blamed it on “a bad batch of something out there” and I’m going to suspend reality and go with that too.

Teddy takes over, barking orders left and right. Bodies are everywhere and Webber instructs her to call Owen. Teddy is reluctant since Betty’s parents are coming to take Leo away and Owen is saying good-bye. Webber points at the chaos and Teddy makes the call. Owen ditches Betty’s parents and Amelia for the adrenaline of the ER pit.

Amidst all the confusion, a woman wanders in shouting for her three-year-old son. Jo consoles the lady, who is clearly freaking out. Later, a homeless man brings the boy into the ER. The woman is ecstatic. She and Jo check the boy while Karev thanks Ralph for helping out. He notices Ralph’s broken shoes and offers to take a look at his feet. Ralph agrees, even though there’s so much going on around him. He also tells Karev that he saw the woman pass out on a bench in the park with the other junkies in the ER.

It turns out, the woman is also on drugs. She took her son with her to buy pills and I guess ended up doing a little of the bad meth. Junior is over on the monkey bars and got swept up in the pandemonium. How terrifying.

Karev calls the husband and the woman goes to jail. While Jo directs the husband to get his wife some help, Karev tells him not to let his son go near her until she’s clean. I often forget that Karev grew up around similar abuse. (Recap continues on next page)

In a plot twist that surprises no one, Betty shows up as one of the junkies with her boyfriend. She is fine one second and grabbing her heart the next. Link sweeps her off her feet and carries her threshold style right into the ER. Now it’s Owen’s turn to freak out.

Webber calls Amelia who brings Betty’s parents with her. All are forbidden from getting anywhere near the OR where Teddy will be repairing Betty’s heart. Why Teddy you ask? Shouldn’t Maggie, the heart guru, be the one to do this very important procedure?

In a sweet moment of sacrifice, Teddy tells Maggie to stand down. If Betty doesn’t make it, Teddy should be the surgeon on the other end of that scalpel. Amelia will need her sister.

While Betty goes under the knife, Link does what he can to calm her boyfriend down. He gives him fluids and later has a weird discussion about “escaping” with Amelia, who is totally spacing out. Link gets inches away from her face and I thought we were going to have to discuss a random kiss in this recap. Nope. Blood distracts them both. It’s spilling out from under a door. She and Link rush over, turn the handle and stare in horror as Betty’s boyfriend slumps out with a needle sticking in his arm.

Horrifying, right? To us, yes, but not to the medical professionals at Grey Sloan. Even though people are on gurneys everywhere, love is still in the air for some. DeLuca and Meredith flirt in the OR. Schmitt calls Dr. Nico a living version of a Greek god (#truth). And when Maggie tells Avery she can’t go camping, Avery pitches his super fabulous weekend by reminding Maggie of all the things they don’t need in life. He wants to take it back to the basics.

It’s unfortunate timing. Avery says all this in front Ralph. The homeless man. The one having his feet scraped. The same one who will need a warm, dry place to heal, even though there are no beds available in any shelter.

Avery is one step ahead. He gives Ralph all of his camping gear, including the fancy shovel. Maggie secretly rejoices.

In another wing of the hospital, Amelia loses it when she learns that Link couldn’t save Betty’s boyfriend. Link does not hug the hyperventilating woman in front of him. Instead, he uses his impressive torso to sort of shield her from anyone walking down that hall. It’s odd.

The good news is that Amelia finally gets the hug she deserves. From Teddy of all people. She saved Betty and all gather around her bed, hoping that this incident, and the death of her boyfriend, will be the rock bottom Betty needs to experience so she can get clean.

Let’s celebrate! Gather the sisters! Oh, wait, Meredith is in the hallway passed out on a gurney. The woman sleeps like a rock. She doesn’t even feel DeLuca pushing her into a room, or him covering her with a blanket or that sweet kiss on the forehead.

Never fear, Team MerLuca. The power couple is thriving.