Grey's Anatomy - Risk - Advance Review

While a typical mid-season finale on Grey’s Anatomy might call for a ferry boat crash, a bomb inside a patient or at the very least a disastrous wedding, tonight’s episode takes a quieter, and therefor less explosive, approach. In “Risk” many of the themes from the season thus far tie together (the opening montage is so similar to episode 4 that for a moment I thought I was watching the wrong episode.) The episode moves at a pretty quick pace, though to be honest there isn’t much new ground covered: rather, past plot lines are pushed to their next logical point and new stories for the back-half of the season are more hinted at than actually explored. I’ll break tonight’s episode down for you and give you an idea of what I thought.

Meredith and Derek:

I won’t say outright what the cliffhanger is here for those of you waiting to watch the show tonight, but I will say I’m a bit mixed on it. It was executed well, sure, but if you don't see it coming from miles away then you probably haven’t been watching Grey’s too long. Suffice it to say that the couple’s heated months-spanning brawl over Derek turning down the President’s offer comes to a head. Naturally a patient whose course of treatment they disagree on helps this move along a bit. Quite convenient. Though I love to see Meredith front and center, I do wish the writers were a bit more… original with her stories. Ellen Pompeo continues to be badass and rock all of her scenes.

Arizona and Dr. Herman

Again, I don’t want to totally give away the “cliffhanger” at the end of this story but if you don’t see it coming I’ll have to question how much attention you really pay to this show. The moment Herman uttered the words “inoperable brain tumor” I guessed where this was going. Nevertheless Geena Davis has been a good addition to the season and I appreciate Arizona getting some different storylines in the hospital setting. She’s understandably overwhelmed as it appears that Herman has begun showing signs of her diagnosis, and there’s a nice scene with Callie where they both get to express how lost they’re feeling at the moment. I’m wondering how long until the writers push these two back together, though for the record I definitely prefer them apart.

Also – do either of them remember that they have a daughter?!

April and Jackson (and Stephanie)

Yup, Stephanie is actually prevalent enough throughout an episode to warrant her name going into a character breakdown. Granted, she’s once again just a pawn in someone else’s storyline, but hey, let’s take what we can get, shall we? Steph gives April an ultrasound that reveals some possibly troubling news. Aside from me actually telling you the diagnosis, everything else was given away in the promo. What could have been more shocking than putting April’s pregnancy in peril? Letting one doctor's pregnancy go on without complication for once.

Everyone Else

Jo is still jealous over Meredith and Alex being best friends. I’m still wishing Alex had someone more interesting to share scenes with. Bailey is drinking kale smoothies and running the stairs so either they’ve given her the strangest long-running B-story ever or Miranda has a heart attack or diabetes on the horizon (I know it’s not funny but the possibility makes me laugh. What has happened to our Nazi?!) Maggie doesn’t do much, Callie has a moderately interesting patient-of-the-week story and Amelia and Owen are going to bone soon. No, they don’t kiss tonight or even really get close, but the hint of them pairing up soon couldn’t be more obvious in the scenes they share (“Do you have people?” they take turns asking each other all charged and sexily.)

Bottom Line:

“Risk” is a relatively strong episode capping off a pretty good 8-episode run. Grey’s won’t be taking as long of a break as they did last year because there are still 16 episodes to go, so it’ll be interesting to see how things take off when we return and what exactly Shonda and company have planned for the back-half of this season. I’d like to see the continued development of Callie and Arizona separately, though it’d also be interesting to see some co-parenting through separation (remember, writers, THEY HAVE A BABY!) I quite enjoy a parallel brought up in this episode between Ellis and Richard’s relationship and Meredith and Derek’s, because it really makes a lot of sense and I’ve never looked at it that way before. It makes me wonder what exactly Shonda is getting at, because I don’t believe the series’ central couple will ever be truly doomed. The cliffhanger, though quite obvious, does leave things in an interesting place for the rest of the season. I also have trouble believing that anything truly terrible will happen with Kepner’s pregnancy: if not for on-call room sex, Grey Sloane Memorial is known for miracle saves (note: there is some on-call room sex tonight.)

My thoughts this week are pretty much the same as usual: the series would be tighter with more focus on Meredith and a smaller cast, but I’ve been surprised at how much I'm enjoying this season overall. Losing Cristina and coming back as strong, if not stronger, than last year is a sign that that series has become a true powerhouse. It's great to see callbacks to old seasons and storylines, though honestly I'd love to see the writers totally shake the show up with something - or someone - fresh. I certainly did feel series fatigue tonight as virtually every plot point felt either incredibly obvious or like something we had seen before. Contrary to what the title suggests, few risks are being taken by the writers here. It’s a true testament to the core characters of the series that, despite that, I’m still invested.

Let us know what you think of the episode and season 11 so far in the comments and check back for a full review later this week.
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