Grey's Anatomy - 2-Hour Season 14 Premiere Review: Cuddling and Cutthroat
5 Oct 2017
Grey's Anatomy MK ReviewsJust when you think you've got through a great, emotional, old school premiere of Grey's they deliver that one game changer no one saw coming. Grey's Anatomy returned from a much-needed summer hiatus with two hours of fun, drama, character and story development. The show really needed this two-hour premiere so it could show off all the characters and give them enough screen time. “Break Down the House” (episode 1) was written by Krista Vernoff and directed by Debbie Allen, while “Get off on the Pain” (episode 2)was written by Krista Vernoff and directed by Kevin McKidd.
Yes, my dear fellow GA fans you've read right. Krista Vernoff is back and you could feel it and see it during the two hours of Greys. Krista was part of the main team from seasons 1-7 after which she departed and tried something new. But her return is very welcome as the show entered a sort of a slump and Krista gave the premiere just enough of an old-school breeze to elevate it from most of everything we saw during season 13. But now let's break down the two hours, handsome character by more handsome character.
Of course, I will start with the major cliffhanger. I'm still not sure if they did the best thing ever or committed character assassination. The reveal of Amelia having a brain tumor was truly shocking and apparently, it is a massive one. Throughout the premiere, we saw so many differents sides to Amelia that I was expecting to see her go down another drug spiral. Her behavior changed so many time from aggressive to brilliant, from funny to overly cooky. Everything surrounding her was highlighted every conversation every interaction and it exponentially grew throughout the outing. She went off on Owen, for a very good reason and Teddy, for no real reason. But let's talk about that a little bit later. At this moment I'm really excited to see where they'll go with the brain tumor story, primarily cause Cat Scorsone will kill it and secondly cause there is no other neurosurgeon around. My gut tells me Mer will do the surgery, while I also could see Jo's husband do it but that would be a stage of messy I'm not ready for atm.
So let's move on to Amelia's immediate family the Hunts. Last year's cliffhanger and the introduction of Megan Hunt was handled extremely smooth and Abigail Spencer completely delivered. I loved Bridget Regan as Megan in last year's flashback but Abigail brought something new to the role. A light I didn't see in Bridget's interpretation. Of course, last season's Megan had a dark and grim story while now it was dark-ish but very well balanced out, considering everyone was happy cause of her return.
Megan's story took some surprising serious and funny turns during the episodes. The introduction of Faruk as an idea was a very smart move by the writers. It created an emotional bond and put an experation date on Megan's stay in Seattle. The scenes between Megan and Nathan were amazing. They had the right amount of emotional charge and you could really see how torn Nathan was throughout the outing. Nathan proposing was really sweet but I wasn't shocked by the fact she turned him down. She is a mother now and Faruk comes first and she can not make this type of decisions now, Meredith was just an excuse to put the blame on him.
Including Meridith in this story was quite risky, could've come off too soapy, too forced but it was a win. The story pushed Meredith emotionally and professionally and did what Grey's does best, tell compelling stories. In previous seasons while pushing Mer's professional development the writers made her look petty and tidbit spoiled, but not this time. Yes, she threw her little tantrum but it just showed how much emotions she put into this. Great performance by Ellen, kudos. I also liked the writers using this story to give us some development on Richard and Maggie's relationship. This one was put on hold ever since Maggie was introduced but them bonding during Mer's tantrum and Megan's surgery was simple and perfectly dozed. And I need more of this.
Kevin McKidd delivered a marvelous performance during these two hours and I'll give him, even more, credits cause he directed the second episode. And while I hate all the Owen-Amelia drama cause it seemed forced throughout season 13 I look forward to seeing them interact, especially after his kiss with Teddy. I loved Teddy's return, Kim Raver is a great actress and she brought a lot of energy to the whole story. I saw people online taking jabs at Teddy for meddling but I will tell you something it was so her place to meddle. I would meddle the hell out of it if it was my friend on the table. And Mer turning to Teddy later was a proof that she was completely right to do so.
I loved all the Hunt family moments. A light Owen is great to watch and the interaction between the Hunts was simply heartwarming, nicely dosed and entertaining. You could really feel a sibling connection between Owen and Megan and her speech to him about taking care of Faruk was on point perfect and I honestly look forward to seeing more of them during the first half of the season.
A highlight of this premiere episodes were the Sub-Interns. I laughed so hard during their interaction with Richard and the walk through the Hospital was one to be remembered. The writing for the Sub-Is was so simple and hilarious, it had that original Grey's flow and felt so natural to the show. And while Jo hooking up with Glasses was not my favorite move it served up some hilarious moments. I'm not a Jo fan but she was actually tolerable in these episodes. She wasn't yelling, she wasn't insufferable she was just a resident doing her job. She showed some joy and passion and I liked her a lot more than in previous seasons. I also liked the approach, they've taken with her thoughts about the abuse she suffered previously. Ben and she shared a very sweet moment, I liked the message they've sent. They showed how much PTS Jo still suffers from and how much abuse victims can blame themselves despite all the facts. The drama going on between her and Alex was a slight downer but I appreciated the approach and how they've handled it. I do hope Alex has a more meaningful story than advocating for Mer and Jo. He deserves better.
Now it's time to talk about my favorite single lady out there, Arizona Robins. I loved every single tidbit and surprised how much I grew to love Arizona. She was my least favorite character from seasons 5-11 but since she and Callie broke up, she is just a joy to watch. Jessica Capshaw blossomed in a meaningful and hilarious character carrying a lot of heavy weight. Her path during the premiere from desperate over to more desperate swiftly changed once she met DeLuca's sister, Carina. I laughed so hard during the sibling argument cause Arizona's facial expression was simply hilarious. Still, Arizona falls a bit too much head over heels for Carina and I hope they will slightly tone it down in further outings.
Meanwhile, our favorite married couple, Ben, and Miranda shared some great moments throughout the two hours. The writers played it safe with them and let them contribute to the story in small but impactful amount. I enjoyed them watching the Hospital get fixed and Bailey freeing herself from the clutches of high heels.
Last but not least, let's talk the worst love triangle introduced in GA history. Yes, Maggie-April-Jackson is far worse than Maggie-Mer-Nathan ever were. Maybe they aren't but it just feels a bit tedious after all the mess we went through with Maggie, Mer, and Nathan last season. I was positively surprised that they went full frontal with this one and didn't try to prolong it. April's speech to Jackson was long overdue and Sarah Drew brought me to freaking tears. What a phenomenal performance! I was just surprised by how emotional it got all of a sudden. Sarah translated so much emotion through her voice, body language and facial expressions. I really felt her pain and wanted just to give her a hug, she really needed one. The prep towards this speech certainly could've been better but I give them a tidbit of slack cause of the huge cast and limited time. Still, I hope they find a good way to conclude the story and make my Japril heart happy. I honestly just want them to make a decision, will they or won't they just a simple as that.
I also enjoyed Jackson going up against Amelia. Jackson went a long way from season 6 and he turned into a great character. Also, Jesse Williams really found his groove and seems a lot more into Jackson than he was ever before. The speech to DeLuca after the messy surgery Amelia performed was just on point, he really felt like an Attending.
And with that I will say goodbye to ya all. Feel free to share your thoughts on the season premiere of Grey's Anatomy in the comment section down below and stop by during the weekend to read my take on tonight's episode, Go Big or Go Home.
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