So, that happened.
And by “that,” I mean not much at all.
What is there to really say about Grey’s Anatomy Season 20 Episode 8? Other than it was an episode, things happened, but it had little importance or substance.
It’s probably because so much of what has happened feels redundant.
Much of the hour felt like a combination of at least four or five previous episodes from the series.
I am scared of not living up to my patient’s expectations.
Amelia
Things like that are bound to happen on a series that has been on for 20 years, but when the combination isn’t right, you’re left feeling like you’ve seen it all before and can predict anything.
Of course, we knew that Teddy and Owen couldn’t take the day off without some type of medical drama involving them.
They went hiking, which we’ve witnessed many times before, and someone had a bad fall, which feels familiar.
Oh, and there was no reception, so Teddy and Owen had to improvise.
Sure enough, they wound up back at Grey Sloan and operated on the people they met in the woods.
Towen is the quintessential married couple with all the bickering while they were trying to help.
They don’t know how to be with one another without bickering.
But they also kick butt together in the OR, so that’s something.
And Owen’s idea about making videos that help people with little things that could potentially save lives is great.
Unfortunately for him and Teddy, by going to Catherine about this, we’re seconds away from her finding out that Teddy used the discretionary fund on Mer’s rogue Alzheimer cure project.
It will be a hot mess when that comes out, but only in those moments, with this seemingly erroneous storyline, did I realize that Mer’s covert project is the only throughline arc of the season.
Amelia: Would you want to go out with me sometime? Clearly, I misread the situation…
Beltran: No, it’s just, um, I am going through a really messy divorce, and my wife is still in Texas.
And I forgot about it because you barely remember things like that if Mer isn’t around.
Outside of that, the only significant plot we’ve had all season involves the interns working toward returning to the OR and passing their exams.
It’s been a long journey with ups and downs.
This time around, we had little things like Helm behaving immaturely and punishing all the interns because of her issues with Mika.
The power dynamic is on full display when it comes to that relationship with which we barely had any time and now never will with Midori Francis’ impending departure.
Worse yet, whatever could’ve happened with Jules isn’t in the cards for the future, either.
It’s not to say that Jules and Blue aren’t cute, but forgive a girl for getting briefly distracted by Jules and Mika innocently waking up together and how great of a pairing they could probably be.
The interns all handled their impending exams in different ways.
Blue hitting the labs introduced us to a fun dynamic with Link that highlighted how few male friendships the series has.
Lucas and Simone also made it into the OR to assist Bailey with the Dorian case.
By now, Dorian has cheated death half a dozen times, and yet there’s still little vote of confidence that he’ll make it to the end of the season.
Sadly, despite the long-term nature of his case, there’s such little interest there that it feels like we’re just waiting for the inevitable to happen.
It would’ve sucked if they lost him when Simone and Lucas are still traumatized from losing Sam.
But the stress of that scare in the OR led to another hookup between the two in an on-call room.
I’m probably in the minority who likes the two together as a pairing; however, I’m not alone in feeling frustrated by their back-and-forth hot and cold exchanges.
Simone: You know how I thought of the Step procedure today?
Lucas: You’re a genius?
Simone: I thought of you. You’re fearless… I’m a braver doctor because of you. A better doctor because of you.
There’s not enough substance when they’re good to support the constant back and forth with them.
It hurts to admit, but they haven’t given us nearly enough to hold onto and fall in love with to justify the games they’re playing with these two.
Simone attempted to make a genuine connection with Lucas this time, and they were intimate together.
But then he went right back to giving her the cold shoulder after implying before they had sex that he knows what it’s like to know he needs to let go.
She’s who he feels needs to let go but can’t.
The merry-go-round keeps spinning with those two.
We know the testing likely won’t go well for Lucas, which is unfortunate.
For one, he has had a tough go of it overall, but they’ve also blown the opportunity to fully explore his neurodivergence and how that impacts his studying and his practice as a doctor.
It’s a storyline ripe for the taking that could be compelling and wouldn’t result in this broody-jerk thing they keep doing with him.
On a relationship front, they pushed Amelia and Beltran forward after they worked together on a pleasant enough case.
It’s horrible that Caroline had to travel across the country to Beltran to be with a doctor who makes her feel comfortable and doesn’t undermine her and treat her terribly because she’s trans.
Beltran is so great with kids and teens; you can tell she’s cut out for Peds, which only adds more context to why she was so hard on Levi.
Caroline was enamored by her, which was sweet.
But Caroline and Emmy together were a headache.
They also weren’t unlike how chaotic Beltran and Amelia are together, so it was fitting.
Amelia finally made her move, which was a long time coming.
On the one hand, Amelia and Beltran have great chemistry, and they would be a fun couple—more interesting than her previous one, to be perfectly honest.
But on the other hand, it’s as if they don’t know what to do with Amelia other than tossing her into one relationship after another, as if her entire life must depend on being in one.
Was there something else that happened during this installment?
Jo didn’t get to jump into OB again because Teddy had a day off, and she and Levi had … something.
Anyway, over to you, Grey’s Fanatics.
What did you think about this episode? Let’s hear it all below!
Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursdays at 9/8c on ABC. You can stream the following day on Hulu.
Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. She is an insomniac who spends late nights and early mornings binge-watching way too many shows and binge-drinking way too much tea. Her eclectic taste makes her an unpredictable viewer with an appreciation for complex characters, diverse representation, dynamic duos, compelling stories, and guilty pleasures. You’ll definitely find her obsessively live-tweeting, waxing poetic, and chatting up fellow Fanatics and readers. Follow her on X.