Grey's Anatomy Round Table: Double Trouble
Elizabeth Harlow
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Both Grey's Anatomy Season 12 Episode 18 and Grey's Anatomy Season 12 Episode 19 focused mainly on some serious problems in Ben's professional life and his marriage, but he wasn't the only facing hard times.
Join TV Fanatics Stacy Glanzman, Kelly Thompson, and Elizabeth Harlow as they talk about nameless interns, hospital disciplinary policies and if it's possible to be friends with an ex...
Should major disciplinary issues be handled by the (wo)man at the top alone or an impartial advisory committee?
Stacy: I think an impartial committee makes sense, especially in a situation like this. I'm not even sure Bailey should have made the final decision.
Kelly: I think it should be handled by both. Grey's has never followed the actual order a real hospital meaning Bailey being the sole person to decide Ben's fate is ridiculous (let alone that she should have recused herself since that is her husband). However, the impartial board should only have included actual Board members. Why on Earth were Maggie and Owen there?
Elizabeth: These sort of things should be handled by a committee, and not just because in this situation the boss was married to the offender. What I find annoying about the idea of the Chief of surgery running the whole hospital is that if Bailey was really as in charge of everything as the show purports, she wouldn't have time for surgery or anything but paperwork and meetings.
Was Bailey right to ignore the DNR? Who punishes the Chief?
Stacy: No, DNRs really should never be ignored, but I understand why she did it. As far as who punishes the chief, if this were a real hospital, I'd probably say the board, especially if it results in a law suit. But on this show? I'd guess no one.
Kelly: A DNR should never be ignored. In reality, the hospital board punishes all doctors that work in the hospital. But in the case of Greys, where the Chief of Surgery is apparently in charge of the whole hospital, who knows who punishes Bailey.
Elizabeth: This might be one of the few times that a family wouldn't sue for violating a DNR, but somebody should still be reporting Bailey to an ethics committee or the state board or something. I feel like a reckless action like that could result in her losing her job as chief if nothing else.
What do you think of Bailey's decision to suspend Ben for 6 months? Will their marriage survive this?
Stacy: This whole thing was stupid and never should have happened in the first place. There's no way a hospital, where emergencies are likely, just goes on lock down and doesn't give their doctors and nurses an override code. But, that's besides the point.
As for Bailey's decision, she clearly does not believe that Ben didn't see those doors open, and honestly I don't know that I believe him either. If he did and acted anyway, he's lucky it's only a 6 month suspension. However, Bailey asked for the impartial disciplinary committee for a reason, and they believed him when he said didn't think he had another choice. Based on that, I think 6 months is too long. Though, there's really no reason why 6 months would be a career-ender for him. How many doctors on this show have had to make up time? George repeated part of his intern year, April was fired and lived on a farm for awhile, Izzie had cancer, etc.
I hope their marriage can survive this. It wasn't that long ago I said they were my favorite couple because they're solid. Can't we just have one couple that works through their problems and stays together?
Kelly: 6 months was more than fair because he should have been fired. As Stacy mentioned, April was fired for a similar situation. The difference being, Ben's was worse. His all knowing, I'm a god attitude resulted in two deaths and he should be fired. Their marriage may survive but at this point I think Bailey deserves better because Ben thought he should have gotten special treatment and appears to not be able to handle Bailey being in charge of him.
Elizabeth: Ben shouldn't have expected special treatment, but Miranda also wasn't willing to listen to his side of things. It seems like she didn't read the transcript of the advisory board's meeting, because Ben's explanation didn't seem too out there to me. And you can't really say he *caused* their deaths since something was going horribly wrong with the mother anyway. If Ben hadn't done anything, it's just as likely that Gretchen and the baby still would have died. Stacy has a good point that 6 months shouldn't completely derail his career though.
Was Meredith right to share what Owen had told her about Riggs, or should she have let Maggie and Amelia draw their own conclusions?
Stacy: I don't remember that she did share anything. Owen's dislike of Riggs is no secret in the hospital, and Maggie definitely could draw her own conclusions based on his "witch hunt." It doesn't necessarily mean that Meredith has shared the specifics of what Owen told her.
Kelly: I couldn't be more sick of a storyline than I am this one. Owen is worst character on the show currently and is completely unprofessional at every turn. I hope that this point that people start to look at Owen differently and see that Riggs is just trying to do his job, which he is great at.
Elizabeth: Yeah, I really wish they would have waited to introduce Riggs so that this arc wouldn't be so painfully drawn out. It's the same conversation every time with those two. Still, there's been a theme with mean girls this season, and Meredith gossiping about the situation totally plays into that. Neither Owens nor Riggs are exactly reliable when it comes to telling this story, and sharing with the others was really gossipy.
Other than DeLuca, the only other intern to have even a hint of a story is McCreepy. How do you feel about that decision? Would you like to see more of them or just have them disappear?
Stacy: Have we even seen McCreepy actually being a doctor? Has he ever been inside an OR other than watching from the gallery? I definitely don't care about him at all. DeLuca is fine, but I'm not attached to him either, and wouldn't care if he left.
Kelly: Are there any other interns?
Elizabeth: Allegedly, Kelly, allegedly. They're basically glorified extras, which I actually think is a shame. A lot of the interns (cough, cough, Jo) could use some maturity and being in charge of baby docs is a great way for them to gain that.
Can April and Jackson really put the past behind them? Will they stay just friends or get back together?
Stacy: I hope they can put it behind them. I think for now they should focus on getting back to being friends for the baby's sake. Maybe they will eventually get back together, but they need to take it slow.
Kelly: I hope so because them fighting has been horrible. I agree with Stacy, they need to start as friends and then it will inevitable turn into them back together (especially after the baby is born).
Elizabeth: I'm hoping they can kind of date a little during this pregnancy. Outside of their *massive* communication issues, I think one of their problems is that they jumped from friends to having sex all the time, to not talking to each other, to married. And then after the seperation, they just kind of jumped right back into the banging like bunnies routine. Rebuilding that friendship and taking it slow is the way to go.
Favorite scenes from each episode?
Stacy: I really enjoyed all the flashbacks from the first hour. As for the second, I loved Arizona doing April's sonogram and reassuring her that the baby kicking was what a healthy baby feels like. I also liked her letting Jackson feel it kick. That was a sweet moment.
Kelly: I have two favorite scenes. Arizona going to see the attorney. We never got to see any really awkwardness when Callie and Arizona got divorce because of the time jump. Arizona 100% should have gone to a lawyer because Callie can't just decide to move and take Sophia with her. I cannot wait for this drama to play out.
The other is Maggie telling Owen to get over himself about Riggs. Loved it and I hope other characters start this trend as well.
Elizabeth: I enjoyed the flashbacks from the first hour as well, with Bailey trying so hard to clear Ben. The scene with Jo and Webber finding the interns was funny though. In the second hour, I'd have to go with April and Jackson reconciling. It was so nice to finally have something good happen, and to get even a smidgen of resolution.
Elizabeth Harlow was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. She left the organization in October 2018.
