Grey's Anatomy Season 13 Episode 11 Review: Jukebox Hero

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Finally, we got back into the swing of things.

It has been a long couple of months, and we spent the entire time dying to see what happened to Alex. We were finally graced with his appearance on Grey's Anatomy Season 13 Episode 11, and it was the sweetest scene of the night. 

But apparently the show wasn't done screwing with us, because even after Grey's Anatomy Season 13 Episode 10's stand alone episode, where we thought we found out Alex's fate, we still had to wait until the end of this episode to actually see him. 

All of that and we still don't know what happened!

Making Life Difficult - Grey's Anatomy

The fact that we were left hanging again on the biggest plot point of the season could have easily been frustrating, but I rather enjoyed how they chose to handle it. Meredith spending the entire episode desperately trying to track down her BFF was fitting.

Not only was it fitting, but it was humorous and realistic too. If you have ever had any experience with court (don't worry, I won't question in what capacity), you'd know how on point Meredith's experience was. 

The judicial system is nothing short of a circus. Meredith quickly figured that out when she was forced to go to four different jail/holding centers, courts, and everywhere else because she kept getting the runaround. 

Maggie: So the trial has been cancelled.
Meredith: Which means Alex took a plea, which means Alex is in prison.

They were dragging the results out for maximum effect, we all know this, but at least this time around it was at least entertaining. Maggie and Meredith being completely inept at tracking down emails, and figuring out Alex's numbers in the beginning of the episode was a hoot. 

I love those moments when they bicker and nag at each other like true sisters, and it's something that we've been missing out on a great deal ever since most of their interacts were related to that love triangle that shan't be named. 

Maggie had to go to work, so she couldn't help beyond that point, but Meredith took the day and was left waiting in lines and dealing with overworked and underpaid employees who didn't give a damn about Meredith and the fact that she wanted to know where her friend was. 

Is anyone else surprised that she didn't know Alex's social security number? At this point they're like siblings and they've been through hell and back, it just seemed like something she'd know by now. Maybe that's just me though. 

So when she came home all defeated and exasperated, and Maggie was waiting up for an update, I had the feeling that Alex was probably there the whole time. And what do you know, he was.

Alex and Meredith hug - Grey's Anatomy Season 13 Episode 11

That hug was everything wonderful and good in the world, and I love their friendship so damn much.  Leave it to Alex, to have somehow managed to be let go and not consider, I don't know, calling someone, anyone, Meredith in particular, to tell her the news. 

She went all over town and he was at home sleeping the whole time. I'd probably have to punch him after I bear hugged him. 

Now the question is, if he pled down like they said he did, then does that mean that he worked out a new deal and he was just given probation? It said it was indefinitely canceled. 

I need to know more information about how this played out before I can decide if it bugs me or not. Don't get me wrong, I didn't want Alex to go to prison, but this was a long, arduous storyline to present and if it's implausibly wrapped up in a neat bow after all that has happened, it's going to feel cheap. 

Alex may have spent the entire episode M.I.A but his presence, or lack of, had a huge impact on multiple people throughout the show. Mainly Jo and Arizona. 

Both of the ladies were emotional and wracked with guilt and it affected their jobs at times.

Jo was worse off though. She was a flat out mess. The entire episode. 

Ben pulled the short stick, being the only one who noticed Jo was down in the dumps, I'm starting to think the others are just immune to it because something is always wrong with Jo and she has more than her fair share of off days. But I digress. 

Ben spent the episode following her around and checking in with her, because he could tell she was struggling with the knowledge that Alex was in prison. She felt guilty and blamed herself. 

I don't need you to make me feel better. I don't need your sympathy. Stuff like this happens and I am built for it. I am fine.

Jo

That's understandable. What isn't understandable is allowing it to cloud her judgment so much that she became reckless and useless in the E.R. There are actual lives at stake, so she can never afford to be in such a funk that she overlooks the fact that a patient is dealing with a collapsed lung. 

She was chastising patients, and then she bailed and later on gave some excuse that she was off running a culture, but it had to have been hours since she last saw her patient. 

Ben was trying to look out for her and be a genuine friend to her, and she blew him off and claimed that she's so used to things being bad that she can handle it. 

First off, clearly she can't or she wouldn't have nearly had a patient killed. Second, I'm so tired of Jo's "woe is me" attitude. She's an emotional succubus who drains everyone around her because she can't manage her emotional baggage.

Arizona's guilt had her running herself ragged trying to be and do everything for both Mindy and her baby, and it had her missing her right-hand man, Alex. 

I loved the scene where Arizona and Mindy's husband had that heart-to-heart. They were both beating themselves up and blaming themselves for the accident and injuries that were out of their control. 

Sometimes you need to hear someone else tell you why it's not your fault. 

Owen: Is she okay? Is she sober? Just tell me that.
Stephanie: She's safe. You don't have to worry.

Alex wasn't the only one missed. Amelia took time off after she bailed on Owen and was hiding out at Stephanie's house. 

I love Amelia, I really do, but avoiding Owen was so immature on her part. Not telling him where she was and having him worried sick not knowing whether or not she was okay was not cool. 

They had a disagreement, ands he's a recovering. You know the fear is always there that she might fall off the wagon or something when she disappear like that. 

She's in a real relationship now. A marriage. A relatively healthy one, but it won't stay that way if they can't communicate with each other without her running when things get tough. 

It also wasn't fair to put Stephanie in a position where she had to lie or be evasive with Owen, whom she had to spend the whole day working with. 

I'm glad they revisited that, because I'm really rooting for those two. 

This isn't about Bailey. This is about correcting a mistake that threatens a hospital. This is not a Bailey problem. This is an Eliza Minnick problem.

Richard

So who are we rooting for here, Richard and the other attendees or Bailey and Eliza?

Secret meetings in on-call rooms, plotting revenge and the best ways to essentially prank the new girl felt so high-school like to me. 

It was petty and juvenile. Yet, I ate all of it up, because it was my kind of petty. 

Icing Eliza out of all the surgeries was a great plan. They even got Riggs in on it, that particular scene made me chuckle, because Riggs is probably just happy that he's no longer the new guy that people hate. 

I love Marika Dominczyk but Eliza is the worst and I'm not sure I'll come around to her anytime soon. It's not just that she's the new girl who poses a threat to our favorites...I mean, I came around to the Mercy West crew. Well, some of them. 

It's that she has a terrible attitude and expects compliance and cooperation, but she doesn't respect anyone. She's so abrasive and pushy. 

There's an old saying that "you get more bees with honey than with vinegar" and she should take heed to that. 

She condescending, rude, and judgmental. She also talks about patients like they aren't living beings with feelings and fears.

The worse part is, she actually has a leg to stand on sometimes, she just has the absolute worst approach to getting her way ever. 

So I was fully on board, and deeply amused at all the antics that Richard, Jackson and the others were doing just to screw with her. I understood why Richard was challenging her during the surgery, and why Jackson shut her down. 

She's not a pleasant person. The only times she comes across halfway decent is when she's talking to Bailey or flirting with Arizona, and it was soooo fun watching Arizona shut her down too. 

I don't do caffeine. I don't need it.

Eliza

I don't understand why Eliza hasn't figured out that the others would go along with her plans more if she came in as a team player, dropped the superior attitude, and actually got to know the gang. I also don't understand why Bailey refuses to see that she was wrong in the way she handled things with Richard. 

So I'll turn it over to you. Did you enjoy the episode? Were you happy to see Alex at the end? What do you think happened with his plea deal? Are you a fan of Eliza? Will Omelia ever be on the same page? 

Hit up the comments below and let us know what you think. Don't forget you can watch Grey's Anatomy online right here at TV Fanatic!

Check out the promo below for Grey's Anatomy Season 13 Episode 12.

Jukebox Hero Review

Editor Rating: 4.4 / 5.0
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User Rating:

Rating: 3.9 / 5.0 (55 Votes)

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.

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Grey's Anatomy Season 13 Episode 11 Quotes

Ben: Wilson, I'm sorry.
Jo: What?
Ben: About Karev.
Jo: Why are you sorry? You didn't put him in prison. I did.

Maggie: So the trial has been cancelled.
Meredith: Which means Alex took a plea, which means Alex is in prison.