Grey's Anatomy Season 13 Episode 17 Review: Till I Hear It From You
Jasmine Blu
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What an unsettling hour.
I can honestly say that Grey's Anatomy Season 13 Episode 17 left me with conflicted feelings on many things. It left me with a few questions as well.
Montana was a breath of fresh air and a welcome reprieve. The return to Grey Sloan Memorial brought with it, the messiness that is so many characters' personal lives.
The hour chose to focus mostly on Maggie, as her mother returned, and Owen and Amelia's crumbling marriage.
Maggie tends to be an acquired taste for some viewers. Personally, I have a soft spot for her. That doesn't mean I'm incapable of acknowledging when she's annoying.
She was annoying a few times in this installment. A repeat pattern for her, is to be left out and completely unaware of critical information so that when she goes on one of her rants or behaves in an unflattering way, she comes across particularly irritating and sort of like an asshole.
That's pretty much what the situation has been like with her being bratty with her mother, whom she had no idea was battling breast cancer. Because we, the audience, knew what was going on with Diane, everything Maggie said and did was unbelievably juvenile and bratty.
That is one of the pitfalls to the trope of leaving someone in the dark and letting them essentially make a fool of themselves because they don't have all the information.
It made every time she make a snarky comment about plastic surgery or even uttered the word "boobs" like a 12-year-old boy cringe-worthy.
My mother wouldn't let me pierce my ears until I was ten. She told me masturbating made Jesus cry, and nail polish was for prostitutes. Now she wants stripper boobs?
Maggie
In Maggie's defense, learning that her formerly strict mother had a sudden" interest in a boob job, presumably for superficial reasons, would be jarring and seem hypocritical and absurd.
It was tough watching Maggie go on and on for most of the hour, until a sisterly chat with Amelia, of all people, reminded her that her mother's body is none of her business.
Diane could do whatever she wanted to her body. Even if she did want breast implants for purely superficial reasons, what is it to Maggie?
It was even more difficult, however, when Maggie finally learned the truth.
Diane: I'm not getting implants
Maggie: Mom--
Diane: I have breast cancer. I have breast cancer and they're doing a mastectomy tomorrow.
Maggie: What are you talking about? What is she talking about?
I felt for Jackson. He was put in such a crappy position having to keep Diane's privacy, as her doctor, and having to keep this huge, life-changing secret from his friend.
It wasn't fair that Diane put him in that position, and I'm glad that he gave her the ultimatum and forced her hand.
Maggie needed to know the truth. Of course, once she found out the truth, she was going to feel like a heel. And she did, later on, but first, she had to process it all and processing it meant lashing out a bit more.
It wasn't pretty, nor was it ideal, but I empathized with her. Maggie is...Maggie. She needed to dial it back a few notches multiple times throughout the hour, but Kelly McCreary had a way of making her so vulnerable and scared.
By the end of the hour, I wanted to reach through the screen and hug the poor woman.
Diane continues to be a delightful character, and I especially liked the moment when she met Alex (it sucked that he was only in the episode for a minute, though). Those familial moments with this unusual, slapstick family who tell each other how hot they are, or encourage the others to check out their mother's breasts, are just funny.
Car-pool scenes and scenes at the Grey boarding house for kids and misfits are just some of the best scenes of the series, these days.
We saw the kids, you guys! Finally.
It's not clear what the future has in store for Diane Pearce. Am I the only one that picked up on the ominous tone of it all, though? Grey's has a track record for killing off loved ones of the doctors. I hope Diane won't be one of those people, but I'm not getting a good feeling.
The case with the Clatch couple was...emotional. They were badass doctors in their heyday, and they were absolutely adorable and utterly devoted to each other for 60 years.
Dr.Clatch: Sixteen twenty-two.
Amelia: I'm sorry?
Dr. Clatch: Sixteen twenty-two. the time of her death. For when you want to put it down. I looked.
It ended with Elsie Clatch dying and her husband completely lost because he doesn't know how to live without his wife.
The two of them exchanging medical jargon with the doctors, and Stephanie and Andrew "fan-girling" over them was cute. Them talking about their relationship was sweet, but the moment Dr. Clatch told Amelia that his wife died, I just felt gutted.
I need more time. I need time to help him learn how to be alone.
Elsie
Then, watching him wander off alone and clueless as to how to navigate the world without his wife, was just heartbreaking. The man was in his mid-nineties. He's not going to survive her death.
Their relationship was meant to, of course, draw parallels to Owen and Amelia.
WTF is even going on with these two?
I don't even know what to say anymore about Owen and Amelia. I guess I'll use my favorite controversial word when discussing Grey's romantic ships, and I'll call them "toxic."
That's where their relationship is right now. I don't think there's any going back after the heated exchanges that they had. I'm not sure I even want them to at this point.
So after weeks of avoiding Owen and behaving like a child, Amelia decided to pull a reversal on him. I'm flabbergasted by the amount of vitriol she spewed at him, because he had the audacity to want to know where he stood in their relationship.
Why do you even want a baby? What do you need that you think a baby can give you?
Amelia
Am I missing something? Was there anything remotely wrong, condescending, or selfish about him asking her to figure things out and tell him where he stood?
Is there anything selfish, mean-spirited, or wrong about him wanting children? It's not like they went into this relationship without ever having the discussion before. Part of the reason they claimed they got married so quickly, was to start a family.
They talked about their kids more than once before they got married. Owen asked and expected something from Cristina that she never could give him.
Richard: You said you were with me, Robbins. I believed you.
Arizona: I am. I was. I just didn't expect to feel this way.
I don't understand how it's somehow turned into Owen asking too much. If you're in a relationship with someone who isn't vehemently opposed to children, wanting children isn't asking for too much.
It's odd that he's made to feel like a dick for wanting a family of his own.
When she lashed out at him in hallway, and threw Cristina up in his face, while talking about the fact that he's more screwed up than she is, I was speechless.
I have zero respect for anyone who uses things you tell them in confidence, against you, especially in a public forum. How hurtful and awful was that?
At this point, I genuinely hope they do break things off. Amelia clearly needs to sort herself out, and isn't ready for a relationship, and Owen doesn't deserve this.
You need to decide what you want, because I know. I know what I want.
Owen
Why can't they pair him up with someone (or keep him single) and just let the man be happy? Jeebus.
While their relationship is disintegrating right before our eyes, Meredith and Nathan's relationship is blossoming.
They have cute moments. Nathan has grown on me. The only thing that bugged me about their whole fling thing was the stupid love triangle bit.
They were cute, and he attempted to give her a sweet, sappy speech about how he fell for her instantly, but I don't know. I felt nothing. I usually find their bantering amusing, every now and then.
Tonight, they just didn't hold my interest. Perhaps everything else going on was just too distracting. We're a go on Nathan and Meredith, though. Congrats, I guess.
Ben and Miranda were pulling off the cute couple bit. It's great that they're in a good place. So far, they were the only couple shown that might make it to sixty years like the Clatch couple.
Miranda is still trying to get in a good place with Richard, though, to no avail. I mean, I guess it would help if she extended an apology or something, but I guess that's asking for too much.
Regardless of where you stand, or who is right and wrong (or if there even is right and wrong anymore) regarding Eliza's presence, we can all admit that Miranda handled demoting Richard, poorly. The only one who refuses to admit it, is Miranda.
If she'd just do that, Richard would be more inclined to forgive her. It's just ridiculous.
Miranda: I want to know what you did to Richard Webber.
Arizona: Nothing.
It was funny that Miranda was practically giddy over the fact that Arizona was in the doghouse with Richard, right there with her. Yet, Richard has already, for the most part, forgiven Arizona. You're in it alone now, Bailey.
I laughed so hard when Webber made that comment about Arizona's love life, because it's so true. Arizona has serious feelings for Eliza, apparently.
I still find that whole thing abrupt with weird pacing.
Oh yeah, and speaking of...odd, Andrew confessed to Stephanie (at the worst possible time) that he's in love with Jo. Did I see that coming? Of course. Still not a fan though.
Am I the only one who thought Stephanie was talking about leaving when she was going on about changes and the point of it all? I'm still dying to know how they plan on writing Jerrika Hinton out of the show.
So, what did you guys think of "Till I Hear It From You?" Did you miss Alex? Do you Diane Pearce will die? Are you happy that Nathan and Meredith are officially a couple? Did you think Amelia was out of line or Owen?
Hit up the comments below and let us know what you think. Don't forget you can watch Grey's Anatomy online here via TV Fanatic.
Check out the promo for the next episode below!
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.
