Grey's Anatomy Season 14 Episode 24 Review: All of Me
Jasmine Blu
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Well, the good news is that Grey's Anatomy Season 14 Episode 24 was the happiest finale the series has ever had.
There was no angst, death, explosions or anything of the sort. Everyone lived to see another day, and we didn't get one wedding. We got three of them in one hour.
Are the writers, okay? Someone, check their vitals immediately. I'm concerned.
To say All of Me was an understated hour would be, wait for it, an understatement. The reception of April and Arizona's departures will be mixed. There was a flurry of emotion when news broke about both women being let go from the series.
Fans have been up in arms and up in their feelings about the decision for months. It makes sense that the show would opt for a quiet sendoff because if they went the usual route of killing them off or anything of that nature, it would stoke the ire of most of the fans.
Related: Grey's Anatomy: Farewell Tribute to Arizona and April!
So, instead, we received sickeningly sweet happy endings. It's a novel approach for the series, so kudos for them on that, but it felt like they didn't give enough thought to how they would write them out. They just wanted to write them out.
April and Matthew's reunion is something that not everyone was fond of seeing happen. I didn't feel too strongly about it either way. I don't mind the fact that April found love again with Matthew.
Matthew: Let's try again.
April: I don't think Alex and Jo will have me try this another time.
Matthew: I wasn't talking about them.
I even defended their reunion because they found one another again after they both matured, lived their lives and overcame so much that life threw at them. They came to each other as stronger people. As Christians, their journey back to one another is powerful.
My issue is that we didn't see any of it happen. Their relationship happened offscreen. The only thing we saw this season is Matthew losing his wife and being angry at April. The first sign of warmth and love we saw between the two happened at the end of Grey's Anatomy Season 14 Episode 23.
It's a huge ask expecting fans to quietly accept this new development that they never had the opportunity to see. Yet, I went with it.
What irked me was that April leaving the hospital was a throwaway line delivered by Jackson. So, April is leaving for some vague reason that has something to do with a mission trip or serving God. Um, OK.
Not only that, but April telling Jackson and all of her friends, colleagues, and employers happened offscreen in the month since her accident. We didn't get any thorough explanation.
We didn't get a huge celebration or a grand send-off. We didn't get special moments with meaningful characters.
April had Jackson and Arizona, and in the end, they are the two most important characters, but an April and Meredith scene would have been the best. The two of them had a rocky relationship, but they grew to love and respect one another.
April quit her job to do God's work, and I promised I'd give my life to a God I didn't really believe in, and I don't know what that means.
Jackson
April and Owen are supposedly best friends. He's her mentor. How did he feel when she told him she was leaving?
But back to April and Matthew. I didn't mind the two of them dating again, but the wedding was ridiculous. I do feel that is too fast. What's the rush?
Related: Grey's Anatomy Season 14 Episode 23 Review: Cold as Ice
When Matthew was proposing it felt like watching two strangers were getting engaged. He went on and on about how lovely she is and all this time they spent together, and all of the cute things she does with their kids, but it's hard to feel attached to the moment when you never witnessed any of that yourself, you know?
I felt nothing while they were getting married without a wedding license and in front of her ex-husband. I get that it was supposed to be a full-circle type of moment and a beautiful one, but it felt like it didn't require thought.
It was one of those things that just happened. I'm relieved she went out on a happy note.
As for Arizona, the best way to somewhat assuage fans was to have her get back together with Callie. Well, that's what happened. Sara Ramirez didn't appear, but her presence was there.
They even played her rendition of "The Story" during the triple wedding scene. Arizona gets to head back to New York City with a fancy new clinic, her daughter, and she gets to reunite with single Callie.
She smiled every time she got a text message. She was over the moon. She somehow managed to avoid Carina the whole time.
No one has ever in the history of my life ever hurt me like Callie.
Arizona
Arizona's special moments were reserved for Alex, who briefly felt sad about her leaving, and Richard. Once again, it was very understated. I expected more, but it could have been worse.
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Jo and Alex's wedding was a glorious mess. Maybe Jo shouldn't have laughed in the face of superstition. A simple quickie had them stuck in a shed with a human skeleton for hours while everyone was losing it outside.
Jo's fellowship opportunity was a delightful piece of news, but I knew Meredith would flip out when she heard about it. Meredith has lost so many people, and there is no way she wanted to lose her best friend. If Jo left, Alex would be following her.
It was a bit selfish of Meredith to offer Jo an attending position, but I commend Jo for recognizing that she's not ready to be an attending. Hell, Jo herself knew she couldn't pull off being Chief Resident. It's good to know she's self-aware.
Jo is thrilled about going to Boston, and Alex is game for following her. Is it possible that both of them could leave the series, too?
Jo and Alex's wedding had nonstop funny moments. Jackson and Matthew's exchange was awkward and funny. DeLuca getting drunk with the interns with a sight to behold. Hellmouth professing her love for Meredith to anyone who would listen was hilarious.
Alex is my, he's my Alex. I just got happy in a world without Cristina and without Derek. I don't want to be alone.
Meredith
My darling, DeLuca. He's more entertaining drunk than when he's high. That speech of his was something else, but when he made a move on Meredith after her pep talk, I had to laugh. Also, his comment about wondering where to sit when he used to be in love with the bride and was beat up by the groom was priceless.
DeLuca has become this oversized, pathetic puppy incapable of adulting, and it's amusing how Maggie and Meredith have taken responsibility for him. He was looking good all scruffy and stuff.
I can't fathom Levi pursuing medicine while being afraid of blood. I figured he would knock the cake over before the hour was over.
The wedding planner going into anaphylactic shock was icing on the cake. It's crazy that no one had an Epi-pen, but I'll forgive them because they trached her with a pinwheel. It's all the rage, you know!
Bailey and the other person accidentally attending the wrong wedding was very funny. It happened to me before. Do you know how hard it is to ease out of a wedding without making a scene?
It was meant to be because the bride's mother played by Tisha Campbell had a heart incident. It was also fortunate that Teddy showed up at the hospital in time to operate since Maggie and the other cardio docs were unavailable.
Patient: Are you expecting?
Teddy: I am.
So, it looks like we're set up for another love triangle, and frankly, I'm annoyed. I'm annoyed for Teddy who deserves better than to be stuck in one again. Betty and Meredith were teasing Owen and Amelia about their relationship.
They have somehow formed this family where Owen plays with baby Leo and congratulates Betty on her 30-day chip, and it's all fun and sweet. Now, Teddy is back, and she's pregnant with Owen's kid!
If Betty gets herself together in a decent period of time, she'll probably want Leo back. Amelia will still have a bond with her as her sponsor, but Owen will lose the kid he's only fostering.
It will hurt less if he has his own child. That must be the real reason Teddy came back to the hospital. She wanted to tell Owen the truth.
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Teddy doesn't know about Leo or Amelia and Betty basically living at his house. That is going to be so awkward.
I do love the fact that Teddy will be acting as interim chief while Miranda pursues her passions and lives her life more. Teddy returning is fantastic news. A pregnant Teddy should be interesting.
Jackson's newfound faith will be an exciting storyline to explore next season too. It's as if April gave him this gift to remember her since she and Harriet will be God knows where.
Did you like the way Arizona and April were written out? Did you expect something bigger? Will Jo and Alex move away? How do you feel about Teddy being pregnant and temporarily taking over as chief? Hit the comments!
If you missed anything or want to experience the season all over again, you can watch Grey's Anatomy online here via TV Fanatic.
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.
