#Grey’s Anatomy Round Table: Justice for Amelink!

Amelia and Link have officially hit a rough patch.

So much happened on Grey’s Anatomy Season 17 Episode 17, including a wedding, two marriage proposals, and Meredith’s big return to the hospital.

Join Jasmin Pettie, Meaghan Frey, and Jasmine Blu as they discuss the hour!

Did Bailey have a point about Meredith respecting some traditions heading the residency program, or was Meredith right to forge her own method and path? Do you like Mer in this position?

Jasmin: I can see both sides. I can see why doing the speech and following in Richard’s footsteps is important to Bailey, but I can also see Meredith’s point.

As she says to Bailey, people are dying every day from COVID, and the last thing these students need is for someone else to talk at them about medicine. They need to practice and see real examples.

I do like Meredith in her new position. I think that combining it with starting to operate again as Richard once did is a good fit for her at this point in her career and in her recovery.

Meaghan: Oh boy, I can tell this is going to be another ranty round table from me. Sorry in advance everyone!

While yes, I understand that Meredith isn’t going to do everything the same way that Richard would do it — they are two different people with two different teaching styles — the fact that she completely gutted the residency program as it was right away is ridiculous.

Hands-on experience is great, but it can’t teach you everything. Some cases are rare that you may only see a few times in your career. Just because they are rare doesn’t mean you shouldn’t learn about them.

Grand rounds would address that. It would also give them a different perspective on how to handle different types of cases.

Right now, they seem to be learning from Meredith, and only Meredith, and I know she is considered a Saint in the world of Grey Sloan Memorial, but there are many different approaches a doctor can take. She is taking that away from them.

It just came across as arrogant to me. It also felt like she was determined to save the COVID patient and wanted to focus on that, and that was what drove her to change the program because the way it was structured would have gotten in the way.

Maybe I’m remembering Grey’s Anatomy Season 17 Episode 16 wrong — God knows I found it quite forgettable — but didn’t Mer take over the program because she was stepping back from surgery? Then she spent half the episode getting back into surgery. It all just felt confusing and the complete opposite of what Bailey wanted.

Jasmine: I’ll basically co-sign everything my Round Table twin, Meaghan said. No, you can’t ask someone to take on a position and then nitpick every aspect of how they do it. However, it did feel as if Mer was doing things to be contrary and disrespect essential aspects of what was working to do something of her own.

And it felt more self-serving. Getting rid of rounds is is an issue, and it became about Meredith hyper-focusing on this patient and evolving things around her wanting to get back into surgery when that was what she was taking a break from, right?

Are you pleased that Mer and Hayes finally got their drink? Do you think these two will develop a romantic relationship, or do you think the fan speculation about Hayes and Jo seems more likely?

Jasmin: I am! I love Meredith and Hayes together so much. I love their friendship, and I love them as a romantic pairing.

I loved their scenes in this episode, especially the one at the OR board. I love their banter and how they just get each other.

I would have liked to have seen what happened after they had their drink rather than a cutaway, and I would have liked to have seen some more deep, intimate, and emotional scenes between the two of them, but I understand that the necessary time jumps made that difficult.

I do think that they will get together next season and that it will be a big plot in Season 18. I think the fan speculation about Jo and Hayes getting together is honestly absurd at this point.

While I got what people were saying back in March when they did have some nice scenes together, they never followed up on that, and the next time we saw them on screen together, Jo was screaming at Hayes for no reason.

Jo is now a single mom with a high-needs baby. There is no way in hell that Hayes, a man who already has two teenagers and a high-risk sister-in-law who lives with him, would pursue a relationship with someone who has a newborn. He deals with that kind of thing all day long at work.

Meredith and Hayes getting together is different because both of their kids are old enough to take care of themselves to a certain extent and do not require around-the-clock care.

Meaghan: I’m happy that we finally got the tiniest movement on their relationship, but it was the literal definition of baby steps.

Honestly, I think most of us only ship the two of them because the show told us we were supposed to since Cristina was the one who sent him Mer’s way. They have relied on that fact far too much instead of taking the time to develop their relationship.

I mean, there are slow burns, and then there is forgetting to turn the burner on and expecting it to boil — it’s not gonna happen.

I’m actually one of the people who thought that Jo and Hayes had more potential after this season than him and Me,r and it’s solely because they actually took the time to develop some type of relationship between them. No, it wasn’t romantic, but they at least developed something.

With Mer and Hayes, they just keep telling us there is a connection and relationship and RARELY showing it. They’ve got to put in the work starting day one of Season 18, or it just isn’t going to be a believable end game.

Jasmine: Mer and Hayes are undoubtedly victims of a recurring “tell, not show” rut the series fell into this season. I agree that we’re still clinging to the idea that he’s supposed to be Mer’s love interest more than them giving us much to work with here.

I loved their moments flirting and drinking, but I hope we get more of them next season. I think part of the Jo/Hayes things lies in the fact that Hayes is so underutilized, so at some point, the only time we saw him was with Jo. I can only hope it’s platonic.

Did Maggie and Winston’s parents objecting to their marriage so late in the game make sense to you? On a scale of 1-10, how much did you enjoy their official wedding? Are you happy that Maggie found happiness?

Jasmin: It did, and it didn’t. I’m glad that they objected, so they could have a real wedding at the end of the episode, which is what they wanted and deserved, but I was frustrated by how that came about.

Maggie made that exact point before, and Winston took it as Maggie getting cold feet and was really upset about it. If he had just listened to Maggie and really thought about what she was saying, he would have gotten it.

Instead, he gets upset, and Maggie winds up compromising to the point that the backyard wedding isn’t what she wants, and Amelia isn’t even there because of work. Maggie is doing all of the compromising here, and Winston is doing none. Then his grandmother makes the same exact point, and suddenly he gets it?

It felt a bit like drama for drama’s sake. That said, I loved their official wedding! 10/10 I thought it was beautiful. I am happy that Maggie finally found happiness with someone who gets her (most of the time), and I’m excited to see her adjust to married life next season.

Meaghan: It made no sense. Maggie obviously told them why she was flying them out to Seattle, and they had weeks to prep for this wedding, yet they waited until they were standing at the altar to say anything? It was such contrived drama.

At that point, and with how secretive they were about the wedding they were building up to, I honestly didn’t think they were going to get married. I was so confused about why they tried to make it a mystery.

All of that said, their wedding was stunning, and I give it a 10/10. I loved seeing the cast together dancing it out after such a dark, depressing season.

All of their wedding guests are on my sh%t list after they abandoned the wedding to clap for Mer, though. She skipped their clap out after they spent months working to save her life. She didn’t deserve a second chance at that and especially not on Maggie’s wedding day.

Jasmine: It was contrived drama for the sake of it, and it didn’t make a lick of sense.

They had ample time to object before the two of them started reciting vows. And it was everything Maggie said before, so I didn’t understand the point of all of this. It felt like a waste of time and money.

The wedding was cute, though. Maggie looked beautiful. They’ve sped through this relationship, but Maggie’s happy, so that’s great.

Ugh, don’t get me going on them leaving the wedding to clap for Meredith. Many people have stated that her surgery probably took six to ten hours, so the reception was probably over.

But since nothing else has made sense this season, and everyone was somehow STILL wearing their wedding clothes, I reserve the right to b*tch about this just because.

Jo is officially a mom to Luna. React! Also, did you have any thoughts about her selling her shares to Tom and moving into Jackson’s apartment?

Jasmin: I love it! I am very happy for Jo! While I’m not a fan of Jo’s OBGYN storyline, I love her storyline with Luna, and I am so glad that she decided to fight for her and was able to adopt her.

She deserves to be happy after all she’s been through, and her adopting Luna felt like her journey came full circle in a lot of ways.

I loved the Tom cameo! I am a Tom fan, and I love that he’ll continue to be a part of the show as a shareholder going forward.

I also really loved the Jackson cameo. I thought Jo buying Jackson’s penthouse suite apartment from him was perfect. It tied up a loose end, and it enabled Jo to adopt Luna and finally have a nice place of her own.

Meaghan: This was something I was genuinely happy about. It is no secret that I’m not a fan of Jo, but I have been on board with her getting Luna from day one, so it was great to see it actually happen.

The way it came to be, on the other hand, not so much. At the end of the last episode, I thought that Hayes would come through and figure out how to make it happen for her. I would have preferred that over Link stepping in and helping, but I’ll get more into that later.

I loved the cameos from Jackson and Tom. I know they have only been gone a couple of weeks, but their absences are felt. I’m bummed out that Tom got a seat on the board now that he is gone. We could have gotten so many killer scenes out of that gem of a storyline, and now we never will.

Jasmine: Eh. Good for her, or whatever. Unlike you two, I didn’t have any strong feelings or investment in this storyline.

And yeah, I didn’t care for how it happened and Link’s involvement. I rolled my eyes at Jackson leaving Jo his condo, but I loved Jackson and Tom’s cameos. It made me laugh that he has shares in the hospital now. Good for him! They’ll never get rid of him.

What are your thoughts on Owen proposing to Teddy again? Do you think these two will make it work this time?

Jasmin: If the drama, fighting, and nonsense are over, then I’m happy for them. I hope they will make it work because both Teddy and Owen have hurt so many people during their ongoing drama over the seasons.

They’ve hurt Beth, Cristina, Amelia, and Tom, just to name a few, and so many people got caught in the crossfire. I mean how many times did Meredith tell everyone involved that what they were doing was a bad idea?

I hope they make it work because if not, Owen and Teddy will have spent a good chunk of the series hurting themselves and everyone around them for no reason.

Meaghan: At this point, as long as it keeps the drama between them at bay, I’m fine with it happening. I cannot take another season of Teddy and Owen drama, so if this will happen, just let it go off without a hitch.

I have faith that they will make it work, given that they seemed to overcome some pretty meaty issues this season.

Jasmine: It’s insane how much pain and destruction they left in their wake to get here. I liked them the first time around before they ruined it. I thought it would’ve been nicer if they co-parented, but if it means less drame, then fair enough.

I, too, was sick of the Towen chaos, so hopefully, it’ll stick.

How do you feel about the fall of Amelia and Link’s seemingly healthy relationship? Did Link go too far proposing to Amelia? Is Amelia self-sabotaging a good thing with Link?

Jasmin: I’m sad to see them fall; I feel it was a lack of communication that caused the breakup.

Link was enamored with the idea of getting married and having more kids even though Amelia told him she didn’t want to get married, and he never actually asked her if she wanted more children and ignored her panicked response when the topic came up multiple times.

Amelia was clear she didn’t want to get married anytime soon but struggled to tell Link she didn’t want more kids because he was so excited every time the topic came up and having gone through that with Owen multiple times before she dreaded how it might end so she avoided the topic.

I think Link went way too far with proposing to Amelia and by saying yes to foster Luna without talking to Amelia first. I don’t think Amelia’s self-sabotaging anything. I think she’s struggling to figure out what she wants out of life, and Link needs to pay attention to what’s in front of them.

Meaghan: I am extremely upset that they took this route with the healthiest relationship on the show. I felt it coming two weeks ago with Link’s sudden out-of-character moments of wanting to get far away from Mer’s house and not understanding why Amelia would want to stay.

I got even more worried last week when the baby issue came into play. Despite all the writing on the wall that this was coming, I still wasn’t prepared.

The fact that Amelia wouldn’t voice her opinions on wanting more kids to Link or tell him that she was in a dark space mentally after how open and honest they have been with each other was shocking and confusing.

That didn’t feel like the Amelia we have come to know after all these seasons on Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice. Link not picking up on her apprehension or that she was distancing herself from the relationship was equally confusing.

He has always been incredibly in tune with where she is at. Also, his agreeing to foster Luna without even discussing it with Amelia is insane.

I don’t care if Jo intended to do all the work, there was a chance it could backfire, and they would be the ones taking care of her, and she deserved a say in it.

It felt like the writers just undid so much character growth and development and retconned everything we have seen in their relationship so far to create unnecessary drama between the two.

Unfortunately for the writers, I think it will backfire moving into next season as they have truly been the heart of this series for the past two seasons.

Jasmine: Despite them sprinkling in signs as recent as two installments before the finale, I was still confused by this direction. It felt as if they had to retcon their relationship, characterization, and growth to contrive this plotline for a buzzworthy cliffhanger.

Link and Amelia were the healthiest, most communicative couple on the show. It didn’t matter that their relationship was unorthodox in its development, they somehow managed to excel in ways other couples who’ve known each other for years didn’t.

It made no sense that Link, who is always perceptive and intuitive, suddenly didn’t pick up Amelia’s feelings about marriage and kids, nor that he ignored the things she did share with him.

Nor does it make sense that he made a decision about Luna without talking to her about it. Link comparing it to her taking care of Mer’s kids was absurd.

And I cannot wrap my head around Amelia going MONTHS, damn near a year, without telling Link her true feelings about having more children.

And I could’ve sworn they talked about this before already. I’m annoyed by this; I do feel Amelia is getting in the way of her happiness again, too. I can’t make sense of her not communicating anymore

Do you think Link and Amelia can find their way back to each other, or is this the end of the road for these two?

Jasmin: I think they can. I love the two of them together, so I hope they work things out next season and get back together. You don’t have to get married or have more kids to be happy.

They can be happy just as they are, so I hope they find a way to communicate better and work things out because I love them as a couple, and Amelia deserves her happy ending. She’s worked so hard for that.

Meaghan: Oh, I know they will. As I said, the writers were clearly just trying to create drama, and they will work through it and get the ending they deserve. Unfortunately, we will probably have to sit through months of them being apart for that to happen, though.

Jasmine: Given that I’m channeling the Nick Fury “I recognize the writers have made a decision, but given it’s a stupid ass decison, I’decisionted to ignore it” energy, I know they’ll be fine.

I won’t entertain any other possibilities.

What was your favorite part of the finale? What was your favorite storyline of the season?

Jasmin: My favorite part was the OR board scene with Meredith and Hayes. I love their banter and the way they smiled at each other.

We learned that Meredith knows that Hayes is the one that found her, and they confirmed that Hayes was asking Meredith out on a date and that she wishes they could have gone and had a drink before the pandemic hit.

I’m excited to see them pick up this storyline next season and hopefully move it from a slow burn to a raging fire.

As for the season as a whole, I really loved Meredith’s time on the beach, and I loved seeing Richard step into a new role and shine.

Meaghan: If I had to choose a favorite scene from the finale, it would have to be the dancing at Maggie and Winston’s wedding. It was such a perfect moment of light after everything was so dark for so long, and you could almost feel the weight lift off the show at that moment.

My favorite storyline has to go to the beach, only because I loved getting to see Derek, Mark, Lexie, and George again.

Jo getting Luna would have to be a runner-up for me. It was one of the few storylines that felt like it made sense for a character that we have seen grow and develop over the years on our screens, and it had a good payoff in the end.

Unfortunately, as far as the rest of the season and the storylines go, this might be my least favorite season of Grey’s Anatomy.

I understand that Covid presented a challenge in filming the series, but that isn’t an excuse for lazy storytelling, and we got that in spades this season.

Jasmine: Hmm. Everyone at the wedding was nice. I loved that Tom cameo, too. It was also cool that we had a lighter tone.

As for the season, well, I’d have to ponder that, but there’s no time. Past characters making cameos was a highlight, even though I got sick of that damn beach. I’m not even being snarky for kicks here; I genuinely can’t recall a storyline that I thoroughly enjoyed this season.

What do you hope to see next season?

Jasmin: What do I hope to see? I want Meredith and Hayes to start dating and become a couple and for their kids to meet, and for them to become a happy blended family.

I want Meredith and Irene to meet and bond as originally planned.

I want Amelia and Link to figure their stuff out so they can be happy. I hope we get to know Winston more as a character and that they bring in someone new to head up Plastics that Jo can date. I think seeing her dating as a newly single mom could be interesting.

I want Dr. Mason Post, the hot vaccine doc, to come back, and I’d love to see him and Levi end up together. I’d also like to see Bailey and Richard get some juicy storylines.

Meaghan: Just better writing. I’m really hoping that Season 18 ends up being the final season and that they decide that before the writing of the season starts.

I want to see them working towards a clear endgame that is a satisfying conclusion for all of these characters. I want to see interesting cases that leave a lasting impression on me versus completely forgettable ones.

I just want to feel like I am watching a classic season of Grey’s. Oh, and Amelia and Link getting back together. As long as that happens and we get some good storytelling, I’ll be fine.

Jasmine: I agree, better writing, for sure. I recognize the difficulties they faced giving us a show during the pandemic. I respect and admire their efforts, in that regard.

But this season was too dark, heavy, depressing, inconsistent, and overall difficult to enjoy in its entirety.

They need some forward movement on Mer and Hayes or to cut their losses. Hayes and Winston are characters that deserve more development and screentime, so we get to know them.

I’d like to see stronger storylines for Bailey and Richard, too. Is it too much to ask that they dial it down on the Meredith hero worship thing? It’s ridiculous.

I want to get back to innovative medicine practices, and showing us stories and whatever commentary they’re making in action, instead of clunky dialogue.

I want Amelink happiness, for sure. And can Kevin McKidd direct like a third of the episodes?

Over to you, Grey’s Fanatics. What did you think of the season?

Hit the comments below!

Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.