#Grey’s Anatomy Season 17 Episode 3 Review: My Happy Ending

It’s as if they designed the hour to conjure up maximum feelings.

We got more of Derek on Grey’s Anatomy Season 17 Episode 3, and we also had Mer’s health declining at an alarming rate, Tom also contracting COVID-19, and a classic Richard callback speech for the new residents.

They also referenced April and brought up that Alex was Mer’s person.

Coronavirus is affecting all of our favorite doctors so much, and it’s painful to watch them try to cope with the pandemic. Meredith is seriously ill after contracting it, Tom has it now too, and DeLuca and Maggie are exhausted, worried, and overwhelmed.

It’s a miracle that they’re able to function day in and out, and from the looks of things, sometimes it’s just barely.

We have ourselves some Meredith the Martyr action, but I’ll let it go this time because of how compelling it is here.

Mer is torn between an afterlife with her love and staying, fighting for her kids and everyone who loves and depends on her.

I love that they’re showing this in such a way where there’s not a question of where Mer’s heart and head are. She’s not giving in or succumbing to anything, even though she sees Derek in her dreamscape.

She even expressed how scared she was to Hayes in what was one of the best scenes of the hour. Mer tries to stay strong for everyone else, and she doesn’t like to feel or look vulnerable.

Mer: I’m afraid if I fall asleep, I’m afraid I might not wake up.

Hayes: Everyone’s scared of you Grey you know that, because you’re fierce. You have teeth. You got grit. This virus has nothing on you.

She was a terrible patient. She was still trying to keep abreast of everything going on at the hospital, and she wanted to go quarantine in a hotel somewhere.

But they didn’t pull any punches showing how fast and hard COVID-19 hits people, even when they’re healthy as a horse. One minute, Mer wanted out of the hospital, and the next, the scans of her lungs were looking awful, and she was taking a turn for the worst.

In the span of a day, her health took a rapid decline, and it had everyone stressed out. As usual, DeLuca was worked up about it, and he had a million ideas on Mer’s standard of care.

Teddy was at a loss for what to do anymore. The stress and strain of everything were wearing her down. Her moment with Maggie was another fantastic scene as Maggie told Teddy straight up that she needed her head in the game.

I don’t know how much longer I can do this. Fifty-three people. That’s how many people have died on my watch since this thing, and most of them were black women.
Maggie

Teddy’s personal life is a disaster, and the entire hospital knows it. If Maggie doesn’t do anything, she fights for her loved ones, and it was quintessentially her to make sure Teddy was up for treating Mer.

Otherwise, they could get someone else on it. Maggie’s statement about how she couldn’t be Mer’s doctor because she needed to be her sister was heart-wrenching.

It was one of three moments in which Kelly McCreary triggered my allergies during this hour.

Mer’s life is in the hands of Teddy and DeLuca, and both are capable and willing to fight for her. Teddy is a great doctor, and DeLuca is the most experienced one of them all with COVID-19 patients.

Choose someone who would chose you over and over again.
Hayes

Am I the only one who thought Mer would make DeLuca her healthcare proxy?

The Alex reference was a gut punch and another reminder of how he was her person. It’s not a surprise that she didn’t want to change it, and she gave her reasoning of why him and not Amelia or Maggie, it made sense.

When she talked it over with Hayes, who is the absolute best, his advice was solid. He told her to pick someone who would always choose her, and the first person who came to mind was DeLuca.

Whether they’re romantic, or they’re friends, he’s someone who always has her best interest at heart, and he advocates almost to a fault.

Mer: If you think I look bad, you should see my lungs.

Bailey: Not funny.

However, she couldn’t have chosen a better person than Richard. He’s the most constant person remaining in her life. He’s the person who has known her for her entire life.

And he knows her best. It was also a nice callback to how she took the lead and made decisions for him when his life was on the line. As if the hour wasn’t emotional enough, they gave us the classic father/daughter moment between the two of them.

Richard promised to do everything in his power before he ever chooses to pull the plug on her. From the looks of things, her health will put that to the test.

It’s disconcerting that Mer doesn’t want to be ventilated or take up a machine. She doesn’t want to take something that someone else may need more, but she’s struggling hard. I don’t know how much longer she can go without it.

Her admission of fear to Hayes was brutal, but so was the line that she was afraid to go to sleep out of fear that she wouldn’t wake up.

With Derek in her dreams, it’s understandable. Every time she tried to get closer to him, the sand kept her away. And you knew that the moment she reached him, it meant that she was joining him on the other side.

Sorry, MerDer lovers, as lovely as it is to see Derek again, do we really want Mer to reunite with him? Think about that long and hard.

Even though we didn’t get many exchanges between the two, the ones we had were sweet. Mer told him that she missed him, and Derek told her that he knew, loved her, and would be ready for her when it was time.

Mer: Derek! Why can’t I get anywhere?

Derek: You’re worried about the kids.

Mer: I don’t understand.

Derek: The sand isn’t real Meredith.

Mer: I miss you!

Derek: I know!

Mer’s incapacitation has everyone worried and on edge. Maggie was unraveling by the end of the hour after losing so many patients. And it’s hitting her hard that the ones she’s losing look like her.

She can’t ignore the disproportionate loss of black and brown people. Her sister is critical, and there’s nothing she can do about it. And the man she’s dating is in another city.

Winston is supportive, and the visual of the two of them separated was a painful reminder of the distance between them. How are they going to sustain a relationship far away from one another?

How can it last? It was one of my favorite shots, and with that, I have to give a shoutout to Kevin McKidd, who directed the hour.

He has such a distinctive style that I can usually tell when he has directed an installment, and I love that.

Link and Amelia are the ones excelling at the social-distance sexytimes, though. After the hot AF sex scene during the premiere, they had another one when Link returned home after performing surgery on a sex therapist.

He was so eager to get out of the house and away from the houseful of kids. Link has become a total dad, and it’s hilarious.

But his Dad Duties and his long day at work did not stop him from trying to give Amelia whatever she needed to process and unwind during this stressful time. Something tells me they won’t get to those 37 orgasms, but they’ll give a real try.

Mer: I hate you!

Derek: You love me, and God knows I love you. I’ll be right here when you’re ready.

Jo and Carina’s case was a woman who had no idea that she was pregnant. It’s a blast when they give us off the wall cases, and a woman whose baby was in her liver fits the bill.

Bailey was over the moon, and it was a nice reprieve for all of them from losing countless patients to Coronavirus.

We also were introduced to a new batch of residents, and that’s always a hoot. They always come in with strong personalities.

Of course, this time, the newbies are being dropped into a new hospital during a health pandemic. Tom’s demotion included serving as a teacher for the newbies, but it’s not his calling.

Amelia can’t even decide what she wants for dinner. Maggie doesn’t know when it’s time for someone to die, she has a hard time letting go. At least Alex will pull the plug if he has to.
Mer

It’s odd to me that no one has noticed how much Tom is unraveling at the seams. He’s a broken man.

It goes beyond the pandemic and its effects, too. Everyone is so focused on the Teddy and Owen part of the fiasco, but no one is paying attention to Tom.

He is in love with Teddy, and he’s always been clear about that, but she rejected, hurt, and broke him again.

He also lost his job and is criticized by everyone. He was a good mentor to Amelia, and he’s had a similar effect on others, but he couldn’t connect with any of the new residents.

Although, he did seem to like Mama Ortiz. She’s competent, doesn’t make mistakes, and she’s not impressed by him, nor does she take any of his crap.

I don’t know what to make of that, but there’s something there. Unfortunately, Tom has COVID. Apparently, he’s asymptomatic, so now he has to quarantine for two-weeks.

It’s something going on with him, though, and it makes you wonder if something bad is going to happen.

Over to you, Grey’s Fanatics. What do you make of the MerDer scenes? Are you scared for Meredith? Hit the comments below!

You can watch Grey’s Anatomy online here via TV Fanatic. 

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