Happiness eludes way too many characters on this series right now.
It felt like everyone was fighting, and there were few treasured moments during Grey’s Anatomy Season 19 Episode 9. Teddy and Owen bickered endlessly, Bailey and Ben nearly followed suit, Maggie realized that her marriage might be doomed, and Simone broke Lucas’ heart.
But on the plus side, Helm and Mika are definitely hitting it off nicely and on their way to becoming the next endearing ship, while Levi finally got laid by a hot traveling nurse!
They teased a fun installment meant to have a nostalgic feel to the early days of the series when M.A.G.I.C. would have house parties.
While there was a house party, much of its excitement was underwhelming, and the drama was too repetitive and frustrating.
The Simone and Lucas situation took some frustrating turns as the series tried to pull from bits of the Meredith, Derek, and Addison love triangle with a whole different feel.
Trey, unlike Addison, isn’t interesting in the least. He’s unlikeable and not worth rooting for, although he’s nice to look at, so there’s something.
It’s hard to invest in whatever hold he has on Simone because we know little of their relationship, and when you see them in action, it’s nothing spectacular.
It’s also easy to write him off when he doesn’t seem to support her after everything she endured at her previous hospital, and he gives the impression that he wished she had sucked it up and dealt with her mistreatment.
Also, it makes you wonder why he popped into the picture now. Simone is finally settled, finding her place at Grey Sloan, thriving, and finding happiness.
She’s also found her people, and yes, it’s evident that Mika and Lucas, at the very least, are her people. And here comes her ex-fiance to muck everything up, too little, too late.
It’s shocking that it even worked. Sure, they have this extensive history, but by now, it’s enough to make you wish that she’d stuck to the clean break she made when she came to Grey Sloan and moved on rather than getting sucked into the past and familiarity of Trey.
Of course, I’m biased since Simone and Lucas are incredibly cute and hot together. They have great chemistry, and they bring out the best sides of each other.
They’ve also developed a closeness that goes beyond the sexual attraction they have for each, born out of mutual respect and a vulnerability that neither of them has shared with anyone else since their introduction.
And did I mention they’re hot?
Lucas: If you love him, you should fight for him.
Simone: You’re pushing me toward him.
Lucas: I’m not pushing you, I’m saying, do you love him?
It was classic Grey’s messiness that she was in the room with Lucas, undressing, moments away from having some supremely hot sex while cockblocker that he is, Trey, stood outside the door confessing his love to Simone.
Trey was baring his soul to a closed door, not knowing that on the other side of it, some impossibly pretty man with fantastic hair had his hand shoved down his ex-fiancee’s pants.
If that’s not awkward, what is?
It’s a mark of how much Lucas genuinely cares about Simone and wants the best for her that he can express how much he cares about her and shower her with genuine compliments about how intelligent she is, but he noted that she still had feelings for her ex and stepped back.
It hurt him dearly, but he wasn’t about to insert himself into something when he could tell that Simone’s heart may be elsewhere, and they did mention how she didn’t want to make him a rebound before they nearly embarked on their relationship.
But just because Lucas is a good guy doesn’t mean that Simone wasn’t insensitive as hell for getting re-engaged with Trey in front of everyone at that party and showing off her ring in the locker room at work.
They live and work together, so goodness knows how awful it will be for Lucas moving forward now that he has to see the woman he’s developed feelings for with someone else.
They dashed our Simone/Lucas hopes before things started, and now we must deal with Simone’s decision until it inevitably blows up in her face.
But at least we got a Dance it Out scene, and Lucas has the support of people like Mika.
To make up for it, we got some endearing moments between Mika and Helm, and that’s a potential couple worth rooting for this season.
Things are going nicely with them, and it’s nice to see the show incorporate Helm better now than before. She’s in Meredith Grey’s old house partying it up with interns; good for her.
And Levi even showed up at the party and found him a hot traveling nurse to make out with and possibly more by the night’s end.
I don’t apologize unless I’m wrong.
Blue
It’s nice that Helm and Levi, despite their statuses, get to dabble in these types of storylines with the interns since they missed out on them before.
Jules and Blue are also an interesting pairing because there’s the obvious sexual attraction between them that they’ve acted on. As Blue spends more time around patients, he opens up more and becomes more vulnerable.
They could be a couple that unexpectedly becomes more serious than either of them envisioned, and it would be refreshing to see it.
They were the perfect two characters to find themselves working when the others were off-duty partying.
And they got such an emotional case. Blue’s investment made you fall for his character even more, especially when he worked hard to find the perfect solution for the couple and went beyond what’s expected of him as a doctor.
Maggie couldn’t seem to grasp that and thought he was overstepping, but it only feels like Blue will be a different type of doctor, with style often rooted in his experiences, and I respect that.
His solution that the couple gets divorced to get the assistance and help they needed was a creative and logical loophole, and I’m happy that they could set their feelings aside and agree to it when they realized it was the best choice for them.
And even though she’s his superior, I’m glad that Blue passionately expressed himself to Maggie.
I don’t apologize unless I’m wrong.
Blue
Meanwhile, Maggie is doing okay at work, which is expected, but her marriage is still a steaming hot pile of trash. It’s quintessential for Maggie to speak about it in terms of medical jargon and seek advice from others.
But by now, Maggie and Winston’s drama is tiring, and it would be best for everyone if the pairing got put out of its misery.
And the same goes for Owen and Teddy. When did they become this unhappily married couple who always bicker and bark at each other?
It has become this thing that feels like a comedic shtick that’s overstayed its welcome. Are we supposed to see it as endearing that they’re behaving like an old couple who fight nonstop but will never divorce?
Are we supposed to want them to call it quits? Is it supposed to be funny? Because it’s not.
Everything about that dinner was uncomfortable. I can see where it was supposed to be funny, but it lasted too long and was annoying.
It wasn’t fair to Bailey or Ben that they had to play marriage counselors to two grown people who should have a handle on their relationship by now.
They exchanged a few funny lines here and there, but overall, Teddy and Owen have become exhausting to watch onscreen together.
You could cut their scenes out most of the time, and they wouldn’t be missed.
Teddy is struggling to adapt to her new position as chief, and it’s not all that it’s cracked up to be, and Owen won’t let her forget it. And he’s also pissed that she won’t save the job of Trauma head for him, but the man still doesn’t even have his license.
It’s ridiculous. Everything about them is absurd.
And worse yet, they rubbed off on Ben and Bailey when the two left their dinner, and Ben dared to bring up that he resents Bailey for returning to work and would prefer her to be the one spending more time with Pru at home.
Bailey: How’s the medical license?
Owen: It’s still suspended, but getting there.
Didn’t they get to keep Pru in the first place because HE had to choose to put himself at less risk on the job?
How the hell is that on Bailey? And Bailey has always worked and run the hospital, so why is he deciding that he doesn’t like it now that she’s doing exactly what she’s always done?
And he sounds so sexist.
Link is having a rough go with angry Tank fans, but working on that pregnancy case with Jo seemed to lift his spirits.
Jo: How do you let someone like that go?
Amelia: He wasn’t perfect for me, but maybe he’s perfect for you.
Of course, the series is still leaning heavily into the JoLink pairing and even went as far as to have Jo inquire how Amelia could ever let Link go.
I’m still bitter about the nonsensical dissolution of Amelink, so it was a frustrating question. Amelia’s answer was nice enough, and they made sure to throw in a few scenes with her face-timing Kai to remind us of how happy she is in her current relationship.
That means we’ll have an official Jo and Link pairing sooner rather than later.
So, on that note, most of the couples are falling apart, but there’s hope on the horizon for a few, assuming anyone is interested in any of them.
Over to you, Grey’s Fanatics.
What did you think of this nostalgic type episode? Are you over Owen and Teddy’s antics? Were you shocked that Simone agreed to marry Trey? Sound off below.
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Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.