‘Grey’s Anatomy — Cristina Goes Missing
At the beginning of the April 24 episode of Grey’s Anatomy, Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh) has gone missing.
After losing the Harper-Avery Award to a doctor we’ve never heard of, she simply told Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) and Owen (Kevin McKidd): “That’s how it goes.” Then, she disappeared. Now, Meredith and Owen are on a flight back to Seattle without her.
Back at home, Derek (Patrick Dempsey) gets a surprise visit from his sister, Amy (Caterina Scorsone). Her boyfriend has proposed, and she got so freaked out she decided to flee to her brothers house. Derek isn’t upset about it, surprisingly, and instead he leaves Zola and Bailey with their Aunt Amy for the day. This should be interesting!
After April (Sarah Drew) and Jackson’s (Jesse Williams) huge blowout, she decided to crash at Callie (Sara Ramirez) and Arizona’s (Jessica Capshaw). When April starts butting into their conversations, Callie expresses how annoyed she is by her presence. It is only a matter of time before this comes to a head, but then where will April go?
In happier news, Alex (Justin Chambers) has received an offer from Dr. Butthole to officially join the private practice. The bad news? He only has one day to make a decision. Jo (Camilla Luddington) is enthusiastic about the offer, and she even supports Alex’s decision to take the offer. So, does this mean we are losing Alex for good?
‘Grey’s Anatomy’: Why Cristina Should Have Won The Harper-Avery Award
At the hospital, the only person who seems concerned about the fact that Cristina hasn’t returned yet is Shane (Charles Gaius). Where is she, anyway?
Jackson and April Have An Awkward Run-In
When Meredith and Owen return, Meredith is immediately out for blood over Cristina’s loss. The first person she encounters is April, who does nothing but push all of the wrong buttons. Meredith rages at April solely because she is “an Avery by association” which is awkward considering April and Jackson are headed for splitsville.
Alex finally confronts Arizona about his private practice offer, but she doesn’t seem too upset about it. There is mild concern in her voice when she finds out he has to make a decision by the end of the day, but they are too distracted by all of the sick children they are surrounded by.
Bailey (Chandra Wilson) is struggling with her patient, Brayden’s, parents. Due to the fact he has no immune system, he has somehow managed to contract a viral infection before she can inject him with a deactivated HIV virus that she hopes will help him build up his T-cells. It is a bizarre theory, but Bailey is just too smart to be wrong about this.
Just as one of her patients is about to undergo a heart transplant, Cristina surprises everyone by walking into the operating room ready for surgery. Everyone is shocked, but there is also an air of relief in the room that is visible through the television screen. There are a lot of questions that need to be answered, but it’s time to let Cristina do what she does best — heart surgery.
Back in Boston, Dr. Webber surprised his girlfriend Catherine Avery. It’s a coincidental trip considering that his prized surgeon just lost out on a major award, and Catherine is onto that very quickly. However, Dr. Webber claims he does not have alternative motives other than to surprise his girlfriend after an exhausting ceremony. Unfortunately for him, even I see right through that excuse.
Jackson and April have a very, very uncomfortable run-in at the hospital. It was inevitable considering that they work together, but it appears as if even they did not see it coming. After April tells Jackson she’ll be coming home to pick up her iPod later that day, there is a glimmer of hope in his eyes. Could she be coming home for good? No, definitely not. For once, April’s beliefs are more important than Jackson and his beautiful eyes.
Things take an even more awkward turn when he tells April that he has to start cutting research, and April is annoyed at the idea. She has a point when she blatantly blames Jackson and his family for “denying” Cristina an award for her work, and then viciously putting her life’s work in danger just one day later. What’s up with the anti-Cristina tirade the Avery family seems to be on?
Derek Surprises Meredith
Meredith is still on a rampage, and this time Derek is getting the bunt of it. It’s not so much that she’s mad at him, but she’s mad that Cristina lost and she doesn’t understand how it could be possible. Derek seems distracted, but he’s being a good husband by letting her vent. That is until she sees the x-ray he has pulled up on the screen, and suddenly her interest is peaked. Derek has planned a surgery date for them! It’s just like the old days, and exactly what Meredith needs to calm down — especially now that she knows Cristina is back in the hospital and already in surgery.
Brayden’s mom has started to bond with the mother of the three children who have failing hearts. Both families have been in the hospital for weeks now, and they are both broken emotionally. It’s an unimaginable situation for anyone, especially a parent. However, their bond has made Brayden’s mother hesitant about his upcoming procedure.
She brings the idea to Brayden’s father who doesn’t agree with her, but it doesn’t matter. Brayden’s mom has made her decision — she’s done with the procedures, the blood tests, all of it. And no, Brayden won’t be receiving that injection so long as she is standing in between him and Dr. Bailey. Yikes.
In one of the girl’s surgeries, the transplant does not go well. It turns out that the donor heart was damaged while it was being removed, and now it won’t work for Cristina’s patient.
In an extremely rare turn of events, a second donor heart has been located within minutes and is on it’s way. Cristina has a second chance to save this little girl’s life, and it’s the exact type of redemption she needs after the Harper-Avery loss.
Catherina Avery Reveals Why Cristina Lost
Back in Boston, Catherina starts questioning Dr. Webber’s trip again. Finally, she strikes a nerve that sets him off on a tirade about how none of the other doctors hold a candle to what Cristina has been doing. Apparently, he read all of the paperwork for each doctor involved and he is baffled as to why Cristina lost. You have to admit, Dr. Webber is not one to be partial to a doctor simply because he knows them personally. He has always been business first, pleasure second, and that’s precisely why he doesn’t understand Cristina’s loss — just like everyone else.
While Cristina is taking a break from surgery, she runs into Meredith who tries to comfort her. However, Cristina doesn’t want to hear it. Lucky enough for her, an emergency gets her pulled into another patient’s room which leaves Meredith in the dust.
Later, Meredith is complaining to Derek about how she knows Cristina is not okay when Jackson stops in to start questioning her about her clinical trials. When Derek tells Meredith that the Harper-Avery Foundation is trying to cut funding to certain projects, Meredith starts taking her anger out on Jackson. She even calls the entire foundation “boneheads” which is kind of hilarious to hear.
The heart in Portland needs to be picked up, so Alex and Arizona share a private flight there. Alex is convinced that Arizona forced him to take the trip so that she could talk him out of taking the private practice offer. However, he doesn’t even let her speak. He just goes on and on about how he deserves to do what he wants, and Arizona lets him rant for a little while.
Cristina is doing double time between two of the sisters with heart failure. While one is in the operating room awaiting her second donor heart, something tears and begins to bleed. Cristina can’t come to the operating room because she is too busy working on Frankie’s older sister, so she talks Shane and Leah through what they need to do over the phone. Thankfully, it works. Is this because of Cristina’s brilliance?
In other Cristina news, Catherine has finally had enough of Dr. Webber’s tirade. That’s when Catherine drops a major bomb: Cristina will never win a Harper-Avery award so long as she is working at a hospital that is owned by the Harper-Avery Foundation.
Wow. How did none of us see THAT coming?
Dr. Webber Tells Owen The Truth About Cristina
Back in the operating room, Frankie is not doing well at all. Cristina doesn’t think she’ll survive a second transplant, which means she may not make it at all.
April’s emotional breakdown over Jackson is finally taking it’s toll on everyone. From Callie to Owen, her constant whining about their big fight is crawling under everyone’s skin. But then, during surgery, Owen realizes he understands April and her heartbreak. His encouraging speech about how this is not the end of her marriage is so sweet, it just makes you feel bad for Owen because you know that he is not going to get his happy ending.
Now that Dr. Webber knows the real reason Cristina lost the Harper-Avery Award, he is furious. That means he is taking it out on Catherine, and rightfully so. She encouraged Cristina and then set her up for failure. Dr. Webber realizes that Catherine used Cristina to get publicity for the hospital, and he is disgusted. Things get worse when Catherine reveals that Cristina had the votes to win the award, but they still did not give it to her. It’s disgusting, and Dr. Webber has had it with Catherine and her foundation. He leaves an engagement ring he picked out for her on her desk and then leaves her, and the ring, behind.
Cristina is faced with a difficult task when she has to tell Frankie and Ivy’s parents that they now need to decide if the donor heart coming in from Portland will go to Frankie or to their other daughter, Ivy. It’s a horrific decision to be faced with, and the parents refuse to do it. That means Cristina has to decide between the two young girls, and she doesn’t look very happy about it.
Unfortunately, Cristina decides to give the heart to Ivy. She has an artificial heart for Frankie, but the surgery does not go as planned and sadly, Frankie doesn’t make it. When Cristina’s eyes well up as she delivers the news to the parents, you know that her emotions are hitting her like tidal waves. Cristina Yang, crying? Not something you see often. In happier news, she did manage to save Ivy.
It’s not enough to get Cristina through the loss. Instead, she disappears again.
Just as Owen decides to go looking for her, Dr. Webber shows up. He demands to speak to Owen, and you know it’s because he is ready to tell Owen the real reason Cristina lost the award.
Meanwhile, Alex gives his notice to the board. It’s official: he is leaving the hospital for good.
Cristina Finds Out The Truth About Harper-Avery
April and Jackson have another awkward run-in at their apartment, and Jackson refuses to let April leave without trying to talk through their argument. That’s when April drops the second bombshell of the night: She’s pregnant!
Owen finally finds Cristina, and she finally reveals what’s wrong. What’s the point of all of her work, of all of her perfect surgeries, if she can’t even be rewarded for it? So, Owen tells her the truth. Cristina lost the award because of politics, not because of votes.
When Cristina goes running out of the hospital, my heart sank. Because it’s probably the last time we are ever going to see her leave that hospital. Why would she ever go back knowing full well that it’s the hospitals fault that she will never be able to take her career to the next step?
On the upcoming May 1 episode, Cristina’s long lost love Burke (Isaiah Washington) is set to return.
Tell us, HollywoodLifers — What do you think about the real reason Cristina lost the Harper-Avery Award? Are you excited for Burke’s return? Let us know your thoughts below!
— Lauren Cox
Follow @Iaurencox
More ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ News:
- ‘Grey’s Anatomy’: April & Jackson Need To Make Their Marriage Work
- ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Recap: Does Cristina Yang Win The Harper-Avery Award?
- ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Recap: Cristina’s Career Hits A Major Milestone