‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Recap: Ellis Grey Comes Back To Haunt Meredith
Meredith Grey took us back in time, reading through her mother’s journal, only to reveal devastating memories of her childhood.
Meanwhile, her husband Derek still carried around the weight of his decisions to stay in Seattle.
The episode opened up with a blast from the past, as old footage of Ellis Grey (Kate Burton) giving a speech appeared on Meredith’s TV. And yes, Ellis is still very much an intimidating and cold person, but we learn much more about her life — specifically with Webber, and it’s darker than we’ve ever imagined.
Derek Comes Back To Meredith & Begs Maggie To Stay At Seattle Grace
Meredith and Derek continued to pick each other apart over the D.C. saga.
Meredith tells Derek he is going to never let her live it down that he gave up his dream job for her and their family. Meredith says he needs to go, but his decision is clearly already made, but that doesn’t mean he stops blaming her. Poor Meredith can’t win, because he is making her the bad guy either way.
At one moment when it really gets fiery, Derek says the unthinkable to Mer: “Wow you sound just like your mother.” Ouch.
But he makes up for it later in the episode when he does what he does best, and that’s protecting Meredith. He finds out that Maggie is her half-sister and he drops everything — even his bruised ego — and calls a timeout in their fighting and goes to make sure she is mentally okay. He holds Mer’s hand and listens to her open up about remembering the devastating time when she watched her mother try to kill herself and learn that she’s pregnant, during her formative years. Derek will always be the rock Meredith needs and that won’t change.
Derek also warmly embraces Maggie and begs her not to leave her job at the hospital, once he learns that she is Mer’s sister.
Did we mention Bailey thought Dr. Webber slept with Maggie? Awkward.
Alex Learns He Lost To Dr. Bailey By A Long Shot
Alex (Justin Chambers) returns to the hospital, as a full time surgeon again, but he obviously is broken up about not getting the board seat.
He was given the impression that the decision was tight, but he later hears otherwise — in fact, the decision was unanimous. Poor Alex, he really wanted this badly, but Arizona had other plans for him and wants him to step up to the plate and fill her shoes on the peds floor, while she throws herself into the fellowship.
Even though Alex is disappointed, he can’t turn down Arizona’s offer. (Why can we never stop loving Karev?)
Richard Webber Let Jealousy Ruin His Happiness — His Dark Past Revealed
Dr. Richard Webber finally reveals the true reason why he ended his relationship with Ellis and we didn’t see this coming. What we all thought was due to him not wanting to hurt his wife was all a big lie.
Dr. Webber was envious of Ellis and her rapidly growing career and didn’t want to be in a relationship where he would constantly be overshadowed. Yes, he was selfish yet again to the women in his life.
You can tell this was one of the biggest regrets in his life, and he hasn’t been able to forgive himself for letting Ellis go.
Meredith Lets Maggie Into Her Life — Finally Accepts Her Sister
It was only a matter of time before Meredith accepted that Maggie was her blood — it just took awhile.
Maggie had announced to the staff that she was leaving the hospital, due to work and personal reasons and Meredith felt she needed to talk to her before she left. She surprised us when she gave Maggie their mother’s intimate journal, which Meredith had been reading through for the entirety of the episode. The journal is what prompted the flashbacks deep into young Meredith’s dark past, watching her mother’s troubled life.
Mer explained that their mother, Ellis, enjoyed drinking wine and writing in the journal, but around the time Ellis found out she was pregnant, the drinking stopped and she began logging her meals. Mer points out that this meant Ellis clearly wanted to make sure she was healthy for the baby, Maggie. It was a tender moment that was a long time coming and we are happy to see the sisters finally able to connect.
What do you think HollywoodLifers — will Maggie stay? Do you resent Webber for ending his relationship with Ellis? Will Derek and Meredith finally get over their fight? Do you feel bad Alex didn’t get the board seat? Let us know!
— Brittany King
More Grey’s Anatomy News:
- ‘Grey’s Anatomy’: Dr. Webber Finally Confronts Maggie
- ‘Grey’s Anatomy’: Dr. Pierce Reveals Her Big Secret To Meredith Grey
- ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Recap: Meredith Fears Her & Derek’s Marriage Is Over