Grey’s Anatomy Season 22 Episode 10 Review: An Addison & Amelia Reunion Steals the Hour

Critic’s Rating: 4 / 5.0

4

Addison can make everything better.

You toss in the fact that Amelia made her grand return to Grey’s Anatomy as well as the OR after a sabbatical, and this was bound to be a strong hour.

And Grey’s Anatomy Season 22 Episode 10 was pretty darn solid.

The Cost of Greatness

Addison’s return was a welcome one, and it’s always great to see Kate Walsh popping back up on the series. But it’s tough knowing Addison is struggling.

She went out of her way to lure Amelia into the OR, talking her into taking on a patient Addison was passionate about, even though Amelia didn’t initially want to.

But it turns out, it was about more than just the patient. Ever since Addison made her grand return to Grey’s Anatomy after well over a decade and her own spinoff (Private Practice), she’s leaned into her calling in ways we’ve never seen before.

With the repeal of Roe V. Wade, it sparked a movement for Addison that ultimately resulted in her driving around the country in a van full to the brim with all of the medical supplies she needed and aiding women in need in defiance of a legal system that has attacked women’s health across the board.

She’s been relentless when it comes to this mission, so singularly focused on it that it meant sacrificing time with her family, her husband, her child.

Addison’s Marriage is Falling Apart

But initially, Jake supported her.

He saw her vision, cherished her deeds, and admired her devotion. Except it’s been years now of Addison throwing herself so fully into her work that, apparently, even when she’s home, she isn’t really home.

It’s the price of her greatness — the cost of her calling.

And now we learn their marriage is on the rocks, and Jake is leaving her. He says she isn’t the same woman that he married, and Addison doesn’t know what else to do but throw herself into her work even more.

It’s a devastating turn of events for Addison, knowing how much she worked toward finally having a happy personal life, family, and work.

Addison and Webber’s Friendship Remains Undefeated

And that’s what drove her to Seattle more than anything, to find solace in Amelia and even Richard.

One of the hour’s most endearing moments was Addison calling Richard, not just to check up on him after his surgery but to seek advice and comfort.

They have always had one of the most underrated relationships on the series.

He’s always been crazy about Addison and understands her in ways that many others don’t.

And as usual, he had all the right words for her when it came to centering her and getting her to make peace with Amelia after blowing up in the OR and Amelia kicking her out.

Richard always has a knack not just for advising those he holds dear, but also for being a strong force in ensuring that the sisterhood, with all its branches among Mer, Amelia, Maggie, and Addison, always works itself out.

Clearly, Addison is in this stage in her life where the only thing that makes sense to her is her job, or at the very least, her skills. She made an intriguing comment that she no longer recognizes science.

It’s one of the few times recently where Grey’s Anatomy pulls off a subtle, even-handed indictment of the state of the healthcare system without getting so overtly political that some get their knickers in a bunch.

All Addison can do is make sense of where she stands in everything she’s doing, even if her personal life seems to be falling apart.

So, it makes sense that she was so passionate about Emma and this case.

She had been Emma’s doctor for some time, and now she didn’t want anything to come in the way of Emma having her happy family. Putting the best she knows (Amelia) on a tumor Emma had was what Addison felt she had to offer.

Shepherd Sisterhood is the Best

Fortunately, Amelia loves a challenge and can’t say no to Addison’s face, and it was a great case for Amelia to get her feet wet again and center herself as a surgeon.

She was authoritative, commanded the room, and set her boundaries.

When Addison got out of line, she kicked her out, and that was what it was.

I always love the sisterhood between these two.

Even when they’re at odds with one another or step on one another’s toes, you never lose sight of the love between them, and they find a way to overcome their issues and clear the air.

So, About These Romances … I Don’t Care

The hour packed in some more of the relationship drama with Simone and Wes, and with Kwan and Mohanty.

Is it wrong that I don’t care, though? It’s hard to invest in either one of these relationships all that much when they don’t make decent use out of any of these characters outside of that.

I’ve already talked at length about how Kwan needs a plot, not just a romance. But they’re leaning into him and Mohanty being exclusive after he mistook her breakfast purchases as a sign that she was still seeing other people.

The fact that it took the entire episode for a conversation to happen, and neither of them properly raised the issue in the first place, was annoying.

Part of the issue is that Monhanty just appeared out of nowhere. We still don’t know much about her, but now we’re supposed to care about her and Blue’s dating.

Wes and Simone have perfectly fine chemistry, and Wes has the potential to be an interesting character — we’ve seen that before.

But the sparks of interest in him as an individual character vanish when he’s stuck in petty relationship drama or uninspired hookups at the hospital.

It was frustrating to see them attempting to work together on Link’s case with the stripper.

Wes had some valid points about trying to connect with Link, and Simone was running interference for no other reason than to pull rank or something.

It was stupid. Link was fine with Wes.

How Long Can Link Hide His Pain?

But Simone was right to call Wes out for not seeing the bigger picture. She figured out that Link was having trouble with his arm, and she found a way to navigate around it for the patient’s best interests without embarrassing or undermining her superior.

It’s great that Jo and the babies all get to go home. And Jo’s struggles with finding the perfect nanny were on brand for her.

But hopefully, Link won’t keep his shoulder issues from her for too long. He certainly can’t keep them secret from the hospital.

He was so great with teh estrippper, giving pep talks. And it was actually cool to see some ortho action that looks more like what you’d come to expect.

It was looking quite gnarly, but a good, fun ortho case is far and few between on Grey’s these days. But we won’t get those if Link is out here struggling to do basic parts of his job.

He got back to work too fast, and honestly, it seemed like he was out of the stabilizer and such too quickly. But we’ll have to see how long he goes with that injury he tries to hide from everyone…

Did Grey’s Anatomy Reheat Station 19 Nachos?

Did anyone find it hilarious that Owen was trying to reprimand Bailey for performing an impulsive procedure in the ambulance?

Owen is usually the KING of stuff like that, so it struck me as hypocritical and a bit contrived to have him suddenly feeling strongly about Bailey going rogue to save a patient.

Nevertheless, I am happy his program got the approval, even if it just feels like a rehash of Ben’s plot on Station 19.

Katie Heartbreak is Imminent. And It’ll Break Lucas.

But the most upsetting storyline right now is with Katie. The relationship between her and Lucas has gotten much stronger, and it’s clear that they’re setting us up for heartbreak.

We started the hour with the exciting news that her tumors were shrinking and her treatment was working. Possibilities opened up for her when she heard that news.

She made the mistake of allowing herself to hope. Lucas did, too. And suddenly they were talking about sightseeing in Brooklyn and her returning to therapy sessions with her patients in person.

But in another twist, subtly reflective of the state of healthcare now, we learned that her clinical trial had been terminated.

It all came down to the government no longer funding it. That’s it! Her trial was actually saving her life, and likely the lives of many others in it. But the government pulled the plug on funding just because… maybe the funds were needed for something else unimportant.

Because there is a price on life, hell, maybe it was profitable for people to be sick and dying. Whatever the case may be, Katie experienced the highest of highs followed by a devastating blow.

If this doesn’t cement her impending death, I don’t know what does.

Lucas’s entire life has been devoted to Katie and to this case in particular. He couldn’t even bear to be in the room when Bailey broke the news, and her sobs caused him to flee.

It’s not going to be a pretty picture if she dies. I’m not prepared for it.

Grey’s Anatomy returns February 26 on ABC.

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