Grey’s Anatomy – “Throwing it All Away”

This week’s episode continues to show the after effects of the hospital’s new “no tolerance” rule about dating between subordinates and superiors, as well as handles the results of the anonymous complaint, which as we learned last episode, was filed by Leah.

While unpacking, Callie finds Arizona’s old wheelie sneakers and Arizona tells her that it’s fine to throw them away. As the voiceover done by Meredith states that people only hang on to the things they absolutely need. This ties in to the patient being treated by April, a motor vehicle crash victim who is pronounced brain-dead in the E.R. and who is prepped for organ donation.

Jo is removed from working in Peds, while Alex is punished for his previous outburst at the board, and he is banned from surgery for three days. Jo is moved to working in the E.R. instead with the MVC victim, and Arizona is given Alex’s pediatric patients while he is banned from surgery. Hunt also tells Arizona that she needs to go to HR because of the anonymous complaint filed by Leah.

Meanwhile, Derek struggles to juggle his research at the hospital with Callie, and his new project with the White House. After he is informed that his sensor can only be exclusively used with the White House project, he has to tell Callie that their project can no longer go forward. Which is another low blow for her, as we see in this episode, multiple problems keep piling up.

Cristina has Ross back on her service, and while she is tentative at first due to the nature of their relationship in the past, she continues to teach him and help to build his confidence back up. The other interns continue to struggle with their own issues; Stephanie with her feelings over Avery, and Jo with being removed from Peds in order to keep her away from Alex. Stephanie and Jo are outside in their usual hang-out location when they find a baby abandoned in a cardboard box.

Arizona checks out the abandoned baby and when she leaves the exam room, Stephanie accidentally hits her with a gurney. Arizona’s prosthetic breaks and for the first time since her amputation, we begin to see Arizona be more accepting of herself. She allows others to see her without her prosthetic on and she seems much more comfortable than we have ever seen her in the past seasons. As Kallie helps attach an older prosthetic, Arizona tells her that Leah was the one who filed the anonymous complaint and that she would have to go to HR to discuss it.

While Jo was initially upset about being removed from Peds, Hunt tells her that it is to give her a better education and that her job is to monitor the MVC victim and keep his organs healthy for organ transplant. She notes that it is six surgeries in one and isn’t as upset about being removed from Pediatrics. Meanwhile, Kepner handles the delicate situation of her patient’s friend asking for his kidney back that he had donated four months prior, which would now be going to a stranger.

Callie has a young patient with extreme foot deformities and who wants to have a double amputation rather than continue with painful surgeries and live in constant pain with feet that she can’t use. Callie asks Arizona to back her up about staying with the treatment plan, but Arizona tells her that amputation is a viable option, which further frustrates Callie. Arizona talks to the patient’s father and he asks her why she would tell his daughter that amputation was an option, and she reveals that she has a prosthetic leg. She tells him about the things she never thought she would get to do again, but she has.

Cristina and Owen talk again, after Meredith tells Cristina that Owen’s girlfriend left his trailer and took all her stuff. Cristina tells Owen that he’s dumb for breaking up with Emma, and he says that he hurt her and feels bad. Cristina asks if it was because of what they did in the trailer, but Owen counters her by asking why she is so upset about it. They continue throwing pens at one another and he says “I’ll tell you if you’ll tell me”, to which she says “no” and leaves the room.

In the E.R., Stephanie is wheeling a patient in and the paramedic asks her if she is doing any more “bowling for doctors” and that next time she does it, to try to take out Kepner. Instead, she accidentally runs into Avery.

Meredith tries to help get Alex off probation, but it only results in her getting his surgery instead. She tells Derek that she has to break it to Alex that instead of helping him, she ended up stealing his surgery. Derek tells her that he also somehow needs to tell Callie that he can’t work on their project anymore. Meredith says, “Just tell her you made a promise to her but instead you’re going to spend your time and energy on something else-that worked when you told me”.

April and Avery talk about their respective former significant others and we find out that Matthew quit, which solves the question of where he has been since April left him at the altar. April asks him to talk to Stephanie and to apologize for both of them.

Arizona meets with HR and has a short meeting which is cut short by a page about a patient. Arizona says that she’d like to continue later but is told that it would be unnecessary since the complaint was not against her. Arizona realizes that Leah had filed a complaint against Callie. Callie’s patient with the leg deformities asks to talk to Arizona again, and ultimately decides that she would like to go through with a double amputation, which Callie and Arizona both support at this point. After this, Arizona tells Callie that Leah’s complaint was against her, which is another low blow after her malpractice suit and being told her research with Derek could no longer continue.

While Cristina and Shane operate on the abandoned baby, she asks him if he ever felt compromised by their relationship and tells him that he never had to curry favor with her. She helps build his confidence and tells him that he is too good of a doctor to fetch coffee for others and that in 10 years he will be a surgeon still. She allows his name to be put on his official file so that in 10 years, when the patient has questions, he will be around to answer them.

Alex finds out that Meredith stole his surgery, while Jo’s patient codes and is declared dead. Leah and Arizona talk and Leah stands up for herself. She tells Arizona that she understood their relationship and that she felt Callie made her put a patient in danger and that it was unsafe and unfair, and should not happen again. Arizona takes what she says and agrees, allowing Leah into the O.R. with her and teaches her. Alex confronts Meredith about stealing his surgery and she tells him that she has a “love contract” from H.R. that clears anyone from claims of favoritism or sexual harassment. Alex admits that he is afraid of scaring Jo off and that he is worried she will be like Izzie and walk away from him.

April helps the friend of her patient who wanted his kidney back and realizes that he doesn’t want his organ back for a selfish reason, but because he is unable to handle the loss of his friend. He tells her that his kidney was supposed to have saved his life, and he’s dead now.

In a rare moment, we see Cristina and Arizona confiding in one another. They have a great conversation where they talk about the plane crash, and the nightmares they still have from it. Cristina tells her that she dreams of all the screaming Arizona did, to which Arizona responds by holding her hand for a moment.

Stephanie and Avery both have to complete accident reports regarding her running into him with a gurney and he tries again to apologize to her. She tells him that she isn’t the girl to be pitied and made to feel like she was not smart enough or good enough. He explains that he didn’t know he was going to do what he did at the wedding. She tells him that she is done caring about it and caring about him.

Arizona and Callie continue to struggle with their relationship, and argue again about the events of their day. Callie tells her that she keeps thinking they are okay, and then more stuff happens that makes her think that they will never be okay again. Arizona tells her that she has had to figure out how to be herself again and that she’s been selfish, but now she feels like she knows who she is again, but that she’s worried it may be too late and that she doesn’t need two legs to be happy but she needs Callie. Callie leaves the room and for a moment it seems as if she is done with Arizona, but she returns with her wheelie sneakers and helps put them on her feet, telling her that she shouldn’t have to give up any part of who she is.

Cristina catches up to Owen as they leave the hospital and she tells him that she is upset that he threw away a future that would make him happy. He tells her that she wants to see him squared away so that she no longer has to feel guilty about not being able to give him what he wants. She laughs and he tells her “it’s that or you want to see me married off so that you’re forced to stop thinking about me”. She says jokingly, “that’s it, that’s the one.”

Meredith’s voice-over reiterates that we “hang on to what we can’t do without, what we need, not just to survive but to thrive”, as we see Callie helping Arizona re-learn how to use her wheelie sneakers with her prosthetic leg. The second half of the season is doing a nice job of wrapping up the complications presented in the first half of the season and making steps toward mending relationships that have been broken since the plane crash and before. We’ve seen a lot of growth in the characters and while the first half of the season was full of hardships and was at times difficult to see (Hunt moving on, Cristina and Mer fighting, etc), the second half has really delivered with solid wrap-ups and continuing character growth.

Tune in next Thursday, March 20th at 9/8c for the next episode “We Gotta Get Out Of This Place”.

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