On Thursday night, Dr. Addison Montgomery returned to Grey’s Anatomy. In fact, I haven’t written a full review on this show since Grey’s Anatomy 18×04, AKA the last time Addison was on the show. Regardless, I’ve still been watching the show. In this episode, Addison gets Richard and Meredith’s help with her transplant patient. Meanwhile, Winston’s brother, Wendell, gets the cardio department to use these devices he’s selling. And Owen and Teddy struggle to deal with the fact that Leo currently prefers a more feminine gender identity. All of this also ends up happening while Grey Sloan’s surgical program is under probation and everyone’s emotions are running high because of it.
Wendell Ndugu’s Heart Patch Device
We only just met Winston’s brother, Wendell, two episodes ago. But it’s clear that the brothers don’t have the best relationship. Winston gives his brother another chance after essentially blaming him for something that wasn’t even his fault. For reference, I believe Winston says he pulled away because their mother focused too much of her time and money on Wendell and their dad when she was sick. And Winston blames their mom’s death on that because instead of taking care of herself, she took care of Wendell and her husband. Why Winston blames his brother for that is strange to me.
In this episode, Wendell’s back and he’s trying to sell some kind of heart device. Unfortunately, Winston and Maggie quickly discover it doesn’t work. When Winston confronts Wendell, he reveals he put all his money into this product. And he’s not actually a medical sales representative. I get Winston’s frustration and disappointment here, but I still don’t know why Winston blamed him for their mother’s death. Maybe he needed the attention but it was ultimately their mother’s choice to give it to him. And despite their strained relationship, I do hope Winston helps him out anyway. They are still family, after all.
Owen, Teddy, and Leo
Early on in this episode, Teddy corrects Leo when he calls himself a cowgirl. She tells him it’s just a cowgirl costume and that he’s a boy. Owen’s distracted with a trauma case for a while as it’s also his first day back after his injury. So we don’t get a full resolution till much later. Teddy suggests they go to therapy together and Owen initially disagrees and brushes her off but eventually agrees. At this point, Leo’s so young and impressionable that I don’t think it’s that big of a deal yet. But I do agree that they should talk to someone and be proactive. Not to try to change Leo but in the face of others’ judgment.
However, here’s what I’ll say about this whole plotline. When Owen finally lays out his thoughts, it’s not what I expected. If anything, I thought Teddy would be the one who’d be more open towards Leo’s gender preferences. Plus, I don’t know if anyone else got this impression but it seemed like Owen implied Teddy didn’t love Leo or how his gender identity was changing. And maybe it’s because Teddy corrected Leo earlier but to be fair, she did apologize for it. I don’t think she did it to penalize Leo for it, I think she just didn’t know what to do. And I don’t blame her for that because who would know what to do. There are a million different ways this could go so it’ll be interesting to see where the writers take it.
Addison’s Uterine Transplant
As I mentioned, Addison’s back with Tovah, her transplant patient, who also happens to be 11 weeks pregnant. She’s having some abdominal pain so she gets Meredith and Richard to help. But they’re fighting because Meredith’s leaving to go work for David Hamilton. Addison, however, could care less and puts them in their place so they can all focus on her patient. Unfortunately, Tovah ends up losing the pregnancy but all three surgeons, as well as Schmitt, save her uterus. So, Addison can try again but this batch was the last of her late husband’s sperm. Overall, Addison in this entire episode made me feel conflicted.
On the one hand, I love that she doesn’t just let Richard and Meredith fight it out in the scrub room. Both before and after the surgery. And the fact that Meredith stands up for Addison when Catherine yells at her just shows how much their relationship’s changed. Addison’s treatment of Tovah and the entire case also reminds us of why we love her. She’s so committed and cares so deeply about her patients and takes the losses appropriately. On the other hand, we never see a silver lining at the end. Private Practice gave Addison such a happy ending and her return to Grey’s feels like it ruined it. And we didn’t even get a goodbye this time. As much as I love both Kate Walsh, it would’ve been better for Addison to not come back. At least then I could picture her living a blissful life in LA.
What I Still Wanted to See
While I will say that this episode was better than the last episode Addison was in, it still lacked a lot of what I wanted. Specifically, I wanted to see:
- Maggie meeting Addison. Previously, Kelly McCreary (the actress that plays Maggie) took some time off the show because she was pregnant. And she’s since had her baby and come back to the show. This time, there was no excuse. Especially since Maggie’s in the scene right before Addison comes back. If they kept Maggie in that scene, they could’ve met! And I still stand by my previous statements that Maggie would 100% be a fan of the neonatal surgeon. Addison has a stellar medical reputation and Maggie’s a big nerd so it would just make sense to me.
- Carina and Addison working together. Tovah, Addison’s patient, is literally pregnant this time around. And yes, Addison’s also an OB but it would’ve been cool to see them meet and work together anyway.
- Jo and Addison working together. With Jo being an OB resident now, having all three OBs work together would’ve been such a great thing to see.
What I Still Wanted to See: Part 2
- Addison and Amelia have more scenes together. I know we already got a lot last time but I still hated the whole heart-to-heart talk when Addison talked about how she coped with the pandemic. None of it sounded like the Addison we all know and love. And I refuse to believe that Addison just up and left her family at some point. Especially after seeing how long it took for her to finally get it. Or that Jake just didn’t notice Addison’s increase in alcohol consumption. Especially since his late wife was an addict. Plus, it would’ve been great to see Amelia tell Addison or talk to her about Kai. And for Addison to meet Scout! The fact that she never met baby Scout just feels cruel.
- Addison giving an update on all the Private Practice characters. I know this is Grey’s but we all just want to know how everyone else is doing. Even if it’s just a short scene of Addison commenting on how big the kids have gotten.
- A scene where Addison says goodbye. One that gives us hope that Addison will be happy when she goes back home to L.A. There’s still some debate whether this’ll be the last time we see Addison Montgomery but we still should’ve gotten a goodbye scene. Even if it’s just a goodbye for now scene. But in all honesty, I hope she doesn’t come back. Only because the Grey’s writers already ruined the happy ending Shonda Rhimes gave us with Private Practice.