TV REVIEW: Grey’s Anatomy Is a Lonely Place in “The Bed’s Too Big without You”

Grey’s Anatomy offered up a night of parallels in “The Bed’s Too Big without You.”

We saw Meredith long for her husband, not really knowing how to deal with being alone. Owen and Callie agreed with the sentiment, understanding that whole bed being too big thing while Maggie revealed that her bed is just right. We also saw parallel medical cases – the Hermann brain tumor and a new, ginormous growth on the wife of an adorkable couple so in love. It was a night of highs and lows, successes and failures, and lonely Meredith who may have upgraded an Alex for a Maggie. Let’s take a look at this Derek-less episode.
Some Not So Quality Alone Time  

“The Bed’s Too Big” opens with Meredith in bed with Zola in the Derek spot and new baby in a crib next to her. Her narration tells of a man they found in Maine who’d lived in the woods alone for 30 years. Loneliness would be a theme of the night, but Grey’s puts a hopeful spin on it showing us Meredith lamenting her alone time in one minute, but really coming into her own professionally in the next.

Mer doesn’t relish her new “husband in DC” role. She spends much of the night finding a cure for that loneliness. First stop, Alex Karev.

Meredith berates Alex about not answering a text. When he says he was busy, meaning getting’ busy with Jo, Meredith says so what? If you want to be my person, you better answer during a “pause.” He says they don’t pause. Fast forward, yes, but definitely no pause.

(ABC/Ron Tom)
CAMILLA LUDDINGTON, JERRIKA HINTON, CHANDRA WILSON, KELLY MCCREARY, ELLEN POMPEO

The Monster Inside Me

Grey’s fascinatingly disgusting case of the night involves a super nerd with her super nerd man. The cute couple declared their love in a book store with him using the ever popular, smooth move of scribbling his number on a bookmark.

The woman has a nasty tumor that needs to be taken out, but when Meredith, Bailey, and Jo perform the surgery, they’re in shock and awe at how fast the tumor’s grown since the patient’s last scans. It’s everywhere, even around her heart. The husband knows that the three doctors facing him after the operation means one thing … bad news.

The docs are at a loss at what to do until Meredith has a brainstorm. Print a tangible 3-D model of this exact tumor! That’s going to give them a handle on how to remove it. Bailey hilariously nicknames the tumor Cyclops because it’s so dang ugly. They theorize different tumor removal strategies using that model to test out their ideas. They dry erase the crud out of their brainstorms, but the woman is crashing. They have to go in now. The surgery isn’t going well because they can’t see anything.

Jo does her best Vanna White impression holding up the Cyclops during surgery so the docs can “see” what they’re doing. It works! Cyclops gets yanked out and it looks more like an alien invasion than a fast growing tumor. Grey’s is Queen of the feels, but tonight it gave us a little hope, starting with this case. We should have known that one positive outcome serves up a negative one. It’s science or Grey’s or something like that.

(ABC/Ron Tom)
SARA RAMIREZ

Can’t We Have One Drama Free Birth?

No, we can’t. The sad April/Jackson baby storyline continues with all signs pointing in the “this baby is doomed” direction. Jackson wants to talk about a “plan.”

April knows what this means and how it goes against every moral fiber in her body. She asks, “What do you want to do?” She wants him to say it. He reluctantly admits that if their baby is Type 2 he thinks they should terminate. She vehemently disagrees. We knew the religious issue would lead to some contentious moments in the relationship, but seeing these two struggle with their sick unborn child drove home how different April and Jackson are as human beings. Grey’s tragedies either pull couples together or rip them apart. We could hear the beginnings of a ripping sound in this installment.

Avery researches the cases of Type 2 (what their baby may have) and the longest living baby only survived a few months. To make matters worse, Kepner mom shows up to dole out some advice from that mighty high moral mountain she resides on. She suggests they don’t even find out the results of the test.

Jackson and mom argue, really screaming at each other. In one of the best scenes of the night, April freaks out, conveying all the worry and turmoil churning within. “I’m scared and sad and alone!” She tells them to “just shut up!” I don’t think I’ve liked April as much as when she let them have it tonight.

(ABC/Ron Tom) KELLY MCCREARY

Tumor Times Two

Amelia continues to map out the Herman tumor removal and is extremely confident or “delusional” about the doctor’s prognosis.

Confident Amelia leaves Herman a happy, optimistic woman, teaching Arizona all she knows. Amazing what hope does in helping someone become a better teacher, not to mention better human being. Remember our first encounter with Herman? She was so cold and humorless, we were left wondering if she was a little humanless. Now, we actually care if she makes it or not.

Amelia lays out her 237 step process to remove Hermann’s tumor to the interns. Her enthusiasm can’t be dampened even when an intern points out that six surgeons have said any one of the procedures could be fatal. Shepherd eventually gets a little nervous and we see that super confidence begin to slip having a minor woe-is-me session with Webber. Richard was on his A-game tonight reassuring and pushing down those Amelia doubts.

What are the chances that two huge tumor surgeries will end successfully on Grey’s Anatomy? Oh, Geena Davis, it was nice having you on TGIT.

She Wants You!

Owen gets hit on by a tech rep pitching her wares but is clueless. Callie teases him about the flirt-fest, and when they later see the saleslady at Joe’s bar, she says go for it. Hunt is not hearing it, so Callie approaches her to pitch Owen. Saleslady says, “There’s something about him that’s not quite my type.”

“He has a penis.”

Say what?

Torres can’t believe it. The tech rep goes on to tell her, “You are gorgeous.”

Callie says she’s not really “shopping” right now, and just went through a brutal divorce. Sales girl offers a one night stand, but Callie admits she can’t. Owen and Torres bemoan their “not ready” status. “I can’t imagine belonging to anyone else.”

“Have we used up all our happy?” Callie asks.

“God, I hope not,” Owen answers.

We hope not too. Cristina’s a hard one to get over; we’re still reeling and longing for a little Yang. Surprisingly, we saw a teeny flashback of Cristina tonight as Owen remembers her, smiling, and happy in one of their tender moments. There weren’t any Kleenex scenes in “The Bed’s Too Big” but this one left us with a definite pull at the heart.

The Ladies’ Confessional

The girls are working it tonight as they scramble to print that Cyclops of a tumor, showing that it’s not a man’s world in Shondaland. Meredith confesses to Maggie, Bailey and Amelia that it feels weird to sleep all by her lonesome. “The bed feels lonely. It’s like I don’t know how to sleep alone.”

“You don’t,” Amelia agrees. She teases that Meredith was the middle spoon in a “weird spooning situation.” Derek on one side, Cristina on the other.

The parallels continue with Amelia admitting that being alone sucks for her too. Perpendicular Maggie says she cannot sleep with someone next to her. She hates it. “I might be too good at being alone,” she confesses.

“Maybe I could print a Derek, just for sleeping,” Meredith says sadly.

Final Notes

Jo ends up learning the “pause” while in bed with Alex. They’re going at it when she answers a text from Meredith. Jo, really? They do get back to it, but we can’t help feeling that the “pause” would have been better left as a Meredith/Cristina thing. Karev has gotta trump any pause.

We see Meredith looking much more content in her bed. She’s talking to Maggie about finding a replacement Derek. No, she didn’t 3-D print him. Her new bed buddy is the model of the tumor. Hilarious!

The last scene is April and Avery waiting for the baby test results. Arizona won’t tell them anything. They’re waiting for Hermann who walks in dramatically and says, “I’ve got your results.” Fade to black. Nooo! We are going to have to wait for the next Grey’s episode to get that bad news we all feel certain is coming. Can we take it? More importantly can April and Jackson’s marriage take it? What did you think of this night of parallels, highs, lows, hope, and desperation? And what about Meredith talking to Maggie at the end? Could this be her new person?

 Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursdays on NBC at 10 pm.