Post — Aaron Ngo

The name Harper Avery is permanently damaged. And rightfully so. The newest episode dealt with the aftermath of last week's cookie episode and how the situation worsens once the truth about the surgical contest gets out too.

Spoilers ahead:

Meredith is returning her Harper Avery reward and her mother's as well. She refuses to speak to the press about the scandal and helps Jackson, Richard, and Catherine navigate through this mess. Catherine wants to take the fall for the entire thing, but Jackson is against letting a powerful black woman go down for a lecherous rich white man.

Once the surgical contest's funding is revealed (Bailey spills it to Maggie, who tells April, who tells Richard, and then it spreads until everyone knows), the mess worsens. Jackson is not looking so hot right now. A PR-related surgery is scheduled for Jackson and Meredith to get the press distracted on something positive the hospital is doing.

Meredith is initially against doing a surgery purely for a stunt, but once she sees the boy with the tumor on his face, she is game to do whatever it takes to save him. Jackson does not share that feeling, as his head is more wrapped around the Avery name.

This infuriates Meredith! She is not holding back on him for what his grandfather did to all those women and how her reward is forever tainted. Meredith does not want to play it safe either to get good publicity; she wants to take the risks necessary to remove the tumor.

Jackson is worried if the Harper Avery Foundation falls, a lot of hospitals (72) will shut down, and those people will lose jobs. Meredith does not care about any of that. They continue to go at each other, testing the boundaries of their friendship.

These two always shared an interesting bond because they both understand what it means to carry a family legacy. This is why Meredith and Jackson needed to get paired up for this episode. She had to give it to him straight about the situation and how to move forward rather than preserve what is clearly crumbling apart.

After the two of them successfully save the boy in the most graphic surgery scene I had witnessed in a long time, they approach Catherine with a new proposal. They are going to rename the Foundation as the "Catherine Fox Foundation" in order to properly help the victims without Harper Avery weighing them down.

Catherine built the Foundation in the first place anyway. In all her appearances, she was the one who built the Avery name up, and she deserved to have all the credit under her belt. Meredith simply requests to have the Harper Avery rewards renamed into Catherine Fox rewards because she worked her ass off to win one. Praise Ellen Pompeo for giving her all in these scenes and showing such passion as Meredith put Jackson and Catherine in the right places.

There are other things going on in this episode.

NURSE OLIVIA is back! The nurse who got syphillis and gave it George. Hearing about that storyline will never get old. She brings her son into Grey Sloan because he swallowed a toy by accident. Jo and Glasses meet her and hear about Alex's bad boy days as an intern.

Evil Spawn briefly returned when Alex checks his bank account for wedding budget. He shuts Jo out and does not want to talk about it. I keep forgetting Jo did not know Alex when he cheated on Izzie and gave people STIs. Olivia even tells Alex that Jo is too good for him.

Glasses, worried about the Evil Spawn stories, wonders if he and Jo should get tested because they all share sexual partners. I honestly forgot Jo slept with that guy at the beginning of the season, and clearly she does not like getting reminded of that.

At the end of the day back at their apartment, Alex tells Jo why he's been mean. His mother has not been cashing in the checks he sends her. He has more money than he should, and now Alex wonders if his mother is okay. Jo comforts him, and I think they plan to go find her.

Owen is still caring for foster baby Leo and meets his biological mother. Amelia discovers the young girl is a drug-addict and offers to take her in. Even Owen supports this and invites them to live in his home. They created a family... Amelia and Owen broke up because she did not want kids, and now they're sort of a family unit. No wonder Teddy dumped him.

Arizona is still dealing with Sofia's hatred of school. I'm pretty sure this is related to Arizona's departure and I'm not ready for her to leave. April is planning Jo and Alex's wedding and assures Maggie that Jackson is not like his grandfather.

Bailey has to deal with Vik Roy filing a lawsuit against the hospital for wrongful termination. This guy does not know how to give up. I hate that he's causing trouble again for his own mistakes. Webber made the right decision to fire him. GET OVER IT INTERN! After being dealt this, Bailey goes back inside and checks into Station 19.

DeLuca is still upset about Sam's departure two episodes ago. He claims he is still sick from the weed cookies, but he simply does not want to leave the couch. Meredith enlists Arizona's help, who calls his sister / her girlfriend Carina to take him home. She reminds DeLuca to take his crappy guitar with him once he leaves.

What a hilarious way to end the episode. I believed this was a good start to refreshing the show and rebuilding a Foundation that has been in place since the show's debut. Harper Avery was someone admired and respected for most of the show's run, and seeing him dismantled is oddly satisfying.

Comment below for your thoughts on the latest episode.

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