All I could think about during last night's episode of    Grey's Anatomy is how it will feel to watch the series    if the Affordable Care Act is fully repealed. To be very clear:    I know there are far worse consequences of the bill than its    impact on TGIT programming. Thousands will sicken and die. I    could easily be one of them. All I'm trying to do is illuminate    the lens through which I was watching the episode. And to be    even clearer: The repeal isn't set in stone yet. Keep calling,    keep writing, get louder.  
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    To be fair, Grey's has always shied away from delving    too deeply into the financial lives of its patients (they've    been all too eager to dig into the financial health of the    hospital though). We don't see patients frantically paging    through bills once they've been discharged or calling their    insurance companies to get procedures cleared. But it bears    mentioning that the show's two most memorable episodes about    financial hardship for patients both aired during the Bush    administration: Joe the bartender's inability to pay for his    expensive brain surgery and Ryan, the young boy who "trick or    treated" for doctors and nurses to staff a pro bono surgery to    give him ears. (Sidebar: That little boy grew into Dylan    Minnette, who played Clay in 13 Reasons Why. What is    time!?!?)  
    As the Affordable Care Act was rolled out, Grey's wove    subtle references to it into its storytelling. At least one    character talked about Obamacare specifically, and others    mentioned finally being able to afford health care, or getting    ongoing health issues checked out now that they were insured.    So if Grey's wants to continue acknowledging America's    health-care landscape next season, what would that even look    like? Arizona performing a fetal surgery only to have to    immediately stop because the baby's reached its lifetime limit    already? Owen turning patients away from the emergency room?    Doctors playing fast and loose with diagnoses so as to not    document pre-existing conditions on patients' charts? SHOULD BE    PRETTY FUN TO WATCH.  
    Anyway, it's not a great reflection on last night's episode    that I had plenty of time in which to obsess over how the    series might reflect our political climate a year from now, but    here we are. I cannot get past my case of "She doesn't even go    here!" when it comes to Eliza, and I'm frustrated that she    continues to be used as a plot device rather than a person. She    kisses Arizona! She meddles with residents! Who is she? GREAT    QUESTION, NO ONE KNOWS.  
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    It's especially frustrating when she decides that Ben doesn't    take enough risks as a surgeon. This is a dude who literally    did a C-section on a kitchen table and who was ballsy enough to    take point in a room full of squabbling surgeons, like, three    episodes ago, so I'm not sure what more he's supposed to be    doing. One-handed surgery? Blindfolded, perhaps? He's always    been confident, so this feels more like the writers trying to    back-door justify why he hasn't necessarily had much to do this    season.  
    Eliza's meddling doesn't stop there. ("Meddling" is probably    unfair, because she literally is just doing her job, but she's    doing a very, very, very, very, very confusing/irritating    version of it.) She places herself squarely in the middle of a    case of Alex and Stephanie's as they try to care for a young    boy with a brain tumor whose parents are declining medical help    for religious reasons. Alex is back to being his "Karev,    Defender of Tiny Humans" self in a pretty awesome way, but    Eliza gets right into the thick of it, telling him that he of    all people should be "following the letter of the law" right    now. Dude, ONLY MEREDITH CAN TALK TO ALEX THAT WAY. Or possibly    Bailey. Alex and Stephanie play fast and loose to treat the    child without his parents' consent. They save his life, but    Stephanie loses her surgical privileges after chucking an iPad    at the father's head. It is incredibly satisfying to watch.  
    In the middle of all of that business, Eliza tells Arizona that    she has "naked plans" for her later, which is maybe the least    sexy way I've ever heard a person invite someone to hook up.    I'm all for Arizona getting hers! Just don't call it that.    Arizona has a patient and can't make their sex date, so she and    Eliza flirt and sexy tease each other in an elevator. Sorry,    Eliza, but you have to earn elevator sexcapades. They do wind    up having sex at the end of the episode and it's fine,    whatever, sure, but it's just another moment that cements    Eliza's status as a plot device, not a person.  
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    Also, Maggie attempts a heart surgery that's basically    impossible (and ultimately fails) to help her cope with her    feelings about Meredith and Riggs? Or something?  
    This week, the early stage of Meredith's relationship with    Riggs continues to be almost unbearably drawn out, but I was    too worried about losing my health insurance and maybe dying to    be too annoyed by it. Congratulations, everyone! We did it!    Meredith starts putting pieces of her relationship with Derek    aside to make room, literally and figuratively, for Riggs. She    takes down the diagram of a spinal tumor that Derek once drew    on her walls; she puts the Post-it note vows in a drawer.  
    It's an important moment in Meredith's healing process, and    giving the tumor drawing to Amelia might mend the resentment    she has toward Meredith for not calling her to Derek's deathbed    to say good-bye. (Amelia hasn't brought it up in a while, but    you know it's still been festering.) But goddamnit, it still    hurts to see her tuck away reminders of her past with Derek. As    time has gone on, I don't miss Derek as, essentially,    Meredith's manic pixie dream boy. But the tumor picture and the    Post-it vows show how fun it was to watch them when they were    when truly a couple, working alongside one another. I miss    that. Riggs and Meredith finally leave the hospital    hand-in-hand at the end of the episode, so I'll say what I have    been saying in at least six recaps this season: I guess they're    finally going to really go for it now!  
    Also, Deluca tries to profess his love for Jo and I'd love to    tell you more about that, but the second it started happening,    I fell into a deep, deep sleep. WAKE ME UP WHEN SHE HAS A    CONVERSATION WITH ALEX.  
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Grey's Anatomy Recap: Stephanie Steps Up and Meredith Moves On - Cosmopolitan.com