The Anatomy of a University's Encampment Negotiation The Chronicle of Higher Education
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The Anatomy of a University's Encampment Negotiation - The Chronicle of Higher Education
The Anatomy of a University's Encampment Negotiation The Chronicle of Higher Education
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The Anatomy of a University's Encampment Negotiation - The Chronicle of Higher Education
Simone Griffin (Alexis Floyd) faced struggles at home and on the job on the latest episode of Grey's Anatomy.
The May 9 episode began with her disoriented grandmother Joyce Ward (Marla Gibbs) mistakenly thinking she was her deceased mother, who died during childbirth at Grey Sloan Memorial. When Simone arrived at the hospital, she treated a Black woman named Lauren, who they realized was in labor at 39 weeks.
However, her delivery did not go to plan. Lauren got a bloody nose, her blood pressure began to skyrocket and she suddenly had a seizure. The doctors then raced to do an emergency c-section to save both the mother and baby but she began hemorrhaging once the baby was removed. She then coded on the table and Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson) began CPR.
As they attempted to save Laurens life, Simone saw a flash of her own mother lying on the table, which forced her to step back from the operation. Simone later revealed to Bailey the reason for her reaction in the OR, telling her mother died at Grey Sloan while giving birth to me.
I dont know all the details but I know someone missed something. I always wondered who those doctors were, she added. Now, I know theyre me.
Look at me. Look at me. You did everything you were taught today. Everything that we were taught. This is why we need to be here, why patients like Lauren need surgeons like us to care for them, Bailey responded, referring to the need for Black people to be the medical profession. It is our job to make sure that no one falls through the cracks, to make sure that no one overlooks their pain.
Read on to hear Alexis Floyds take on Simone hitting rock bottom, her ongoing grieving process and where she stands with Lucas Adams (Niko Terho) in her conversation with PEOPLE.
Disney/Anne Marie Fox
PEOPLE: How do you think the mental toll of Simones mother's death and her experience in the OR will continue to affect her personally as well as professionally?
ALEXIS FLOYD: I think in that moment there's an awakening that happens where she realizes that she's not going to be able to practice medicine if she keeps running away from facing some of the grief she still needs to process. I think Simone is someone who moves through the world with a sense of professionalism and wants to be on task all the time.But something that she often hides from others or leaves out of the picture is that the reason she practices medicine is also highly emotional, personal, and I would say traumatic even.
And so what I hope to see from Simone moving forward is that she is a young professional woman who also makes intentional space and time to address this emotional, personal issue, not just because it affects her experience at work. I mean, that's an extremely personal moment to have at the operating table.
But on top of that, I think it will empower her as a doctor. I think it'll make her a more empathetic doctor. I think it'll make her a braver doctor who makes bold choices for her patients. I think it'll make her an activist in her place of work because she'll no longer be trying to hide the sort of emotional complexity of what it is to be not just a Black woman physician caring for Black female patients in an industry, in a healthcare system that exorbitantly neglects that class.
Disney/Anne Marie Fox
Why do you think it's important to shed light on these pregnancy-related complications in Black women?
Well, first and foremost, for Black women themselves, I think it's important that we are armed with as much education as possible when we go into this phase of life so that we can make informed and educated decisions. Something I ask myself a lot is I wonder if Simone's mother would have seeked midwifery care or if that was a more available opportunity for her, just in terms of knowing it exists, but also financially. That's a different commitment, that's a different practice, and it's not available to all families.
Actually in my research for this episode, I also came across this organization called the BirthFUND that I'd really love to highlight. It was founded by Elaine Welteroth, and one of the key founders was also Serena Williams. Her birth story, it was very close to tragic. I mean, she almost lost her life. And we're talking about one of the greatest athletes in the world. Her pain was ignored, her doctors downplayed the severity of her symptoms, and she almost lost her life.
That just really speaks volumes to the issue, the size of it and the sort of magnitude of it, and that it really is systemic. If it's happening to Serena Williams, if it's happening on that level, then we're talking about a systemic issue.
ABC/Anne Marie Fox
Now that Bailey knows about Simones mother's death, how will that impact their working relationship and what she's doing at the hospital?
It's a sort of beautiful and tricky nuance all at the same time, because I think you'll see even through the rest of this season and certainly going into next season, that Bailey and Simone have a different sense of trust between them, which is one of, again, the beautiful sort of bloomings that happen when two professionals can, in a safe way, share some of their personal stories about why they do what they do and why it matters to them.
Bailey is Bailey, so she's always going to maintain a sense of professionalism and authority that is necessary for everyone to do their jobs well and safely. But I think you'll see that the connection between them is stronger. Even in nonverbal senses, I think you'll just notice a tether between them. There's a couple moments, especially towards the finale, where you really see that in action.
But that nuance is tricky of 'I care for you in a specific way, I see you as a human being,' but also we are in this setting of work. Especially in a hospital, there is a sort of militant quality to the structure of the place, which again is for safety reasons above all. But I am excited that I think this moment, this turn impacts both of them in a way that reminds them that doctors are people too, and they're people who need care as well.
Disney/Anne Marie Fox
Simone has so much on her plate right now with the hospital and navigating her grandmother's condition. How will she continue to find the balance between her grandma, medicine, and maybe some semblance of a personal life?
I think the first step is just awareness, and that is something that she hasn't necessarily had to this extent yet. And sometimes it takes rock bottom for you to reach a place where you're ready to finally make the change. They say when you hit rock bottom, the only place to go from there is up. So I think she maybe has hit a low she wasn't expecting to, but I hope that it is a breakdown that leads to a breakthrough.
Switching gears, what can you tell me about Simone and Lucas future after their split earlier this season?
In my heart, their future, I think they belong together in some capacity. I actually do not know the details of that, but I think that the connection that they have is a pretty unique one. I think the things they have to teach each other are unique and specific to the two of them. So I'm excited for them to figure out how it works. And I imagine that they are not done facing obstacles towards their union, but I do believe on some level that they have a tremendous lot to give one another and to learn from one another. So my hopes for them are high.
Do you think they should be together now or down the road?
I think they still have a few things to learn before they're ready. It's that classic thing of you got to love yourself before you can love anybody else, and you have to take care of yourself before you can take care of anybody else. I don't think it's necessarily their fault, but just where they are in life, and again, the sort of transient moment of becoming the doctors they want to be, that's a priority for both of them.
I think it's a struggle in this moment to find the balance we were talking about earlier that allows for them necessarily to be who they want to be for each other. But I know that they're both surprised at how much that's suddenly become a priority in their lives, finding a way to each other. So I know they'll get there.
What was it like working with Marla Gibbs?
One of the most magical things about Marla Gibbs, which I mean everything about Marla Gibbs is magical, but she truly dismisses the idea of age in general. I think that this is a woman who wakes up every day, checks in with her body and her soul, and she does what she wants to do. And she also stays learning. Every time she comes to set, she is teaching me something about a food practice that she's integrating into her life or a workout routine that's been giving her a surprising amount of energy lately. She recently became vegan, and she's totally transformed her eating lifestyle. And she's constantly learning. She's constantly intaking new information, and she's always finding a way to laugh.
It is such a testament to what it is about her legacy that is so rich and just continues to grow. I think that she just doesn't let the stigmas of the industry tell her anything about who she is, the artist she is, and what she's capable of, and it makes her capable of anything. Besides the gift that it is to work with her as the legend that she is in the industry, the sort of person and spirit and powerhouse of a being that she is has been a very significant gift in my life.
This interview has been condensed for length and clarity.
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Grey's Anatomy airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.
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Grey's Anatomy's Alexis Floyd on Simone Hitting 'Rock Bottom' (Exclusive) - PEOPLE
The following contains spoilers from Grey's Anatomy, Season 20, Episode 7, "She Used to Be Mine," which aired Thursday, May 9 on ABC.
None of the Grey-Sloan Memorial doctors are having the morning they had planned. Simone Griffith and her father and sister, Ebony, are helping her grandmother move into an assisted living facility, though Granny Joyce doesn't remember picking out the place. Joyce also still thinks Simone is her mother, Denise. Simone can't quite bring herself to leave, even if it means she'll be late for work.
Lucas Adams, on the other hand, won't be late. He might get his Aunt Amelia Shepherd into a car accident, though, as he's so focused on the questions she's asking him in preparation for the upcoming intern exam that he flies through a stop sign. When he asks Amelia why she can't just ask him the questions without backseat driving, she asks him why he can't study with the other interns. And that is a can of worms Lucas can't quite bring himself to open on the drive to work.
Speaking of the other interns, Mika Yasuda and Benson Kwan, who are now roommates, are arriving at Grey-Sloan Memorial in Mika's van, which seems to be on its last leg. When "Leona" finally comes to a thumping halt in the middle of the parking lot, Benson hops out, leaving Mika to handle getting the van started again on her own.
Teddy Altman and Owen Hunt are walking into the hospital, going through the motions of their life -- Allison's playdate and what kind of socks she needs for the indoor gym, etc. -- when they run into Amelia, who has made it to the hospital in one piece. Owen immediately bails on the conversation, heading to the cafeteria, which Teddy finds odd. She mentions his weird behavior to Amelia, but she can't get a straight answer out of her either, not even when Amelia's terrible lying skills make it clear that whatever Owen is going through, he's been talking to Amelia about it.
In the ICU, Miranda Bailey is walking the interns to a patient's room and reminding them that their exam is in one week -- and they better not screw it up. They also need to complete their procedure logs. Adams and Yasuda are done, but Kwan and Jules Millin still have to finish. And Griffith? She arrives late, just as they reach their patient's room. Their first stop of the day is with Dorian Cardenas, who was shot in Season 20, Episode 2, "Keep the Family Close." This time, they have good news -- Dorian is finally being downgraded from the ICU and being taken to a new room upstairs. As Bailey leaves for surgery, Levi Schmitt sends Griffith, Millin, and Kwan down to the pit and has Adams and Yasuda take Dorian to his new room.
Downstairs, Millin and Kwan join Hunt and Atticus "Link" Lincoln to meet two ambulances arriving at the entrance, but not before they make a bet -- the last of the two of them to finish their procedure log buys drinks at Joe's. When they unload the ambulances, they meet Gillian and Cassandra, a couple who were in a car accident though pretty quickly, the doctors find out that it was because they were fooling around in the backseat of Gillian's car; one of them accidentally hit the parking brake, and the car went flying down the hill and into Cassandra's parked car. Cassandra, whose knee is incredibly swollen, is super high on pain meds, and Gillian has a massive headache, but otherwise, they're fine. Embarrassed but fine. Just as the doctors are getting ready to examine both women, Gillian's husband, Aaron, shows up, changing the whole dynamic. Cassandra is hidden behind the curtain dividing their beds, and Millin has to stick Cassandra's bright pink bra, found among Gillian's clothes, down the back of her pants to keep Aaron from seeing. Things are about to get messy.
Griffith was assigned to a different case and is meeting with Miles Ferguson, who is in the ER for a broken wrist and has brought along his daughter and his very pregnant wife, Lauren, who is experiencing Braxton Hicks contractions and heartburn. Griffith is at her finest dealing with the Fergusons -- she examines Miles and sets him up with an X-ray, whisks Lauren off to OB, and even promises four-year-old Jayden that she might know where the OB nurses hide the cookies. Upstairs, Griffith keeps Jayden entertained while Jo Wilson examines Lauren, who is not experiencing Braxton Hicks after all. She is absolutely in labor and is already four and a half centimeters dilated. Lauren was scheduled to go back to the OB the following day, and the last time she was in, they ran blood work, but they hadn't called her back about any of her tests. Wilson tasks Griffith with getting prenatal records, running a new set of labs, getting Jayden to the hospital daycare, and ensuring Miles gets up to OB as soon as possible. The baby will be there much sooner than they expected!
Back in the pit, Kwan and Millin up the ante on their bet -- the loser buys drinks and fries -- just in time to hear Gillian and Aaron fighting. He's figured out Cassandra, who he thinks is just his wife's friend, was also in the accident and is blaming her. Hunt finally manages to quell the fighting when he announces that CT is ready, and he and Millin rush Gillian out of the pit, leaving Aaron behind. Gillian hopes the CT will take a while, but Hunt assures her that it's quick. When she asks if they want to know what happened, Hunt tells her she doesn't need to tell them anything, but Millin is always down for some good gossip. Shepherd shows up to check the CT while Gillian is telling them about how her marriage got complacent, and then she meets Cassandra at the PTA, and Hunt looks worried. Is that where he and Teddy are headed?
Griffith arrives to tell Miles that Lauren is in labor, and he panics, trying to get up and leave without his bone having been set. Griffith manages to get him to sit back down by talking him through what will happen. "We'll take you to the cast room so someone from Ortho can set the bone, they'll make you a splint, and then you can go have a baby." Griffith rushes back upstairs to let Lauren know what is happening with Miles and then leaves to meet up with him, and just after she leaves, things begin to go haywire. Lauren's nose starts bleeding, her blood pressure skyrockets, and then suddenly, she's having an eclamptic seizure. This is no longer going to be a simple vaginal birth. Lauren needs an emergency c-section. Someone page Carina DeLuca!
In a procedure room, Link is letting Kwan drain Cassandra's knee as she tells them about falling in love with Gillian and how great the sex is. Girlfriend is still a little high, which is even more evident when she loopily asks Kwan for her bra back. Millin still has that, so Kwan asks her to meet him in the cafeteria, where he is having lunch with Griffith and Yasuda -- roomies! -- as Adams sits at the next table over, alone. After Millin arrives, giving him the bra before grabbing her own lunch, Kwan gets paged to radiology and has to leave, but not before upping the ante with Millin again. The loser buys dinner at Joe's. Millin wants wine pairings.
Richard Webber, who spotted Winston Ndugu getting flirty with a nurse on the cardio floor earlier in the episode, is excited to scrub in with Ndugu on a hiatal hernia and is surprised to find Altman scrubbing in with him instead. When he talks to Ndugu about it, he tells him that they don't need to avoid each other just because Winston and Maggie are getting divorced. Winston tells him that his bypass graft ran long; that's the only reason he sent Altman. "So...I just made it weird," Richard says. Yes, sir. You sure did.
In the OR, Carina DeLuca has arrived to perform Lauren's emergency c-section. The baby looks great, but Lauren is immediately bleeding heavily. At first, Wilson thinks they get it under control, but then Lauren starts hemorrhaging. DeLuca asks if she complained of upper abdominal pain, and Wilson tells her that she thought it was just the labor. They will need to do an ex-lap and bring in Bailey, who is finishing up a lap chole. She arrives just before Griffith, who has just dropped Miles off in OB, and is shocked to see Lauren on the table in the OR. DeLuca has to take out Lauren's uterus, and Bailey tells Griffith, who freezes momentarily, to call the blood bank.
When Lauren codes, Bailey has to begin performing CPR and tells Griffith to gown and glove. Griffith reminds her that her procedure log isn't done, but Bailey doesn't care; she just needs her hands. Bailey instructs Griffith to clamp with her fingers, just like she did when she and Adams were stuck in an ambulance and performing a pringle maneuver with Bailey and Meredith Grey walking them through it from outside the rig in Season 20, Episode 1, "We've Only Just Begun." She manages to do it, but once Lauren has a heartbeat again and Bailey starts on the procedure, Griffith finally looks down at Lauren. All she can see is her own mother, who died giving birth to Simone, lying on the table and wearing the dress she had on in the picture Simone looked at with her Granny that very morning.
Now that he's no longer in the ICU, Dorian's friends from graduate school have shown up to see how he's doing. They brought him a huge manila envelope of cards and lots of stories. Adams, feeling left out of his own friend group, thinks he sees the same thing happening to Dorian, especially when Dorian asks his friends to give him a minute. Instead, Dorian reveals that he thinks his ostomy bag is leaking. They page Schmitt, and together, the doctors discover that it's actually his incision that is leaking. They find an enterocutaneous fistula, which means Dorian's small bowel and skin got connected during the healing process, which means Dorian has to stop even his liquid diet and might have to go back to the ICU.
Adams, who promised Dorian he would tell his friends what happened, unleashes on the two graduate students, giving them a hard time for the stories they were telling. "He's been hanging on by a thread for weeks! And he's already feeling disconnected enough, not knowing how long he'll be here. He doesn't need to listen to stories about people he doesn't know or graduations he won't attend. He just needs to know that you're actually here for him." Yasuda catches him yelling at them and tells him to take a walk, then follows him after apologizing to Dorian's friends. Adams is upset that Dorian's friends are just now visiting, and Yasuda reminds him that maybe Dorian didn't want them there and then asks him what his problem is, but Adams doesn't answer. He just storms off.
Though her CT was clear, Gillian still has a massive headache, and Aaron isn't making it any better. When she finally can't take his interrupting anymore, she finally tells him the truth, yelling at him that she and Cassandra are having an affair. Every head in the ER turns, and Aaron leaves, but Gillian tells Millin and Hunt that she felt better while yelling. Millin says that sometimes things just need to be let out, but that's not what Gillian means. Her headache disappeared when she was yelling, so she proceeds to yell everything she says from then on.
When they take her back to CT, Shepherd has her yell while they take one more scan, and that's when they spot what is wrong. Gillian has an Arnold-Chiari malformation, which can develop from whiplash. The screaming shifts her cerebellar tonsils, relieving the intracranial pressure. Gillian, still yelling, asks if there is anything that can be done, and Shepherd tells her they'll perform the surgery that evening. Shepherd also tells Hunt he needs to talk to his wife. After getting Gillian settled in a room and returning Cassandra's bra, Millin and Kwan up the ante on their bet one final time. If Kwan loses, he'll buy Millin a steak and lobster dinner at Nicoletti's. Millin says that if she loses, they'll have sex in a car. It's anyone's game at this point.
Up in the nursery, Wilson and Griffith approach Miles, who is holding his newborn baby. DeLuca already told Miles that Lauren had to have an emergency c-section and was losing blood, so he's bracing for the worst, but Lauren survived. She lost a lot of blood and will need several weeks of recovery, but she is stable and headed to the ICU. Griffith tells him that the heartburn Lauren thought she was having was actually preeclampsia, and Miles starts to break down. "Shouldn't someone have seen this?" he asks. "I mean, we were just at her OB. We were here for two hours before she went into labor. All we've done is plan. You know, since the day we found out we were having another baby. I mean, we read all the books and the online discussions. We just settled on a doula and a lactation consultant, just in case. You know, Lauren was not gonna be another statistic. This was not in our plan."
When Wilson leaves to find out how long it will be until Miles can see Lauren, he starts to tell Griffith that he doesn't know if he could have handled Jayden and the baby if Lauren had died. She tells him he could have, and then she asks him if they've picked out a name. When Miles answers, though, he isn't Miles. Griffith sees her own father telling her that the baby's name is Simone. In a panic, Griffith backs away, and her father disappears. She hears Miles telling her that the name means "faith," but she doesn't catch the name, so he says it again. "Imani. It means 'faith'."
When Wilson is checking on Lauren in the ICU, she finally gets the test results she ordered when Lauren first checked in at OB. They tell her that Lauren has HELLP Syndrome, a complication of severe preeclampsia that affects the blood and liver. Wilson tells Link, who came by to go home with her, that if she had just rushed the labs, it all could have been avoided. She knows the statistics, especially for Black women like Lauren. Link thinks she's being a little hard on herself, but Wilson doesn't. "My patient was sick, and I didn't know it!" She doesn't know if she didn't ask the right questions or if she wasn't listening, but she doesn't want to miss something with another patient, so she decides to quit general surgery and focus solely on OB. Link, who always supports Wilson, tells her okay. He doesn't try to push her to stay in general surgery; he just shows her that he trusts her judgment and supports her decision, which is all Wilson has ever needed.
In the lobby, Aaron is waiting to find out how Gillian is when Hunt spots him. Hunt tells him that Gillian is okay and that Shepherd repaired the malformation. Then Aaron starts to talk about his marriage. "There was never any big fight or anything. We just stopped talking. And I told myself that maybe that's what happens when you've been married for 20 years. You know what the other person is thinking. You don't have to talk. But I think... I was just scared of losing her. So I didn't ask. But now I've lost her anyway." While Aaron talks, revelation breaks over Hunt's face. He doesn't want to lose Teddy either, so he finds her in her office and tells her as much. He tells her that it feels like they're on autopilot, which made sense when she was recovering, but it still feels like they're far apart, even though she's better. "We don't talk anymore. I am struggling in my work right now, and I'm talking to Amelia about it when I should be talking to you," he admits.
Teddy says that she wants him to talk to her, and he tells her that he can't because he doesn't want to put more stress on her. She starts to tell him that she's fine, but he cuts her off. "You flatlined in front of me," he says, still obviously scared that he'll really lose her if it happens again. Teddy wants him to know that he's not going to break her. "If there is anything that I have been able to count on in the last 20 years, it's you. It's us," she says, and Owen tells her that he misses her. Teddy walks away, but only to lock the door. They can turn down the lights in her office and spend a little time together, maybe even get naked. After all, the kids are at home, already asleep.
Before heading out for the day, Mika finds Lucas in the intern locker room. She tells him that he's lucky she is the one who saw him yelling at Dorian's friends and not Schmitt or Bailey, and Lucas asks if she would have done the same thing for Kwan. Mika reminds him that he's the one who moved out and then tells him that she didn't ask Kwan to move in; Griffith did. She starts to tell him that she's sorry things didn't work out for him and Griffith, and he interrupts her, telling her that it's not about Simone. "You said you were done," he says, referring to her comments to him after he stole a procedure from her in Season 20, Episode 3, "Walk on the Ocean." "I was mad that you stole the procedure," she says, "I didn't think that you would just, like, disappear into the middle of the night like my camp girlfriend after I wrote her a poem!"
Suddenly, Lucas is laughing, but not at Mika. "I'm remembering what it was like to fight with you, and it's -- I mean, this is the most normal I've felt in a while." Mika tells him he's pathetic and then calls him "Skywalker," which she hasn't done in a long time. A smile breaks over Lucas's face. He has his friend back.
At Joe's, Millin and Kwan are making good on their bet -- which Millin lost. Kwan offers to cover their milkshakes, which could be considered either dessert or drinks, but Millin tells him that she settles her bets. All that's left is sex in a car. Mika shows up, annoyed that Kwan ate without her, and tells him he has to sit and wait until she's done. Will Millin and Kwan end up getting together? Only time will tell.
Also at Joe's, Simone has lost count of the number of tequila shots she has had. She can't remember the bartender's name and tries to hide in her tequila shot when Bailey comes in to pick up her dinner. "Let's go," Bailey says, ready to take Griffith home, and Griffith tries to tell Bailey that she doesn't have to listen to her outside of work hours. "If you like your job, you will not finish that sentence," Bailey says, and Griffith goes with her. Bailey takes her home and sets her up in front of the fire, bringing her a cup of something warm, which Simone immediately sets on the table next to her. Simone says she should have been thinking about atypical abdominal pain, and even though Bailey reminds her that she's not an OB-GYN, she still feels like she should have said something to Wilson. Then she tells Bailey the thing she's been holding in all day, that her mother died at Grey-Sloan while giving birth to her. Bailey didn't know, and it's written all over her face that she suddenly understands why the day was so tough for Griffith -- and why she's so drunk.
"I don't know all the details, but I know someone missed something," Simone continues. "And I always wondered who those doctors were. Now I know they're me." Bailey tells her that she did everything she was taught and that the events of the day are the perfect example of why patients like Lauren need surgeons like them. "It is our job to make sure that no one falls through the cracks," Bailey tells her. "To make sure that no one overlooks their pain." Bailey acknowledges that it isn't fair that Lauren should be awake and holding her baby, but it's not Simone's fault that she's not. She hands the warm mug back to Simone and tells her to get some rest. It's clear from the tears in Simone's eyes that this is not the last time her mother's death will impact her work.
Grey's Anatomy airs Thursdays at 9/8c on ABC.
A drama centered on the personal and professional lives of five surgical interns and their supervisors.
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Grey's Anatomy: Season 20, Episode 7, "She Used to Be Mine," Recap & Spoilers - CBR
Summary
Kai Bartley is a character new to Grey's Anatomy in season 18 and keen-eyed viewers may recognize the actor from one of their other notable performances. Over the 20 seasons and counting of Grey's Anatomy, dozens of new characters have been introduced, some appreciated by fans, others not so beloved. The characters who end up sticking around are those like Bartley, who present fascinating new dynamics with other characters in the series. It's difficult for a character to be a lone wolf on the show unless their name is Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo).
Kai Bartley fits well in that mold with their own storylines, and connections with other characters that feel authentic and grow those other cast members as well. They are also part of a legacy of exemplary LGBTQ+ representation in Grey's Anatomy. Shonda Rhimes has always made an effort to have representation be a core tenet of all her shows and Grey's Anatomy, in particular, frequently features diverse characters in both supporting and major parts, ever since its debut in 2005 when the subject was not as represented on mainstream television.
Grey's Anatomy season 20, episode 4 might have marked the return of Arizona, but it's Amelia Shepherd's latest potential romance that is most notable.
Kai Bartley is the first character to appear on Grey's Anatomy who identifies as non-binary. Using the pronouns they/them, Bartley arrives in season 18, episode 2, "Some Kind of Tomorrow", as a neuroscientist working in Minnesota who helps Amelia Shepherd (Caterina Scorsone) on a Parkinson's research team. Amelia frequently travels between Minnesota and Seattle for research and she and Kai slowly develop feelings for one another.
In season 18, episode 12, "The Makings of You", Kai and Amelia go on a date and end up having sex later that night, signaling a serious step forward in their relationship. It's the type of relationship Kai's actor, E.R. Fightmaster, hoped for when they were cast on the show. The actor, who is also non-binary, told NBC how great it would be to become a love interest akin to Derek "McDreamy" Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey), from the first 11 seasons of the show.
Kai and Fightmaster would be welcome back considering Fightmaster's romantic, intelligent, and nuanced portrayal of the character.
While the end of Kai's story saw them leaving for London for a job opportunity in season 19, episode 15, "Mama Who Bore Me", a departure that broke Amelia's heart, they could return in a later season. Kai and Fightmaster would be welcome back considering Fightmaster's romantic, intelligent, and nuanced portrayal of the character. They bring quite a bit to the series.
Grey's Anatomy is the most high-profile project of Fightmaster's career up to this point. While they have only had a few screen credits in their filmography, they began their career with The Second City Chicago, the comedy and acting boot camp that has produced stars from John Belushi to Tim Robinson. Their only other credits come in short films, and two episodes of Work in Progress and Tales From the Closet, the latter of which they play themselves.
However, Fightmaster does have one other notable non-Grey's Anatomy role, which comes in Aidy Bryant's (also a Second City alum) comedy series Shrill, where they play Em/Emily. Em appears in season 2 of the show and begins dating Fran (Lolly Adefope), a relationship that's threatened when Fran wavers on moving in with Em. Both Fightmaster's Grey's Anatomy and Shrill characters are non-binary, and neither role makes a big deal about how they identify, creating a much welcomed and normalized characterization.
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Grey's Anatomy is considered one of the great television shows of our time, winning several awards and four Emmys. The high-intensity medical drama follows Meredith Grey and the team of doctors at Grey Sloan Memorial, who are faced with life-or-death decisions on a daily basis. They seek comfort from one another, and, at times, more than just friendship. Together they discover that neither medicine nor relationships can be defined in black and white.
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Grey's Anatomy: The Kai Bartley Character Explained (& Where You've Seen The Actor) - Screen Rant
Warning! SPOILERS about Grey's Anatomy season 20, episode 6 ahead.
Simone and Lucas have been barely communicating in Greys Anatomy season 20, but one detail in season 20, episode 6 hints their connection is still far from being severed despite the ending twist. Connecting immediately after Greys Anatomy season 19 introduced them as the new interns, Lucas and Simone had all the markings to become the medical dramas newest It couple. Their fast friendship, their undeniable attraction they fought because getting into Grey Sloan Memorial as interns was already a last-chance opportunity, and Simones canceled wedding returning on track all upped the stakes of their evident feelings for each other.
However, choosing to operate on Sam Sutton despite only being interns in Greys Anatomy season 19s ending left Simone and Lucas out of sync. From Simone throwing Lucas under the bus when asked by the hospitals lawyers if she would have opened the patient if Lucas werent in the OR to Lucas moving out of Merediths house without telling Simone or Mika, they shut each other out, transforming their misunderstandings into a permanent disconnection. This prompted a new world order in Greys Anatomy season 20, leading the interns alliances to mutate greatly because of Lucas and Simones unwillingness to talk.
No medical drama has had the staying power of Grey's Anatomy, and the long-running ABC series returns for its landmark 21st season
Greys Anatomy season 20, episode 6s events finally convinced Lucas to try talking to Simone again before finding out she had given his old room to Blue, leaving him unsettled. While Lucas was always the one trying to talk about their relationship as Simone preferred to avoid talking about what they were, Simone had created an opening by asking him to study together after episodes where they barely spoke, which he refused. All these mix-ups can contribute to the two finally having a future together if only they talked to each other.
While getting together right after Greys Anatomy season 19s finale could have easily let their bond go up in flames, Lucass disappointment can prompt a showdown he and Simone cannot avoid. Although all their attempts at connecting failed in Greys Anatomy season 20, their feelings were always there. Its particularly evident in Simone continuing to involve Lucas and Lucas comforting her after her difficult patient in Greys Anatomy season 20, episode 5, despite still being angry at her behavior. Were another high-stakes situation to cause Simone and Lucas to clash, they could talk it out instead of avoiding each other.
Although Simone and Lucass inability to be on the same wavelength in Greys Anatomy season 20 elicited various awkward encounters, it also gave all the interns the chance to form new alliances. Bailey forcing the interns to collaborate in Greys Anatomy season 20 tried to facilitate such a development, especially after the events of Greys Anatomy season 19s finale only brought conflict among the interns. However, it was Lucas and Simone actively avoiding each other that brought Simone to work with Blue and eventually get to know him, definitely substituting Lucas as a housemate and shifting the groups established dynamics.
Lucas and Simones rift upsets the intern groups balance, letting new friendships bloom and making the group better and more united as a consequence.
Greys Anatomys earliest seasons followed a similar pattern. While George, Meredith and Izzie originally hated Alex, Izzie befriending him eventually made him more acceptable to the others, like Meredith and Cristina becoming each others persons brought Cristina closer to Izzie and George, despite their differences. Similarly, Lucas and Simones separation affected the trio, with Mika able to form a bond with Jules, just as Simone befriended Blue. This could potentially benefit the interns in Greys Anatomy season 20 as, even if Simone and Lucas were to reconnect, they could all work better together having finally accepted each other.
Episode #
Title
Release Date
7
She Used to Be Mine
May 9, 2024
8
Blood, Sweat and Tears
May 16, 2024
9
I Carry Your Heart
May 23, 2024
10
TBA
May 30, 2024
Grey's Anatomy airs new episodes every Thursday on ABC at 9pm ET.
Grey's Anatomy is considered one of the great television shows of our time, winning several awards and four Emmys. The high-intensity medical drama follows Meredith Grey and the team of doctors at Grey Sloan Memorial, who are faced with life-or-death decisions on a daily basis. They seek comfort from one another, and, at times, more than just friendship. Together they discover that neither medicine nor relationships can be defined in black and white.
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Grey's Anatomy Season 20 Subtly Confirms Simone & Lucas Still Have A Future Together - Screen Rant
Newswise The Ross procedurewhich uses a childs healthy pulmonary valve to replace a diseased aortic valvehas been shown to have excellent outcomes in pediatric patients overall. But how does a patients age and heart anatomy impact the surgerys success?
To answer this question, a team at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles recently conducted a 30-year study of more than 300 pediatric patients who underwent the Ross at CHLA. The studythe largest pediatric Ross study of its kind at a single centerexamined outcomes not only by patients age, but also by the complexity of their congenital heart disease.
What we found is that the risk is higher in neonates and infants, but that is because those patients have a higher rate of more complex heart defects, says Markian Bojko, MD, a USC surgical resident and author of the study. The higher risk is a result of those other pathologies, not the Ross procedure itself.
Dr. Bojko presented the findings at the American Association for Thoracic Surgery Annual Meeting, held April 27-30 in Toronto. Vaughn Starnes, MD, Chief of Cardiovascular Surgery and Co-Director of the Heart Institute at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, was the studys senior author.
Childrens Hospital Los Angeles is one of just a handful of pediatric centers in the country with expertise in performing the Ross procedure, and Dr. Starnes is a world leader in this complex surgery.
Because the Ross uses the childs own valve, that valve then grows with the child instead of needing multiple replacements. Long-term survival rates for children with a Ross also match the general populationsomething that is not true for those who receive mechanical valves. In addition, patients do not have to be on lifelong blood thinner therapy.
Being on blood thinners is difficult for kids, says Dr. Starnes, the H. Russell Smith Foundation Chair in Cardiothoracic Surgery. They cant go to the playground; they cant play sports like soccer or baseball. But children with a Ross procedure can do all of those things. It gives them back their childhood.
Still, there has been a perception that the technically demanding operation is too risky in younger patientsspecifically neonates (younger than 30 days) and infants under 1 year.
In the study, the team looked at all pediatric patients, from birth to 18 years of age, who underwent the Ross at CHLA since 1992. The study, which included 317 patients, found that:
What we found is that its these more complex defects that raise the risk, often because these babies need a second major surgery at the same time as the Ross, Dr. Bojko explains. But when the disease was isolated, even the youngest patients did very well.
The research builds on the results of a 2021 study, led by John Cleveland, MD, at CHLA, which showed that the Ross had excellent long-term durability for infants and neonates.
That study also found that more complex diseaseespecially Shones complex and interrupted aortic arch with ventricular septal defectsignificantly increased the risk of poor outcomes for these youngest patients.
Based on those resultsconfirmed by this latest researchthe CHLA team often takes a single-ventricle approach for these high-risk babies.
Doing a Norwood for babies with Shones complex allows those babies and their heart structures to grow for a year or two, Dr. Starnes says. Then we can go back and take down the Norwood and do a Ross procedure at that later time. That significantly lowers the risk.
But for many other young patients who need an aortic valve, the Ross remains the best option, he adds. Its becoming the operation of choice for young adults and children.
Study authors were Markian Bojko, Luke Wiggins, John Cleveland, Ramsey Elsayed, David Cleveland and Vaughn Starnes.
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Ross Procedure Outcomes in Children Tied to Anatomy - Newswise
The world of Greys Anatomy requires lots (and lots) of props. From 3D-printed fetuses to sourcing the right medical instruments to creating edible food to capture the magic and accuracy of Greys, the props have been spearheaded by property master Ryan Blank.
One of his more memorable prop endeavors was in season 14 when he and special effects coordinator Jason Gustafson set up the famous elephant toothpaste experiment for Maggie, which Blank says was a wonderful and unique challenge.
This experience using massive beakers to create 20-foot-tall spouts of elephants toothpaste was the most fun Ive had in my entire career, he recalls. Jason and I, because we did the practice runs repeatedly together, ran the gag on set the day it was shot. Repeating the gag over and over with consistent results was an absolute blast.
Blanks props can be so popular that hes even encountered cast members attempting to pilfer them from the set. But one of the most challenging moments in his job is when props are changed at the last minute or during rehearsal for the scene, and the list of these props is endless and always evolving, he says.
Though this weeks prop wasnt as hands-on (or messy!) as the elephant toothpaste, it still took thought, time, and a major collaboration. Miranda gifts a copy of the just-released Red Cloak Volume 12 to Dorian, one of her patients, whos been at Grey Sloan for 51 days clearly, things have not been easy for Dorian. In the original script for the episode, Blue and Mika admire the book, with Mika saying she might swipe it from Dorian. But theres no need for that: Blue has the entire collection at home. Although the book only makes a brief appearance in the final version, a lot of effort went into making it.
Typically, in a situation where something must be created, I would research and find examples of something similar to work from, Blank explains. In this case, I was perfect for the task as a lifelong consumer and collector of comic books. I already knew what would make the book authentic. Mom was wrong my love for comic books finally paid off!
Dorian (Freddy Miyares)
To imagine the Red Cloak series, Blank worked with episode director Debbie Allen to understand the writers expectations for what it should look like and what the tone should be. He then collaborated with production designer John Zachary, who enlisted
Zachary gave Beeguer some references that reflected the mood of what I thought was appropriate, along with the script pages. These showed the characters from the show interacting with the comic book, helping me understand the context, Beeguer says. They emphasized that the main focus should be on the composition of the pages and cover, with the text and story coming second. This approach will ensure that viewers can grasp the content and subject matter even if the filming doesnt capture the text clearly.
In the early 2000s, Beeguer created several short comics for Heavy Metal magazine, which he incorporated as an inspiration. I used sketches, photographs, and various personal artworks to train an artificial intelligence model, he explains. By providing prompts that described elements like the red cape and the action, I compiled a series of promising images and a style.
A mockup of graphic novel Red Cloak by Matthias Beeguer
Ultimately, the AI model generated hundreds of images. Although not everything was right for Red Cloak, it gave Beeguer a head start on imagining the artwork. He used Photoshop to add missing elements, adjust the images, and put together the narrative and the composition, which tell a story across several pages.
Controlling the backgrounds and the colors was very important for cohesiveness, he says. The bulk of the work was given to the covers and backing options, painting details, and textures to achieve a more finished look. The whole process took two days. Unfortunately, at the end of the second day, we realized that the dimensions of the frames were different than the book the prop department had ordered with the printer, so I spent an extra day reconverting to a different, more elongated composition, which of course gave me further opportunities to fix numerous issues, repaint some elements, and make sure everything was going to look its best in high resolution.
For Beeguer, the process was rewarding and enjoyable despite the hurdles. Working with unrestricted creativity is my favorite approach, and Im incredibly thankful to the Greys Anatomy team for giving me the rare opportunity to exercise that principle, he says.
Not only do the fictional Red Cloak books appear in the episode, but they have also been used to decorate Blues bedroom in the intern house. Discerning fans can spot the series on his bookcase. Although they play only a small role on this season of Greys Anatomy, it is a memorable one.
John chose well, Blank says of Beeguers work. The images were incredible, and we had more than enough material to create multiple versions of the graphic novel.
Emily Zemler is a freelance writer and journalist based in London. She regularly contributes to the Los Angeles Times, Rolling Stone, and Observer, and is the author of five books. Follow her on Twitter @emilyzemler.
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Explore the Props That Give 'Grey's Anatomy' Its Edge - Shondaland.com
French director Justine Triets Anatomy of a Fall, winner of the 2023 Oscar for best original script, reconstructs a fatal fall in order to dissect the collapse of the romantic relationship between the films leading couple, Sandra Voyter and Samuel Maleski.
Far from an exception, breakups of the sort depicted in the film are commonplace: global data shows high levels of marriage failure, with a marked increase towards the end of the last century.
In some Western countries, as many as 50% of marriages do not make it past 25 years, giving rise to the popular maxim half of all marriages end in divorce.
According to Triet, the strange thing is for a relationship to work. The majority are hellish, and the film aims to go deep into that hell.
Importantly, divorce statistics do not account for the number of relationships that are unhappy. Perhaps the majority are indeed hellish, but some marriages today are long-lasting, and seem stronger and more loving than any that came before. This dichotomy widespread failure or exceptional success seems to summarise the current state of marriage in the West. This has been dubbed the all or nothing marriage.
Scientific studies have established that romantic relationships tend to drop off, meaning that, on average, satisfaction levels reduce over time. Successful couples are able to arrest this fall, finding a satisfying level that can last indefinitely. Many others, however, gradually decline to the point where breaking up is only a matter of time.
Relationship psychology shows that love alone is not enough to keep a couple together it requires effort. Relationship scientist John Gottman likens this to the second law of thermodynamics, whereby a closed system such as a marriage degenerates unless energy is supplied. As he puts it, if you do nothing to make things get better in your marriage but do not do anything wrong, the marriage will still tend to get worse over time.
The all or nothing theory therefore suggests that successful relationships require a significant investment of time and energy. Couples who make this commitment will be rewarded with a high level of satisfaction, while those who fail to do so, like Samuel and Sandra in Triets film, are destined to fail.
But why do some couples manage to stop this fall and stay happy? Like Samuel and Sandra, all couples start out in love, and want to be happy together forever. If we assume that they are compatible and willing to make the effort together, they form what some call an Adam and Eve relationship the Biblical archetype of a harmonious, lasting union.
Using dynamic systems to analyse this relationship model confirms the all or nothing theory.
Dynamic systems are a mathematical tool for understanding the evolution of a variable over time. In the case of romantic relationships, we are interested in the feeling of love in a couple. Because effort is needed to sustain the relationship, it becomes a dynamic system controlled by effort: effort regulates feeling, with the objective of making the feeling last forever.
By applying this effort control theory, our research has found that a successful relationship requires effort beyond the partners preferred level, and that this effort gap is difficult to sustain over time.
As Sandra Voyter says in Triets film, there are times when a relationship is chaotic, others when you fight alone, sometimes alongside your partner, and sometimes against your partner.
Samuel and Sandras relationship has elements in common with any other couples relationship. The starting point is very high: feeling is at its peak, and there is a shared belief that it will never end. Both are willing to contribute to the happiness of the relationship by making their own individual efforts, and both know that some kind of shock or external event will eventually alter this state.
Generally speaking, couples with the same socioeconomic, cultural, or religious background known as homogamous couples are more stable. Many couples, however, are heterogamous, meaning they differ in one or more of these regards.
Heterogamy can extend beyond an individuals circumstances: on its most elemental level, it can boil down to a mismatch or imbalance in how efficient one member of a couple is in transforming effort into feeling or happiness. Such a disparity may lead to asymmetrical levels of effort being dedicated to making the relationship successful, which are already higher than those both members would prefer to make.
This is the case in Samuel and Sandras relationship: at one point in the film Samuel highlights this imbalance, and Sandra replies that she does not believe a couple should make equal efforts, saying she finds the idea depressing.
Our latest computational models for assessing the dynamics of imbalanced effort levels in couples allow us to simulate the evolution of happiness in a relationship, both in predictable environments and with varying levels of uncertainty. Our simulations suggest that Sandra is right: each partner does not have to make the same level of effort.
One of the films scenes where Sandra and Samuel reproach each other for the efforts made or not made to sustain the relationship displays typical negative couple dynamics, where each has a bone to pick. The film also implies that Samuel has made or is making more effort than Sandra in their relationship. Our analysis shows, perhaps surprisingly, that the more emotionally efficient partner has to make a greater effort to sustain the relationship. In the film, it appears that this is Samuel.
Our analysis also shows that when the couple is subjected to a stressful episode, both partners need to increase their effort levels if the relationship is to survive. However, the more efficient partners effort level has to increase more. In the film, Sandra and Samuels relationship is subjected to a tremendous misfortune, which has a prolonged and pronounced effect on its narrative arc. This is why Samuel feels much more stressed than Sandra.
Mathematics offers an outcome in line with the films plot: the continuous overexertion of the most emotionally efficient partner amplified by a prolonged period of crisis leads to the relationship falling apart. In the case of the film, this also leads to Samuels fall.
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Can science explain why couples break up? The mathematical anatomy of a fall - The Conversation