Grey’s Anatomy is counting down the days to its biggest goodbye. Cristina Yang has taken the position offered to her by her ex-fiancé, Dr. Burke, and will be leaving to Switzerland soon. Shortly before she decided to part from the hospital she helped build, her boss and head of cardiothoracic surgery decided to quit.
The news of the Harper Avery Award has spread, and there is no doubt that any candidate from Grey-Sloan Memorial will be denied the award. This alone is going to ruin the chance of them getting funding for research and attracting top surgeons. Cristina’s boss may be leaving for this reason, but she is not. Her motive for leaving is her future in building a fully functional conduit heart, and Switzerland will give her everything she needs to be successful. In the mean time, Yang is conducting interviews with candidates that will replace her boss and herself, which proves to be difficult.
Derek’s sister is still bunking at the Shepherd’s house, which Meredith loves. Amy cooks breakfast, helps with the kids, and is a trusted neurosurgeon. Meredith thinks they are holding her against her will, when in reality Amy doesn’t want to go home. Her current boyfriend is looking to marry her, but she wants nothing to do with it. It seems as though Amy will be staying in Seattle a while longer, which means we may be seeing her more often next season.
Alex Karev is back so fast after leaving for a private practice. At first, he shows up to check on an old patient of his. But then, he steals the patient and schedules his own surgery. His old mentor, Arizona Robbins, is furious, until she finds out that Karev is just having a difficult time adjusting to his new job. The patient care is different than what he is used to, and he doesn’t have the opportunity of being a rock star on a daily basis. Fortunately for him, Dr. Robbins is understandable and loving. She was sad to see him go in the first place and would gladly help him return to Grey-Sloan Memorial. His leave was short lived, which is good for the hospital considering the loss of the cardiothoracic department.
Sadly, Callie Torres is dealing with her own loss. Just when we thought Torres and Robbins were on stable ground, Callie learns she will never carry a child again. They have been through so much heartache already that they ultimately decide not to have a second child. In all reality, Robbins could probably carry, but if anything catastrophic were to happen they would not be able to handle it. This decision is probably for the best. Luckily, they can live vicariously through April and Jackson, who seem to be getting happier about their pregnancy each and every day.
Meanwhile, Dr. Bailey is facing a lawsuit. Her bubble boy patient was about to live in isolation for the rest of his life. Until, she figured out she had the ability of administering certain enzymes he needed through a deactivated HIV. Though she was confident it would work, his parents were skeptical at the sound of it. No parent would want to adherently inject an incurable virus into his or her child.
Without it, however, he would be in critical care for the rest of his life. Bailey has always been headstrong, more so than most surgeons. She has always been determined and willing to do whatever it takes to save her patients, and she did just that. Against his parent’s will, she gave him the treatment. Within no time, his T cell count went from zero to five hundred. His immune system was back in action, and he looked great.
She had to tell at least one member of the board, so she chose Yang. Cristina has a similar personality to Bailey, so its no surprise she gave Bailey a high five for what she had done. Unfortunately, the parents didn’t quite give the same support. After a long meeting with Chief Hunt, Dr. Edwards ended up saving Bailey’s career. She completely took the fault and took the consequence of a one-week suspension – thus, giving Bailey the opportunity to save many more patients with her newfound treatment. They are looking at the "bigger picture."
The interns have been on edge for the last few days about which one of them would be dropped from the program. Leah Murphy is eating three times what she normally does and Jo Wilson is covered in nervous hives, while they all fight to make a lasting impression. In the end, Leah gets the boot. Dr. Webber has to break the news to her that she will never be a surgeon. Ultimately, she does not have what it takes, and another one bites the dust.