Grey’s Anatomy Review: Anybody Have a Map? (Season 15 Episode 7)

Catherine and Richard each face their own battles on Grey’s Anatomy Season 15 Episode 7, “Anybody Have a Map?”, a powerful episode that truly gives James Pickens Jr. a chance to shine. 

Meredith and Tom Koracick are summoned by Catherine for a special VIP consult — a spinal tumor that they both find to be very impressive. But the VIP patient turns out to be someone they already know. It’s Catherine. And after completing a biopsy, they discover it’s really the worst case scenario for that type of tumor.

Even if she lives, her quality of life and her ability to do what she loves could drastically change.

There’s something especially daunting about the fact that this is Catherine. It’s going to put a tremendous amount of pressure on Meredith, for one thing. This is also the kind of news that could easily thwart Jackson’s spiritual journey, and of course, Richard — this could break him. 

On top of that, Catherine has always been this powerful force. She’s a leader, she’s tough, and she’s brilliant at what she does.

The fact that the news of her cancer is coming right at her ribbon cutting ceremony makes it even more heartbreaking. But Catherine isn’t going to give up so easily — she insists to Tom and Meredith that they find a way to help her. And who doesn’t love a good medical miracle story?

As an added note, Catherine’s cancer is based on the very real experience of the episode’s writer, Elisabeth R. Finch, making the whole thing even more powerful and emotional.

What’s interesting about this setup, too, is that it gives Meredith and Tom a chance to interact. They work together well and it’s always good to see what other characters can bring out in Meredith. In a nice, small detail, too, Tom is compassionate about Meredith’s fear of flying.

“Anybody Have a Map?” puts its focus on the characters this will affect the most. What we see of Jackson is his struggle to explain himself to Maggie when she finds he’s been talking to another one for emotional support. The whole thing is pretty difficult to watch and bit infuriating, but it’s painfully ironic that Jackson is on this spiritual journey now that April has officially moved on and is no longer on the show.

It’s honestly a nice way to honor her character. She’s had this lasting effect on Jackson’s life, and he also admits he’s been talking to her. 

The problem is that he hasn’t been talking to Maggie. Of course, she’s upset. Jackson’s not cheating, but emotionally he’s not connecting with Maggie the way she needs him to.

Jackson allows himself to be honest about the fact that he’s grieving losing April — which is realistic, and I’m glad to see those complexities being explored. But it’s also upsetting, and Maggie is naturally hurt by that revelation.

All of this is frustrating for the viewer, but it’s equally powerful to see Jackson going through such a drastic change. And again, we’re only going to be adding to that soon.

The person I’m most concerned about when it comes to Catherine, is Richard Webber.

On top of his struggle with alcoholism, he’s experienced his share of loss of already. Only recently he’s lost his sponsor, and now, a nurse he cared deeply about, Frankie.

Before this episode, we’d only seen Frankie, played by Stacey Oristano (Bunheads, Friday Night Lights) a few times. She becomes a likable character quickly, and then on this episode, she won us over completely.

The actress does a really amazing job of this, and it’s actually remarkable how tragic her death ends up being considering the little amount of time we’ve known her.

Frankie: Chief! Good. You’re here.

Richard: I haven’t been chief in years, Frankie.

Frankie: You’ll always be my chief.

Her character development is quick, and her connection to Richard feels very real. It helps, too, that the other nurses are so protective of her and willing to be by her side. It’s a really powerful sense of community.

Richard doesn’t know that his world is about to change even more. Frankie’s death is painful enough and he heads to a meeting, where a woman who has backslid tells the disgusting story of a bar that encourages recovering alcoholics to turn in their chips for free shots.

Her story is gutwrenching as it is, but what follows winds up being one of the most incredible scenes Richard has ever done, and one that evokes a pretty visceral reaction from start to finish. It’s one of the best performances we’ve seen from James Pickens Jr., in my opinion. 

He leaves the meeting and heads straight for the bar the woman describes. He hands in his chip and allows the bartender to pour him eight (!) shots of vodka. It’s horrifying to think Richard might really be about to give in, especially considering how we’ve watched his story unfold over the years (another benefit to this being such a long-running show).

Instead, Richard grabs a bat, walks behind the bar, and starts smashing everything to hell. He’s yelling and crying and losing on this bartender in a way that is shockingly emotional, heartbreaking, and also, quite frankly, pretty satisfying.

He looks right at those shots of vodka and instead of giving in to them, sends them flying across the bar. It’s a victory, really, and it’s amazing to see the strength he has to resist at that moment. Unfortunately, his actions to have consequences.

Meredith is now holding a secret for both Catherine and for Richard, and I’m nervous for everyone involved.

What did you think of this episode of Grey’s Anatomy? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursdays at 8/7c on ABC.

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