Grey’s Anatomy Review: It’s Raining Men (Season 16 Episode 4)

I’m not sure how I feel about this version of Meredith Grey anymore.

On Grey’s Anatomy Season 16 Episode 4, “It’s Raining Men,” an article is published without Meredith’s permission or input on a headline, and that’s making her a lot of enemies really quickly. 

Unfortunately, it’s not exactly hard to believe that an article would come out this way. It includes ideas she sent in, but it doesn’t have all of the context she would have included. And the headline is pretty ridiculous.

It’s entirely feasible that could happen, which makes this episode a comment on the media among other things. That’s worth paying attention to and it makes it a storyline I appreciate.

The problem, though, is Meredith’s reactions. I love that she’s become this person who will do anything for her cause, but DeLuca has a point that at least for now, she should be working within the system.

At the very least, she shouldn’t leave her community service to go talk to Bailey. It reeks of her privilege, and I’d really be more interested to see her finish out her community service as she’s supposed to and handle her other problems outside of it.

Instead, she goes to Bailey to try to explain, but she isn’t met with kindness. I’ve complained already that this all seems quite out of character for Bailey, and I do think it is to an extent. Her hurt feelings over it come out a little more clearly in her conversation with Meredith though, and that makes a difference. 

Then, there’s a little more explanation as to why Bailey has been acting unlike herself lately. Not only is she pre-menopausal, but um, she’s also pregnant.

It’s like we’re getting a whole new generation of Grey’s babies all of a sudden.

Any story that focuses on Bailey in a more personal way is one I’m interested in, so I’m very curious to see how this plays out. 

Meanwhile, Jackson is the one clashing with Tom this week, who set up a free surgery for a major case in exchange for being able to film it. But the filming quickly becomes exploitive. This is a family whose child is about to undergo surgery on her skull, and they’re terrified and vulnerable. 

Jackson makes himself the hero by involving Amelia and turning the whole thing on its head. He has her help with the surgery instead, still offers it for free, and there are no cameras.

Even better, the surgery is a perfect success. Schmidt, however, makes it known he’s disappointed that it wasn’t caught on camera. He and the other younger doctors are naturally concerned for their careers after Meredith’s article coming out, and you know, you can’t blame them. Not really. 

There are no right or wrong opinions for them, and even for the more seasoned doctors, it’s complicated. That’s what makes it interesting to watch, and it feels like we’ve landed on a new era of Grey’s. Especially because over at another hospital, Pac. North, Alex is recruiting more and more folks from Grey Sloan. 

Owen is the next to join him, which is fitting because we get to see a side of Owen on this episode that I don’t think we’ve seen in a while. It’s the side of him that jumps in where he has to based on his experience as a trauma surgeon in the military. It’s the side of him we saw when we first met him.

Things aren’t so simple with the patients back at Grey Sloan, though. The story of a stowaway falling out of a plane, crashing into another person and exploding is horrifying and heartbreaking. It’s a freak accident that leaves a man covered in blood, and the science of how that all works is honestly hard to digest. 

Unfortunately, there’s no happy ending there, and the entire incident feels more like it’s there for shock value than anything else. 

What it does for the doctors, though, is to give Link a reason to open up to Amelia and tell her he’s falling in love with her.

There’s joy there, and Amelia notes earlier on the episode how well they seem to work together. He may actually be just what she needs. It turns out they complement each other well.

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

Critic Rating:

User Rating:

 

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

 Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram!

Want more from Tell-Tale TV? Subscribe to our newsletter here!

20 Television Characters and their Hogwarts Houses