Grey’s Anatomy Review: Fight the Power (Season 17 Episode 5)

It’s Miranda Bailey who has us breaking out the tissues on Grey’s Anatomy Season 17 Episode 5, “Fight the Power.”

Bailey has just recently moved her parents to an assisted living facility in Seattle, and now that very facility is seeing a surge of COVID cases. One of those cases, unfortunately, winds up being her mother.

Not only is she heartbroken that her mother is so severely sick, but she feels responsible in a way that weighs heavier on her than it should. In Bailey’s mind, had she not brought her parents to be close to her, they’d be safe, isolating at their home.

This taps into something relatable for a lot of people right now, because there’s guilt surrounding so many decisions — even those that were made before the world turned upside down.

How could anyone have really known what was coming? How could Bailey have possibly imagined that moving her parents closer to her could be a bad thing?

Bailey has been faced with impossible decisions over the years, and now she’s faced with another. Making it all even more difficult, there’s the reveal that Bailey and Meredith Grey have had something in common we never realized. Bailey’s mother has Alzheimer’s. 

She reveals this to Meredith, who is still battling her own sickness and who may or may not really be able to hear Bailey. We know she does hear her, because that’s our trip to the beach on this episode.

It’s a really beautiful scene between the two characters, and it’s a peaceful break from the hospital, which is centering itself almost entirely on the pandemic.

Bailey’s most meaningful conversation on this episode, though, is with Maggie. Bailey pours her heart out and seeks advice, and the two bond over the struggles they’ve faced as Black women, and how often they’d been underestimated.

It’s the kind of thing Grey’s almost always does well — bringing awareness naturally through its characters. I’d love to see more scenes like this between Bailey and Maggie.

Bailey does wind up having to say goodbye to her mother, and it’s absolutely gut-wrenching. Chandra Wilson’s performance here is impeccable, as is her performance in the entire episode, really.

And this scene would be emotional anyway, but with her father not able to be there, and with Bailey singing to her while covered in her PPE — it hits the current moment in time on the nose that is strikingly uncomfortable. And I mean that in a good way. 

Tom is also now battling COVID, with entirely different symptoms, and after originally presenting as asymptomatic. It seems he’ll be okay, but watching him be so sick and vulnerable is difficult.

Add to that all the awkwardness of the doctors there to save him: Owen, Teddy, and a desperately worried Amelia. Emotions are running extremely high.

Honestly, a lot of this is hard to watch. Grey’s Anatomy should be doing exactly what it’s doing, with its finger on the pulse of the pandemic, leaning heavily on as many aspects of it is possible and revealing what it’s like for hospitals and healthcare workers. But it’s not easy to see, and this episode doesn’t offer many reprieves. 

One it does offer, aside from the beach scene I noted earlier, is Jo’s joy at delivering a baby. It happens quickly and out of necessity, and it changes her outlook on things in a major way. 

It’s inspiring to see how Jo has coped with everything, and if she chooses to change specialties because she’s choosing joy, especially now? That could be a wonderful thing to see.

Other thoughts:

• Would Catherine really be one to not wear a mask properly? I can’t decide if I believe her character would be careless about that.
• I continue to love Jackson and Richard’s relationship, and that TMI moment is another brief moment of comic relief that’s much appreciated.
• Link had no idea Amelia had ever slept with Koracick, and his reaction to that news as Amelia runs out the door is perfect.

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 8/7 on ABC.

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