Grey’s Anatomy Review: Helplessly Hoping (Season 17 Episode 7)

*This review contains spoilers. Be sure to watch the episode before you continue reading!

Where do I even begin?

Grey’s Anatomy Season 17 Episode 7, “Helplessly Hoping,” does the unthinkable, and we’re all left with one simple question. Why?

The episode picks up where Station 19 leaves off — all part of a crossover event with the show’s spinoff series. On the Station 19 episode, Andrew DeLuca and his sister Carina are following Opal, a woman who DeLuca now knows for certain is involved in a sex trafficking operation.

While that dangerous mission does result in Opal being arrested, DeLuca is stabbed in the process.

The fact that those events occur on Station 19, and not on Grey’s Anatomy, is my first gripe with all of this.

I’m all for a good crossover, but it’s disappointing for a storyline that’s been a part of Grey’s Anatomy for this long, and one so important to a Grey’s Anatomy character, to wind up culminating on its spinoff series.

It also means that much of DeLuca’s final scenes occurred on the spinoff as well. That simply feels unfair to the character.

When the Grey’s Anatomy episode begins, DeLuca is in peril. He’s brought to Grey-Sloan where Owen leads the charge to try to save his life. That’s all handled well enough. Though it’s a shame that some of Teddy and Owen’s drama surfaces as part of it.

The only reason Owen wants to work with Teddy in this case, actually, is because of their shared experiences overseas. He knows she can handle it because of their time working in that traumatic environment, always responsible for saving people they were working closely with. This isn’t much different. 

As they work to save him, DeLuca appears on the beach with Meredith, who is still in a coma and fighting for her own life. Somehow, she’s not entirely surprised to see him. If this episode does anything right, it’s giving these two the chance to talk through their own history and giving DeLuca the opportunity to confidently state that he doesn’t regret putting his life in danger.

Everything he says in that speech rings true in a palpable way — we can all relate to this feeling that not much in the world makes sense. But going after this woman and stopping her made sense to DeLuca. 

What doesn’t make sense, is that he still had plans. The heartbreaking metaphor of his sandcastle that he just can’t complete before the tide comes in is a gut-punch. It’s layered storytelling and it hints that yes, we really are about to lose another key character from this series. 

DeLuca’s death feels like shock value for the sake of shock value. It’s as though it’s just been a while since the show had killed off a major character, so maybe it was time to do that again. 

It’s hard to imagine how much purpose losing a character who’d become so complex and interesting to watch, played by an actor with that much talent (I’ve been singing Giacomo Gianiotti’s praises for quite some time now, and his performance on this episode is just as stellar) could do to enhance the story more than keeping him on.

In fact, it’s even more surprising that this particular arc would result in his death because it feels like such a beginning for him.

DeLuca had just overcome so much with his mental health. He was learning to take care of himself and figure out who he is away from Meredith. It’s baffling that a new beginning like that would instead become his ending. 

I’ve been a defender of many of these kinds of shocking deaths in the past, especially Derek’s, because they seem to serve the story well and propel it forward in interesting ways.

There’s no doubt that DeLuca’s death will affect every character on the series, but this mostly feels, again, like shock value with no real purpose. That makes this character’s death even more difficult to accept.

DeLuca’s death makes the fifth death of a series regular character on Grey’s Anatomy. It feels like more than that, but he follows George, Lexie, Mark, and Derek. Every single one of these deaths was a sudden tragedy rather than something like an illness.

For whatever it’s worth, DeLuca’s is the only one that doesn’t somehow involve a vehicle. 

Returning back to the beach, I have to point out that Meredith’s interactions with DeLuca feel a bit false at times. Their closure is sweet, necessary, and good for the story. And her understanding that it’s time for him to go is nice as well.

But there’s a false sense of positivity there that doesn’t quite work. It’s also a shame more time isn’t spent allowing them to connect on that beach.

Instead, we spend too much time elsewhere. In an episode that says goodbye to yet another beloved character, too much energy is spent on other storylines, like Maggie going off the grid, Teddy and Koracick’s relationship, and even Jo’s patient.

The only other plot point that doesn’t feel like it takes away from DeLuca on this episode is Amelia and Maggie’s decision to tell Zola what’s going on with her mother. In fact, I’d have enjoyed seeing a little more attention spent on that too.

DeLuca’s death is tragic not only because it’s sad to see the character go, but because it feels so pointless. As I watched it happen, I felt less like crying (don’t get me wrong, I cried) and more like yelling.

Though you have to hand it to Grey’s Anatomy for one key thing here. If a show can inspire this many complex feelings over a fictional character, it must still be doing something right. 

—

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 9/8c on ABC.

 Follow us on Twitter and on Instagram!

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

20 Heart-Wrenching TV Deaths to Make You Burst into Tears