Grey’s Anatomy Review: It’s All Too Much (Season 17 Episode 8)

While Grey’s Anatomy Season 17 Episode 8, “It’s All Too Much,” has its share of great moments, it’s largely a frustrating hour. 

Bailey is rightfully angry and emotional over the fact that she wasn’t even allowed the opportunity to help save Andrew DeLuca. Instead, a weak argument was made to let her keep sleeping as opposed to having her around to help one of her own. She wasn’t even given the chance to know there was a problem at all.

That’s all quite out of character for these doctors and for the show itself, which is usually all hands on deck when it means saving someone from their own hospital family. 

It’s not surprising, then, that her reaction is to have an autopsy done or to call an M&M. Her approach, though, feels a little out of character herself. 

Meanwhile, Richard goes so far as to question his own faith, learning at least one bit of good news in the process. Catherine’s cancer prognosis is looking hopeful.

That’s good to hear, but it doesn’t pack the emotional punch it deserves in an episode that is otherwise pretty bleak. 

Because Meredith Grey? She’s still not leaving that beach. 

Teddy tries to start weaning her off of the ventilator, but she’s questioning her own judgment at this point, and we can see from Meredith’s subconscious that her will to fight isn’t all that strong. 

As much as I enjoy seeing Derek on the beach again talking about the child he never even had a chance to meet, the fact that Meredith is so willing to stay put when she has so many people who need her is making less and less sense. 

In the early days of Grey’s Anatomy, we saw Meredith Grey make risky choices all too often — so often, that we came to learn there was something happening there psychologically. But that was a “dark & twisty” Meredith who didn’t have three children to raise on her own and who hadn’t yet come into her own as a surgeon. 

Meredith is a different person now. She’s more joyful, more responsible, and more confident. She’s seen more tragedies than any person should have to see and experienced way too many losses.

That could cause her to want to linger on that beach — she feels so relaxed, it’s warm, it’s easy, etc. That would all make plenty of sense if she didn’t have children who needed her. 

That it would be Hayes who would begin to bring that to her attention feels anti-climactic, to be sure. But, we’re not there yet. 

Elsewhere in the hospital, a patient has arrived who is so afraid of COVID that he can’t bear to receive the treatment he needs. It’s really difficult to watch because he embodies such personal fears. They’re exacerbated by the isolation he’s experienced. Many of the doctors can relate, including Helm. 

Not a whole lot of time is spent on this, but Helm’s emotions are palpable. Not everyone has had the complete lack of human contact she has, and it’s wearing on her. Maggie’s solution is an act of grace that’s really beautiful to watch.

Meanwhile, outside of the hospital, Amelia and Link come to blows over the reveal that Link sometimes drinks in the garage. Their fight isn’t surprising.

They’ve been at home with a new baby plus three other children who aren’t theirs. Suddenly, they were given this whole big family to take care of in the middle of a pandemic. Of course, tensions are going to be high. 

Link has easily become one of the most likable characters on the show, and that even comes through when he’s ranting to Amelia. He is a good guy, and he’s got a great, fun energy, even when things are dark.

He brings that energy to Jo’s apartment, where he’s not surprised to see Jackson — and makes it known he knows all of the details of that arrangement.

They all wind up spending the day together, with Link and Jo drinking whiskey and ending the bottle by comparing sad stories. It brings some much-needed levity, and I wouldn’t be mad and more scenes with the three of them. 

DeLuca’s memorial the most heart-breaking part of the episode. It’s not the typical memorial, but it’s nice all the same thanks to Richard.

It’s too bad we don’t get to hear everyone’s tributes on that video. But what we do hear, is DeLuca applying for his internship. It’s a nice way to get some closure and say goodbye to his character.

Where we end, though, is with Teddy in a bad way. Throughout the hour, she’d been seeing DeLuca, haunted by his death and presumably feeling the guilt over not being able to save him.

She sits alone at the memorial, and Owen finds her after it’s over, unable to move or speak. He picks her up to carry her home. 

This could wind up being a way for them to reconnect. But for now, as the previews for the next episode show, Teddy is in a dangerous mental state.

That could make for a really interesting story, but it also offers another reason why it had to be Teddy working on DeLuca as opposed to Richard or Bailey. Owen noted that she could handle it because of her experience during the war, but this may very well be what’s broken her. 

The problem is that, again, it doesn’t entirely add up that Bailey wasn’t there or even really that Richard would have been sidelined. It means that was forced for the sake of giving Teddy this particular story. 

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 9/8c on ABC.

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