Grey’s Anatomy Review: The Makings of You (Season 18 Episode 12)

All three of the sisters find themselves at pivotal moments on Grey’s Anatomy Season 18 Episode 12, “The Makings of You.”

It’s an episode that takes place fully outside of the hospital, with Meredith, Amelia, and Maggie all having different experiences that reveal more about themselves and lead them each to a turning point. 

We’ve seen episodes like this before, where the pace slows down and we’re afforded a deep dive into a small number of characters. However, this episode almost feels too indulgent and too much like Grey’s Anatomy is running its course, no matter how thoughtful and thematic it actually is.

Meredith

Let me start by saying this: I really, really like Meredith with Nick. These two have great chemistry together, and I think Nick being there at this particular place in Meredith’s life makes a lot of sense. He even reminds me a little of Derek. 

But he’s also becoming a reason for Meredith to be pulled away from the hospital and away from her family. Meredith has been away from Grey-Sloan so much between this season and last (if you recall the beach scenes) and it’s creating a disconnect. This only does that further. 

Of course, on this particular episode, her romantic getaway with Nick also offers her a chance to reflect on her younger self because of Nick’s niece showing up. And in turn, she finds herself pondering what’s next after the success of her Parkinson’s disease research. She admits she may want more than being chief of general surgery at Grey-Sloan. 

That’s not surprising, and it could mean working toward the end of Meredith Grey’s story after so many years.  

Amelia

Meanwhile, Amelia is having her own romantic getaway with Kai. They’re finishing up their report from the project, then have some time left to spend together once they’re done. 

Kai is full of surprises, it seems, when they bring Amelia to “go see a show.” It turns out to be a nice moment for Kai’s character, who we haven’t seen much yet outside of the research project.

Generally, it seems like a good thing to put these two together also, and I like the subtlety in terms of what this means for Amelia’s sexuality.

You do get the sense this is all new for her, but not in a way that makes it a major part of the story. Instead, it’s mostly about the new relationship as a whole.

And the relationship does seem to be pivotal for her, though that’s been the case for all of Amelia’s recent relationships, really. What’s different with Amelia’s relationship with Kai is that it’s giving her a chance to start over in a new way, and as she notes on this episode, she may have more to figure out about herself than she realized. 

Maggie

Maggie’s portion of this episode is the most emotional, and it’s one of the best episodes Maggie’s gotten in a long while. It’s about time, honestly. For too long, Maggie’s stories have felt like afterthoughts, but this one gives her a chance to shine and to make an emotional change.

She’s home with Meredith’s children (which seems to be the case more often than not lately) but she has the flu. Winston, of course, is there to help too, and thanks to an incident with Ellis hiding too well, they stumble upon a letter from Ellis Grey, written to her.

In a fever dream, Maggie reads the letter and sees Ellis Grey. It’s an interesting way to bring Kate Burton back, and as always, she’s able to play that role again without missing a beat. 

Maggie learns from the letter and from her visions of Ellis more about why she gave Maggie up and that she carefully chose the family she’d be a part of. She talks about her history with Richard and the time she spent working in cardio too, which offers a new connection for Maggie.

Mostly, it winds up becoming a moment of closure for Maggie, who essentially says goodbye to Ellis and is welcomed by a vision of the mother who took care of her instead.

At this point, it’s so common for characters to have visions like this and see ghosts of the past that this could all lose a little of its impact, but Kelly McCreary does the work so well that it’s enthralling anyway. The same is true for Kate Burton’s performance.

Maggie is then able to move on in a way she hasn’t before. When all three sisters are back reunited, it becomes a family moment for Maggie to burn that letter, and it’s really valuable the way it brings them all together.

The legacy of Ellis Grey, after all, has been an important part of the series from the very first episode. The way the story has continued from there, now over 18 years, is pretty incredible.

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Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursdays at 9/8c on ABC.

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