Grey’s Anatomy Season 22 Episode 3 Review: Between Two Lungs

The hospital is slowly getting back to normal on Grey’s Anatomy Season 22 Episode 3, “Between Two Lungs.” Mostly, everything feels familiar in terms of storytelling — there are risky surgeries, shifting power dynamics, and romantic tensions.

The risky surgery is one that involves several surgeons, including Nick, since this surgery involves a lung transplant. The idea is that a young boy’s two fathers will each donate part of one of their lungs, and Nick will use them to create a full set.

This means three surgeries happening at once, with absolutely no room for error.

Of course, if everything happened exactly as planned, that wouldn’t make for good TV. Just prior to surgery, they discover one of the dads has a fever, and he’s no longer able to participate because of it. But with everything already in motion, they have to come up with a new solution.

Meredith is involved in this, which makes sense because Nick is there too, and I like having her back in surgeries in this way. Winston, of course, is also involved, and he’s been the one with the most hesitancy for the procedure. A

pep talk from Jules gives him new confidence, though — she says he’s not like other surgeons because he doesn’t have the same type of ego, and that makes him better. 

That new confidence enables him to pivot — they wind up using just one dad’s lung, but in a more complicated way, and it works. 

Meanwhile, Bailey has a patient who needs surgery, and she’s forced to mediate drama between Lucas and Bryant.

Lucas, now a resident, is supposed to be training Bryant, but knowing that Bryant slept with Simone has made him angry and jealous. It’s difficult to watch, and as much as I like Lucas, it’s Bryant who is winning over the audience in this situation.

There’s also something comforting about Bailey being the voice of reason, just like she always has been.

This episode also introduces us to a new doctor, plastic surgery fellow Kavita Mohanty. Kwan assumes she’s an intern when he first meets her, putting his foot directly in his mouth because of it. He spends the rest of the episode trying to get on her good side, but not without making more mistakes in the meantime. 

It’s been a while since we’ve had anyone focusing on plastics, so this all feels very welcome. 

Outside of the hospital, Teddy helps Jo negotiate a new car, which offers some levity and is great fun to watch. I think we’d all like to have a Teddy Altman to go car shopping with us from now on. 

That situation also winds up striking a nerve and making Teddy emotional. The car dealer’s comments about family roadtrips and memories hit her hard, and she finally reveals to Jo that she and Owen are getting divorced. 

I can only hope that they move through that process fairly quickly. It’s a shame their relationship was handled the way it was, especially since the beginnings of their problems felt like they were coming out of nowhere. At this point, though, it’s been a long time coming, and it seems better to watch the characters move forward in new ways.

For Teddy, that’s going to have everything to do with Cass Beckman, who coincidentally shows up at the beginning of the episode. And after Jo inspires Teddy to find her joy however she can right now, she reconnects with Cass, this time without any guilt holding her back.

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Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursdays at 10/9c on ABC.

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