Grey’s Anatomy Season 23 Episode 2 Review: Problems on the VIP Floor

The new VIP floor is already causing problems on Grey’s Anatomy Season 23 Episode 2, “Slippin’ and Slidin’.”

Seth Norton tries to lure Meredith into working with VIP patients, suggesting that she can even stay in Boston but just fly in for specific cases. It turns out, as he and Richard explain, that the VIP patients also want VIP surgeons. 23 seasons into Grey’s Anatomy, and that’s exactly what Meredith Grey is. 

The only reason she’s back in Seattle right now, though, is for a young patient who desperately needs her help. Richard has the idea that perhaps Meredith could occasionally upgrade patients to VIP status, pro bono, if she’s also willing to work with other VIP patients. 

They upgrade her young patient, Charlie, but it’s clear he still won’t get the same level of VIP treatment as those who pay. In fact, other VIP patients indirectly cause harm to Charlie’s treatment. 

Intern Dani Spencer is stretched too thin because of a VIP patient who is very demanding, and honestly, it’s not her fault that her priorities seem unclear at times.

Norton is the chief of surgery now, and he expects Spencer to give a specific kind of care to VIP patients. Apparently, staying focused in surgery isn’t a priority. Had she not been an intern, it would be easy to fault her for not being focused on Charlie, but in this case, it’s Norton who is more at fault. 

This is the kind of fight Meredith Grey was built for, so it’s unfortunate that she’s no longer a part of the show in the regular way she used to be. Even if she is showing up more often, Grey-Sloan Memorial isn’t her home the way it was before. 

Norton does have a positive impact in other ways, one of which is offering Kwan a chance to return. For starters, it’s all his talk about easy cases and dermatology that makes Kwan realize he’s not ready to give up on surgery just yet.

But it’s Bailey who makes the compelling case that Kwan deserves a second chance, after saying something similar to a group of college students whose dangerous hazing ritual lands a fellow student in the hospital.

Meanwhile, Simone barely has a chance to grapple with learning that she’s pregnant before Bryant overhears her conversation with Kwan about it. 

Not only does she not know who the father is, but she’s also not sure she wants to have a baby right now. The relationship between Simone and Bryant is still fairly new as well. What’s refreshing about the way this is handled is that it’s less about not knowing who the father is and more about Simone’s personal decision.

For Bryant, the fact that the baby could be someone else’s is less important to him than considering whether he’s ready to commit to being a father. By the end of the episode, Simone tells Bryant she’s not going to keep the baby, and he’s supportive. No matter how much a lot of people might like to see Simone and Lucas reconnect, her relationship with Bryant is really becoming a joy to watch.

The relationship between Jules and Winston is another important part of the episode. Winston is now acting as residency director, which means he’s now a more direct supervisor to Jules. On top of that, he’s rattled that Ben has figured out their relationship. He’s even more rattled that Ben has noticed Winston favoring Jules.

The question of whether he’s actually favoring her is unclear, even to him. She does have more experience than Bryant, but his decisions might still be impacted. 

We’ve seen storylines like this plenty of times before. The early days of Meredith and Derek come to mind, and so do the early days of Burke and Cristina.

There’s a hint that the failed operation on their patient might have been avoided if it weren’t for their relationship. Would Winston have been so enthusiastic about Jules’ idea if they weren’t together? Was it the wrong call to do the surgery in the first place?

For now, it’s clear their relationship can’t work, and that’s a heartbreaking realization for both of them, especially with the way Jules says, “This was never going to work, was it?”

Other thoughts:

• Jo’s frustration in her tasks as a stay-at-home mom provides some levity to this episode, even though it’s rooted in sadness. This certainly isn’t the first time we’ve seen a surgeon try to take time away from their work and explore how life could be different. 
• Amelia and Toni wind up staying with Jo instead of taking Scout out to the ferryboats, and it’s a nice way to bring those three characters together. It’s also sweet how much Toni invests in wanting to learn about Scout.
• It’s been two episodes with Meredith Grey, and there’s been no mention of her engagement. Sure, she’s been focused on other things, but it’s disappointing that there hasn’t even been a quick comment about it. 

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

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