Grey’s Anatomy (17×05) Fight the Power Review

For our review of the last episode of Grey’s Anatomy, click here.

Synopsis: Bailey panics as she hears there has been a surge of COVID-19 cases, knowing she has loved ones in an assisted living facility. Meanwhile, Jackson and Richard team up against Catherine to teach her a lesson, and Teddy continues to try to mend her frayed relationships. After an intense surgery, Jo is uncertain about her future. (IMDb)

With Meredith’s COVID battle being the focus of the season so far, she takes a back seat to let the other characters get some of the spotlight. Fight the Power focuses on the three sides of COVID: the good, the bad and the ugly. First, the good. Turns out Meredith’s symptoms are improving from the drug trial and she is stable. While the majority of the episode has Grey sleeping throughout the day, she manages to be a confidant for Bailey when she needs to vent. It’s a subtle use of Meredith after a heavy focus on this character, but it’s good to change things up.

The second battle with COVID: the bad. As the pandemic rages through long-term care facilities, Bailey learns that her parent’s home is currently dealing with an outbreak. Ben rushes to rescue her parents, but he’s met by a symptomatic Mrs. Bailey. She’s brought to the hospital and quickly her health deteriorates in front of Bailey’s eyes. She reveals to a sleeping Meredith that her mother has Alzheimer’s and she couldn’t bear losing her mother a second time, but only Meredith knew that feeling. As the episode progresses, so did her condition and eventually Bailey’s mother passed away from a rapid decline from COVID that ravaged her immunocompromised system. The interaction between Bailey, her mother and her socially distanced father is truly heart-wrenching and a real look at how COVID has been affecting us all.

And finally, the ugly. This comes in ongoing battle that Koracick is facing. After being asymptomatic, he comes in experiencing chills, fever and even neurological problems. Many of the doctors jump on this case, including Amelia who has been on leave, to help Koracick through the biggest battle of his life. Thankfully, after extensive care and a grueling battle his stats look promising and he begins to stabilize showing the struggle that many people deal with when battling COVID. The remaining subplots deal with Link continuing to take care of the children, Avery pushing Richard to force his mom to wear her mask because she is immunocompromised and Jo finding her purpose again after performing a surgery and then delivering a baby.

After two weeks of overindulging the audience in using COVID’s hallucination symptom as a way to bring back beloved characters, the series decides to ground COVID in a very real way. By having three different characters struggle with the issues of symptomatic COVID in multiple ways, the show depicts how the virus can affect everyone differently. From the early hump and struggle like Meredith, the slow burn like Koracick or the rapid on-set like Bailey’s mother, each realistically tackles the symptoms of COVID at different stages making for a very tense episode. Thankfully, this real look at the pandemic that has caused worldwide panic and fear is complemented by character moments, even if those are equally emotional.

The Medical Journal:

• Who else will contract COVID-19?
• Will Meredith see anyone else?
• How will Owen and Teddy get through their marital troubles?
• Will Jo switch to OB?
• Will Catherine Avery become symptomatic after being problematic with her mask wearing?
• How will Bailey cope with the loss of her mother?

What did you think of “Fight the Power”? Let me know in the comments below!

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Dylan Phillips