The penultimate Season 21 episode of Grey’s Anatomy was — sorry, Dickens — the best of times, the worst of times. On one hand, it was Jo and Link’s wedding day. On the other, young Dylan remained in a bad way that only got worse. In addition, while Nora managed to pose a new threat to Teddy and Owen’s future, Lucas huffed and puffed that he and Simone didn’t have one. Read on for all the details…
JO HIT THE MOTHER LODE | As “Love You Like a Love Song” began, tensions flared between Jo and her future mother-in-law, Maureen (guest star Bess Armstrong). Link’s mom was eager to help but only in ways that the bride didn’t want — like doing her makeup so that she resembled, in her words, “1983 Boy George” and offering up a giant veil that could’ve been a prop from The Last Showgirl.
Thankfully, wedding officiant Levi soon showed up and explained to Jo that Maureen was just being… well, a mom. Since Jo had never had one of those, she was unaware that this was occasionally the aggravating manner in which they showed love. With Levi’s reassurance, Jo blurted out to Maureen that she didn’t want the makeup or the headdress… although she did so more loudly than she ideally would have liked.
Meanwhile, Link, who was working at Grey Sloan — yes, on his wedding day — let Bailey get in his head about the fact that he couldn’t just “wing it” when it came to reciting vows to his bride. Off Bailey’s advice, he attempted to write something heartfelt the same way that he might post-op notes. That being an epic fail, Bailey suggested that he instead “say how you feel in your own way.” Like it’s that easy!
TEDDY OPERATED ON NORA | Back from what sounded like a highly therapeutic vacation in Hawaii, Owen and Teddy had the glow of newlyweds. She didn’t even ask to be taken off of the case of her husband’s one-night stand, Nora, who was back in the hospital with an infected graft. Alas, the long-shot procedure that she and Winston attempted to perform on the patient failed; their only option was to recommend palliative care.
On Teddy’s way to Jo and Link’s nuptials, she broke the news to Owen, who while still on duty, attempted to comfort Megan’s childhood bestie. “I know I shouldn’t say this, but I’m dying so I have a pass now,” Nora told him. “I think I’m a little bit in love with you.” By the time Teddy and Winston left the reception with a radical new idea that might save Nora, Owen was in her bed looking much cozier than his wife would’ve preferred.
LUCAS DUMPED SIMONE | Throughout the hour, Lucas seized every opportunity to use Dylan’s worsening condition as an excuse to give Simone the cold shoulder. At first, the child could only communicate by blinking; by the end, she couldn’t even do that. Finally, outside of Jo and Link’s wedding venue, Simone actually had to tell Lucas that she hadn’t been rooting against Dylan, she’d just been being realistic.
For his part, Lucas didn’t see what was wrong with hoping for the best. That, Simone countered, was because he got bailed out every time he took a risk that didn’t work out; not everybody was that lucky. That remark really stung. So Lucas decided that it was his turn to be realistic, and the reality was that he and Simone didn’t have a future together.
LINK RELEASED THE SONG IN HIS HEART | Before the wedding got underway, Jo stole a moment with Maureen to apologize and explain why it had been so alien to her to be mothered. The hatchet buried, the ceremony started with Levi walking his pal down the aisle. When it came time for the vows, swoon! Link sang his, and they were as cute and funny as they were romantic and sweet! “How,” asked the bride, “am I supposed to follow that?!?”
As the hour drew to a close, Jules, high from Richard letting her perform an ostomy, informed Winston that she wasn’t mad anymore that he didn’t seem to want her on his service. The day had opened her eyes to other possibilities, and she wanted to explore them all! Finally, a devastated Simone was at Joe’s Bar drowning her sorrows when she was hit on by a handsome stranger (Grown-ish’s Trevor Jackson). Before the credits rolled, they were getting both hot and heavy!