Grey’s Anatomy – Season 16 Episode 5 Recap & Review

Marriage Problems

Grey’s Anatomy returns this week with another decent episode as our different narratives continue to advance at a good pace. While we don’t really see much of Pac-North this week, we do learn more about Jo’s time in therapy while Meredith’s complicated situation seems to be getting worse.

We start with Bailey about to tell Ben she’s pregnant but as he just had a hard day at work, he falls asleep before hearing the news. Meanwhile Meredith has a court appointment as she has missed too much community service but is unable to go as Zola seems quite sick. At the same time, Webber and Gemma grow closer and end up having lunch together. After sharing a touching moment, Gemma decides to tell Richard that she knows he’s unhappy in his marriage and she might be be able to help, given they’re both attracted to each other. Quick to deny it, Richard rejects her and leaves the restaurant abruptly, but not before she manages to plant a kiss on him.

Jo and Bailey’s patient this week is a young woman who’s admitted for potential suicide following carbon monoxide poisoning. As they enter the hyperbaric chamber, Jo recognises her as being one of her therapists, Carly. Remembering the difficult treatment she received, Jo starts to panic but Bailey calms her down by revealing she’s pregnant.

With the situation under control, Meredith brings Zola in for some tests as she’s worried about her shunt. Koracick runs a CT scan and notices that she needs a shunt revision surgery which should be quite straight forward. However, it means that Meredith will not be able to go to court.

During the surgery, Amelia and Maggie keep her company in the waiting room where they all discuss their current situations. Maggie seems to be happy with just surgeries in her life while Amelia realises that she doesn’t really know much about Link’s life. Just as Meredith starts talking about her feelings for DeLuca, Koracick arrives to tell her the operation went well.

Back in the chamber, Bailey and Jo discuss her pregnancy before Jo explains her relaxing technique she learned from her therapist. Just as she recalls one of her breakthroughs, Carly has a seizure but Jo soon figures out what she needs. As they administer the right medicine, Carly finally regains consciousness and explains that she didn’t try to kill herself.

Tensions are still in the air between Richard and Catherine when she gets back home too, while Bailey finally reveals her pregnancy to an ecstatic Ben. We close the episode with Meredith’s lawyer arriving to tell her that the judge understood why she wasn’t in court but unfortunately she will have to finish her community service hours in jail.

Ending on yet another cliffhanger, Grey’s Anatomy continues to deliver engrossing medical drama, topped off with the proverbial cherry on the cake in the form of the news that Meredith is heading to jail. We’re left to wonder how she’ll cope with it and, in true Grey’s Anatomy style, if this will bring more drama as she potentially handles sick people in prison.

There were some funny moments too between all three sisters in the waiting room which helps to balance out some of the melodrama and is certainly a welcome sight. While there may well be more in the pipeline between the trio, what’s here is entertaining to watch nonetheless.

Richard’s marriage is certainly in trouble too and with Gemma now in the picture, things are about to get a whole lot more complicated. What will next week bring? Only time will tell!