When it rains, it pours — literally. In Grey’s Anatomy‘s season 12 finale on Thursday, May 19, the inclement weather in the skies proved to be nothing compared with the storms brewing on the ground. Amelia (Caterina Scorsone) was an emotional wreck as she prepared to marry Owen (Kevin McKidd); Jo (Camilla Luddington) made a Hail Mary attempt to save her relationship with Alex (Justin Chambers); Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) and Riggs (Martin Henderson) tried to navigate the aftermath of their four-times-in-one-night stand; and April (Sarah Drew) went into labor…in Meredith’s house.
How Many Great Loves Does One Get?
Is there a limit? This was the question posed by Meredith and Alex on the morning of Amelia and Owen’s nuptials. “Maybe it’s nobody’s fault. Maybe you only get one,” Mer speculated, prompting Alex to ask exactly what she meant. Alex — who wasn’t feeling too upbeat about matters of the heart these days — didn’t take long to convince.
“What was Derek?” he asked. “Are you telling me you think that’s coming around again?” Meredith noted that it was definitely going to rain, and thus ended the most depressing prewedding conversation in (television) history.
Amelia Makes a Bold Decision
Things weren’t much better for the bride, however, as Amelia locked herself in the bathroom crying over the fact that no one from her family was coming to her wedding. Meredith, Maggie (Kelly McCreary) and April tried to console her through the door, but ultimately it was her groom who got her out. Owen arrived, like a knight in shining armor, and told her, “If they don’t want to be here, then they shouldn’t be here. We don’t want them. They don’t get it, and they don’t have to. I do, and I’ll be there, and the only one I want there is you.” It was short and romantic and perfect — and suddenly the day was back on track…for about five minutes.
As she helped Owen with his cufflinks, Meredith asked if he had let Cristina (Sandra Oh) know he was marrying Amelia. When Owen said he hadn’t, Meredith said she thought he should. Amelia conveniently overheard this conversation and headed into another tailspin of despair. When Meredith returned to Amelia’s room to help her get ready, Amelia confronted her.
“You are rooting for the other guy,” Amelia snapped. “You told me to go and be with Owen, and then you turned on me, and now you are not on my side, and we both know you don’t like me, but you are stuck with me.” Meredith proved unflappable in that moment and simply made it clear that she was there to help Amelia do whatever it was she wanted to do. Amelia decided she wanted to run.
April Goes Into Labor
Meanwhile, April had recruited Ben (Jason George) to drive her home so she could track down Owen and Amelia’s wedding rings, which she had apparently forgotten. Unfortunately, just as she found them, she went into labor. Her contractions were fast and furious, and it soon became clear that with the storm in full swing, she was never going to make it to the hospital in time. This meant Ben was going to have to deliver her baby there. Ben, clearly a bit stunned, quickly got on board with the preparations for the birth, but then he discovered April’s baby was breech and had the umbilical cord wrapped around its neck. April needed a C-section, and she needed it right away.
Naturally, Ben was hesitant to perform surgery on Mer’s kitchen table, but after a quick call to Miranda (Chandra Wilson), it became obvious this was the only choice to save the baby. April situated herself on the table, Ben dug up an old medical kit, and — with Miranda, Arizona (Jessica Capshaw) and Jackson (Jesse Williams) on the other end of the phone — the surgery began. The last thing Jackson heard before the line went dead was April screaming in pain as Ben made the wide incision across her belly without the aid of anesthesia.
Jo Reveals a Stunning Secret
“Let’s make a baby!” Jo declared to Alex as he packed up to move to Meredith’s — but he wasn’t swayed by the proposition. “I’m done with games,” he said. “I’m done with crazy.” Noting that he didn’t care about her excuses or her drama anymore, he said he wanted to have a real life with a house and a family. If she couldn’t give him that, he wasn’t interested.
Jo reacted badly, and headed to the bar with Stephanie (Jerrika Hinton) to drown her sorrows. When Andrew (Giacomo Gianniotti) showed up to pick up a well-deserved cheeseburger after a punishing shift, Stephanie passed off her drunk friend to him. Andrew ended up with the task of getting Jo home safely, and once inside her apartment, she confessed the reason she couldn’t marry Alex: She was already married. Oops. She went on to explain that her ex was extremely abusive, and she’d gone to great lengths — even changing her name — to escape him. She was terrified that if she filed for divorce, he would find her, and that was something she couldn’t risk, even for Alex.
That’s when Jo, who had voluntarily stripped to her underwear in her drunken state, tumbled onto the bed, and Andrew went down on top her. Of course, this is the moment Alex walked in — and he didn’t pause long enough for an explanation before he began beating up Andrew (probably not something Jo was happy to see for a variety of reasons).
Amelia Asks the Big Questions Over a Big Gulp
OK, so she may not technically have been downing a Big Gulp, but it was a giant Slushee-type drink. It seemed that Amelia, Maggie and Meredith had stopped at a convenience store to regroup, and Amelia began reflecting on what it was she was doing. “Why am I marrying Owen?” she asked. “What if Owen is my new drug, and I’m just using him to ignore the fact that Meredith is right, that Owen’s had the love of his life, and so have I, and once it’s gone, everything is just filler? I mean, who gets that twice?”
Meanwhile, back at the wedding venue, Owen contemplated the news that this trio had taken off and decided to give his bride-to-be the benefit of the doubt by waiting to see if she returned. Happily, Amelia did, and the wedding went forward as planned.
All’s Well That Ends Well
Miraculously, (almost) every story wrapped on a happy note. April, Ben and April’s newborn daughter (not yet named) arrived at the hospital via ambulance. Ben carried the baby while April went into surgery, but shortly after, Miranda announced that the new mom was stable.
Miranda then turned to Ben and told him just how proud she was of him, noting that he had saved not one, but two lives that day. Ben was very, very happy to hear that praise, indeed.
Meanwhile, Arizona arrived at the home of Calle (Sara Ramirez) with their daughter in tow and broke the news that she’d had a change of heart. She said that Callie should take Sofia to New York to be with Penny (Samantha Sloyan) after all, though she explained how holidays and what-not would be divided up. “Sofia deserves two happy moms,” Arizona said as Callie gave her the hug of the century. (Find out here if Callie will return to the show next season!)
Even things between Meredith and Riggs seemed to be developing nicely. Their casual banter progressed to a heartfelt conversation about their past relationships, and the sparks seemed to be flying full force. The only wrinkle? As Amelia walked down the aisle, Maggie mistook Riggs looking at Meredith for Riggs looking at her, and she told Meredith in no uncertain terms she was interested in him. Hmm.
Tell Us: What did you think of the season finale of Grey’s Anatomy? And how do you feel about Callie’s fate?
