‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Recap: Derek Supports Meredith’s Career; Arizona And Leah Heat Up

Grey’s Anatomy opened with Derek (Patrick Dempsey) getting Zola ready for the day while his character provided the episode’s insightful voiceover about patters, maps and putting things together – foreshadowing the theme in “Map of You” of people continuing on a familiar path or forcefully veering off of it.

Once Derek gets to the hospital, he learns that Callie (Sara Ramirez) no longer wants to work on their research study. Derek tells Callie that just because she began the research project for Arizona (Jessica Capshaw), doesn’t mean that she can just quit now that they’re on the outs. Callie retorts that Derek’s lack of interest in continuing the study has to do with him wanting to be around more as a husband and father, essentially suggesting they have similar (personal) reasons.

Meredith (Ellen Pompeo), coming off the harsh words from her best friend Cristina (Sandra Oh) last week, is dead set on proving her wrong and is trying to find a research project before a grant deadline. Once she narrows it down to two projects, she learns that her mother had started one of them. Callie pushes her to go with her legacy, but Meredith isn’t sure she wants to be compared with the Ellis Grey. Ultimately, Meredith thinks up a 3D research project that would take her mother’s research in a completely new direction. When she shares her idea with Cristina, she cuts her off before she can offer words of encouragement or wisdom. Meredith dismisses Cristina by telling her, “You don’t have time for people who want things that you don’t want.”

Meredith’s biting remark resonated sharply with Cristina, who is struggling in the aftermath of her split from Owen. Owen (Kevin McKidd), who’d taken Cristina’s advice to start seeing people, is officially dating Emma. And Emma, who doesn’t know about Owen’s marriage to Cristina, has made herself at home at Grey Sloan Memorial observing surgery.

In the operating room of one of Arizona’s surgeries, Emma does get some insight into other surgeons’ relationship drama. After Alex (Justin Chambers) learns that Arizona may have starting cheating again with another person in the hospital, he lets her know that Leah (Tessa Ferrer), who he had sex with early on in her internship, is a stage-5 clinger. A look of recognition and fear spreads across Arizona’s face as she recalls Leah’s behavior that day at the hospital after what must have been a hookup.

While Alex has been sneaking out at night and generally not being a very present boyfriend to Jo (Camilla Luddington), he’s been trying to connect with his father. Every night, Alex has been heading to Joe’s to sit at the bar and hear his father (James Remar) play guitar, singing songs he’d taught him as a boy. When he goes to the bar this night, he strikes up a conversation with his unwitting father and the two end up bonding over a jam session. Things looked to be taking a turn for the better, but then Alex realizes that he not only doesn’t recognize him, but has a young son and a newer family. Alex unloads on him about how he shouldn’t be a father before leveling him with a punch. As his dad looks up at him from the flat of his back, a flicker of recognition flashes across his eyes.

As "Map of You" came to a close: Derek told Meredith that he’d step back from surgery and focus on research so that she could throw herself into her work during her second year as an attending. A lonely Arizona sent Leah a text from bed. Devastated, Alex returns from the bar and blames Jo for allowing him to get hurt by his father once again.

Grey’s Anatomy returns with its Halloween episode Thursday, Oct. 31 at 9/8c.

– Chelsea Regan

Get Uinterview's FREE iPhone App For Daily News Updates here.

Get the FREE Uinterview iPad app here and watch our videos anywhere.