*SPOILERS AHEAD*

Earlier this year, I wrote an article relentlessly bashing Grey’s Anatomy. I talked about the repeated storylines, the weird relationships, and the effortless and emotionless killings of main characters. Everything about the show seemed to have gone downhill, arguably, since the tenth season. Now, we are moved on to the second half of season fourteen. Dare I say it, I am actually optimistic… kind of.

There is no doubt that the show still has its shortcomings. Jackson and Maggie are still making heart eyes at each other and they are step siblings, which is freaking weird and unjustifiable. Not a single cell in my brain can fathom what the writers were thinking: to have such a passionate scene with Jackson and April, abandon that storyline completely, and make a weird, uncomfortable relationship between STEP SIBLINGS. That, my friends, is what I call default incest. Thankfully though, Maggie is on Tinder and is really getting back out there and Jackson is  still conflicted. The new interns are also annoying and it seems like the writers are forcing us to know and like characters that are just shoved in our faces. I also don’t know how to feel about Ben going to a spin-off show. He needs to chill out. And, I think we all could use some more Alex Karev.  Aside from those complaints, I am thoroughly impressed with the storylines this season.

I can’t say that episode 8, which was the first episode to air after the mid-season finale, surprised me in its entirety, but the scene where Bailey and Ben talk to their son about racial prejudice was very powerful. I can’t believe we live in a world where parents have to warn their kids and show them how to protect themselves at such a young age.

A storyline that I am sure everyone is impressed with is the storyline with Jo’s husband. They portrayed domestic abuse very well for a dramatization and Camilla Luddington, who plays Jo, did a fantastic job. From when the storyline first began in episode 9, I remained on the edge of my seat. The way the writers effectively portrayed a situation so raw surprised me. It was disappointing how they just killed Paul at the end, though. That could have been a dragged out storyline that wouldn’t be so terrible.

Episode 11 was incredibly good. Bailey having a heart attack was a scary and great storyline that they’ve been foreshadowing since the early seasons. The flashbacks with George, Derek, and Callie made my soul want to crawl into a blanket and cry. It brought back the old Bailey that all of the fans missed.
I don’t know if I am a victim of false hope and I do not know if the show will go downhill again, but right now I am impressed. Maybe, someone knocked some sense into the writers and Grey’s will be the closest to “normal” that we have seen in a while.