Grey's Anatomy Season 15, Episode 11 Recap: "Girlfriend In A Coma"

It is rather remarkable that one of TV's longest running dramas of all time can still be firing on all cylinders 15 seasons in. Yet here we are with Grey's Anatomy's most recent episode, "Girlfriend in a Coma," which is just as dramatic, poignant, and steamy as the show has always been.

The title of the episode refers to the couple we met two episodes ago, a woman named Natasha (Siena Goines) who is in a medically-induced coma after her hotel balcony collapsed and her fiancé, Garrett (DaJuan Johnson), who sits by her bedside waiting for her to wake up. This framing device lets the show span the period of almost two months between Christmas and Valentine's Day, bringing to the forefront the love triangle between Meredith (Ellen Pompeo), Link (Chris Carmack), and DeLuca (Giacomo Gianniotti) that has been brewing, though there are a lot of developments for the other couples on the show as well.

Mer invites DeLuca to the Karevs' New Year's Eve party, then makes big googly eyes when she finds out Link is visiting kids with cancer dressed as Santa Claus. Yeah, that's pretty swoonworthy. But Meredith is still hesitating about jumping in with both feet with either man. She likes them both, but she's still scared to jump into a new relationship, what with her history and her three kids and her important job. It also feels a little like she's using her attraction to Link as an excuse to push DeLuca away.

Speaking of pushing people away, Ben (Jason George) is still really struggling with Bailey (Chandra Wilson) "calling time-out" on their marriage. We all understand what Bailey has been going through — anxiety, mental health struggles — but Ben hasn't fully realized that yet. He's still just really hurt that Bailey would treat their marriage as something she can take a break from. He forcefully tells her that they're either in this together or they aren't.

But he finally sees that her calling time out was more a cry for help, and he shouldn't have run off with his broken heart. He should have stayed to repair things and help her. So, Ben starts building the treehouse he promised, and he insists that they never call a time-out on their relationship ever again, which Bailey is happy to agree to.

With the show's other big love triangle — Owen (Kevin McKidd)), Amelia (Caterina Scorsone), and Teddy (Kim Raver) — Owen and Teddy seem to be content with being friends and co-parenting their baby, though with this being Grey's Anatomy, we'll see how long that sticks. But Teddy does have a new man to consider as well in the form of Dr. Tom Koracick (Greg Germann). They go out for Valentine's Day, and Owen is visibly surprised and maybe disgruntled at this turn of events.

But Owen has his own stuff to deal with, as he and Amelia find out that Betty (Peyton Kennedy) has been lying about who she is. She's actually Britney Dickinson, and she's been on the run because she was worried how her parents would react when she found out she was pregnant. She begs Owen and Amelia not to tell her parents because she's scared they'll try to take Leo away. Owen is terrified of that happening, too, so he wants to find Britney's parents in case he's going to lose Leo. He'd rather it happen sooner than later.

Finally, while the episode manages to touch on every main couple, the through-line is Natasha and Garrett. They provide the powerhouse story of the week as Natasha gets better, then gets worse, then finally asks to be taken off her ventilator, and they get married as she dies. It's beautiful and gut-wrenching and some of the hardest I've cried at this show in its entire run. Oh, Grey's Anatomy. Never change.

It is this poignant moment that knocks some sense into Meredith. She stands Link up on Valentine's Day in order to have some rooftop sexy time with DeLuca. Finally! Sure, that’s not a great thing to do to Link, but c’mon — did anybody really think he was going to come between Meredith and DeLuca?

There are two small storylines with other couples as well. First, Catherine's (Debbie Allen) rehab has been really hard on her, but she's been pushing through because she wants to be a whole woman again — aka, she's ready for some serious bedroom time with the Chief (James Pickens Jr).

And second, Schmitt (Jake Borelli) has also found love, with Nico (Alex Landi). He comes out to his colleagues during Natasha's surgery, and it's super adorable: "I'm gay and he's gay and we're gay together and it's the most me I've ever felt in my whole life." Awwww. Good for you, Schmitt!

It must be said: A lot of Grey's fans think Teddy and Owen belong together, and maybe they do. Maybe that's endgame for the show. But I gotta say, I think Greg Germann and Kim Raver have oodles more romantic chemistry together. I actually like Tom-Teddy a lot as a couple. Germann has been charming me since Ally McBeal, and I’m firmly on Team Tom here.