Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story

"Surgeons are scientists, trained to believe only in that which we can see and touch. But that training doesn't always take. Scientist or not, most of us who've been at this a while are forced to acknowledge the mysteries of life. We're forced to acknowledge that certain kinds of magic exist. And that history, and memory, and the ghosts of our past, are sometimes just as tangible as anything we can hold in our hands."

- Meredith Grey

 is the seventh episode of the fourteenth season and the 300th overall episode of Grey's Anatomy.

Short Summary
After a roller coaster car falls off the track at the county fair, the doctors at Grey Sloan tend to patients who spark memories about ghosts from their past.

Main Cast

 * Ellen Pompeo as Dr. Meredith Grey
 * Justin Chambers as Dr. Alex Karev
 * Chandra Wilson as Dr. Miranda Bailey
 * James Pickens, Jr. as Dr. Richard Webber
 * Kevin McKidd as Dr. Owen Hunt
 * Jessica Capshaw as Dr. Arizona Robbins
 * Sarah Drew as Dr. April Kepner
 * Jesse Williams as Dr. Jackson Avery
 * Caterina Scorsone as Dr. Amelia Shepherd
 * Camilla Luddington as Dr. Jo Wilson
 * Kelly McCreary as Dr. Maggie Pierce
 * Jason George as Dr. Ben Warren
 * Giacomo Gianniotti as Dr. Andrew DeLuca

Guest Stars

 * Debbie Allen as Dr. Catherine Avery
 * Stefania Spampinato as Dr. Carina DeLuca
 * Jeanine Mason as Dr. Sam Bello
 * Jackie Chung as Cleo Kim
 * Ray Ford as Ray Sutera
 * Brandon Tyler Russell as Gregory Williams
 * Kate Burton as Dr. Ellis Grey

Co-Starring

 * Jake Borelli as Levi Schmitt
 * Sophia Taylor Ali as Dahlia Qadri
 * Rushi Kota as Vik Roy
 * Alex Blue Davis as Casey Parker
 * Jaicy Elliot as Taryn Helm
 * Eryn Rea as Liza Simmons
 * Nicole Cummins as Paramedic Nicole
 * Aniela Gumbs as Zola
 * Eva Ariel Binder as Sofia
 * Linda Klein as Nurse Linda
 * Jim Cashman as Clown
 * Branden Silverman as Firefighter
 * Frank Krueger as Dean

Dean Parson

 * Diagnosis:
 * Subcapsular hematoma
 * Abdominal injuries
 * Epidural hematoma


 * Doctors:
 * Owen Hunt (trauma surgeon)
 * Amelia Shepherd (neurosurgeon)
 * Taryn Helm (surgical intern)
 * Vikram Roy (surgical intern)


 * Treatment:
 * Splenectomy
 * Exploratory laparotomy
 * Craniotomy

Dean had blunt trauma to the chest an abdomen from shielding kids who were in the path of a roller coaster that had derailed. In the ER, he had free fluid in his left upper quadrant. Amelia wanted a CT because the patient wasn't able to talk despite being responsive. Instead of taking him for a CT, Owen instead took him directly to surgery, where he removed his spleen and had to repair his liver. Amelia brought the CT into the OR and diagnosed an epidural hematoma. She did a craniotomy to stop the bleed and Dean was expected to make a full recovery.

Cleo Kim

 * Diagnosis:
 * Crush syndrome
 * Puncture wound
 * Transected IVC


 * Doctors:
 * Miranda Bailey (general surgeon)
 * Richard Webber (general surgeon)
 * Meredith Grey (general surgeon)
 * April Kepner (trauma surgeon)
 * Jackson Avery (plastic surgeon)
 * Levi Schmitt (surgical intern)


 * Treatment:
 * Surgery

Cleo, 26, was trapped in a roller coaster car with Greg after it derailed while they were riding it. Due to Greg's unstable crush injuries, they brought the entire car to the hospital instead of extracting them in the field. After Greg was removed from the car, they discovered that Cleo had a puncture wound to her abdomen. They transfused blood and took her into surgery. Her IVC was transected, but they were able to repair it and she was stable after surgery.

Gregory Williams

 * Diagnosis:
 * Spinal fracture
 * Crush syndrome
 * Mesenteric tear


 * Doctors:
 * Miranda Bailey (general surgeon)
 * Richard Webber (general surgeon)
 * Meredith Grey (general surgeon)
 * Amelia Shepherd (neurosurgeon)


 * Treatment:
 * Traction
 * Exploratory laparotomy
 * Spinal fusion

Gregory, 26, was trapped in a roller coaster car with Cleo after it derailed while they were riding it. Due to Greg's unstable crush injuries, they brought the entire car to the hospital instead of extracting them in the field. Once his harness was removed, he struggled to breathe, so Meredith put his neck in traction, which helped. They prepared traction pins to stabilize him after he was removed from the car. They lifted him out and put him on a gurney, where he was immediately put back into traction and taken to CT. He had some abdominal bleeding in addition to the neck fracture, so he was taken into surgery to repair his abdominal bleeding and then for a spinal fusion.

Clown

 * Diagnosis:
 * Facial laceration


 * Doctors:
 * Jackson Avery (plastic surgeon)
 * Ben Warren (surgical resident)


 * Treatment:
 * Stitches

A clown had a laceration to his face, which Ben stitched up in the clinic.

Liza Simmons

 * Diagnosis:
 * Pregnancy
 * Chorioangioma


 * Doctors:
 * Arizona Robbins (fetal surgeon)
 * Alex Karev (pediatric surgeon)
 * Jo Wilson (surgical resident)


 * Treatment:
 * Tumor resection
 * C-section delivery

Liza collapsed in the waiting room while waiting for news on Cleo and Greg. She was 29 weeks pregnant, so Arizona did an ultrasound, which showed a tumor on her placenta, which had grown quickly. She passed out due to mirror syndrome. Her baby had hydrops, so Arizona prepared to operate in order to try to prevent early delivery. During the surgery, the baby became unstable, so Arizona converted to a c-section and delivered him.

Jasper Simmons

 * Diagnosis:
 * Hydrops
 * Prematurity


 * Doctors:
 * Alex Karev (pediatric surgeon)


 * Treatment:
 * Supplemental oxygen
 * NICU Care

Jasper had hydrops in the womb due to his mother having a tumor on the placenta. During the surgery to remove the tumor, he became unstable, so Arizona had to deliver him at 29 weeks. After birth, he was given 50% oxygen, which kept him breathing. His mother was told he'd need to go to the NICU for a while.

Notes and Trivia

 * This episode's title originated from the song , originally from the musical Hamilton.
 * This episode scored million viewers.
 * The table read took place on September 21, 2017, although some on location scenes had already been shot at that point.
 * Preparation for this episode took place from September 14 to 25, 2017.
 * Filming for this episode was scheduled from September 26 to October 6, 2017, with some on location scenes already shot in Seattle at the end of July 2017.
 * Jesse Williams shadowed director Debbie Allen while filming this episode. He is scheduled to direct an episode later this season.
 * The actress who nurse who Bailey talks to at the ER desk is called Karla. She used to be Sara Ramírez's body double.
 * In celebration of the 300th episode, the cast had a photoshoot for The Hollywood Reporter.
 * The music plays a big part in looking back on the show's history since all of the songs have been used before (albeit the majority was now used as covers):
 * "Young Folks" was used in Let the Angels Commit.
 * "Cosy in the Rocket" was the opening theme until well into the second season, as well as the instrumental version being used to date as the ending credits theme. Sara Ramírez also sang it in Song Beneath the Song.
 * "They" was used in A Hard Day's Night and My Next Life.
 * "Keep Breathing" was used in Didn't We Almost Have It All?.
 * "Such Great Heights" was used in Superstition.
 * "Portions for Foxes" which was the first song ever to be played in the series, was used in A Hard Day's Night, If/Then, and Going, Going, Gone, while cover versions were heard in Fear (of the Unknown) and Time Stops.
 * Intentionally set out by Krista Vernoff, there are lots of throwbacks to the show's rich history:
 * Part of the original intro is played as the background of the title card with the original intro music playing.
 * There are patient lookalikes for Izzie, Cristina, George, and Derek. Aside from their physical appearance, the lookalikes are very similar to the characters they remind the doctors of: Derek's lookalike got injured in a similar way to Derek's fatal injury (injured while rescuing others) while the lookalikes for the original interns are also residents, albeit at Seattle Pres, and very similar in their demeanor.
 * Meredith also talks to Derek on the ferry, which was shown frequently in the past, while Amelia lets Derek's death inspire her to treat her patient right.
 * Bailey and Richard commemorate their special fondness of George.
 * Alex's description of the life he imagines for Izzie incorporates aspects of her personality and characteristics, such as her muffins and her love for Christmas.
 * Jo brings back the catchphrase "Seriously?" from earlier seasons.
 * Meredith mentions Burke while Jackson mentions Lexie, Derek, and Ellis.
 * Ellis Grey appears to Meredith.
 * Alex picking up the Izzie lookalike is reminiscent of his picking up Izzie in Losing My Religion.
 * Cleo referring to Meredith as royalty reflects Cristina describing her as "royally inbred" in A Hard Day's Night.
 * Arizona describes her relationship with Mark and later talks about Callie with Sofia, who returns after an absence of a whole season.
 * There's a picture of Mark, Callie, and Arizona with baby Sofia in Arizona's house.
 * Meredith and Alex (and Cristina) privately celebrating Meredith's Harper Avery Award win in the tunnels with champagne is similar to Cristina and Owen privately celebrating Cristina's nomination in the vent room.
 * The picture of Cristina on Meredith's phone is from the time the doctors played softball together.

Quotes

 * Richard: I really hope there's not a third one in there.


 * Arizona: I am a mom. I have a daughter. She's seven years old and she's on a plane right now coming back to live with me.
 * Liza: So she lives with her dad sometimes.
 * Arizona: She's with her other mom sometimes. Her dad, uhm...
 * Liza: What about her dad?
 * Arizona: He died. And I miss him all the time, which is actually kind of unexpected because I didn't really like him in the beginning. I resented him because he was perpetually relaxed. But he could make me laugh. He could make me laugh when I was afraid or freaked out or annoyed, which is actually really, really annoying. If he was here right now, he would say "Relax, Robbins. Your kid's coming here. It's gonna be the greatest thing ever and you're freaking out about paint colors. You're gonna take her to ice cream and you're gonna let her pick three different flavors, and it'll be the best thing ever." And he would be right.


 * Maggie: You are a natural. You must get it from your mom.
 * Zola: My daddy, too. I'm gonna be a brain surgeon like him.
 * Maggie: You are?
 * Zola: I miss him. Do you miss your mom?
 * Maggie: Every day.
 * Zola: Wanna know what my mom would say? She would say, "Even though you're mom's not here, she's always with you."


 * Meredith: Do we ligate or primary repair? What do you think?
 * April: I think you should've gone to Boston.
 * Meredith: What?
 * April: We're gonna ligate cause it's safer and it's a thing I could have done myself while you went to Boston.
 * Meredith: Kepner.
 * April: God, you're like Jackson. He grew up with so much money he never had to balance a budget or check a price tag and he just takes it all for granted. You know, you're like that with your talent. You're missing the Harper Avery Awards cause you take for granted that there's just gonna be another one. You take your talent for granted and, you know, some of us work really hard and we're just average.
 * Meredith: You think I'm taking it for granted? I'm not taking anything for granted. I want that Award so bad I could pick you up and throw you out a window. Especially right now, cause my best friend's image is splayed out in front of me. Cristina Yang is the only one who gets just how badly I want that Award. And Kepner, you're not average.


 * Richard: O'Malley's got a long road ahead.
 * Bailey: This is not O'Malley, sir.
 * Richard: I know. And call me sentimental, but it's nice to think of him. Most of the interns blur together over the years, but O'Malley I can't forget. And it'll be good to be able to save him, to save this O'Malley.


 * Jo: If you wanna know how she is, you should just call her. You should call Izzie.
 * Alex: No.
 * Jo: No, it's okay.
 * Alex: No. I mean, I don't need to call her. I know how she is. I mean, she's married with three kids and she lives somewhere, I think, kind of woodsy? She's a surgeon, she goes to work everyday. She refuses to hire help so her house is always a mess. And it has Christmas decorations all over it because she won't let her husband take them down. It smells like muffins. And she's smiling. When I picture her, she's always smiling. I don't need to call her because I want it to stay that way. I picture her as happy as I am with you.
 * Jo: You imagined a whole life for her.
 * Alex: Oh, yeah, it's way better than wondering.


 * Jackson: Knowing very well that she might win tonight, Dr. Grey opted to stay in Seattle. A trauma came in and she knew that she was the right doctor for the job. That's one of the many reasons that I am so very, very proud to call her my colleague and my friend. Now, Dr. Grey has experienced more loss in her life than, I think, most of us would deem fair. She lost her little sister, Lexie Grey, who I know would love to be here tonight with us. She lost her husband, Dr. Derek Shepherd, who knew with total certainty that this night would happen. And she also lost her mother, Dr. Ellis Grey, who won this Award twice, once as a resident, and probably would've won a few more if she hadn't been taken from all of us so young. The most amazing thing about Meredith, though, is that she takes all that pain, all that loss, and she turns into drive. Drive to save lives, to make things better. And despite all that she's lost, she continues to find joy in her work as a surgeon, as a teacher, as a mother. And she managed to share that joy through her spirit of discovery and of possibility and of hope, right in the face of darkness. I am profoundly grateful for the lessons that I have learnt from Meredith Grey. And it is my distinct honor to accept this Award on her behalf. Congrats, Meredith!


 * Bailey: Keys, please.
 * Ben: You're driving?
 * Bailey: I'm driving myself. You can take a fire truck.