“ | Backaches, jaw pain, nausea. In men, these things are probably exactly what they seem like. But in women, they're all symptoms of a heart attack. Sometimes, the symptom is hiding what's going on underneath. It's all in the way it presents itself. What happens when the gloves come off and you stop hiding behind your mask? What's your next move? Do you take your best shot and see where it lands? Or do you hang back, wait a minute, and see if you get sucker punched? It's your move. You can either retreat or go out swinging, so whatcha gonna do? | ” |
I Wear the Face is the seventeenth episode of the twelfth season and the 262nd overall episode of Grey's Anatomy.
Short Summary[]
Meredith goes on an ambulance ride with Owen and Nathan to pick up a heart for a transplant patient. Musician & MS patient Kyle Diaz is admitted to Grey Sloan Memorial with a tremor in his hand, and the residents apply for the Preminger Grant. Meanwhile, Catherine continues to insert herself into Jackson and April's business against Richard's wishes.
Full Summary[]
Maggie sets out food and dishes for them to eat the pasta Amelia got from their usual place. Meredith goes to get a plate and notices a cabinet door open. She shuts it and comments that Amelia's back. She leaves all the doors open everywhere. Amelia reminds Meredith that she was invited to come back. Meredith says it's fine, but she should close things. Maggie asks them which resident they're nominating for the Preminger Grant, but they both make excuses to leave the table.
As Stephanie and Jo work on their applications, Penny reads off the terms of the grant. She's surprised that she's eligible, but says she's not going to apply because she just got to Grey Sloan. Jo questions if she should put that she's resourceful or inventive and Penny tells her to put both. Stephanie thinks she's annoying when she thinks out loud. She is frustrated that the boxes are so small because they're too small to contain how awesome she is. Penny says she doesn't need a good application because she has Shepherd on her side. Stephanie says she did until Penny started working with her. They say when Penny applies next year, they'll all have her back. Penny remembers vividly when they all hated her. Jo and Stephanie simultaneously submit their applications.
As Catherine and Richard get ready for bed, they argue over Catherine meddling with Jackson and April. She's worried she won't get to see her grandchild if he doesn't get his parental rights back. Richard says she's just a meddler. Catherine says that's trash talk and there's no trash talk in the bedroom, but he says they agreed no work talk in the bedroom. They get in bed with a pillow wedged between them. Catherine says she's right and he's wrong and he just calls her a meddler.
As they walk into the hospital, Penny tells Callie she thinks she should wait until next year to apply. Callie asks why and Penny says they always give it to a senior resident anyway. Except when they don't. Callie says she should do it if she wants it. Penny says she's finally getting settled in. She has friends and just met Sofia. She doesn't want to run across the country. She wants to be there. Callie smiles and says she can accept that.
Jennifer Parker is in the ER, coughing. She's 14. April asks about her parents, but she says she took the bus. She needs to get back for her history test. April says it looks like a cold, but Jenny says her stomach hurts when she coughs or sometimes when she just moves. April has her lie back for an exam and Jenny admits she is pregnant. April says she buried the lede and has a nurse page OB.
Catherine is upset with Jackson because he didn't call back any of the lawyers she recommended. He has a patient, but she says money is no object. Jackson says he doesn't want to Avery this. Catherine says he needs to get some power because April has all of it.
Owen tells Maggie a heart and liver are available for a patient at Overbrook. She's glad because she can skip Bailey's budget meeting to go get them. Meredith wants to go, too. Owen says Andrew's getting the coolers and Maggie's surprised that he's coming.
Nathan gets into the ambulance, saying Maggie asked him to cover a heart recovery. Meredith figures out she didn't want to ride with Andrew.
Jenny's been having the pain since six that morning. April asks her about her doctor, but she's gotten no prenatal care. Jenny sees her mom at the nurses' station and covers her belly. She tells April her mother doesn't know and makes April promise not to tell her. April pulls the curtain closed.
April offers to help Jenny talk to her mom. She's gong to find out soon, so why not tell her now so she can help Jenny. Jenny says it's not what they do. Every time she disappoints her mother, her mother tells her, "This is not what we do, Jenny." She's not supposed to have a boyfriend. Nurse Michael brings in Tara Parker. She tracked Jenny's phone to find her. Arizona comes in and almost spills the beans about the pregnancy, but April covers and they tell Tara they're going to take Jenny for a CT and will let her know ASAP.
Stephanie tells Penny she's joining the DBS case and asks Penny to get her up to speed. Penny figures out she's trying to get face time with Shepherd before the meeting that night. Amelia comes and leads the way to their patient.
Kyle Diaz strums his guitar as the doctors enter his room. Amelia claps, but he says that was garbage. He knows Penny and Amelia, but doesn't recognize Stephanie. He says she has a nice face. Kyle has MS and Stephanie talks about his case as he continues to flirt. He has a tremor in his hand and just landed a 13-gig tour. He was there to have DBS to stop the tremor. He's going to have awake brain surgery to treat the tremor. He'll have to play guitar while they work to see when they've got the right place. Stephanie will monitor the tremor while Penny and Amelia work.
Arizona and April wait for the CT in silence. Arizona comments on the mother not knowing and says it must be a lot of work to hide it for that long. April says it is. It's hard to keep under wraps. Ben comes in and asks if they're obligated to tell the mother. Arizona says they're obligated not to. The scan comes up and she has a splenic artery aneurysm. If it hemorrhages, she could die. Ben asks if they can tell the mother now. Arizona says no, but April says yes.
Richard sees Catherine looking at the surgical board. They're going to be operating together on a bowel resection. Richard says it'll give them time to talk. Since they're at work, no subject is off limits. Catherine says he can talk all he wants. She doesn't have to listen.
Meredith, Owen, and Nathan are stuck in traffic. Meredith starts talking about the grant and asks who they like for it. She's never worked with Stephanie, but Cristina liked her. Meredith asks Owen if he knows Amelia moved back in. She asked about Owen. Owen says he's not an alcoholic, if that's what she's worried about. Meredith says Amelia's an alcoholic and that's what Amelia's worried about. Nathan is shocked, because he says he bought her a drink a few months ago. She didn't say anything about being an alcoholic. Owen gets angry at him and blames him for Amelia's relapse. Meredith says they can kill each other later, but now they have a job to do.
Jenny asks if she hurt the baby, but April tells her she didn't. The bleeding has stopped, but the aneurysm can burst at any moment, so she needs surgery. She doesn't want surgery because her mom will find out. She thinks her mother will send her away or make her give the baby away. Arizona says they can closely monitor her and wait, because there's a chance it could resolve on its own. April recommends surgery, but Jenny says she wants to wait.
April tells Arizona that surgery's the better option and Jenny's only waiting to avoid telling her mother. Arizona says she has the right to do that. April says she needs her mom's help to make the decision. Arizona says she's acting like a mom because she's about to be one. But they're Jenny's doctors, not her moms. April asks Arizona what if it were Sofia. Arizona says they can't. They can tell her about the splenic bleed, but not the pregnancy.
Stephanie complains to Jo about her day sucking. Jo's day has been amazing on the other hand. She thinks she's going to get the grant. Stephanie says her brain is being wasted on the case because Penny's doing the work. Stephanie talks about how aggressively hot the patient is. She hasn't had sex in a long time. Jo had sex that morning. Stephanie wants to shine today, but Penny's shining. Stephanie complains about Penny, disparaging her. She then sees that Penny has overheard her talking.
Richard and Catherine scrub in. Catherine wants to fight, but Richard wants to help them. In the hallway, April hears them talk about Jackson having a case to get sole custody if he can prove April committed fraud. She's shocked. Richard says he thinks he should tell Catherine when she's making a wrong turn and this is a wrong turn.
Nathan, Meredith, and Owen scrub in to retrieve their organs, but something is wrong. They enter the OR to find them desperately trying to keep the heart pumping while they retrieve the other organs. Nathan steps in to try to make the heart salvageable, but he has to give up. The heart's dead and the liver will be re-allocated.
Amelia talks to Stephanie and Penny about Kyle's procedure. She sends Penny to monitor Kyle's head frame. Once she's gone, Stephanie asks about assisting. Amelia wants Stephanie to be with Kyle because he likes her. Stephanie asks about the grant. Amelia doesn't want to discuss it. She says she won't say that she'll be singing Stephanie's praises that night.
Penny tells Callie about Stephanie's remarks. Penny practices what she'll say to Stephanie with Callie's coaching. Once she's done, Callie tells her to drop the mic and walk away. Once she's gone, Callie notes she's having sex tonight.
Maggie comes up to Callie, Alex, and Bailey in the cafeteria. She invites them to dinner. Like a dinner party? Alex won't do that again. Maggie says come over at 8 and she'll feed them. Callie says she's having sex. Alex might be having sex. They don't plan it. Maggie say she needs them to be a buffer between Meredith and Amelia. They say they won't do it.
Arizona explains the splenic bleed to Tara. They're waiting because that's what Jenny wants. Tara says she's 14, so she asks what Arizona recommends. Arizona thinks surgery is the better option, so Tara wants the surgery. April points out the risks. Over Arizona's protests, April tells Tara that Jenny's pregnant. Tara is shocked.
Tara asks Jenny how long she's been pregnant. She's angry at the doctors for telling her mom. Tara told her so many times not to end up like her. Jenny says she's aware of how much she ruined her mother's life. She's sorry.
Arizona tells April she screwed this up, but April defends that she did what was right.
Richard and Catherine are operating. Catherine says Jackson's father could be a good man, but also childish. When they divorced, he took Jackson. He believed he could take Jackson and Catherine would just take it, but she fought for her son and she won't stop fighting. There are things worth fighting for. She leaves Richard to close without her.
They're working on Kyle. Stephanie asks him about his music to keep him talking. Then she gives him in the guitar to play. He still has the tremor. He flirts while they work. His face starts drooping. He has a small hemorrhage. Penny says they should close and wait for the bleed to stop, but Stephanie suggests they work on the bleed and then continue the procedure. Amelia starts.
Ben is doing an ultrasound on Jenny. He was doing an exam and her pressure bottomed out. Arizona takes over and says the aneurysm burst. She needs surgery right away. Tara tells Jenny everything will be fine.
As they pull back up to the hospital, Nathan says it was a waste. He apologizes. Owen calls him out for absolving himself of blame, like he did with Amelia, but Nathan says he didn't know Amelia was an alcoholic. Owen says disaster happens whenever he's around. Nathan leaves. Owen goes to leave, but Meredith tells him he needs to let go. Amelia took the drink. Doesn't matter who offered it to her and she'd tell him that herself. She then tells him the story Nathan told her about Megan, but Owen says he wasn't anywhere near the helicopter. He was cheating on Megan and that's why she got on the helicopter. He meant it when he said they hate Nathan.
Kyle's unable to speak. Stephanie says it's normal and temporary. It'll come back and Amelia's almost done. The bleeding has stopped. She has Kyle check his hand. There's no tremor. He is also able to speak and flirts with Stephanie. Stephanie gives him the guitar to play again.
Arizona and April scrub in to work on Jenny. April says it's not her fault. Stress doesn't cause arteries to rupture. Arizona says she knows, but that doesn't make it right. April says it felt right. Arizona understands that feeling. April says it's not the same thing, but Arizona knows how April felt in that moment.
Richard comes up behind Catherine and starts to massage her. He's glad she told him about Jackson's father. He says it's a sad story, but it's her story, not theirs. He doesn't want her to make it theirs. The woman he married believes in second chances. He knows the woman he married. She says she's only letting him talk because his hands are so good, but he says it's a start.
April tells Jenny they had to remove her spleen to stop the bleeding. Arizona says the baby's fine. There's a strong fetal heartbeat. Her mom is waiting to see her. She asks for her. Tara comes in and says this is not what they do. She shouldn't suffer and be in pain alone when Tara's around. Not when she's having her grandbaby.
Stephanie finds Penny working. She says what she said before was just her insecurity. Penny admits she said worse than that earlier. Stephanie apologizes. Jo comes in and says that the attendings are out of their meeting. Penny applied and didn't say anything. She didn't think she had a chance, but Jo said people had her back. She and Stephanie don't understand why she didn't tell them. They say it's snakey.
Nathan tells Owen it has to stop. Owen says Megan called him right before. She told him everything. Owen says Nathan can't just come in and pretend to be a hero and fool everyone. Owen won't let him.
Bailey comes outside and finds Ben. She says he forgot to submit his grant proposal. He said he didn't forget. He didn't apply because it'll take him across the country. It was good opportunity, but it's not his turn. She's Chief and she needs to be there. It'll be his turn sometime and she'll return the favor. She kisses him. Ben asks who she picked.
Callie is surprised to learn that Penny won the grant. She checked the email five times to see where she got it wrong, but it wasn't. Bailey picked her. Callie says they should go celebrate.
Stephanie finds Amelia in the lounge. Amelia says she recommended Stephanie. Blake came up and she gave her honest opinion. She won't tell Stephanie what she said. Stephanie feels betrayed. She stepped in when Amelia couldn't even do her job. Amelia stops her and says this is the attendings' lounge, dismissing her.
Stephanie does a neuro check on Kyle. He asks if she's okay. She says she was betrayed by a friend. He says that sucks. He tells her that when he starts playing, he had musician friends. But when he started to get successful, they got jealous. He realized they weren't his friends. They were his competition. He says they're a lot alike. He says he's going to sleep. She has to watch him, but he's okay with that.
Amelia is eating. Meredith comes in and says she had a crappy day. Amelia did, too. Meredith found out why Owen hates Nathan. Amelia doesn't want to know, but then asks if she wants to know. Maggie comes in. Meredith finds another open cabinet. Amelia apologizes. Maggie complains. She was promised sisters and she just got them back in the same house and they're fighting. She thinks it's going to implode. She tells them to go to town over the cabinets. Meredith and Amelia say they're adults and they're going to fight, but Meredith doesn't plan on kicking her out any time soon. Amelia says she's good because she's not unhoused. Amelia says Maggie's starting to get on her nerves and Meredith agrees. Maggie wanted sisters and now she has them.
Catherine comes to talk to Jackson, who says he doesn't have time for one of her lectures. She's come to apologize. She overstepped. She was protecting her baby, but she needs to let go. He can fight his own battles. She suggests alternatives, but he stops her. He says someone attacked his baby, so he got some power.
Arizona and April are getting ready to leave. Arizona says she'll round on Jenny in the morning after April. April says nothing, so Arizona says good night. April tells her she thinks Jackson's going to sue her for full custody. She overheard Catherine saying that and she's furious. She doesn't have anyone to talk to about it. Arizona says that's okay. They're friends and April can talk to her about it. Then they'll figure out what to do. April already did something. She won't be the victim. Arizona asks what she did.
Jackson and Ben are getting drinks. Jackson says it's in his power not to hurt April, so he doesn't want to. A man comes up and serves Jackson with papers.
April comes home and finds a crib with a note from Jackson saying he'll do whatever she wants to do because he doesn't want to fight.
Jackson opens the envelope and finds that April filed for a restraining order against him.
Cast[]
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
- Sara Ramírez as Dr. Callie Torres
- 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
- Jerrika Hinton as Dr. Stephanie Edwards
- Kelly McCreary as Dr. Maggie Pierce
- Jason George as Dr. Ben Warren
- Martin Henderson as Dr. Nathan Riggs
- Giacomo Gianniotti as Dr. Andrew DeLuca (credit only)
Guest Stars[]
- Debbie Allen as Dr. Catherine Avery
- Wilmer Valderrama as Kyle Diaz
- Samantha Sloyan as Dr. Penelope Blake
- Rebecca McFarland as Tara Parker
- Morgan Lily as Jennifer Parker
Co-Starring[]
- Ayumi Iizuka as Theresa (credit only)
- Andrew T. Lee as Gordon (credit only)
- Thomas Anthony Jones as Surgeon 1
- Laura Malone Hunt as Surgeon 2
- Chris Muto as Nurse
- Damian Gomez as Man
Medical Notes[]
Jennifer Parker[]
- Diagnosis:
- Pregnancy
- Aneurysm
- Doctors:
- April Kepner (trauma surgeon)
- Arizona Robbins (fetal surgeon)
- Ben Warren (surgical resident)
- Treatment:
- Splenectomy
Jennifer, 14, came into the ER with a cough and abdominal pain. She also revealed that she was pregnant. She said she'd been in pain since early that morning and hadn't had any prenatal care because her mother didn't know she was pregnant. Jenny had a CT, which revealed an aneurysm on her splenic artery. The bleeding had stopped, but she was warned that it could start bleeding again at any point. April recommended surgery, but Jenny said she'd have to tell her mom she was pregnant if she had surgery. Arizona suggested that they could wait a while and it might resolve on its own. Jenny decided she wanted to wait. Despite this, her mother wanted Jenny to have the surgery. April mentioned the risks, including death of the fetus. During an exam, Jenny's pressure dropped. Her aneurysm had ruptured, so she was rushed into surgery. They had to remove her spleen, but it went well and she and the baby were stable afterward.
Donor[]
- Diagnosis:
- Brain death
- Doctors:
- Nathan Riggs (cardiothoracic surgeon)
- Treatment:
- Organ harvest
Owen, Nathan, and Meredith went to retrieve a heart and liver from a patient at Overbrook. By the time they arrived, the heart was unusable and so they were forced to leave empty-handed.
Kyle Diaz[]
- Diagnosis:
- Multiple sclerosis
- Hand tremor
- Brain bleed
- Doctors:
- Amelia Shepherd (neurosurgeon)
- Stephanie Edwards (surgical resident)
- Penelope Blake (surgical resident)
- Treatment:
- Deep brain stimulation
Kyle, 34, had been diagnosed two years prior with relapsing and remitting multiple sclerosis. He'd developed a tremor in his right hand, so he was in the hospital to have deep brain stimulation to reduce his symptoms. He had to be awake during the surgery in order to test his nerve function so they'd know when the tremor stopped. During the surgery, he developed a bleed, which caused his face to droop and his speech to slur. Amelia fixed the bleed with gel and continued the DBS, which stopped the tremor. He was stable and awake after surgery.
Catherine and Richard's Patient[]
- Diagnosis:
- Doctors:
- Richard Webber (general surgeon)
- Catherine Avery (urologist)
- Treatment:
- Bowel resection
- Urethral stents
Catherine and Richard scrubbed in together on a bowel resection. The surgery was complicated by adhesions, but was ultimately successful. In the surgery, Catherine placed urethral stents.
Music[]
Song | Performer | Scene |
---|---|---|
"Flowers" | Leon Bridges |
|
"Impossible" | Lion Babe |
|
"Every Time I'm With You" | Seal |
|
"Forever Mine" | Andra Day |
|
Notes and Trivia[]
- This episode's title originated from the song I Wear the Face, originally sung by Mr. Mister.
- This episode scored 7.35 million viewers.[1]
- The table read for this episode took place on January 29, 2016.[2]
- Filming for this episode was scheduled from February 1 to February 11, 2016.[source?]
- Catherine's line (during her conversation with Jackson at the end of the episode) "As long as I'm living, my baby forever you will be" is a reference to the children's book "Love You Forever" by Robert Munsch.[source?]
- Stephanie's application for the Preminger Grant includes early mobilization, which she applied to a patient earlier in the season.
Gallery[]
Episode Stills[]
Behind the Scenes[]
Quotes[]
- Penny: I know this place can be competitive.. and that you can be an insecure bitch sometimes, but you would not be talking behind my back if you weren't scared to death that somebody might give you a run for your money! And I might be from Dillard, but I am here now. I'm right behind you, breathing down your neck, and I am a dark freakin' horse!
- Catherine: I am trying to help my son.
- Richard: And you are a meddler, a busybody, a helicopter mama, a nosy Nellie, a buttinsky!
- Catherine: That is trash talk!
- Richard: All up in the bug juice. You don't know the flavor, woman.
- Kyle: I mean, I don't know if you know what happens when women hear me play. Your hand is gonna get a little shaky.
- Stephanie: Well, I'll push through it.
- Owen: You can't do this. You can't just come in here and pretend to be some nice guy, pretend to be this hero and lie and fool everyone, like Grey and Bailey and Pierce and Amelia. You can't just take more people away from me. You can't do it, and I won't let you!
- Stephanie: You sunk me.
- Amelia: I endorsed you. After that, it's out of my hands.
- Stephanie: You have been trying to find a way to get rid of her for months, and to use this, you go right past somebody who you know deserves it more, someone who has been there for you, who stepped in when you couldn't even handle doing your job.
- Maggie: Oh, my God, I was promised sisters. I just got you guys back in the same house. I've never had sisters. It's nice. But it's going to implode. You know it, and I know it. So have at it. Go to town over the cabinets. If you're gonna kill each other, just do it already. I can't keep this family together by myself.
- Meredith: Nobody asked you to. We're adults. We're going to fight.
- Amelia: A lot. I'm annoying.
- Meredith: She is. But I don't plan on kicking her out anytime soon. So, are you good?
- Amelia: I'm not homeless. I'm good.
- Meredith: Good.
- Amelia: Though Maggie is starting to get on my nerves.
- Meredith: Agreed. Well, you wanted sisters. You got 'em.
See Also[]
A complete overview of this episode's crew can be found here. |
Grey's Anatomy Season 12 | ||||||
#01 | "Sledgehammer" | #09 | "The Sound of Silence" | #17 | "I Wear the Face" | |
#02 | "Walking Tall" | #10 | "All I Want is You" | #18 | "There's a Fine, Fine Line" | |
#03 | "I Choose You" | #11 | "Unbreak My Heart" | #19 | "It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)" | |
#04 | "Old Time Rock and Roll" | #12 | "My Next Life" | #20 | "Trigger Happy" | |
#05 | "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" | #13 | "All Eyez on Me" | #21 | "You're Gonna Need Someone on Your Side" | |
#06 | "The Me Nobody Knows" | #14 | "Odd Man Out" | #22 | "Mama Tried" | |
#07 | "Something Against You" | #15 | "I Am Not Waiting Anymore" | #23 | "At Last" | |
#08 | "Things We Lost in the Fire" | #16 | "When It Hurts So Bad" | #24 | "Family Affair" | |
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