| “ | If I learned anything from growing up in a hospital, it's that the standard of care changes over the years. If you had a cold in the late 1800s, your doctor would prescribe heroin as a cough suppressant. If you had schizophrenia in the 1930s, your doctor would perform a lobotomy. But despite the increase in knowledge and research, doctors still aren't perfect. Even today, your doctor's not likely to offer pain relief for an IUD placement, even though it can be more agonizing than a vasectomy. We expect doctors to not make mistakes. But the history of medicine is a history of flawed judgment. Beneath the white coats and fancy titles, medicine is just humans treating humans. The most brilliant surgeons have made questionable choices. No one gets it right all the time. So, as a doctor, what do you do? There's only one choice. Find your team. Work shoulder to shoulder. Let them help you when you falter. Let them push you to make you better. | ” |
Ridin' Solo is the twelfth episode of the twenty-first season and the 442nd overall episode of Grey's Anatomy.
Short Summary[]
Meredith and Amelia prepare a funding proposal for their Alzheimer's research. Meanwhile, Teddy and Owen hit a breaking point in their marriage, while Jules has an awkward encounter with Dr. Beltran.
Full Summary[]
In Boston, at Meredith and Nick's new house, Amelia and Meredith practice their funding proposal presentation. Meredith included more patient data in the presentation to give them a better shot at winning the grant. Little Ellis accidentally breaks a drawer handle, which Nick will fix later. He advises Meredith and Amelia to triple proofread since Pitney likes to point out all the typos. Nick won the Blaisdell grant four years ago. The competition gets to ask questions in the final round of the presentation, which is tough. Zola reads about the 373% increase in Alzheimer's diagnosis in among 30 to 44-year-olds. They all leave.
After finish a morning make-out session, Link brings up wedding plans. Jo was hoping for a small wedding, just them, the kids, and a witness. She has done the big wedding and simple courthouse wedding. She doesn't want to make a big deal.
Benson presents Molly with an array of dishes that are tied to significant moments in their past relationship. He was hoping the tastes and smells would trigger her memory. This is a lot less risky than experimental surgery. Dave keeps texting Molly, who says it's hard to cut him out of life. Benson leaves for pre-rounds.
As they leave the office, Owen vents about not liking their therapist. He feels like she has no clue who they are. Teddy points out that they don't either, which is why they are seeing her. After they brought up being attracted to other people, the therapist suggested they try a nonconventional marriage. It doesn't sit right with Owen. Teddy assures him that she loves him, but they both feel stifled and stuck. She feels like Owen doesn't want to change them.
Jules, Lucas, and Simone come across a group of applicants for the intern interviews. Jules then backs away when she spots at a woman in a purple sweater at the nurses' station. Jules met her last night and spent the night at her hotel. Jules has no clue what she's doing here, nor does she know who the teenager that's with her is. Bailey comes up to tell them that the presence of the prospective interns today should make them step up today and make her look good. Benson arrives late, which makes Bailey assign him to scut.
Lucas presents the case of Melissa Walker, 52, who presented three days ago with abdominal pain, nausea, and fatigue three days ago. She is post-op day two from a lap chole. LFTs are all normal. Melissa's girls leave to go eat something. Once they are gone, Melissa reveals that she's still in pain. Bailey examines her while Simone watches from the other side of the room. Bailey orders a CT and says it's likely inflammation from the surgery that is causing the pain. Richard then enters the room and Simone tells him that Anna Anderson's INR is still too high, causing Richard to push her hernia repair to tomorrow.
Amelia and Meredith finish up their presentation. The jury has questions about the veracity of their research since another team presented a similar idea, yet they were several steps ahead.
Meredith and Amelia arrive at Tom Koracick's lab at the Fox Foundation. Tom thanks them for their abstract. Since they made it public, it was free to use and he ended up making a groundbreaking discovery. He used antibiotics in mice to trigger a significant decrease in Alzheimer's markers.
Jo meets the Kotwanis in their room. They have tried everything to induce labor naturally but since she is now 14 days overdue, they need to induce her labor medically. Shruti still hopes for a natural process. Jo says she might go into labor while they run tests.
Jules joins Winston and Monica in Carlos Navarro's room. As soon as he gets back home from the surgery, he's going to ask Vivi to be his girlfriend. Jules is recognized by Adriana Delgadillo, the woman with the purple sweater. Monica asks if they know each other. Adriana replies they met last night. Carlos picks up on a weird vibe but Adriana tells him to let the doctors talk. Jules presents the case. Carlos, 16 with a history of pectus excavatum, is here for the Nuss procedure to raise his sternum. Winston does a quick exam. Adriana explains that she is Carlos's patient advocate. She works with foster youth in Texas. When his caseworker finally approved the surgery, Adriana reached out to Monica, her ex-wife. Winston clears Carlos for surgery. Jules is distracted as Monica tells her to prep Carlos for surgery.
Tom and his protégé Vincenzo is giving Meredith and Amelia a tour in his lab. He has mice with a history of beta-amyloid plaque. Thanks to their abstract, they know that changes in the gut microbiome can lead to inflammatory response in the microglia, which produce beta-amyloid. Tom deduced that giving antibiotics to change the microbiome could lead to a reduction in plaque. And it did. Meredith wonders why he even needs the grant with the Foundation backing him. Tom says money is like sex with him: you can never get enough. The Blaisdell grant also comes with prestige and notice. Meredith and Amelia are appalled.
Bailey and Lucas check in on Melissa, who's sewing Bianca's costume for her school play. She hopes she'll be discharged in time to see it. Melissa's CT came back normal, so they'll give her pain meds and wait for the pain to subside as her body heals. Simone is also in the room as Anna finally gets her banana cake. She offers Melissa a piece but Melissa has been allergic to bananas ever since menopause hit. While Lucas brushes it off, Simone inquires if Melissa developed any more allergies at that point. She did, along with classic symptoms like hot flashes, stomach pain, and nights sweats. Lucas and Simone leave the room. Simone read about amines producing excess symptoms in people with carcinoid syndrome. All of the foods Melissa listed are high in amines. Lucas is not convinced his patient has a one-in-million cancer. He won't get a PET scan unless Bailey asks for it. Since Anna's surgery got pushed, Simone asks him if she can do it. He consents.
Monica finds Jules and asks why Carlos's pre-op labs aren't up yet. She has yet to put in the order because Winston had her discharge a patient. Adriana comes out of Carlos's room to thank Monica for taking the case. Monica says the favor is not for her and walks away. Adriana then goes to ask Jules if someone can turn up the heat in Carlos's room. Jules blames Adriana for not telling her why she was in town but Adriana points out they didn't really talk a lot. Adriana assures her that Monica is cool with it.
Teddy runs into Jo and notices the ring on her finger. She congratulates Jo and asks if there is a date yet. Jo says no because they are still debating the wedding. Teddy jokes that as long as it doesn't kill the priest, she has one up on her and Owen. They enter Shruti's room, where she and Anand were just having sex to induce. Shruti thought they locked the door. Anand falls as he tries to climb off the bed.
Jo and Teddy deliver Anand on a gurney to Owen in the ER. He has a lot of pain in his tailbone region. Jo returns to Shruti, whom they just started on a pitocin drip. Teddy also heads back upstairs.
Simone catches up with Jules, who informs her about the whole situation with Monica and Adriana. Simone thinks she should get off the case.
Meredith is venting to Nick about how Tom has been using her resources to carry out her research. He's only been at it for five minutes and he's already moving the needle. She is upset that he doesn't actually care about curing Alzheimer's. Tom has never had to look into the eyes of a mother who is alive but not there. Nick points out that she has the passion that Tom lacks, which she can use to make a case for herself. It might be her last shot at getting the grant.
Link joins Owen in the trauma room as he orders X-rays for Anand. With two teenage daughters, Anand was done having children but suddenly Shruti wanted a boy and now he has a broken ass. Link fails to understand the link between the two.
Richard and Bailey discuss the quality of the prospective interns as Simone comes up with the results of Melissa's PET scan. As Richard begins to scold her for getting scans without an attending's order, Bailey sees the scan come back positive for a neuroendocrine tumor on her appendix as well as a spot on the liver. The tumor is secreting hormones into the bloodstream, which is why its symptoms mimic menopause. Bailey tells Simone to book an OR as she's getting to perform the appendectomy for her first solo surgery. Simone can choose an assist. Lucas, now on Webber's service, congratulates her.
Jules ends up on an elevator with Monica, who tells her that Carlos's labs came back normal. She thinks that Jules should have been the one telling her rather than the other way around. Jules would understand it if Monica wanted her off the case. Monica tells her to talk her through the Nuss procedure. Jules does so perfectly. Since she is clearly prepped, Monica says she belongs on the case. They'll see each other in the OR.
In the cafeteria, Simone steals some of Benson's lunch since she does not have the time to wait in line. He is reading up on grid stimulations to recall memories. It has only been done on animals, yet Molly wants it. Lucas and Jules sit down at the table as Simone shares the news of her solo surgery. Jules is busy with Monica and Lucas has work to finish for Webber, so Simone picks Benson.
Jo finds that Shruti is now 8 centimeters dilated and informs her that her husband is having a CT scan taken to rule out occult fractures. Shruti notices Jo touching her belly. Jo shares that it is her first time carrying. Shruti says her husband cried when she announced her first pregnancy, and now, he barely looked up from his phone. Shruti knows that they been through this twice before but she wants her son to know that he is special to them. Shruti then remembers that she forgot to remind Anand about the car seat. Jo hands her her phone.
En route to the CT, Anand answers her video call. He is happy to see that she is in labor now, thinking his sex caused it. Shruti says it was the pitocin. He assures Shruti that he installed the car seat. However, as soon as she hangs up, he tells Owen and Link to take him to the parking lot instead.
In the OR, Simone talks herself through the steps of an appendectomy as Bailey gets gowned and gloved. Benson asks her to talk to Molly as a doctor since her surgery is scheduled in two days already. Simone does not want to be distracted from her first solo surgery. He only gets to be assist. She advises him to talk to Molly himself. Simone asks for the scalpel and makes the incision.
In Monica's OR, Dr. Knox drops one of Carlos's lungs so they can got thoracoscopic access. Monica met Carlos when he was 12 and he had a crush on Vivi back then already. He doesn't realize that Vivi is waiting for him to make the first move. Monica tells Jules to get the Veress needle. Just as Monica goes to say that the heart may have moved position with the lung being down, Jules inserts the needle and blood squirts out, indicating that she has perforated the heart. Jules panics and calls to have Winston paged.
Owen and Link are struggling to install a car seat. Owen asks Link if he's ever done something that he didn't want to do in order to save his marriage. Once Link realizes this is not coming from Jo, he says he keeps an open mind. Relationships are give-and-take. His parents' second marriage has taught them to let a lot of things slide and it's going much better now.
Winston arrives in the OR. Monica tells him that Carlos's vitals are stable as Jules steps back from the table. Monica instructs her to come back and help fix this. Winston calmly asks Jules how the Veress needle compares to a 16 gauge needle, which they use for intracardiac injections. It's about the same size. Jules then figures out that they can do a pericardial window, place a drain, and let the muscle heal on its own. They'll take care of this and then Jules can help finish the Nuss procedure. Jules once again offers to get off the case, which frustrates Monica. She tells Jules to focus and stay in lockstep.
Lucas and Richard watch Simone operate from the gallery. Richard talks about the special feeling he had for his first solo surgery. He called his friends and family and even bought a new pair of shoes. The first one is always a big deal. Richard tells Lucas not to beat himself up over one lost surgery, but Lucas has already left.
Down in the OR, everything is going smoothly. Simone struggles to place the second Endoloop. Benson assures her that she can do this. She then successfully places the loop and cuts the appendix from the caecum, after which she takes it out. Bailey proudly watches and tells her she did well. Melissa should recover in time to see her daughter's play.
In their closing, Amelia acknowledges the 55 million people living with Alzheimer's disease. They feel passionately about this work because of them. The grant would not only help them to start the next phase of their research, but it'd help them in their relentless pursuit of finding a cure. Tom says their next step sounds like a repetition of the study they based their abstract on. Amelia says that study included only 175 patients while they aim to include thousands to identify specific bacterial strains. Tom brushes it off as more of the same. He disregards Nick's question about the people they aim to include and talks about the mice in his study. Meredith points out there are no female mice in his study while Alzheimer's affects twice as many women as it does men. Tom deliberately did not include female mice since adding them leads to a whole social hierarchy and their hormonal cycles create behavioral fluctuations that can render the whole experiment useless. Tom says Meredith's inexperience in neurology research is showing great. Female mice are problematic, as everyone in this field knows. Meredith has gotten the attention of the female jury members. She calls Tom's claim pathetic and sexist. With the men who have been researching Alzheimer's not including females, it's no wonder no one has found a cure. Meredith also calls out the jury for their apparent lack of interest in changing it. However, even the women stay silent. Meredith then thanks everyone for their time.
Monica and Jules check on Carlos, who's doing well. Carlos wakes up. Upon hearing the surgery worked, he thanks Monica. He'll be able to go to pool parties and the beach. Jules suggests he go with Vivi. Carlos contemplates playing the field now that he has a new body. Jules disagrees. When you find someone who makes you feel things you've never felt before, and you have a chance to be with them, you should call them. She quickly leaves the room. Monica follows her out. Jules apologizes about today. Monica says complications happen and interns make mistakes. Jules blurts out that she only slept with Adriana because she's going through a breakup. While Monica is not thrilled that it happened, it's okay. Monica cares about Jules's training and today, she froze and got in her own way. Monica has been in that position. She cannot bring her personal life into the OR. Jules understands.
Owen brings Anand by Shruti's room. Jo congratulates the father as he gets to hold his newborn son. Anand tells Shruti he is so glad that they did this.
Bailey explains to Melissa that once they get the liver biopsy results, they'll get her a treatment plan. The surgery today went beautifully. Melissa's daughters want to sleep over to be with their mother. Bailey consents as long as they let her get some rest. They promise. As they leave the room, Bailey tells Simone she succeeded in making her look good. Simone thanks her. Bailey walks off. By the nurses' station, Lucas asks Simone how it was. She says it was the coolest 30 minutes of her life. Lucas tells her she deserves it. Simone invites him for drinks with Jules but he says he still has to do hand-off for next shift. She walks away with a disappointed look. Lucas watches as the prospective interns group walks by.
Jo and Link sit down on their bed. Link has decided he doesn't need a big wedding. He just wants to be married to her. Jo has changed her mind. She has done it before but she has never done it with him and she wants that.
Simone and Jules arrive at the bar. Simone thinks she insulted Lucas. Jules thinks he'll be fine. They should be focusing on their careers, which is why Jules has decided to swear off sex for a while. She walks up to Winston and Monica's booth. She tell Winston that she wants him to be her mentor. Winston tells her to meet him for rounds at 7 AM. She's excited. She goes back to the bar. Monica tells Winston it was her who told Jules to focus on the work and then Jules goes and asks him to be her mentor. Winston thinks that Jules is terrified of Monica. Monica can live with that.
Molly meets Benson by the friend door. Benson realizes he wasn't supportive before. He'll support her in whatever treatment she chooses but he is scared. She tells him she is sorry, too. He then sees that Dave is there.
Owen finds Teddy in their bedroom. He does not want them to feel stuck and he didn't want to admit that, because everything the therapist said is opposite to the idea that he has about their life together. Teddy agrees it is terrifying but maybe it shouldn't be. Owen is willing to try it but it is weird to picture her flirting with someone else. They agree to open up their marriage and set some rules: no details, they'll check in regularly, stay safe, and their marriage comes first so no serious feelings. They proceed to have sex.
Nick sits down with Meredith by their outdoor fireplace. Meredith says Tom won the grant. She keeps seeing his smug face. Nick didn't knew science was such a male-dominated field, even with rodents. Ellis Grey knew. She told Meredith about it her whole life. Meredith wants to do Tom's experiment with female mice. She has some savings to fund it herself. She said it was personal and it is. Nick wants to invest, too. If he's going to bet on anybody, it's her.
Cast[]
Main Cast[]
- Ellen Pompeo as Dr. Meredith Grey
- Chandra Wilson as Dr. Miranda Bailey
- James Pickens, Jr. as Dr. Richard Webber
- Kevin McKidd as Dr. Owen Hunt
- Caterina Scorsone as Dr. Amelia Shepherd
- Camilla Luddington as Dr. Jo Wilson
- Jason George as Dr. Ben Warren (credit only)
- Kim Raver as Dr. Teddy Altman
- Chris Carmack as Dr. Atticus Lincoln
- Anthony Hill as Dr. Winston Ndugu
- Alexis Floyd as Dr. Simone Griffith
- Harry Shum Jr. as Dr. Benson Kwan
- Adelaide Kane as Dr. Jules Millin
- Niko Terho as Dr. Lucas Adams
Guest Stars[]
- Greg Germann as Dr. Tom Koracick
- Scott Speedman as Dr. Nick Marsh
- Natalie Morales as Dr. Monica Beltran
- Dianne Doan as Molly Tran
- Vince Swann as Dave
- Nadine Ellis as Melissa Walker
- Briana Venskus-Vazquez as Adriana Delgadillo
- Melanie Chandra as Shruti Kotwani
- Adit Dileep as Anand Kotwani
- Caleb Baumann as Carlos Navarro
- Aniela Gumbs as Zola Grey Shepherd
- Bobby Burkich as Vincenzo
Co-Starring[]
- Beckett Elizabeth Love Rhimes as Bianca Walker
- Emerson Pearl Rhimes as Emily Walker
- Payton Silver as Dr. Knox
- Lisa Costanza as Anna Anderson
- Tom Simmons as Bob
- Brody Goodstadt & Ryder Goodstadt as Bailey
- Ella Faris & Gracie Faris as Little Ellis
Medical Notes[]
Melissa Walker[]
- Diagnosis:
- Gallstones
- Carcinoid syndrome
- Neuroendocrine tumor
- Liver tumor
- Doctors:
- Miranda Bailey (general surgeon)
- Lucas Adams (surgical intern)
- Simone Griffith (surgical intern)
- Benson Kwan (surgical intern)
- Treatment:
- Laparascopic cholecystectomy
- Appendectomy
Melissa, 52, had gone to the ER three days prior with abdominal pain, nausea, and fatigue. She was diagnosed with gallstones and had a laparoscopic cholecystectomy. Two days after her surgery, she was still in pain. Bailey examined her and said it looked like inflammation from her surgery, but ordered a CT to be sure. Her CT was normal, so Bailey offered her pain medication. However, after hearing that she'd developed some allergies when she started menopause, Simone believed she had carcinoid syndrome. Simone ordered a PET scan, which showed a 1.5 centimeter neuroendocrine tumor on her appendix as well as a small spot on her liver. Bailey had Simone do an appendectomy. They also did a liver biopsy and told her they'd develop a treatment plan for her.
Anna Anderson[]
- Diagnosis:
- Hernia
- Doctors:
- Richard Webber (general surgeon)
- Simone Griffith (surgical intern)
- Treatment:
Anna was in the hospital for a hernia repair. Her surgery was pushed to the next day due to a high INR.
Shruti Kotwani[]
- Diagnosis:
- Pregnancy
- Doctors:
- Jo Wilson (OB/GYN resident)
- Treatment:
- Vaginal delivery
Shruti was 42 weeks pregnant and still hadn't gone into labor. Jo said they would run some tests to prepare for induction after other methods to induce labor failed. While they waited for those tests, Shruti and her husband had sex as a last attempt to induce labor without medical intervention. This failed and Jo gave Shruti pitocin, which started her labor. She delivered a baby boy.
[]
- Diagnosis:
- Pectus excavatum
- Doctors:
- Monica Beltran (pediatric surgeon)
- Winston Ndugu (cardiothoracic surgeon)
- Jules Millin (surgical intern)
- Treatment:
- Modified Nuss procedure
Carlos, 16, was born with pectus excavatum and was at the hospital for a modified Nuss procedure to raise his sternum. Winston cleared his heart and lungs prior to his surgery. As they started his surgery, Jules placed the Veress needle, but blood gushed through. Winston scrubbed in and did a pericardial window and placed a drain so the wound could heal itself. They then proceeded with the Nuss procedure. It was successful and Carlos was stable and awake after his surgery.
Jo's Patient[]
- Diagnosis:
- Pulmonary valve stenosis
- Doctors:
- Jo Wilson (OB/GYN resident)
- Teddy Altman (cardiothoracic surgeon)
- Treatment:
Jo had a patient with pulmonary valve stenosis. Teddy consulted and cleared the patient for surgery.
Anand Kotwani[]
- Diagnosis:
- Tailbone bruising
- Doctors:
- Owen Hunt (trauma surgeon)
- Atticus Lincoln (orthopedic surgeon)
- Treatment:
Anand fell off his wife and injured his tailbone. In the ER, Owen suspected a broken coccyx due to the swelling and bruising in the area, so he ordered x-rays and had Link consult.
Music[]
| Song | Performer | Scene |
|---|---|---|
| "Bright Side" | Isla June |
|
| "Cruise" | Beadie |
|
| "A Dream, A Doubt, and A Reason Why" | A Year on Earth, The Hit House & William August Hunt |
|
| "Tell Me That I'm Wrong" | Matilda Mann |
|
| "In the Night" | Nik Freitas |
|
| "Space Between" | Glass Satellites & Tina Parol |
|
Notes and Trivia[]
- This episode's title originated from the song Ridin' Solo, originally sung by Jason Derulo.
- This episode scored 2.42 million viewers.[1]
- This episode marks the 100th appearance of Zola Grey Shepherd.
- This episode aired exactly 20 years after the first episode of the series on March 27, 2005.
Gallery[]
Episode Stills[]
Behind the Scenes[]
Quotes[]
See Also[]
|
A complete overview of this episode's crew can be found here. |
| Grey's Anatomy Season 21 | ||||||
| #01 | "If Walls Could Talk" | #07 | "If You Leave" | #13 | "Don't You (Forget About Me)" | |
| #02 | "Take Me to Church" | #08 | "Drop It Like It's Hot" | #14 | "Love in the Ice Age" | |
| #03 | "I Can See Clearly Now" | #09 | "Hit the Floor" | #15 | "Bust Your Windows" | |
| #04 | "This One's for the Girls" | #10 | "Jump (for My Love)" | #16 | "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" | |
| #05 | "You Make My Heart Explode" | #11 | "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" | #17 | "Love You Like a Love Song" | |
| #06 | "Night Moves" | #12 | "Ridin' Solo" | #18 | "How Do I Live" | |
| << Season 20 | ||||||