| “ | During our ER rotation in med school, my roommate fell in love with emergency medicine. She loved being on the front line. She felt that's where she had the most impact. But I knew three days in emergency medicine was not for me. Most treatments were meant to just tide patients over until they could see their own physician, a specialist, or a surgeon. And I thought, "What's the point of starting something you won't get to finish?" One way or the other, surgeons get closure with their patients. Sometimes we fix you, sometimes we can't. But our intention is to find a long-term solution. Which isn't to say emergency medicine isn't important, especially when something's gone neglected too long. But try as we might, some solutions can only be temporary. We evaluate you. We think in the moment. We do our best. And we hope like hell we've done enough to carry you through. | ” |
Sorry Doesn't Always Make It Right is the eleventh episode of the seventeenth season and the 374th overall episode of Grey's Anatomy.
Short Summary[]
The Grey Sloan doctors are stuck in the middle of a fight between a newlywed couple who are injured in a car accident and brought to the hospital for treatment. Meanwhile, Jackson's generosity with COVID-positive patients goes a bit too far, and Hayes works to rebuild Maggie's confidence and convince her to perform an extremely risky heart surgery.
Full Summary[]
Jackson removes his mask and takes a breath. Owen finds him and asks why he pulled all the residents from the ER. Jackson says he did it to help with the free COVID testing. Owen says it's a great program and goes back inside.
Meredith is moved from her bed to be taken for a CT. Outside her room, Richard assures Teddy over a video call that Meredith is doing well. He then tells her to enjoy her two remaining days off and hangs up on her.
Jo finishes telling Luna a story about a dog. Then she and Bailey assure Luna she'll love everything about the outside. Jo thinks Luna responded to her name being called and tests it by saying her name again. Cormac interrupts to round on Luna, but has to persuade Bailey and Jo to leave first.
Amelia is folding laundry when Link brings in another load. He says Ellis was putting her laundry under her bed instead of in the hamper. Scout starts crying. Amelia says he just ate, but Link says he ate a lot as a kid and still does. She wants everything to stop for a minute. Bailey then rides his scooter in asking if it's for them, the camping truck outside.
Amelia, Link, and the kids step outside to see Link's parents in an RV. Bailey rushes forward to see them, but Amelia pulls him back, saying COVID and stranger. Eric says they've spoken so many times over video, they're old friends now. They want to see Scout. And they've been isolated for two weeks on their way from Colorado. They didn't even stop to buy groceries. Link goes to get Scout, but Eric and Maureen say they'd actually like to take all four kids to see Mt. Rainier. They remember how impossible the first few months with a newborn are without help. The kids climb into the RV happily as Maureen comments that they couldn't have asked for a better daughter in law than Amelia. She knows they're not married, but Amelia's the mother of her grandson.
Alma does a swab on a bus driver. He's amazed it was so quick. She tells him he'll get a text in about 30 minutes with the results.
Levi tells Jackson he's almost used all his kits, but Jackson says they have more and if they run out, they can get some from station 19. He spent 20 hours in virtual meetings convincing the Catherine Fox Foundation it was the right thing to do. Levi jokingly asks if he doesn't just ask his mom before awkwardly leaving. Next, Marcel comes in and says a cashier at work tested positive. He feels fine, but wants to be sure. Jackson says that was a smart choice and does the swab. Jackson says he'll know in about 30 minutes. He's glad because then he won't be late for his shift.
Jo practices the speech she wants to give Meredith about switching to OB. Levi gives her feedback, but doesn't know what Meredith would say. He needs to get back to work, but Jo wants to be prepared. Jo gets paged away for a trauma, freeing Levi to go back to COVID testing.
Reza starts to report on Arthur Beaton, but Cormac stops him and asks Arthur's father, Chris if he wants to wait for Hollie or video call her. He says she has work and tells them to go ahead. So Reza reports that Arthur is on his 12 day of ECMO due to VSDs, cardiomyopathy, and heart failure. He's status 1A waiting for a heart transplant. Chris says they thought it would only be a few days and asks if most kids with his condition wait this long. Reza says it's unusual, but Cormac says it means he's strong. He's already had several procedures which haven't fixed his heart, but they're hopeful he'll be able to hang on a little longer until a donor heart comes along.
Bailey and Jo join Owen in the ambulance bay as they wait for their patients, a newlywed couple that ended up trapped in their car inside a truck. In the first ambulance is Shayne Riley and Ben. Ben reports that his pelvis is unstable and he has abdominal pain. He tells Shayne he's in good hands and that Bailey is his wife. In the other ambulance is Karissa Skolaski, who has minor lacerations and a headache. Jo takes her inside. She calls out to Shayne on the way in, but Shayne ignores her, saying he's never going to speak to her again.
Meredith gets a CT, which showed that her lungs are improving and there are no other visible issues. Taryn celebrates it, but Richard is dismayed that she's still too weak to stay awake.
Jo tries to keep Karissa still, but Karissa insists she's fine and needs to go see Shayne because she feels terrible. Tom comes in and says his job is to help people who feel terrible. He asks what terrible thing she did to her husband as he examines her. She says she told the firefighters to rescue her first. As they wheel her out for a CT, he says she might be able to blame that on a brain bleed. Karissa asks Jo to tell Shayne she's okay.
Shayne tells Owen and Bailey what Karissa said as they examine him. Bailey says a lot of people panic on their wedding day. She did. She looks up and Owen and then stops. Shayne's x-ray shows an open-book pelvic fracture, so he needs a CT to check for other abdominal injuries, but he will definitely need surgery. Jo comes in and updates him on Karissa. He tells her not to tell Karissa anything about him.
Amelia and Link are unsettled by being alone in the house. Amelia's not sure where to start and Link suggests getting naked. When she goes to go upstairs, he reminds her that no one else is home. They're free to be loud and anywhere they want to be. As he takes off his shirt, Amelia sits down on the steps and starts crying. Link suddenly kneels, but Amelia stops him before he can propose. She says she just really needs to be crying right now, so he sits with her.
Jackson steps out of the tent to see Levi talking to Marcel. When Levi approaches, Jackson says Marcel's test was positive, so he needs to go home to isolate. Levi asks to admit Marcel as he lives with his family, six people in a two-bedroom apartment, including his grandfather. Jackson hands Levi his credit card and tells Levi to get him a room and do the same for anyone else who needs a room. Levi goes back and tells Marcel the good news. Marcel waves to Jackson in thanks.
Cormac finds Chris sitting outside Arthur's room. He says he just had to get out of there for a minute. Cormac says he could step outside or go to the chapel, but Chris doesn't want to pray for someone else's kid to die. He also admits he lied about Hollie. She hasn't worked in weeks. She's severely depressed and he doesn't know if it's postpartum depression or Arthur's condition or the state of the world, but she's so depressed she can't get out of bed. They knew they'd have to be cautious when the pandemic started, but Arthur ended up in the hospital anyway and Chris is still losing his family. The only thing keeping him going is the hope for a miracle and to get his miracle, someone else's miracle has to end. But he's going to pray for it anyway, because Arthur is his son.
Jo goes to check on Karissa, who is getting a CT. Karissa asks about Shayne, but Jo says she can't tell her anything because of patient confidentiality. Karissa asks if Shayne asked her not to tell, but Jo says that's also confidential. Karissa knows he's still mad. Her sisters thought she was crazy, that three months wasn't long enough to get to know someone. The CT comes up and Tom tells her she has a small contusion and a minor brain bleed. It's not serious enough to blame anything on, but they're going to keep her overnight for observation. Karissa says she was wrong that no one would miss him because she misses him. She starts to cry.
Cormac asks Maggie if she can think of anything they can do for Arthur. He suggests an artificial heart, but Maggie says his chest cavity isn't large enough and the cannulas would press on his internal organs. He's been on ECMO for 12 days, so even if a heart became available, she's not sure he'd survive the transplant. She thinks it's time to have a very difficult conversation with Arthur's parents. Cormac challenges her, saying she's supposed to be some kind of genius. Maggie says they've been at it for months. At this point, they're only prolonging his pain and his parents'. This will let them go on.
Link pours Amelia some tea. She's realizing it's been months she she was able to feel whatever she wanted without having to think of anyone else. She asks if he's mad that she shouted no and made him get up. He says no. He's mad at his mom for bringing it up. She says she just meant that he was misreading the moment, but she isn't sure if she wants to marry him. She hasn't had time to think about it. He says he hasn't had time either, but he's still thought of it. He says he loves her and Scout and them together. Marriage is how society locks it in. But not really. They're not sure what to do. Amelia says she was a terrible wife. She had a brain tumor, but she also thinks she's hard-wired for self-destruction. Every day, she wakes up and goes to sleep thinking about getting high.
Jo tells a sleeping Meredith about Karissa and Shayne and her desire to move to OB. She wants people to be excited to see her. She needs a new happy place because home isn't that for her anymore. She's grateful to Meredith. She says she'll tell it all to Meredith again when she's awake. And she hopes that's soon because they can't take any more worst days.
Levi says he's booked so many rooms that the manager asked if Jackson would like a whole floor. Jackson says to go ahead and do that and get as many rooms as they can. Levi thanks him and starts calling. Alma comes and asks when hotel stays became part of the package. Jackson says quarantining isn't easy for everyone. She's amazed that he's just realized that. Jackson excuses Levi and then asks Alma what's going on. She explains that him booking the room is competing with community organizations that are providing housing for people who are testing positive. They can't book the rooms at the discounted rate because Jackson is booking them as the full-rate. Hotels are kicking people out to make room. Jackson apologizes because he didn't know that. Alma's still not happy.
Amelia watches Link sleep on the couch until he wakes up. Falling asleep is his response to stressful situations, she's noticed. He says he processes his feelings better when he's unconscious. He wants to figure things out. Amelia says there's not much to figure out. She's an addict. But she's talked about the feeling in meetings. They all have. The pandemic is creating a perfect storm of triggers for people. She's not even craving pills. She wants to smoke some weed. It's not suggested because she might forget not to use heroin if she uses weed. Link says, for the record, he'd marry her in a minute, because most drug addicts who crave drugs would just do drugs and she doesn't, which makes her strong. He kneels down and starts proposing again, but she stops him again. He asks if she means not ever or just not today. She says not when she's confessing her dark secrets and has snot rolling down her face.
Jo goes to see Luna and finds Cormac already there. He came to see her because he needed to see a friendly face because he has to talk to a father about taking his child off life support. Jo says Luna's the best because she doesn't judge and isn't selfish or bitter or resentful. Jo hopes she never grows to resent the hand she's been dealt. Jo herself spent a lot of time being angry about how she came into the world and it took her a long time to realize that the anger didn't serve her and the more she let it go, the better off she'd be. Letting it go was like breaking off the crusty black pieces of her heart. That gives Cormac an idea and he suddenly leaves the room.
Owen and Bailey are operating on Shayne. Bailey can't imagine a wedding day being much worse. She looks up at Owen and falls silent. Owen says he's lucky to find out the truth on day one instead of later. Bailey asks about Teddy and Owen says she'll be back in a few days. He won't say more because the OR has heard enough about his personal life.
Maggie answers Cormac's page. She's upset that he's paged her after she said it was impossible, that they couldn't save Arthur. Cormac suggests removing part of his heart to make the space they need.
Chris is incredulous that they want to remove part of Arthur's heart. They explain the procedure to him and he asks if they've done it before. Cormac says they've used the device on older children, but Maggie adds that in those cases, they didn't have to remove both ventricles. Chris knows that means it might not work. Cormac says they want to do it because Arthur's chances are the same if they do absolutely nothing. They're running out of options and Arthur's almost out of time. This is his best chance. Chris has to call Hollie so she can see him before his surgery, just in case.
Owen and Bailey tell Shayne he'll need rehab, but he'll make a full recovery. He's not looking forward to the months at home alone. Bailey's surprised he's not going to try to save his marriage. She tells him about her parents. They were together for over 60 years. After her mom died, her father was looking through pictures to put with her obituary. He eventually had to have her pick one because every photo, he just saw the woman he loved. That hadn't changed over 60 years. People are who they are. Karissa said some things while she was trapped in a car and scared. But she's still the same person she was when they met and he might want to give her a chance to prove that before throwing it away. He asks if there's a way he could see her. Bailey leaves to get him a tablet.
Jackson tells Alma he spoke to Kelly Bernard and now he'll be sponsoring rooms, so he won't be competing with the local charities anymore. Alma's still upset and he asks if she has a problem with all her attendings or just him. He's trying to make things right. She says she's just frustrated at the whole thing. The system isn't designed to help people who need it, especially when they look like them. When she was a social worker, she saw a lot of temporary fixes, things that never got to the root of the problem. Hotel rooms are great, but then people have to go back to their risky jobs and overcrowded homes. He's trying to help, but it's all too much and she's over it.
Chris tells Arthur all the things he wants to do with him and tells him he loves him, even if he doesn't get to do those things. He's given his parents a lifetime full of love. Cormac says it's time for them to go and he reluctantly lets them take Arthur for surgery.
Link and Amelia are eating in front of the fire. Amelia is surprised that Link immediately knows what their wedding would look like. She says she loves him, so marriage seems obviously, but still she's not sure. He tells her he needs her not to get high. He needs her to do whatever she needs to do to stay sober because he's not equipped for drama. He'll end up sleeping his life away. Amelia agrees not to get high if he agrees not to propose to her in a semi-compulsory manner. One day at a time is about all she can manage. Link reminds her that the house is still empty. They start kissing, but then they see lights outside and have to stop.
Meredith wakes up. She tells Richard she's sorry he had to put her on a ventilator. He says he'd make the choice again in a heartbeat if he needed to, but hopes he doesn't have to. She says she's glad she chose him, but she needs to talk to him about Jo.
Cormac scrubs in and enters the OR where Maggie is waiting with Arthur. They start his surgery together. She removes his ventricles and then treads the cannulas. When they're done, they take him off bypass. after a few tense moments, he establishes sinus rhythm. Everyone in the OR and gallery celebrates.
Alma enters a conference room. Jackson paged her there. She starts to apologize, saying she has trouble keeping her opinions to herself. He says he's the same. He wants to help people, but he doesn't know how. He asks her what she'd do if she had the money. He wants to hear all her ideas. He gives her a notepad to write it all down. She starts with affordable healthy food.
Karissa explains herself to Shayne. He tries to talk a few times, but she keeps going. She then asks him never to scare her like that again. He says he won't and asks for an annulment. Bailey is shocked, but he has realized that she was always self-absorbed, but now he doesn't find it charming like he used to. He was lonely, so he overlooked the rest of her personality. He tells Karissa she's selfish and always has been. He'd rather be alone than with someone incapable of thinking of anyone but herself. She feels terrible, but he's sure it won't last long. He ends the call.
Cormac tells Chris he has a feisty one. Arthur never thought about quitting. Chris is excited and calls Hollie so she can see him. Cormac says it's just for a little while and once a donor heart comes, they'll remove the machine. Until then, Arthur has his own battery pack. His parents both express their love.
Levi thanks Jo for driving him home as he's too tired to ride his bike. Jo says she'll drive if he'll cook. He didn't know COVID testing would be so exhausting. Richard stops them before they can leave and asks to speak to Jo. He questions her about her decision to switch specialties. He says he's happy to support her, but he needs to know what she wants in order to do that.
Link tells Amelia that Zola is reading and the others are asleep. Amelia tells him Scout's out as well. She wonders how long his parents can live in the driveway. Link suggests they do a check-in every few weeks, just to make sure they're still good with their decision. Amelia asks if they're broken or evolved. Link says they're evolved.
Owen looks at a picture of himself with Teddy from their Army days. Teddy finds him on the couch and says the kids just fell asleep. He says he came to see her. She tried to tell him about her relationship with Allison and he was awful to her. He apologizes. She told him when she could and he should have realized that. Every day since they met, she's been a great friend to him. He should have noticed when she did something so out of character for her and been her friend. He wants to be her friend. He's not sure he has more in him than that. And he'd like to hear about Allison if she'll tell him. She offers him some tea and he says that would be good.
Maggie asks Richard how Meredith did. He tells her she's still mostly sleeping, but she's still listening. Bailey joins them and they talk about how Meredith is extraordinary. Richard hopes that's true.
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
- Jesse Williams as Dr. Jackson Avery
- Caterina Scorsone as Dr. Amelia Shepherd
- Camilla Luddington as Dr. Jo Wilson
- Kelly McCreary as Dr. Maggie Pierce
- Giacomo Gianniotti as Dr. Andrew DeLuca (credit only)
- Kim Raver as Dr. Teddy Altman
- Greg Germann as Dr. Tom Koracick
- Jake Borelli as Dr. Levi Schmitt
- Chris Carmack as Dr. Atticus Lincoln
- Richard Flood as Dr. Cormac Hayes
- Anthony Hill as Dr. Winston Ndugu (credit only)
Guest Stars[]
- Jason George as Dr. Ben Warren
- Jaicy Elliot as Dr. Taryn Helm
- Bess Armstrong as Maureen Lincoln
- Granville Ames as Eric Lincoln
- Lisa Schurga as Karissa Skolaski
- Kevin Berntson as Shayne Riley
- Daniel Augustin as Chris Beaton
- Nikhil Shukla as Dr. Reza Khan
- Farelle Walker as Hollie Beaton
- Lisa Vidal as Dr. Alma Ortiz
Co-Starring[]
- Aniela Gumbs as Zola
- Juliette Myers as Paramedic
- Ezekiel Pacheco as Marcel
- Jim Grollman as Bus Driver
- Ella Faris & Gracie Faris as Little Ellis
- Brody Goodstadt & Ryder Goodstadt as Bailey
Medical Notes[]
Meredith Grey[]
- Diagnosis:
- COVID-19
- Doctors:
- Richard Webber (general surgeon)
- Taryn Helm (surgical resident)
- Treatment:
Meredith was taken for a CT, which showed improving ground glass opacities and no pleural effusion or pneumothorax. Despite this, she was still too weak to stay awake for stretches of time.
Luna Ashton[]
- Diagnosis:
- Prematurity
- Doctors:
- Cormac Hayes (pediatric surgeon)
- Treatment:
Luna was still in the NICU, but stable. Cormac rounded on her.
Bus Driver[]
- Diagnosis:
- Doctors:
- Alma Ortiz (surgical intern)
- Treatment:
A bus driver came into the COVID testing station at the hospital to get tested.
Marcel[]
- Diagnosis:
- COVID-19
- Doctors:
- Jackson Avery (plastic surgeon)
- Treatment:
Marcel had been exposed to COVID at work and so came to the hospital for a test. His test came back positive, so he was sent to a hotel to isolate.
Arthur Beaton[]
- Diagnosis:
- Ventricular septal defects
- Cardiomyopathy
- Heart failure
- Doctors:
- Cormac Hayes (pediatric surgeon)
- Reza Khan (surgical intern)
- Treatment:
- ECMO
- Double-pump EXCOR
Arthur, 14 months, was in the hospital with multiple ventricular septal defects, cardiomyopathy, and heart failure. He was on his 12th day of ECMO as he awaited a heart transplant. He'd had previous surgeries, but none of them had been able to fix the defects. To stabilize him as he waited for a heart transplant, Cormac suggested a double-pump EXCOR, though Maggie said his chest cavity was too small for the procedure. She was doubtful he would even survive a transplant if one came. Cormac then suggested removing his ventricles to make the space they needed for the artificial heart. His father consented, so they operated. The surgery was a success and Arthur was stable afterward.
Shayne Riley[]
- Diagnosis:
- Open-book pelvic fracture
- Incisional hernia
- Doctors:
- Miranda Bailey (general surgeon)
- Owen Hunt (trauma surgeon)
- Treatment:
- Pelvic binding
- Surgical repair
Shayne, 45, had an unstable pelvis and lower abdominal pain after a car accident. He had an x-ray and ultrasound in the ER, which showed an open-book pelvic fracture, so he was told he'd need surgery. In surgery, they did a Stoppa technique to repair a hernia that had developed. After his surgery, he was told he might need some rehab, but he'd recover completely.
Karissa Skolaski[]
- Diagnosis:
- Lacerations
- Headache
- Contusion
- Brain bleed
- Doctors:
- Tom Koracick (neurosurgeon)
- Jo Wilson (general surgeon)
- Treatment:
Karissa was fully alert and oriented as she came into the hospital after a car accident. She had minor lacerations to her face, arms, and legs as well as a headache. Tom took her for a CT, which showed a minor contusion and a small brain bleed. He said they'd keep her overnight for observation.
Music[]
| Song | Performer | Scene |
|---|---|---|
| "Over You" | Aaron Frazer |
|
| "Younger Days" | Joy Oladokun |
|
| "We Carry On" | Peter Groenwald |
|
| "See the Sun" | Rai feat. Hunnah |
|
Notes and Trivia[]
- This episode's title originated from the song Sorry Doesn't Always Make It Right, originally sung by Diana Ross.
- This episode scored 4.88 million viewers.[1]
- The scheduled prep dates for this episode were February 4-12, 2021 and shooting was February 16-March 1, 2021.[2]
- This episode marks the directorial debut of Giacomo Gianniotti.
Gallery[]
Episode Stills[]
Behind the Scenes[]
Quotes[]
See Also[]
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A complete overview of this episode's crew can be found here. |
| Grey's Anatomy Season 17 | ||||||
| #01 | "All Tomorrow's Parties" | #07 | "Helplessly Hoping" | #13 | "Good as Hell" | |
| #02 | "The Center Won't Hold" | #08 | "It's All Too Much" | #14 | "Look Up Child" | |
| #03 | "My Happy Ending" | #09 | "In My Life" | #15 | "Tradition" | |
| #04 | "You'll Never Walk Alone" | #10 | "Breathe" | #16 | "I'm Still Standing" | |
| #05 | "Fight the Power" | #11 | "Sorry Doesn't Always Make It Right" | #17 | "Someone Saved My Life Tonight" | |
| #06 | "No Time for Despair" | #12 | "Sign O' the Times" | |||
| << Season 16 | Season 18 >> | |||||