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Stronger Than Hate is the eighteenth episode of the eighteenth season and the 398th overall episode of Grey's Anatomy.

Short Summary[]

A dinner party is thrown at the sister house in Nick's honor. Meanwhile, Grey Sloan Memorial receives a victim of a brutal hate crime.

Full Summary[]

Winston and Maggie are preparing food for Nick's welcome dinner party. Maggie is keen to get to know Nick. Winston receives word that Wendell's room service is on the way at the hotel. He's living it up on Winston's dime. He has claimed he'll hear about a job back in Boston any day now. Maggie wonders where Amelia is.

Amelia is naked in bed with Kai at a hotel. Amelia suddenly realizes they are late to help Maggie out. Kai pulls her back and asks if she's sure about that. They start making out again.

Meredith runs into Nick at the hospital. He is done for the day. Meredith will meet him at her place after she's seen her last patient of the day. Nick likes living in the same city. He promises he won't skip out on the party and leaves. Bailey walks up. She thinks the party is cancelled upon seeing Meredith still in her scrubs. Meredith swears it's not. They both need some fun.

Richard tells Mabel she can go home for the day after going over arterial blood gas results. Catherine wonders why he's not in his party clothes. She is receiving another dose of experimental chemo treatment today. Richard promised he would stick with her every step of the way so he's not going to the party. They enter the oncology unit.

Amelia arrives at the house with Kai. She introduces them to Maggie, Winston, and Meredith's kids. They forgot to bring the ice. The kids start arguing over toys so Amelia tells them to come with her to the backyard to play soccer. Ellis stays behind with Maggie, who goes to open the door for Nick. Ellis is disappointed since she was expecting her mother. Nick hands Maggie the bottle of wine he brought. Maggie tells Nick to make himself at home. Next to arrive are Owen and Teddy, who also brought wine.

Meredith leaves the hospital through the ambulance bay as a rig brings in Alice Tom, 72, suffering from major facial trauma and abdominal pain after an assault at a bus stop. Meredith decides to help out and walks with Levi to bring the patient inside. The attacker yelled racial slurs.

As a nurse hooks up the chemo to Catherine's IV, Richard reads that UCSF is commencing trials on a new treatment. Simon Clark asks Catherine if her oncologist comes to each of her appointments. Catherine informs him Richard is her husband. Simon and Kirsten are working on a puzzle. The patients swap diagnoses. Kirsten is at 35 weeks now. While Richard brings up nanotechnology, Catherine asks the couple to talk about their baby to distract her.

In a trauma room, Meredith orders more morphine for Alice as Nico arrives to examine Alice's humerus fracture. Nico sees Michelle working on Alice's face and gathers it was a hate crime. Michelle orders a CT while Meredith finds free fluid in the abdomen. Nico asks Michelle to page him as soon as they're done with their evaluations.

Nick insists on helping out with the salad. Maggie gestures at Owen to get to know Nick. Owen asks about his work at the Clinic. He's been there for 16 years after doing his residency in D.C. He got a fellowship back home in Minnesota, where his sister couldn't stay sober long enough to care for her toddler, so two birds, one stone. Owen shares he has toddlers, too. Winston arrives with the ice. Teddy comes in asking where Meredith keeps the games.

Link arrives with a fussy Scout. He thinks Scout wants his mother. Amelia emerges from the playroom and takes her son while Link briefly greets Kai. Moments later, Bailey arrives without anyone welcoming her. Upon finally seeing her, Teddy asks her if she wants to play Boggle. Teddy recalls being appointed ambassador of fun. Nick asks Bailey if she wants a drink. She asks for bourbon.

Winston is surprised when Wendell shows up. His lenders are after him so he couldn't stay at the hotel. Maggie joins the two at the door. Wendell hands her the flowers he brought and lets himself in.

While Wendell starts talking to Teddy, Winston apologizes to Maggie. He only told his brother he was going to a party. Winston needs a minute to figure out how to tell Wendell to leave without him making a big scene about it. Maggie admits she's worried about Winston and them as a couple. She then goes to check on a beeping timer in the kitchen.

Nick joins Link out by the grill in the backyard. After some small talk about sports, Link says he used to live at this place when Meredith was in the hospital with COVID. Link then figures Nick knows Kai. Nick is in awe of their professional accomplishments. Link gathers Amelia traded up, then. Nick jokes he hasn't known him long enough to comment on that. Link needs more beer. Nick then texts Meredith to ask if she's okay. She replies she'll be late.

Inside, the other guests have gathered in the living room. Kai finds out from Owen and Teddy how Amelia is like an aunt to their kids. Amelia decides to go and try to put Scout down. Little Bailey comes in with his tablet because his drawing app froze. Also, Ellis wants more sparkling cider. While Owen checks the tablet, Amelia asks Kai to handle the cider.

Wendell criticizes the spinach dip. Winston asks him how bad the situation is with the lenders. Nick brings in a platter of grilled meat. Wendell introduces himself. Winston adds he's just visiting but Wendell hints at his staying longer. While Nick and Wendell get to small talk, Maggie quietly suggests to Winston that Nick is a con man, too, because he has charmed her as much as Wendell did.

A police officers points Meredith and Levi to Alice's husband. Meredith explains her colleagues are working on the facial and humerus fractures right now. They are taking a conservative approach regarding her splenic injury. Mr. Tom says his wife insisted on taking the bus to the store to get chocolate syrup for the weekly family dinner. Meredith promises to let him know once Alice is out of surgery. She'll also tell Alice that her entire family is here so she knows she's not alone.

Catherine smiles as she overhears Kristen and Simon talk. Richard comes back with water for Catherine and announces his plan for a wellness room at home. Kristen comments she had the same idea; the room is now a calming storage room. She starts experiencing contractions. Richard pages Jo.

From the scrub room, Meredith shares a look with Bokhee, who's assisting Michelle.

Michelle says as a kid, she used to wish her face would look more American, which she understood to mean more white. Nico understands she wanted to feel like she belonged. He wonders if they'll ever stop feeling foreign. Bokhee says they are Americans. Meredith comes in to check. Alice's vitals have been stable. Meredith then tells Alice that she's not alone. She says she's sorry for what happened.

Levi finds Mabel sitting up in the gallery. She heard and couldn't bring herself to go home. No one intervened when the attack happened. Levi wishes he could help.

After an exam, Jo says the contractions are just Braxton-Hicks. However, she wants to take Kristen to OB triage for a cervical exam and to monitor her just in case. Kristen refuses to leave Simon. Catherine tells Richard to take Kristen up. She'll keep Simon company. Simon convinces Kristen to go with the doctors.

Wendell is pacing on the porch outside. Inside, Winston asks Nick where he prefers doing transplants. He likes San Diego. Bailey did a rotation there in med school. She and Nick bond over their love for Scrabble while Teddy once again brings up Boggle.

Owen and Kai are playing with trains in the playroom. Link comes in to remind them that there are hiding people out there waiting for them to seek them.

Link meets Amelia in her bedroom as she's reading a medical journal to Scout. He offers to take over since she's here with a date. She's fine but appreciates the offer.

Winston catches Wendell as he gets off a phone call. He tells his brother he shouldn't stay. Wendell says he people whom he owes are not good people. That's why he needs to disappear for a while. He just wanted to spend one more night with his big brother. Also, he needs some cash. Winston can't believe he came to the house with bad people looking for him. He's upset that Wendell is putting his family at risk. Wendell counters that he is Winston's family. Winston hands him his coat and orders him to leave tonight. The other guests witnessed the tense confrontation from the living room. Maggie says they should eat.

Kai is looking at family photos, several of which feature Amelia. Owen hands them a beer and apologizes for being stuck on kid duty. Kai is used to it from her nieces and nephews. They don't want kids. Their career is their baby. Owen says they sound like Amelia before she had Scout.

Teddy and Link are drinking bourbon in the backyard. Link finally sold the last of his engagement rings. He still doesn't know why he bought so many. He burned his relationship with Amelia and trashed his friendship with Jo, so life's not really working out for him at the moment. Teddy wonders if that is because he slept with Jo. Link says there are apparently were feelings but now there is Todd. He hardly sees Jo anymore but he wants her to be happy. Teddy asks if he has feelings for Jo. Link says maybe sometimes a little. Teddy is not convinced.

Bailey and Nick help Maggie to clean up after dinner. She is mortified that Nick cooked and cleaned as her guest. As she watches him on the porch swing, Maggie apologizes for the situation with Wendell. Nick knows complicated people can be hard to love. He opens up about Erica, whom he rarely sees anymore. She keeps on lying to his face without an ounce of remorse. Despite all that she's taken from him, he still struggles to say no to her. Just giving her what she wants is the easiest way to avoid another heartbreak.

Levi finds Nico in a dark on-call room. Nico claims he's fine. Levi kneels before him and puts an ice pack on his bruised hand.

Kristen asks Richard if any of the clinical trials he's researching have had any success. They are still ongoing. Before Simon, Kristen didn't realize that living with cancer was an option rather than beating it or dying from it. She was in denial for a long time. She became obsessed with them conceiving because she somehow believed Simon would never die before meeting his son. By not letting Simon accept and grieve the fact that he might not survive long enough, she had left him alone. Richard takes her hand to offer comfort.

Meredith rushes into Alice's ICU room. She's deteriorating and all signs point toward a ruptured spleen. They need to get her to the OR right away. She goes into V-fib. Meredith asks for a crash cart and decides to open up Alice right there. She refuses to let Alice die. She defibrillates twice.

Meredith and Levi get gowned and gloved while Alice is draped. They open her up while her family waits in the waiting area. Meredith removes Alice's spleen.

Meredith, Levi, Michelle, and Nico meet Alice's family. They tell them what happened in the ICU. Alice made it but they'll have to monitor her closely for the next few days. Meredith leaves while the rest of the surgical team stays behind with the family.

Richard returns to Catherine in the oncology unit. He tells her he wants her to live forever but he doesn't want her to put herself through all this for him. Catherine doesn't want to stop her treatments but she needs some time to think and live in the moment without having to worry about what's next. Richard being so serious all the time makes her feel worse.

Amelia finds Kai outside on the swings. Scout needs some soothing reassurance from time to time, like she does. Kai says Amelia's loved ones seem like good people. Amelia promises Scout is not always this fussy. Kai says Scout became real to them today. Amelia is an amazing mother and aunt. But Kai doesn't want kids. They have things they want to do with their life that would have to come second to kids. They won't change their mind about that, ever. A confused Amelia asks what that means. She thought this was going well. Kai did, too, but they don't know what it means. They don't want to lead Amelia on because they were once led on by someone who wanted different things.

Teddy and Owen walk back to the car. Teddy needed some fun. They start kissing as they arrive at the car. They open the door and start making out until Bailey knocks on the window and reminds them that they are parents.

Winston returns to the house. He apologizes for walking out but he needed a minute. Maggie informs him Wendell left about 45 minutes ago. Maggie is not worried about Wendell or his lenders because she gave him the money to pay them back. She knows it's not her place but she had the money and Wendell is her family now. Winston then says he gave Wendell the money, too.

Amelia is sitting on the swing by herself. Nick comes to grab another beer. She tells him he can stay since it's nice out there. Amelia says everyone was vetting him tonight. He noticed. He can't blame them. They all love Meredith. Amelia says they'll miss her a lot. Nick asks her if she has any questions for him. Amelia says Meredith disappeared for a year when Derek left. Amelia never felt closer to her because she knew Meredith was drowning in grief, the same way she was. Nick makes Meredith happy and she deserves to be happy. Amelia wants her life to be full of love and joy. Her only ask of Nick is to want that, too.

Meredith finally comes home. She apologizes for being late. Nick has set up a dinner for the two of them with leftovers. He figured she would still need to eat after her case. She hugs him and tells him she loves him. He loves her, too.

Cast[]

Main Cast[]

Guest Stars[]

Co-Starring[]

Medical Notes[]

Ms. Olick[]

  • Diagnosis:
  • Treatment:

Ms. Olick had some kind of transplant surgery and was stable in the ICU.

Catherine Fox[]

  • Diagnosis:
    • Chondrosarcoma
  • Doctors:
  • Treatment:
    • Chemotherapy

Catherine had chemotherapy to treat her cancer recurrence.

Alice Tom[]

  • Diagnosis:
    • Facial trauma
    • Comminuted mid-shaft humerus fracture
    • Splenic rupture
  • Treatment:
    • Antibiotics
    • Surgery

Alice, 72, had massive facial trauma, right arm pain, and abdominal pain after being attacked at a bus stop. They brought her into the ER, where they examined her and found that her humerus was broken. Lin ordered a maxillofacial scan due to her facial trauma. She also had free fluid in her upper left quadrant, so Meredith ordered a CT. Nico said he would clean out the wound over her fracture as soon as they were done with evaluation. Her CT showed a splenic laceration, but they decided to watch it. In the OR, Lin worked on her face while Nico worked on her arm. After her surgery, she was moved to the ICU. Her spleen ruptured, so they went to move her to the OR, but she crashed, so they were forced to open her up in her room and stop the bleeding. Afterward, her family was told she'd be okay.

Simon Clark[]

  • Diagnosis:
    • Synovial sarcoma
  • Doctors:
  • Treatment:
    • Chemotherapy

Simon had chemotherapy to treat his mets.

Kristen Clark[]

  • Diagnosis:
    • Pregnancy
    • Braxton-Hicks contractions
  • Treatment:

Kristen started having contractions when she was 35 weeks pregnant, so Jo examined her, but said she was definitely not in labor. Jo suggested she go to OB triage for a cervical exam and to be monitored for a while, which she did.

Music[]

Song Performer Scene
"Watch Me Move" Pigeon John
  • Maggie gets ready for the party.
  • Winston comes to help.
  • They talk about Wendell.
  • Kai and Amelia finish having sex and talk.
  • Kai convinces Amelia to stay in bed.
"Blind" Dia Frampton
  • Meredith and BokHee look at each other through the OR window.
  • Michelle shares her experience trying to look more white.
  • Nico wonders if they'll ever not be seen as foreign.
  • BokHee says they're American and so are their faces.
"The Dark" SYML
  • Meredith and Levi operate on Alice in her room.
  • They go out and tell Alice's family she's okay.
  • Catherine and Simon get their chemo.
"One and Only" Garrett Kato
  • Winston and Maggie realize Wendell duped them.
  • Nick and Amelia talk in the backyard.
  • Amelia tells Nick about the last time Meredith left town.
  • Meredith comes home to find Nick still there.
  • He has kept a plate for her.
  • She starts crying as they hug.

Notes and Trivia[]

  • This episode's title originated from the song Stronger Than Hate, originally sung by Sepultura.
  • This episode scored 3.80 million viewers.[1]
  • About three weeks have passed since the previous episode as Kristen is now 35 weeks pregnant.
  • Catherine is seen reading a book entitled "Hayden's Progress". Cristina was seen reading a book with the same title in Sleeping Monster although the cover looked different then.

Gallery[]

Episode Stills[]

Behind the Scenes[]

Quotes[]

Amelia: You know everyone was vetting you tonight.
Nick: Yeah, I mean, I figured when Maggie was asking me if I support public television and the U.S. Postal Service. It kinda clued me in a little bit. I don't blame them. Everybody loves Meredith.
Amelia: Yeah. We're gonna miss her a lot.
Nick: I know. Do you have any questions for me?
Amelia: Meredith left once before. After my brother died. She just disappeared for a year. She was hundreds of miles away, and I have never felt closer to her. I knew she left because she was drowning in grief and pain here. Same way that I was. I think you make her happy. And she deserves to be happy. Others would have been broken by a fraction of what she's survived. I want her life to be full of love and joy. My only ask of you is just to want that, too.

See Also[]

A complete overview of this episode's crew can be found here.


References[]

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