Grey's Anatomy Universe Wiki

Hello! Welcome to Grey's Anatomy Universe Wiki! On this website you can read character, actor and episode pages, or if the pages don't exist already or they can be improved, you can edit them! You can also view images and have discussions on blogs! Please create an account and join the community, it is absolutely free!

READ MORE

Grey's Anatomy Universe Wiki
Don't have an account?
Register
Grey's Anatomy Universe Wiki
Advertisement
Register
Grey's Anatomy Universe Wiki
Grey's Anatomy Universe Wiki
Official wiki
11,166
pages
in: All Episodes, GA Episodes, GA S21 Episodes
English

Take Me to Church

Edit

“ The brain stores a single memory in millions of neurons. There's a neuron that holds the smell of your prom date's cologne. Another neuron contains the sound of your dress being zipped up, and one for your favorite song you danced to that night. To remember the whole evening, you need all of these neurons to communicate with each other to make a complete picture. But when the brain experiences trauma, these neurons can be starved of oxygen and die. Instead of complete memories, you're left with glimpses. A smell, a taste, a feeling. And once you start losing bits of memory, there's no way to get them back. There are some memories we probably wouldn't mind losing. The deaths, the breakups, the hard times. But memories, like neurons, work together to make you who you are. If all we remembered were the good times, our friendships wouldn't be as strong. And our loves wouldn't be as sweet. So cling to the bad along with the good. One day you'll be glad you did. ”

Take Me to Church is the second episode of the twenty-first season and the 432nd overall episode of Grey's Anatomy.

Short Summary[]

Meredith and Catherine continue to disagree, and Meredith confides in Bailey for support. Richard, Winston and Lucas spend the day outside of the hospital, and Blue deals with a relationship from his past. Levi meets the new hospital chaplain.

Full Summary[]

The sounds of Lucas and Simone having sex in her room are keeping Mika up. She goes to Benson's room to complain, only to find Molly Tran in his bed. Molly ignores her and gets back under the covers.

On her way out, she finds Benson awake on the couch. He reminds her it's 3 AM. She inquires about the girl in his bed, whom he brushes off as no one. He refuses to answer her further questions.

Teddy and Owen arrive at work. Megan sent Teddy the chart of Nora Young, who has a perforated esophagus from a Nissen procedure. It's still leaking after an attempted repair. Nora grew up on Owen's street and was friends with Megan. He found her to be rather bossy and tightly wound.

Amelia arrives in her lab fresh with new ideas, only to find that her lab has been overtaken by a colleague. Amelia will check with Operations to see if there is another one available.

Mika ends up on an elevator with Jules. They share a passionate kiss, which is witnessed by Amelia as the doors open with the usual ding. Mika freaks out over their boss seeing them but Jules tells her Amelia has bigger things to worry about. All will be well.

Bailey is pacing to meet with Catherine. Meredith comes in and sits down at the table. Catherine comes in and Bailey immediately tells her she would like to talk about coming back as residency director. Meredith claims to have an appointment to discuss the research. Catherine tells Bailey to call her assistant to set up an appointment. A baffled Bailey leaves. Meredith flew all the way here to check on Catherine and perform a blood draw.

Benson has Molly take a seat in the waiting room while the other interns discuss the mystery woman. Mika is looking forward to July when they'll all be Lucas's boss. Sydney arrives and as she digs up the schedule, Benson privately tells Lucas that Molly came here to get to know more about them. Sydney hands out assignments. Lucas was requested by Winston, meaning there is an open spot with Sydney for progress notes. All the interns rush off for their initial assignments.

Monica catches Nurse Karen yelling at Levi as she refuses to change a dressing that he removed to look at a wound. Levi is trying a new approach today: professional detachment. He saw the list of ranked applicants so he knows he's not getting the peds fellowship. He knows his ABSITE wasn't competitive enough and he does not have the research experience to make up for it, so he will find something else. Monica is sure that he will.

They start rounds with Cal Huang. Mika is already in the room, as is James Morgan, the hospital's self-proclaimed cool chaplain. Mika presents Cal's case. He's 15 and has Li-Fraumeni syndrome. He was admitted from clinic for a work-up of increasing mid-back pain. Cal thinks it's another tumor. Ever since his mother's death, he has been obsessed with death. Monica and Levi tell him to take it one step at a time. They'll come back when they have the results of his CT scan.

While Catherine's in the scanner, Meredith brings up her research funding. Amelia walks by and is surprised to see Meredith there. Meredith positions herself so Amelia can't enter the booth. Amelia has a lot of questions about the research but Meredith asks her to talk later since she's checking on a patient. Amelia sees the scans come up and says the liver is full of tumors.

Lucas finds Winston and Richard in the skills lab. Winston heard he declined Chicago and invites him to join them for a skills lab. Teddy comes in to thank Richard for holding down the fort. With Bailey gone, Teddy filled up Richard's schedule. Richard lashes out and says she is not the Chief. If she can be department head without stealing money, they'll see about reinstating her as Chief. Winston suggests they take a golfing break.

Owen joins Simone and Benson in the ambulance bay. The rig brings in Nora, who's happy to see Owen all grown up. Nora recalls he played Rooster in a middle school theater production of Annie. They enter the ER, where Owen introduces to Teddy, who'll take care of her. Owen notices Teddy is a little shaken up but she brushes it off.

James catches up with Levi and asks him to give Cal a coffin catalog. Levi refuses. James questions if Levi is at peace with mortality. Levi simply says he has to get back to work. He joins Mika and Monica, who says the scan reveals it's a particularly large schwannoma, which Monica has no idea on how to resect it. Amelia and Jules walk by so Monica asks her to take a look. Amelia asks for a spinal MRI and 3-D reconstruction of these scans.

Meredith and Catherine are looking at her scans. Either the tumors are mets or a new cancer. Meredith wants to run further testing to make sure. She thinks Catherine should tell Richard but she refuses. She doesn't want him to panic and put his life on hold for her. Catherine apparently has accepted that her end is near.

Benson and Simone are getting Nora settled in the ICU. She feels like a movie star they way she was flown in and is now taken care of. Nora is at the finish line of a long divorce. Simone says they'll be in shortly with Teddy to discuss next steps. They exit the ICU and Simone sees Molly. She wonders if he's hooking up with a patient's granddaughter. He says no and goes to see Molly, who brought him a bagel since she noticed he skipped breakfast. He never eats breakfast, which used to drive her crazy. He goes to leave but she wonders why there is only one photo of them if they were engaged. She asks how they met. It was at a Halloween party. She was dressed as a giant disco ball and asked him to help her squeeze through the bathroom door. She asks about their break-up. He just says it was complicated. Nora then starts throwing up blood.

On the golf course, Winston checks the wind before hitting the ball, which is way off. Winston admits he's a little rusty. Up next is Lucas, who performs considerably better. Richard does even better and tells the other two that they're going down.

Teddy arrives in the ICU. They can't get a read on Nora's BP. With this amount of blood, Teddy suspects and aorta-esophageal fistula. Benson intubates Nora. With Teddy's guidance, Simone and Benson place a balloon tamponade as Molly peeks in from outside the room. Simone correctly identifies the next step as a TEVAR and stent to cover the fistula. Benson books an IR suite.

Meredith finds Bailey at the clinic for a consult. Bailey tells her to find someone on the payroll. Meredith apologizes for getting in her way this morning. Bailey then reveals that Sydney Heron is now bossing her interns around. She suggests Meredith ask Richard but Meredith says the patient doesn't want him to know.

The 3-D reconstruction reveals that the tumor has invaded the spinal column and is compressing the cord. Amelia is surprised that Cal made it this long without complaining. Monica says his pain threshold is high after everything he's already been through. Mika can't imagine living with a genetic predisposition to cancer. Amelia suggests they position Cal on his side so Monica could work from the front while Amelia works from the back. Monica agrees. They leave to talk to Cal and his father. Mika says the chaplain took Cal somewhere. Levi sighs.

Teddy finds Owen in the ER. She updates him on Nora's condition as she struggles to find someone to help her repair the esophagus. Richard apparently took the day off and Sydney is doing an emergency debridement. Owen suggests calling in Richard anyway but Teddy says he apparently doesn't trust her, so they shouldn't be operating together. She thinks about calling in Richard and swapping herself out with Beckman but Owen says Nora came here for her. Owen volunteers to help her out.

Bailey and Meredith are going over Catherine's scans. Despite their rocky relationship, Meredith does respect Catherine for the trailblazer that she is. Bailey says the masses looks like they have been growing for a while, so she would expect mets elsewhere, too. She suggests it may not be cancer after all.

Levi and Mika find Cal in the park with James. They are going over the catalog. Levi insists he is not dying. It's a benign tumor that they are removing today. Mika takes Cal back to his room. James tells Levi that Cal wanted to plan his funeral. Levi knows that one cancer will likely end Cal's life one day, but today, he has to focus on removing the giant tumor compressing his spine. James calls him out on his God complex and tells him to be a person. Cal's infatuation with death tells James that he is scared. Levi says he can't take away the genetic condition and bluntly adds that there is nothing that James can do. James admits Levi may have more schooling than him but he does not have all the answers. James doesn't have any answers but he does listen. Levi should try that.

While Winston looks for his ball in the bushes, Richard talks to Lucas about the standing game he had with Derek every week of the summer. Derek wasn't any good. Lucas's dad pushed him to learn, saying it would help him socialize with colleagues one day. Richard then remembers they used to play with Phil Kopelman, an ENT who now runs the outreach at ACGME. Richard suggests they reach out to him about Lucas's remediation. He's sure Phil will do what he can if he feels the punishment doesn't fit the crime. Richard warns Lucas not to tell Catherine he said that. Winston finally finds his ball.

Meredith and Bailey find Catherine in the conference room. She says she's not in the mood to debate anyone's employment status. Meredith says they came to discuss her health and reveals that she asked Bailey for a consult. Bailey says there is a small chance the lesions are a benign finding secondary to her subacute Budd-Chiari syndrome. Meredith suggests a biopsy. Catherine knows of the risk of bleeding or stroke. Bailey says Richard taught her to think like that. Catherine receives a text from Richard asking to swing by her office later. Catherine then decides to hear them out.

Benson walks by Molly, who says she cannot leave until she has their whole story. While she is happy with Dave, she does want answers. Benson sits down with her. He says Molly deleted all their pictures after finding out he had cheated on her. As their wedding kept getting closer, he realized his mother wouldn't be there for it and he made a drunk mistake that he has regretted ever since. Molly knows that while it was devastating then, she is okay now, so he has nothing to regret. Benson then adds that after they fought, she got in a car and ended up in the car accident that caused her amnesia. Molly says that was no one's fault. She is at peace with the fact that it happened.

In the OR, Monica makes her final cut. Amelia then removes the final part of the tumor. It looks like they got clear margins. There is a sudden bleeding, which Levi suspects comes from normal tissue. Amelia finds the bleeding intercostal artery and has Jules tie it off. She and Mika share a smile after she does so successfully. It's time to celebrate. Monica tells Levi he gets to deliver the good news.

As Teddy deploys the stent on Nora, Owen tells her that she and Megan used to make him pitch batting practice to them and heckle him. When blood comes from the stent, Teddy asks Benson for next steps. He tells her to dilate the balloon to push the stent into the aortic wall. She agrees and does so. The dye reveals the leak was fixed. They get ready to switch so Owen can place the esophageal stent.

Levi tells Cal's father that the surgery couldn't have gone better. Seconds after, Cal starts seizing. Levi goes to administer lorazepam and has the attendings paged. Mika's on it.

Richard puts his ball. Winston concedes but states he would have wiped the floor with them if they were playing football. Richard suggests they go hit some more balls. Winston points out he has more focus and stamina than the interns, which is why he think it's ridiculous for Richard to step back from surgery. Both take endurance and concentration. He thinks it's good for Richard to take stock but Winston believes he's still going strong.

Catherine, Bailey, and Meredith are at Joe's bar, since Richard won't look for her there. Catherine understands the pros and cons but she's not sure she has the fortitude for more surgery and another treatment. The odds of the lesions being benign are minuscule after all. Bailey doesn't understand why she's giving up after breaking so many glass ceiling throughout her life. Catherine is not waiting for death to come snuff her out but she doesn't believe in miracles. The science is not on her side. Bailey says they'll know more after the biopsy. Meredith points out they have both known patients to beat the odds, so why not her? Catherine agrees to the biopsy.

Teddy tells Nora they almost lost her. She was sicker than they all realized. Teddy answers Megan's call to update her with Nora's consent. Nora tells Owen he really grew up to look like his father. Owen says it was good to see her again.

Amelia joins Monica in the CT booth. Cal's head CT shows a diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma with satellite lesions. It may have been too small to catch on his yearly full-body scans. This tumor will soon start affecting all of his vital functions. Radiation might buy him two agonizing months. Levi steps up to tell Cal and his father.

Benson brings Molly a lemon cupcake from nurse Karen's birthday. He remembers Molly wanted lemon cake for their wedding. Molly says it's weird to have all this history with him while it feels to her like they just met. Molly can see why she liked him. She's noticed this sparkly thing his eyes when he smiles. He still takes the time to bring her cake despite his busy day. She has no feelings about her lost memories but she wishes she remembered him. He leans in and kisses her. He stops quickly and apologizes. She insists that it's okay. He tells her to find him if she ever needs anything and heads back inside.

Levi has delivered the news. James is with Cal and his father, too. Levi estimates he has weeks to months left to live. Levi says their perception of time is not fixed. Two months can feel like ten years. They'll cram a lot into the months he has left. Cal breaks down in tears. Levi starts making a list with him of things he wants to do.

Sydney catches up with Lucas. Winston told her they were hitting the links. Sydney comments she never had friends in high places. Lucas says that is not why he's here. He got the highest ABSITE score of his class. Sydney scoffs and sarcastically wonders if that is why they tok him golfing.

As she and Owen head out, Teddy applauds Megan for pushing to make things right when she knew something was wrong. She approaches Richard and tells him she wants Chief back. He simply tells her okay. She had a whole speech prepared but he tells her to take the win. She returns to Owen and tells him she's staying late.

Amelia finds Monica eating takeout in the lounge. To lighten the mood, Amelia tells her she caught two interns kissing. She remembers the feeling of the future seeming bright when she was an intern. Now, Meredith is hiding stuff from her and her department has reassigned her cases. She doesn't know what to do next. Monica does. She hands her a box of food.

Meredith and Bailey find Teddy and ask for a scrub nurse to help with a procedure in the clinic. They stay coy about who the attending is on the case. Teddy scoffs about the fact that they are asking her this when she just got her job back. Meredith assures her it's life or death. Teddy concedes.

James finds Levi out in the ambulance bay to check on him. Levi thought walling off the pain would help but he was wrong. He breaks down crying. James sits down with him to offer comfort.

Simone sits with Lucas in the tunnels. He's catching up on progress notes. Simone wonders what'll happen if he's repeating his intern year, doing scut, while she gets to operate. Lucas says he doesn't want to be bailed out because of his family name. He wants to take responsibility for his mistakes. They share a kiss.

Jules and Mika kiss before they enter the intern house. Inside, Benson is gaming with beer and pizza. He doesn't answer when they ask if he's okay. They decide to join him.

As he drives her home, Richard notices that Catherine's mind is elsewhere. He starts singing along to the radio, which cheers her up. He encourages her to join in. They hold hands and he kisses her hand.

Cast[]

Main Cast[]

Guest Stars[]

Co-Starring[]

Medical Notes[]

Nora Young[]

  • Diagnosis:
    • Perforated esophagus
    • Aorto-esophageal fistula
  • Treatment:
    • TEVAR
    • Fistula repair
    • Esophageal stent

Nora, 46, had a perforated esophagus from a Nissen procedure. They'd tried to repair it, but it was still leaking, so she came to Grey Sloan to see Teddy. They ordered labs and a CT, but then Nora started coughing up blood. They placed a Minnesota line and transfused blood Then they did a TEVAR and stents to cover the fistula. Her stent started bleeding, but Teddy was able to repair it. After surgery, she was told she'd make a full recovery.

Catherine Fox[]

  • Diagnosis:
    • Budd-Chiari Syndrome
  • Treatment:

Catherine had a CT, which showed many masses on her liver. When Catherine got the results, she declined any further testing or treatment. Meredith went to Bailey for a consult and Bailey said that because the spots were only in the liver and not anywhere else in her body, it could be something else. She wanted to do a biopsy to check. Catherine declined because of the risks of the biopsy, but after talking to them, agreed to let them do it.

Cal Huang[]

  • Diagnosis:
    • Li-Fraumeni Syndrome
    • Schwannoma
    • Diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma
  • Treatment:
    • Surgical resection

Cal, 15, had been diagnosed eight years prior with Li-Fraumeni, which made him prone to developing cancers. He was in remission from an adrenocortical carcinoma treated two years prior. He was in the hospital for a workup due to mid-back pain. His labs were normal, but a CT showed a benign schwannoma of the thoracic root. It was close to the spine, so Monica asked Amelia for a consult. Amelia asked for an MRI and a spinal 3-D reconstruction on the scans. This showed that the tumor was compressing his spinal cord. They decided to place him on his side so they could access both his front and back at the same time. They were able to remove the tumor, but he had some bleeding. They were able to stop it and finish his surgery. Unfortunately, he became unstable after surgery and another scan showed diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma with satellite lesions. Amelia said they could do radiation, but it wouldn't give him much more time and it would be painful for him. Cal and his father were told that he would die.

Music[]

Song Performer Scene
"Keep Up" Izzy Harlow
  • Simone and Lucas have sex.
  • Mika goes into Benson's room and finds a woman.
  • Mikes asks Benson about her.
  • Teddy and Owen talk as they arrive at work.
  • Amelia arrives in her lab and finds it's not hers anymore.
  • Mika gets on an elevator with Jules.
"Answers" The Guest and the Host
  • Meredith, Catherine, and Bailey talk at the bar.
"Sing Me Home" Texada
  • Levi goes to tell Cal he's dying.
  • Benson talks to Molly and tries to kiss her.
  • Levi tells Cal he only has a few weeks or months.
  • Levi helps Cal make a list of things he wants to do before he dies.
"The Score" Yoke Lore
  • Sydney and Lucas talk about him golfing.
  • Teddy and Owen talk about Nora.
  • Teddy goes to Richard and gets the chief job back.
  • Amelia and Monica talk.
"Over Now" BIANCO
  • Levi cries with James.
  • Simone and Lucas talk about him repeating his internship.
  • Jules and Mika have a moment outside and then go inside to find Benson playing games.
"Never Too Much" Luther Vandross and Cast (James Pickens, Jr. and Debbie Allen)
  • Richard sings along to the radio.
  • Catherine joins him.

Notes and Trivia[]

  • This episode's title originated from the song Take Me to Church, originally sung by Hozier.
  • This episode scored 2.51 million viewers.[1]
  • This marks the 42nd episode directed by Kevin McKidd, making him the director who has directed most episodes of the series. He is followed by Rob Corn and Debbie Allen, who have both directed 41.

Gallery[]

Episode Stills[]

Quotes[]

See Also[]

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


References[]

Español
Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted.
Advertisement