“ | If given the option, we prep our surgeries for days. We study. We practice. We run through it over and over again in our minds. Taking on a patient's case is not unlike marriage. We get to know you, inside and out. You trust us with your lives and we promise to protect and care for you. In sickness and in health. For better or worse. In sickness and in health, they say. It sounds so final, so binding. But it just means you have to be there. You have to really want to be there. For whatever is coming. And we don't know. It could all pan out the way we want, the way it's supposed to be. Or it could be so much worse. | ” |
The Whole Package is the twentieth episode of the fifteenth season and the 337th overall episode of Grey's Anatomy.
Short Summary[]
Owen and Teddy have to deal with the surprise arrival of Megan Hunt, who knows nothing about their situation. Catherine preps for her first surgery back on a war veteran who’s not emotionally prepared for his procedure. Meredith worries about DeLuca operating alone with Richard.
Full Summary[]
Alex tries to get Jo to get ready for work, but she claims she's sick. He knows she's lying and asks her what's going on. She sticks to her lie and tells him to let her sleep.
Meredith catches up with Jackson. A perfect donor was found for their patient. Together, they go tell Catherine, who just underwent radiation. Jackson delivers the good news. A patient from Los Angeles is coming in for an abdominal wall transplant and they are also going to transplant his penis and scrotum. Or rather, she is, if she's ready to come back. She's over the moon and leaves to go change into scrubs.
Amelia ends up on an elevator with Owen and Leo. She greets the latter, who's teething. Amelia says it's a biological process. They briefly communicate through Leo. As they get off the elevator, they run into Teddy and Tom discussing a house they visited. Amelia leaves for the ER. Teddy's looking for houses. Owen offers to come live with him, but she'll figure it out. He takes off with Leo. Tom is now in favor of the house they visited.
Bailey paged Alex since she can't find the compliance reports for the medical board. She's surprised to see he's wearing a suit. He's grown to like it. The reports are due tomorrow, but he has no clue what she's talking about. Alex leaves as Levi comes in to tell Bailey that students from a STEM program are here to learn about leadership. Bailey has to much work and wants to delegate, but Levi has disappeared. Bailey introduces herself to the students.
Meredith and Andrew meet up in front of the OR board. Andrew says Richard gave him a lap appy. Meredith thinks it's a test, but she's sure he can pull it off. Richard comes up and Andrew thanks him for the opportunity.
Taryn presents Gus Carter, who's not been himself lately. Gus used to love eating bagels outside the Smith Tower, but they haven't been in three weeks. Taryn admits she hasn't been able to examine Gus. The parents explain he's autistic and that he does not like to be touched. Gus is reading a book about architecture. Alex tries to distract him by pointing out the Space Needle, but as soon as he tries to touch Gus, he backs off. They'll have to get creative.
Meredith meets up with Megan outside at the coffee cart. Megan shows off her abdomen. She used her own history to convince her patient to get the same surgery. Meredith's about to leave for the procurement. Meredith informs Megan she didn't tell Owen or Teddy that she's coming.
In the ER, Owen receives a text from Meredith to warn him about Megan, who did not seem to know about his situation. Megan then arrives and enthusiastically hugs him and Teddy, thinking they got together.
Megan just found out the real situation. She calls Owen a dum-dum. It's too much stupidity for her to handle. Owen royally screwed up. Teddy kind of agrees. Owen says this is exactly why he didn't tell Megan. Megan thinks it's his shame instead. Tom then comes in to tell Teddy about another house. Teddy introduces him as her boyfriend.
Jackson's trying to go over the procedure, but Meredith is too distracted about Andrew operating with Richard. Jackson doesn't want to screw up his mother's first surgery back.
Gus has built the Space Needle with toys. The distraction has allowed the doctors to draw blood. Alex asks if he ever feels chest pain and if so, how much. He lets Gus use a stack of blocks to communicate how much it hurts. Apparently, he's been in quite some pain. Alex orders a chest X-ray.
Alex runs into Link and asks if he has talked to Jo ever since she found her birth mother. Link didn't even know she did. Since it's been a week, Alex asks Link to go talk to her or distract her. Link will move some stuff around. Alex thanks him.
Maggie finds Amelia in the blue room. Amelia needed to de-stress after the elevator ride with Owen. Amelia is surprised it stressed her since she is having amazing sex. Maggie then turns her chair around, revealing Bailey and her students in the doorway.
Andrew is examining Alicia Davis and presents the case to Richard. She keeps complimenting Andrew on his looks and shows him her Instagram, which shows off her crossfit life. She invites him to tag along. Andrew dodges, but Richard tells Andrew it's part of his job to put the patient at ease. Andrew then takes Alicia's phone to have a look.
Levi presents the case of Caleb Hicks, the transplant patient. He suffered severe injuries to his legs and pelvis area during an IAD blast. Caleb recognizes Catherine. She's a legend in his online support group. Catherine stresses it's a major procedure. Caleb knows the procedure is rough as Megan explained it. Caleb's mother is here until Anna, Caleb's fiancée, is back from her Air Force mission. Owen comes in as Catherine says they'll start prepping Caleb once Meredith and Jackson are on their way back. Megan didn't know Owen would join in, but Catherine figured a veteran would be the best choice for an extra set of hands.
Link keeps banging the door of the loft, forcing Jo to open the door. He brought chicken soup. She claims she's contagious, but he ignores her and grabs bowls and spoons for the soup. She climbs back into bed.
Megan is quizzing Levi about the different steps of the procedure. Owen joins in. He apologizes to Megan that he didn't tell her everything, but he should get to choose what he shares about his life. He wants them to be good before they operate. Megan has been working with Caleb for 10 months so she cannot deal with Owen's constant need to make everything okay. He just needs to understand the procedure.
While procuring the organs, Meredith mentions the appy again. She tells Jackson that Richard caught her and Andrew at his party. Jackson says he caught him and Maggie once, so he knows how she feels. He can only imagine how nervous Andrew is.
Caleb inquires about the donor's size, but the doctors only tell him he'll be happy. Anna comes in but Caleb yells at her to get out. Nobody understands what's going on.
Alex shows Maggie Gus's scans. There's a mass on his thymus gland. She'll scrub in to remove it. Alex hasn't heard back from Link. Maggie asks about Jo, but Alex leaves to book an OR. Taryn appears and says Gus is anemic, meaning they can't operate until they've transfused him.
Link is doing laundry. Jo knows he's just here to check up on her and asks him to leave. Link refuses and recalls a girlfriend of his that dumped him. He drank for three days and missed so much work he almost got fired. He was a shell, but Jo came over to his place and stayed with him despite his objections. She also did his laundry. She gets out of bed and fetches a bottle of vodka from the freezer. He also wants one.
Caleb yells at his mother for calling Anna. She dropped everything and came despite being dumped nine months ago without an explanation. Caleb told his mother and the doctors that Anna would take care of him once she got back. Anna wasn't assigned anywhere. The doctors explain that Anna was his support system, which is essential in order to qualify for the surgery. He knew that. Caleb wants everyone to get out.
Catherine has decided the surgery's off. The Hunts object, but she's not having it. Meredith and Jackson arrive and they learn the news. Bailey and her students have arrived just in time to witness Catherine yelling.
Andrew is performing the appendectomy. Richard asks about his long-term plan here. Andrew says they haven't talked about that yet. He respects where she comes from, but to him, she's amazing. Richard stops him. He was asking about his surgical career. Andrew is attracted to general surgery. They come across dead bowel. They need to convert to an open procedure.
Jackson finds his mother in a lounge. Catherine says the patient is not emotionally and mentally prepared for the transplant. He needs a support system, like Catherine had for hers, despite all the nagging. She couldn't have done it without them.
Jackson leaves the lounge and tells Megan he agrees with Catherine. Megan wants to fix this by talking to Caleb, but Owen wants to do it. He understands Caleb since he, too, has a penis. Megan asks him not to screw this up.
Richard is talking Andrew through the procedure, but Andrew knows the steps. He finds Alicia has Meckel's diverticulum, which is what kinked off the blood supply. They'll have to do an ileocecectomy. Richard wants to take over, but Andrew proofs he knows how to handle it and pulls it off.
Maggie and Alex explain to Gus's parents that the thymus helps regulate immune responses in the body, but the tumor is preventing it from working right, meaning Gus is susceptible to infections. It's causing the cough and fatigue. The transfusion will work the anemia and then they'll perform the surgery. Nurse Liv calls in the doctors as Gus has started gasping for air. He's having a bad reaction to the transfusion. They quickly remove the IV.
Megan finds Teddy looking at houses online. Teddy wants a house without shared walls so the neighbors don't hear her daughter cry while she fails at being a mother. Megan watched Teddy love Owen for years and suffer over it. Owen is an idiot but he loves her, too. It can be easy. Teddy refuses to move into that house and take Amelia's place in that bed. Megan admits she, too, would rather burn it down. Teddy is happy to have her here.
Owen has taken out Caleb for a walk. They talk about their service. Caleb says he didn't lie to Anna. He told her he wasn't right in his head and he wasn't. He took one wrong step and became a monster. He can live with one leg, but he didn't feel like a man anymore. He didn't want himself and Anna to live like or with that. Owen talks about losing his platoon in an explosion. He broke up with his fiancée in a three-line e-mail. He's still ashamed over that, even though Beth wasn't right for him. Caleb says Anna is right for him. Owen advises him to talk to Anna, give her a chance. When you do, people can show up in ways you wouldn't believe.
Caleb is telling Anna the truth, which made her stay. Catherine isn't sure one conversation makes everything right. Owen says he was like Caleb once. He wasn't himself when he come back. It took him months to go see his mother. He operated on guys who woke up and first asked if their penis was still there. Every day, people who suffered that loss are reminded and triggered. Owen believes that Caleb needs this surgery to move forward.
Alex and Maggie are in the lab as the technician is running a cross-match on Caleb's blood. Bailey comes in to yell at them. She fears a lawsuit. Gus is definitely AB. He's R0. It's a rare blood type that lacks all Rh antigens. Maggie has never seen this before.
Andrew is still doing everything correctly. Richard understands. Andrew says he could see the whole procedure in his head. He wanted to show Richard he was worthy of a career in general surgery. Richard says Meredith's head of that department, but he could put in a good word. Andrew thanks him. Richard leaves Andrew to finish.
While working on the abdominal wall, Meredith asks Jackson how he convinced Catherine. He didn't. The Hunts did. Jackson admits he's scared all the time ever since Catherine got sick. Meredith didn't want Richard to lose another person. When Jackson first found out, he thought Catherine was going to die and his biological father never occurred to him once, but Richard did. Meredith says the same thing happened to her when her father was dying. They are done prepping. Meredith leaves it to Jackson so she can go to her lab to work on her next groundbreaking thing.
The gallery has filled up for the surgery, which goes according to plan. Catherine sends out Owen, Megan, and Levi for the last part. Jackson wants to assess perfusion in the abdominal wall. Catherine promises Jackson she will tell him if things get worse. He thanks her for that. The blood flow is excellent. Catherine thanks her son for the gift.
Link and Jo are mocking Bronwyn, his ex-girlfriend. It hurt when she dumped him. Jo tells him that Bronwyn did him a favor by dumping him. She herself has done that favor a lot. When she started at the restaurant, she had just walked out of another job. She dated a waiter named Logan at another restaurant for months. One day, Logan told her he loved her and she felt the opposite of how that should have made her feel. It felt like he was wrong, like nobody could love her. She walked out and left without telling anyone. She moved to another part of town and took another job like none of it had ever happened. She did the same thing to a guy in high school, and then there was Paul. It's in her wiring. Her mother was and is a runner. She can't sit in the same room as her even though she claims she loves her. She tears up as she brings up her father. She gets up from the sofa to get another bottle.
Bailey finds the student are in her office. She knows they came here looking for Yoda, but she wasn't Yoda today. She wants to reschedule, but the students says they learned a lot about leadership today. They had an amazing day. Better than Yoda, she was. Levi comes in to deliver the compliance reports. Alex has been handing off paperwork to interns.
Meredith runs into Richard. She heard about the ileocecectomy. Richard tells him Andrew did fine, even though he got a little snippy about seeing his plan through, but he was right. Richard says he's a good man.
Alex and Maggie explain to Gus's parents that he can only receive blood from the exact same type. So far, they have only found four potential donors in the world. Alex won't stop until he's found the blood. Gus told them what was wrong and he won't give up until they fix him.
As he leaves the room, Alex receives a text from Link telling him to come to the loft.
Bailey is showing Richard the way the interns handled the paperwork. They did a good job. Richard and Bailey agreed that Alex did something better than them, but they don't want him to know.
Megan meets up with Owen outside Caleb's room. Megan wasn't planning on thanking him. Someone needs to tell him the truth, which is that he needs help. Owen needs to do for himself what he did for Caleb. Owen needs a way to make himself realize he's entitled to joy, but Megan thanks that war and PTSD and all kinds of ugliness make him believe he's not worthy of it, causing him to make the hardest possible choices. As they enter a staircase, Owen tells Megan they can't all be perfect like her and Riggs. Megan says she sees a talk therapist once a week as well as a somatic PTSD specialist. She and Nathan also see a couples' therapist. She wants to be as happy as she can be for the life she has left. Owen says he has done therapy, but she says not enough. She reminds him how bad he screwed up with Teddy in Germany. Owen is not well. He has to do the work to fix it. Owen agrees to it.
Richard and Catherine take a stroll outside.
Andrew and Meredith talk over dinner at his place.
Jo's laughing at a cartoon as Alex comes home. Link joins him in the kitchen. Alex thinks Jo looks fine, but Link tells him that Jo's in a rough shape, unlike anything he's ever seen before. He wants to help her, but he doesn't know how.
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
- Kevin McKidd as Dr. Owen Hunt
- Jesse Williams as Dr. Jackson Avery
- Caterina Scorsone as Dr. Amelia Shepherd
- Camilla Luddington as Dr. Jo Karev
- Kelly McCreary as Dr. Maggie Pierce
- Giacomo Gianniotti as Dr. Andrew DeLuca
- Kim Raver as Dr. Teddy Altman
Guest Stars[]
- Debbie Allen as Dr. Catherine Fox
- Greg Germann as Dr. Tom Koracick
- Chris Carmack as Dr. Atticus Lincoln
- Jake Borelli as Dr. Levi Schmitt
- Greg Winter as Scott Carter
- Jaicy Elliot as Dr. Taryn Helm
- Ali Hillis as Lori Carter
- Sommer Carbuccia as Caleb Hicks
- Abigail Spencer as Dr. Megan Hunt
Co-Starring[]
- Enisha Brewster as Anna Williams
- Judy Jean Burns as Sue Hicks
- Giuliana Carullo as Alicia Davis
- Christian Ganiere as Gus Carter
- John O'Brien as Lab Tech
- Olivia-Diane Joseph as Nurse Liv
- Amina Alzouma as Teenager 1
- Kenya Cabilan as Teenager 2
- Amanda Kubota as Teenager 3
Medical Notes[]
Caleb Hicks[]
- Diagnosis:
- Frozen abdomen
- Amputated penis and scrotum
- Doctors:
- Meredith Grey (general surgeon)
- Jackson Avery (plastic surgeon)
- Catherine Fox (urologist)
- Megan Hunt (trauma surgeon)
- Owen Hunt (trauma surgeon)
- Levi Schmitt (surgical intern)
- Treatment:
- Abdominal wall transplant
- Penile and scrotum transplant
Caleb, 29, had lost his leg, penis, scrotum, and damaged his abdominal wall in an IED explosion. When a donor became available, they prepared for his surgery. Meredith and Jackson retrieved the donor organs, but then it came out that he didn't have the support system he claimed to have, so Catherine cancelled the surgery. Owen talked to Caleb and helped him realize that he needed to make a change. Then Owen talked to Catherine to convince her that he was ready for the surgery. The transplant went forward as planned.
Alicia Davis[]
- Diagnosis:
- Appendicitis
- Meckel's diverticulum
- Doctors:
- Richard Webber (general surgeon)
- Andrew DeLuca (surgical resident)
- Treatment:
- Laparoscopic appendectomy
- Ileocecectomy
Alicia, 24, came into the hospital with abdominal pain, which localized to the right lower quadrant. Richard diagnosed appendicitis and she was scheduled to have a laparoscopic appendectomy. During the surgery, they saw dead bowel and had to convert to an open procedure. They found Menkel's diverticulitis, so Andrew did an ileocecectomy.
Gus Carter[]
- Diagnosis:
- Thymoma
- Anemia
- Doctors:
- Alex Karev (pediatric surgeon)
- Maggie Pierce (cardiothoracic surgeon)
- Taryn Helm (surgical intern)
- Treatment:
- Blood transfusion
Gus, 10, had had a cough for sixteen days and recurrent sinus infection. His parents were worried about him. He was autistic and wouldn't allow the doctors to examine him, so Alex used his love of buildings to talk to him. When he expressed that he was in significant chest pain, Alex ordered a chest CT, which showed a mass on his thymus gland. Maggie consulted and said thymomas are always malignant in children, but operating could be curative. Alex went to book the OR, but Taryn said Gus was anemic, so he needed a blood transfusion before he could have surgery. While he was receiving the transfusion, he had a reaction to the donor blood. They looked into it and learned that his blood was improperly typed. He had no RH antigen, a very rare occurrence. They needed blood that exactly matched his type so his body wouldn't reject it. They identified only four potential donors in the world. Alex promised they wouldn't stop looking until they found the blood he needed.
Music[]
Song | Performer | Scene |
---|---|---|
"When We Drive" | Death Cab for Cutie |
|
"The Fire" | Bishop Briggs |
|
"God Only Knows" | Jeffrey Amor |
|
Notes and Trivia[]
- This episode's title originated from the song The Whole Package, originally sung by Sierra Jones.
- This episode scored 6.85 million viewers.[1]
- This marks Camilla Luddington's 150th appearance as Jo Karev.
Gallery[]
Episode Stills[]
Behind the Scenes[]
Quotes[]
- Teddy: I'm trying to find a place for my baby that doesn't share walls with strangers who can hear her wail all night while I fail at new parenting. And apparently, it has to be in a good school district.
- Megan: You're house-hunting. With another guy, Teddy?
- Teddy: I'm not moving in with Tom. He's just... You know, he's helping...
- Megan: I watched you suffer from afar for years, I watched you love him for years, and then I watched you suffer some more. I'm sure the neurosurgeon is lovely, but my brother is single. And you love him. And you've always loved him. And he's an idiot, but he loves you, too. And now he has Leo and a crib, and I know for sure that he would want you to move in, and then it can be easy, and it can evolve.
- Teddy: Megan, I'm not gonna move in to that house and, what, just slide into Amelia's place in their bed? I mean, that is not gonna happen. And, I mean, Megan, if it were you, you would burn the house down before you moved into it.
- Megan: I would. Totally would. I totally would.
- Teddy: I am so happy you're here.
- Megan: Someone has to tell you the truth.
- Owen: Oh, the truth that I'm an idiot?
- Megan: That you need help. That you need to do for yourself what you just did for Caleb. You need to find a way to heal enough to believe that you are worthy of joy and happiness and ease in this life. Because you are. But somehow, I'm thinking because of trauma, I'm thinking because of war and pain and ugliness and PTSD, somehow, you've come to believe that you aren't deserving of those things, so you keep making the hardest possible choices!
- Owen: You know, Megan, I'm sorry we can't all be perfect. We can't all be you and Riggs.
- Megan: Owen. Shut up. Seriously. I see a talk therapist once a week, I see a somatic PTSD specialist once a week. Riggs and I see a couples therapist once a week because I want to be as happy as I can for the life I have left. Don't you?
- Owen: I've done therapy, Megan.
- Megan: Not enough!
- Owen: Since when are you an authority...
- Megan: You went to Germany, and you told Teddy that you loved her, and then revealed that, 24 hours previously, you had been in bed with your ex-wife, so she kicked you out. How do you not go and get a hotel room and try again the next day and the next day and the next? How do you go back to the States and get back in bed with your ex-wife and have a foster baby and a teenage addict?! Owen, you're not well. Do the work to fix it.
See Also[]
A complete overview of this episode's crew can be found here. |
Grey's Anatomy Season 15 | ||||||
#01 | "With a Wonder and a Wild Desire" | #10 | "Help, I'm Alive" | #19 | "Silent All These Years" | |
#02 | "Broken Together" | #11 | "The Winner Takes It All" | #20 | "The Whole Package" | |
#03 | "Gut Feeling" | #12 | "Girlfriend in a Coma" | #21 | "Good Shepherd" | |
#04 | "Momma Knows Best" | #13 | "I Walk the Line" | #22 | "Head Over High Heels" | |
#05 | "Everyday Angel" | #14 | "I Want a New Drug" | #23 | "What I Did for Love" | |
#06 | "Flowers Grow Out of My Grave" | #15 | "We Didn't Start the Fire" | #24 | "Drawn to the Blood" | |
#07 | "Anybody Have a Map?" | #16 | "Blood and Water" | #25 | "Jump Into the Fog" | |
#08 | "Blowin' in the Wind" | #17 | "And Dream of Sheep" | |||
#09 | "Shelter from the Storm" | #18 | "Add It Up" | |||
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