It’s over. The lawsuit storyline. It’s over.

At least… I think it is. I’m pretty sure it is. Like 98% sure that it is. I mean, sure there are still things that are going to have to happen and ramifications that will take place, but it’s over. It’s done. The hospital is safe.

I spent the larger part of this episode just trying to figure out how they were going to make their way out of this mess. It really appeared that it had all happened too easily and too quickly, what with the doctors scoring an interview and pitch with a major investor just hours before Pegasus closed a new deal to purchase Seattle Grace Mercy West. And though it appeared that everything was coming together a bit too quickly, I appreciated the fact that the writers seemed to be actually raising some good points and creating some realistic hurdles for the survivors to jump through, including having to impress a team of junior executives, and then another team of executives, before actually getting a chance with the big guy at the firm itself to sign off on the deal.

And here was the entire problem all along, as was pointed out by Arizona when the idea of buying the hospital was first pitched: nobody in that group of people actually knows how to run a hospital, and in the end, that was what did them in, as the potential investor turned them away because none of them could actually run it themselves. The doctors tried to use Derek’s stint as Chief for weight, but this guy had done his homework, and the show took a dig at itself when he stated that Derek had been Chief for “like ten minutes.” They needed some managerial weight in order to win over their investor and save the hospital before Pegasus closed the deal. Could they do it?

Back at Seattle Grace, everything is crumbling. There have been more walkouts since the survivors left and everybody is doubled up on work to try to make up for the short staff. Even Bailey announces that she’s going job searching because the hospital is a sinking ship. Basically everyone is in panic mode, as the interns worry about finding a new place to do their internship, and the rest of the doctors realize they are going to have to move elsewhere too. Jackson begins to consider moving to a different hospital to work, and April has breakdown when she realizes that the hospital is about to cease to exist just as she’s gotten her life back on track. Things are ugly around the halls of Seattle Grace Mercy West, and they only look to get uglier.

Alana Cahill has convinced Pegasus to come back on board with purchasing the hospital, but she leaves out one major caveat: that they are going to liquidate the hospital and sell its parts to the rest of the Pegasus-owned hospitals across the nation. Intern Heather overhears this conversation between Cahill and one of the board members, and quickly spreads the word around the hospital, instilling even further panic and fear into everyone there – namely Owen, who had no clue that this was what the new Pegasus deal included.

The only one who is suspiciously not worried is Richard, who has put enough of the pieces of the puzzle together to realize that the survivors must be up to something if they all quit at once, and he is keeping the faith that whatever they are up to is going to save them all. It doesn’t take long for him to get confirmation of this either, as Meredith returns to the hospital to bring Richard on board with the plan to buy the hospital, using his twelve years as Chief of Surgery to help win over their hesitant investor. Likewise, Cristina finally comes clean to Owen about the plan, hoping to get him on board with Richard in order to convince the investor, but Owen has a plan of his own, realizing that the sale to Pegasus needs to be postponed. Realizing that Cristina, and the rest of the survivors, were only trying to help save the hospital in the first place, he storms into the conference room where the board members and Cahill are going over the details of the sale, and appeals to them to delay the sale for just one more day because the team of doctors that quit are trying to buy the hospital. Cahill attempts to dissuade the board, but she is unsuccessful, and the board agrees to allowing one more day for the bid to come through from the doctors.

Now it’s simply a matter of convincing the investor, who’s on his way to Dubai in a matter of minutes, so he brings Derek and Richard along with him on his ride to the airport, where they try one last time to win him over. They don’t. That’s it. It’s over. It’s done. They’ve lost. Seattle Grace will be sold to Pegasus, liquidated, and closed for good. And the future is suddenly different for everyone as they contemplate where to go from here, as there are no jobs for them here any longer. Callie and Arizona discuss moving away and selling Mark’s apartment. Alex feels betrayed that everyone has led to the hospital’s demise, leading to Cristina divulging the details of the plan to buy the hospital to him. Meredith and Derek have their dream house. Richard doesn’t know what he wants to do, but he knows he’s not ready to retire, and he’s saddened that he won’t be able to ride out his career at Seattle Grace.

I guess it’s a good thing Catherine Avery was in town. Hearing the plan about buying the hospital, and seeing how much it means to everyone involved, she gathers the survivors, along with Owen, Richard, and her son, Jackson, early the next morning to inform them that the Harper Avery Foundation will invest in Seattle Grace Mercy West and foot the additional $175 million needed to buy the hospital, effectively saving it once and for all. And though it seems to come almost too easily, I realize how almost perfect it is that the Harper Avery Foundation is saving the hospital, seeing as we’ve heard about the fictional foundation and the prize that comes along with it ever since the show’s inception, making it feel almost like we should have seen this coming all along.

There’s just one catch: Catherine says the only way the Foundation will agree to investing in the hospital is if they can add one of their own as a board member, which all of the doctors hastily agree to, thinking that board member will be Catherine herself. It’s not. Instead, Catherine has made Jackson that board member and the majority shareholder of Seattle Grace Mercy West… and now he’s everyone’s boss.

Like I said, the lawsuit storyline is over. At least, I think it is.

I really enjoyed this episode. I feel like it provided a good closure to the entire lawsuit storyline that has been building all season, while also setting up an interesting arc for the remainder of the season with that nifty little twist in the closing moments of the episode. It’s certainly going to be interesting to see how the dynamic of the show change from hereon out with Derek, Callie, Meredith, Arizona, and Cristina all at the helm of Seattle Grace…. and Jackson as their boss.

Things are about to get real interesting, folks. I can’t wait to see what happens.

Grade: A-

916 This is Why We Fight, Featured