Grey’s Anatomy season 14 episode 11 review: Miranda Bailey’s fate revealed
Even after she had herself on a hospital gown and was being checked on by a doctor, she still wouldn’t let Richard Webber or anyone else in. She also started to grow increasingly frustrated by the fact that the doctors at this hospital weren’t altogether interested in listening to her. They insisted that she was going to be fine, but she refused to leave until a complete cardiac workup was done on her. She wanted a stress tests, but unfortunately, nobody was willing to give that to her. This just made her increasingly agitated since she felt as though nobody was altogether willing to give her the answer she wanted.
So did Bailey die at the end of this? Here’s the short answer: No. Bailey survived having a heart attack in “(Don’t Fear) the Reaper,” albeit briefly. One of the biggest things that she has to thank is her friends Maggie and Richard for knowing her so well, and sensing enough of the situation to rush over to Seattle Presbyterian. Were they not there, the odds were pretty high that she was not going to make it. The doctors at this hospital were unwilling to treat her serious for most of the season and were more interested in A) man-splaining away some of her symptoms and B) standing on a pedestal with all of their degrees. Bailey needed some quick, raw, and risky treatment and that’s what Maggie was able to survive.
The way in which Bailey’s story played out tonight was nothing short of powerful as it taught Miranda from a number of different angles that she may be living the wrong way. In focusing so much on worry, on constantly working, and favoring the health of others over the health of herself, she put herself in a position to have this cardiac event. It was the patient in bed next to her for most of the hour that caused her to realize that, and this is also why she told Ben at the end of the episode that she still wanted him to be a firefighter. He could die on the job, but theoretically he could’ve just been hit by a car when he ran over to see her close to the end of the episode.
Related – Check out a preview for what’s coming up on Grey’s Anatomy next
What about the flashbacks?
That was a very interesting choice for the show to make since they didn’t so much inform anything involving Bailey’s heart attack; yet, it did help to explain further why she was so afraid of taking a risk. It’s how she grew up, largely because her parents lost their first baby before Miranda was even born and they were so terrified of something happening to her. That’s why they were so hesitant to sign off on the idea of her going away from the house. It wasn’t about a lack of trust; instead, it was just about fear.
We’ll also say that these flashbacks were largely effective in making us believe for most of this episode that Bailey could actually die. Yet, it was all for a sake of a larger point and a build-up towards that excellent scene with Miranda calling her mother at the end of the episode.
CarterMatt Verdict
Maybe not everyone likes these standalone episodes since they don’t offer up a chance to see the full cast, especially since we haven’t had too many ensemble episodes so far this season. Personally, though, we feel like “(Don’t Fear) the Reaper” was the stuff of genius and yet another winning episode in what is turning out to be a wonderful and perfectly-intimate season.
What did you think about Grey’s Anatomy season 14 episode 11? Were you legitimately worried about Bailey’s fate through most of it? Share in the comments!
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