SPOILER ALERT: Do not read ahead if you have not watched “Grey’s Anatomy” season 12, episode 17, titled, “There’s a Fine, Fine Line,” which aired on Thursday, April 14.
Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital was on lockdown during “Grey’s Anatomy’s” two-hour special event on Thursday — and are Bailey (Chandra Wilson) and Ben (Jason George) about to go on lockdown, too?
The couple, who wed during season nine, hit a bump in the road on “Grey’s” new episode when Ben decided to perform an emergency C-section on a pregnant mother in the hallway when he couldn’t get into the OR since the elevators were shut down during the lockdown. Chief Bailey had to call an advisory committee meeting to determine whether Ben should be punished for his fatal accident — both mother and unborn child did not survive the messy operation.
Unsure what to do, Bailey checked security footage and saw that the Code Pink had already lifted, meaning Ben could have taken the elevator to the OR, but instead performed surgery in the hallway. Ben, however, insisted that he did not see the elevator open.
The committee decided to put Ben on a six-month suspension for his ill call, but Bailey confessed that she actually wanted to fire him.
Aside from Ben’s suspension putting him extremely behind in the surgical residency program, his relationship with Bailey is now at serious risk, given the power struggle between the couple. Will he be able to stand being married to his boss, after being suspended?
Will Bailey and Ben be able to separate their work life from home life? Jason George talks to Variety, teasing what’s to come in the couple’s future.
What was your reaction to having so much time dedicated to you in this episode?
I love doing “Grey’s.” It’s rare that you get to play really great detailed stuff with comedy and interpersonal stuff and drama — having that all interspersed is pretty rare. When they write stuff that serves you up the juice, you want to give it your A-game. I had a blast playing in these episodes.
Are Bailey and Ben going to stay together?
That’s a good question — define “stay together” [laughing]. Their relationship will be changed — and if it’s a forever thing, that’s a good question.
Do you think there’s a split in their future?
I’ll put it this way: I still don’t know if they make it. I hope they do. I also think there’s no shortage of desire for it to work on Bailey’s part or Ben’s part, but at the end of the day, you’ve got two of the most stubborn people on television so the who’s right and who’s wrong conversation is never going to be an easy one. We love to see our friends on TV having fun each week and doing well, but at the end of the day, happy couples are boring TV. Even Ben and Bailey had to take a hit sooner or later.
What sort of trouble will they face as a couple, after this incident?
You’ve got two incredible, powerful personalities that are usually in step together and now they’re actually at odds. She’s the chief and he ain’t going anywhere — he wants to fight for his education, he sacrificed a lot to try and help her become chief and he took a pay cut to become a resident.
For how long will this storyline regarding Ben and Bailey’s relationship troubles be played out?
You don’t figure out quickly how to figure out this problem. First, there’s a trust thing — you think you’re my wife and you’re supposed to have my back forever. He thinks she didn’t have his back. She’s the one who made the decision to ruin his career so that’s a problem. She’s going to have to earn back his trust as a doctor and he has to earn back her trust as a spouse. And if they manage to do that, how do they work together? What are the rules? It’s not an easy fix. This is at the core of their work life and their home life.
Will Bailey feel any remorse for punishing Ben?
I don’t think Bailey sees herself stepping out of the wife role — she felt like she did what she had to do as chief. She’s not seeing that she’s being harsh or that she’s holding Ben to a higher standard than she would with other residents. She pushes herself beyond the breaking point and she doesn’t forgive herself easily, so she finds it hard to forgive her loved ones, as well.
Ben’s actions resulted in two dead patients. In the past on “Grey’s,” we’ve seen other doctors have a tough time dealing with their patients dying. Will he have trouble coping?
Yeah. He made the toughest call of his career and he just needed a positive outcome and he doesn’t get it. These doctors have developed a thick skin and you’re going to lose some patients every once in a while, but at the end of the day, this is his entire career. I think he did the right thing — objectively you can ask, is he telling himself or convincing himself that he’s doing the right thing?
This isn’t the first time Ben has gone against hospital rules. He just cut a patient open with a clipboard. Do you think he’s being impetuous?
I honestly think that he is doing the right thing, but lightening can’t strike twice. He’s found himself in the worst possible scenario a couple of different times, and he made that hard call. At the end of the day, this is Grey Sloan Memorial and every doctor has had to make an impossible call in the worst possible situation because that’s good TV. Ben hasn’t proven that he really knows what he’s doing, and he thinks he made the right call, but he had a bad outcome. The first time, he made the right call — he still got a slap on the wrist, but he was the hero.
How will everyone else react to Bailey and Ben’s drama?
It’s interesting because Bailey is the chief so no one is going to talk back to her. But in terms of who’s right and who’s wrong, it creates a schism because they are two very powerful personalities that usually you can rely on — they’re like mommy and daddy who are rock solid, but when mommy and daddy fight, everyone gets uncomfortable and it’s hard to avoid. You see people choose some sides and so that’s interesting and, at times, funny. What’s fun to see is everyone has a different perspective on if it was the right call or not.
&uuid=(email))