Grey’s Anatomy Season 21 Episode 2 Review: Take Me to Church

Critic’s Rating: 4.75 / 5.0

4.75

Is anyone else fanning themselves after watching Grey’s Anatomy Season 21 Episode 2?

The hour was teeming with tension, and not just the bad kind.

While some of the doctors focused on finding their place at Grey Sloan Memorial, others got caught up in a proverbial heatwave that swept through the hospital.

Catherine Shows No Remorse, and We’re All Paying for It

Before we get to the juicy stuff, though, we have to talk about Catherine and the giant rain cloud she’s living under these days.

Look, I get it. Cancer is horrific. I’d be in a terrible mood too, and Catherine deserves the space she needs to have all her feelings about it.

But at a certain point, it stops being an excuse to treat everyone around you like garbage.

Between the cancer and the immense power she wields, everyone walks on eggshells around Catherine, but something’s got to give.

She’s rude, she’s lying to her family, and she’s making rash decisions that have serious impacts on people’s lives. It’s not cool.

I want to give her grace, but it’s getting harder every week.

It’s long past time for Catherine to grow up, tell Richard and Jackson what’s going on, and make amends with everyone she’s been berating.

Whether the lesions on her liver turn out to be benign or not, she’s currently at a crossroads.

For the first time since her initial diagnosis, Catherine is facing the fact that she might actually die. Frankly, allowing Jackson and Richard to be blindsided by that would be incredibly selfish.

She could very well be on borrowed time. Here’s hoping she does the right thing.

Richard Is Still Trying to Retire on Grey’s Anatomy Season 13 Episode 2

Has there ever been a more exhausted man?

Richard broke my heart in this episode. This is the second time I’ve had to watch him serenade his dying wife (remember Grey’s Anatomy Season 8 Episode 12?). I don’t know how much more I can take.

Of course, he doesn’t know his wife is dying this time. He has other things on his mind, like his twenty-plus-year quest to retire and live out his golden years in peace.

If only Winston would leave the poor man alone. I know he’s trying to be encouraging, but seriously, let Richard rest!

I’d love to see a storyline in Season 21 that allows Richard to hang up his scalpel for good.

Give Webber a break already, Shonda!

Women in Charge, Men on the Golf Course

It’s telling that while Meredith, Miranda, Teddy, Amelia, Monica, and Catherine were taking the hospital by the reins, Richard, Lucas, and Winston were killing time on the golf course.

Bailey and Altman gathered the nerve to ask for their jobs back. Beltran and Shepherd consulted on an impossible patient. Meredith and Catherine argued about a treatment plan.

Richard got a birdie. Congrats, man.

Grey’s Anatomy Season 21 Episode 2 Is Full of Gay Chemistry

It’s hard to find fault with the episode, honestly: it was delightfully gay.

It looks like the writers are taking LGBTQ+ representation seriously this season, and I couldn’t be happier.

We got a classic Grey’s Anatomy elevator kiss, this time with Mika and Jules.

Then, we got a couple of Amelia/Monica scenes where sparks continued to fly.

Schmitt met the new hospital chaplain, who is also gay. While there was no romance between them in the episode, it’s still exciting that two openly gay characters can coexist across multiple scenes.

In fact, allowing LGBTQ+ characters to exist and live normal lives is all anyone is asking for. It’s the little things, you know?

Schmitt Finds Out How Devastating Peds Can Be on Grey’s Anatomy Season 13 Episode 2

Does anyone remember the Tay Sachs patient that Bailey treated on Grey’s Anatomy Season 5 Episode 20?

Few episodes have destroyed me the way that one did. Watching Bailey hold that sweet little girl while the patient’s father desperately tried to find ways to save her was heartbreaking.

“Take Me to Church” hit me in the same way, thanks to Schmitt’s pediatric patient who was under the care of the hospital chaplain.

The whole case was difficult, but when Schmitt delivered the news to the child that he was terminal, I lost it.

Schmitt was heavily affected, too, and it’s no surprise. The kid wept at his prognosis, crying out that he didn’t want to die. It was a devastating scene.

Unfortunately, we know Jake Borelli is leaving Grey’s Anatomy this season.

After this case, I have to wonder if Schmitt is realizing he’s not cut out for a job that comes with this much heartbreak.

It isn’t the first time a patient has impacted his mental health. It makes me question whether that will be the direction the writers take when bidding farewell to the character.

A Very Heavy Hour of Televison

There were a lot of other major moments throughout the episode, including Blue getting closure from his ex-fiancee about the role he played in her injury.

To be completely honest, I can’t bring myself to care that much about this storyline. It feels like a means to an end, and a way to move Blue from a tortured loner to a more healed version of himself.

I’d like to fast forward to the part where he’s happy and ready to move on, please.

Also, are we ever going to address whether Adams actually has ADHD? It seems like he puts a lot of pressure on himself about things that are outside of his control, especially if he’s neurodivergent.

I really hope the writers take the time to dive into that more, and soon, because it’s taking a toll on Lucas’s self esteem.

Notably missing from this episode were several major players who are likely to be the focus of big storylines this season.

We didn’t see Ben, who is supposed to be coming back to work at the hospital after leaving Station 19. Link and Jo were also missing, presumably panicking somewhere about how they’re going to manage 3 babies while having busy careers.

Unfortunately, Owen Hunt was not missing from the episode, but as usual, he added no value and left zero impressions. Zero stars for you, Owen.

That wraps it up for this week! What was your favorite part of the hour, and what are you hoping to see next week?

We’ll be back next week and all season long with our Grey’s Anatomy coverage, so grab the popcorn and settle in!

Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursdays at 10/9c on ABC, with episodes streaming the next day on Hulu.

Watch Grey’s Anatomy Online