Koracick’s Random Reappearance on Grey’s Anatomy Season 21 Episode 12 Fires Mer Up

Critic’s Rating: 3.8 / 5.0

3.8

Mer has found a new cause, and I love that for her.

Naturally, the second we learned that Koracick would be returning to the series on Grey’s Anatomy Season 21 Episode 12, it was apparent he’d be on his BS.

He can’t help himself. The man doesn’t know how to be anything other than obnoxious!

Koracick’s Return Was Unusual But Instigated Mer’s New Arc

Did Koracick’s reappearance feel a bit random? It was like we had no real warning or build-up to it; he was just back for the specific purpose of lighting a fire under Mer.

He barely registered as his own character and felt more like a caricature of himself, which was odd.

But we needed it to move Mer’s plot forward, so I won’t complain too much about it.

The grant panel felt like it came out of nowhere, too, and then there Koracick was, building on Mer and Amelia’s research by throwing all the money the Fox Foundation and more could at this study to potentially cure Alzheimer’s.

It was ridiculous that he didn’t even need the grant money; he just wanted it.

Mer was right about his lack of emotion or drive regarding this study. She has a personal stake in this Alzheimer’s trial and wants to cure this horrible disease.

Koracick Felt Like a Caricature “For Plot”

It’s impacted her life profoundly on so many levels, whereas, for Koracick, it was just something to do and a chance to make this significant discovery and have his peers laud him for it.

Most of the grant action was uninteresting, and Amelia felt like she was just there, hanging around in the background for all of it. Even her brief interactions with her former mentor were off.

But the best part of the ordeal was Mer flipping the switch on Koracick by pointing out that by only using male mice not to disrupt his study, he was missing out on a thorough approach and potentially helping the population afflicted by Alzhemiers the most: women.

The studies show that the disease affects them at a higher rate, yet like with most things, if it’s not about how it affects the overall population and men, then there’s not nearly enough interest and focus.

The panel proved that despite Mer’s passionate and scathing criticism of Koracick, they still handed him the money. Ugh.

Mer and Nick are Lowkey Perfect

But it led to Mer’s renewed sense of inspiration. Now, she’ll take Koracick’s findings, do an exclusive study of female mice, and go from there. That’s good for her.

She’s using money she has saved up and other things to fund her studies. Of course, Nick, ever the most supportive partner (seriously, he’s really the greatest), wants to become an investor, too.

They’re such a strong couple, personally and professionally, and I love it.

Much of the hour balanced personal relationships and the pursuit of professional ambitions.

For Jules, there were some awkward bumps in the road with Beltran (who it was great to see again). She got caught up in the fact that they were on a case together, working alongside someone they both slept with, and she allowed that to affect her the whole way through.

Jules and Beltran Work Well Together

If only she had gotten out of her head sooner, he wouldn’t have wasted so much time obsessing over things that don’t matter. Beltran didn’t care about any of that; she wanted to save her patient.

She and Jules were such a great pairing; it felt like we had the seeds of a new strong mentorship on the horizon. Beltran was amazing with Jules, and their interactions were genuinely enjoyable because her approach was exactly what you envision when you think of a teaching hospital.

However, Jules pivoted and decided she wanted Winston to mentor her instead, even approaching him (and Beltran) about it at Joe’s.

Jules also had a strong connection with Winston. It sometimes seemed like they were hinting at something else, but perhaps the series was just setting this up instead.

I don’t mind Winston and Jules, but it sucked that they gave us the Beltran/Jules dynamic only for Jules to head in another direction. It was jarring.

Simone’s Solo Surgery Showcases Growth (And Highlights Mentorship with Bailey)

Of course, Simone and Bailey have always had the best mentorship building out of the interns. It wasn’t surprising that Simone managed to successfully piece together that Bailey’s patient may have had cancer and scored her first solo surgery as a result.

Simone has always been one of the strongest interns. Now that Mika is gone, she’s taking over that position with ease.

But she’s also great at connecting with patience. She often carries herself as a doctor who is far too aware of things like medical biases and the issues patients face when their doctors don’t listen to them, and she always comes from that place when she practices medicine.

Anyone else would’ve missed the allergies/menopause/cancer thing. She earned that solo surgery, and she rocked it, too. Also, while Blue wasn’t her first choice, that pairing is always great on cases.

Bailey was so proud of Simone and said as much, and Simone was flying high, but one does have to wonder how her continued success will clash with Lucas feeling stuck and behind compared to the others.

Is Lucas Headed Somewhere Dark?

He was proud of her and expressed that, but he’s still struggling, too.

But that was the general thing with most of the relationships. Link and Jo were super hot and then broached cold during this installment because of their different opinions on weddings.

Link gets a lot of flack for many reasons, but he’s such a romantic, and I didn’t fault him for wanting the wedding experience. It’s not fair that he would have to miss out on it because Jo did it once before, and it didn’t work out.

She finally recognized that thanks to their quirky married couple, and she came around to the idea that this would be a new experience because she was doing it with him.

We’re getting a Jolink wedding, after all.

We’re also getting Teddy and Owen’s open marriage saga. Leave it to Owen to get in his feelings when the therapist broached the topic.

What did he expect? Also, what was his solution? At this point, it’s either they open their marriage, or they cheat on one another.

Teddy and Owen Open Their Marriage

It’s not my thing, but this may work for this hot mess of a couple and salvage their rollercoaster of a relationship. But it could also ruin them.

Only time will tell. But it certainly seemed like once they hashed out the details, they both got turned on by the idea because they sure had their hot and steamy sealing of that deal.

Of course, the whole thing with Blue and Molly was still boring. I’m sorry, but it upsets me that we have Harry Shum Jr. on this show, and they wasted him with this dull storyline.

But things got a bit more interesting when Dave showed up at the end.

Molly’s Ex Shows Up … The Drama Picks Up

Blue is in denial about many things and trying to recapture what he had with Molly. But I don’t think Molly really broke up with Dave, and Blue is on the way toward heartbreak.

I don’t want to see a heartbroken Blue, but I’m at least mildly interested in the drama that may come with the ex in the picture.

Over to you, Grey’s Fanatics.

What do you think of Mer’s new mission? Did you want Jules to choose Beltran over Winston? What’s up with Lucas? Sound off below.

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