WARNING: This recap contains spoilers for Grey's Anatomy Season 21, episode 13 "Don't You (Forget About Me).
With only five episodes to go before the Season 21 finale, Grey's Anatomy is giving its cast of characters space to grow, thrive, question, and learn. While some relationships remain blissfully intact, others veer dangerously close to disaster (or are already flatlining). Along the way, though, even the best doctors are learning from their residents and colleagues every day.
The rivalry between Jo and Marcus continues. When he takes one of her surgeries because he doesn't want her to be on her feet, she at first decides to let it go, but vents to Ben about it anyway. (Their friendship dynamic is perfect, no notes.) After working with a patient frustrated with a man for taking over her work while she's in the hospital, Jo decides to stand up to Marcus on behalf of her and her twins. Ben, who is no stranger to witnessing powerful women shut down the egos of their male colleagues, invites Jo to join him for a burger.
Simone has been hard at work preparing to assist Amelia in Molly's experimental surgery, and gets progressively more and more nervous as the procedure continues and Molly's risk of having a seizure increases. Thinking of Blue, Simone tries to convince Amelia to stop the surgery, but Amelia warns that she can either trust the process or leave. Afterward, when Simone apologizes for stepping out of line, Amelia tells her that her "rising star" doesn't make up for decades of experience, reminding her that when in the OR, everything she might know about a patient and their relationships has to be left out the door. Thankfully, Simone still gets to present the case at grand rounds, because even in medicine, mistakes are an essential part of an education.
While all this is happening, Dave confronts Blue and confesses that the only reason he's in Seattle is to warn him about Molly. He tells Blue that when she first lost her memories, she completely spiraled trying to get them back and became a danger to herself. Even though he can tell Dave genuinely just cares about Molly just as he does, he still confronts her after the surgery about lying to and keeping things from him. The surgery didn't actually succeed in recovering any of her memores from before the accident, and Blue asks if she is only with him to try to get her memory back. Their relationship, it seems, is really over for good.
Jules, still on Winston's service, eagerly agrees to help with a seemingly minor procedure instead of joining Winston on a larger case. However, her enthusiasm and focus on refining her skills -- even the so-called less elite ones -- pays off. After her successful procedure, he invites her to assist him with a more advanced one, clearly seeing that she is willing to earn her place at the head of the operating table one day.
But she isn't the only intern showing great promise. Lucas identifies a blockage in Nick's patient's kidney, and even though the kidney still couldn't be saved in the end, Nick seemed impressed with him nonetheless. When Lucas asks if he thinks repeating his intern year is really necessary, Nick delivers the bad news that only Catherine Fox can change that outcome. Lucas talks to Richard, who admits that Lucas probably doesn't have what it would take to change his wife's mind.
Finally, Teddy and Cass once again find themselves intertwined -- this time at a conference where Bailey is presenting on her revolutionary program. After Cass helps salvage the presentation, Teddy finally admits she's ready to give their connection a chance. But just as they're about to push their intimacy past its breaking point, Teddy realizes she no longer wants to try to fix her marriage to Owen with an open relationship. Which is too bad, considering after Nora brings a friend in to get checked out, she and Owen end the episode tangled up together -- literally. Teddy may have changed her mind, but Owen seems set on his decision to give Nora everything she's been wanting.
I was really starting to like the idea of seeing both Owen and Teddy happy with other people and each other simultaneously, but I've been in this fandom long enough to admit I should have known better. Nothing good ever lasts forever here. It's just the way it goes.