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I am going to tell you a secret. Doctors are not gods. We like you to think we have all the answers. You have to trust us enough to let us cut open your flesh and poke around in your insides, so it's helpful if you think we have it all together. It's helpful if you don't know that just like you, we're anxious, we're insecure, we're angry. You have to let us come at you with a scalpel. So it's helpful if you don't know that just like you, we're wrecks. So, how do we do it? How do we save lives when ours may be falling apart? Well, for one thing, we never perform surgery without an assist. We look at the case, we gather the team, and accept we don't have to go it alone.

Go Big or Go Home is the third episode of the fourteenth season and the 296th overall episode of Grey's Anatomy.

Short Summary[]

Harper Avery arrives, putting Bailey on edge. A familiar face from Meredith's past returns as a patient, and Amelia tries to manage a secret.

Full Summary[]

Amelia looks at her scans.

Meredith goes to get a dish, but finds them all dirty in the sink.

Bailey checks the renovations to make sure they're ready.

Meredith goes to put in laundry to find a load already in the washer.

Bailey continues to check out the hospital.

Andrew tells Amelia it's been a week and questions if she should tell someone. She tells him to give her her latest labs and a latte.

Alex jogs through Kerry Park.

Meredith tells Zola a lot of people live in their house and she and Zola are the only people who do their part. Zola tells Meredith to talk to Alex. Alex comes by and high fives Zola on his way to the bathroom. Meredith tells Zola she's perfect and Alex is wrong and Mommy needs a minute. After she's gone to her room, Maggie peeks out and asks if Meredith's still grumpy, to which Zola nods.

Jackson takes out Megan's stitches, as she flinches in pain. It's a good sign that she has sensation. She has no signs of rejection and she's recovering. Megan's eager to get out of the hospital, but Owen tells her to slow down.

Bailey comes in and tells Jackson his grandfather will be there in 15 minutes. Jackson reminds her that he doesn't like crowds, but she tells him to come anyway. Megan's phone rings a call from her son. She tells him she's coming home soon.

Bailey and Ben talk about Harper Avery's arrival. She says she's ready and everything has to be perfect. They hear a woman moaning and Ben says it's labor pains. Bailey tells Meredith and Maggie not to be late.

Nathan asks Meredith about Megan, but she won't tell him anything. Nathan then tells Maggie he'll round on Dr. Carr for her while she's at the meeting.

Brody presents the case of Dr. Carr, who has a 24 inch clot in his chest. He's a psychiatrist who works upstairs in the hospital, so he sits a lot. They can't use TPA because of the size of the clot, so they're going to do an open thrombolectomy.

After the residents leave, Meredith steps into his room and he says it's nice to see her. Now he needs the tape and glue guy.

Arizona says the sex with Carina is curative. It has erased Eliza from her mind. April says she's late and sends her off to greet Harper Avery.

Bailey's upset because they're missing two department heads. Maggie doesn't know where Amelia is and Alex warns that she doesn't want Meredith's mood there. Jackson comes in and Maggie fixes his lab coat.

Harper is complaining about the cost of the renovation as Catherine reassures him. They see the crowd and Harper asks if they have jobs to do before walking away.

Amelia brings in Tom Koracick and tells him about her tumor. He's her mentor from Hopkins. He's the best so she brought him in to operate on her. He asks for new scans and tells her she can't treat patients with the tumor. He says all her decision-making is off because of the tumor. She's not of sound mind and hasn't been for a long time.

Harper tries to send Jackson out of the meeting, but he says he's staying. Amelia comes in and tries to tell Bailey, but she tells Amelia to tell Richard and he'll pass the message along. Harper looks through the paperwork.

Carr asks Meredith about the birthday party, which she says went well. Things are going well except for the mood she can't shake. Brody comes in to draw labs, but Meredith tells her she'll do it.

Richard looks at Amelia's scans and asks if Owen knows. Amelia says he doesn't. No one knows. She doesn't want them to know. Koracick says it's been growing for close to ten years and she can't see patients until he clears it. He says this explains her previous judgment calls, such as with Nicole Herman.

Marnie is in labor, but only four centimeters dilated. Arizona says she'll be back. She did an ablation on Marnie's baby, so she wants to be there for the birth, but labor's not progressing, so she has Ben stay with Marnie and says to page her when it's close. She can't have an epidural because it almost killed her during a prior delivery. And she's allergic to pitocin.

Jo gets on an elevator with Alex. There's a peds trauma incoming. Once the doors are closed, they start making out. She missed him last night, but he needed clean clothes. Once the doors open, they walk out.

An ambulance brings in Pete Hover, who was injured in a hot air balloon landing that went wrong. He was trying to ask Jamie Hall to the homecoming dance and wants to see if she saw his HoCoPro. They take her inside to get him treated.

Owen tells Megan about Amelia. He's upset because she had no reaction to hearing about Teddy. Megan is upset because he's whining about problems she views as small compared to hers.

Andrew brings Maggie into the scan room. He pretends he wants to make things right between them while trying to get her to notice the scans on the wall that show Amelia's tumor. She says she's fine and doesn't notice what he's trying to get her to see.

Meredith tells Carr about Megan and Nathan. She's upset about the triangle and says she's done with it. Nathan and Maggie come in to talk to him about his surgery. Nathan has had the idea to use a vacuum to suck the clot out instead of opening his chest. He says he'll have the procedure, despite the risks.

Andrew, Koracick, and Richard are getting Amelia's scan. Koracick isn't sure how they didn't catch her tumor. Amelia asks Andrew to get files on past patients for her. Koracick stops him and tells Amelia to stop moving.

Pete's burns are superficial. Jamie comes in and April shows her the ruined sign. They send her out so they can treat Pete.

Richard shows Amelia the scan of his brain from when he had the tumor. She's surprised at how small the tumor was and says it's nothing compared to hers. She makes fun of it and he leaves.

Meredith talks to Nathan and Maggie about Carr and says she's worried about the surgery. Nathan asks who Carr is to her. She says it's not his business, which he correctly knows to mean he's her shrink.

Meredith tells Carr she's past anger with Nathan. And he's still wearing his wedding ring ten years after his wife died, so she says he's a bigger mess than she is. He says the messes have all the answers. He tells her to stop dancing around it and sit down so they can talk. She asks if that's really how he wants to do this. He asks if she could have a scalpel at the end of her life, would she want one? She comes in to sit down.

Arizona and Richard watch the Harper Avery meeting from outside. Richard wants to help, but people have been dismissive of his help all day. Carina comes and greets Arizona with kisses and invites her to lunch with Andrew. Ben comes up and says Marnie's still at four centimeters. Nothing is working. Carina suggests inducing natural oxytocin production. Arizona thinks she means nipple stimulation, but she actually means clitoral stimulation with climax. Arizona says they'll figure something else out. Carina says it's unnecessary pain when she has another choice. Arizona says that's not how she does things and walks away. Carina says she thought differently last night.

Harper is upset about Megan's abdominal wall transplant. Jackson defends it and Harper tries to dismiss Jackson again and gets him to leave by insulting him. The argument continues and he insults Bailey and Catherine.

Richard finds Amelia in an on-call room looking over patient files. It's patients whose lives she's ruined. She needs to contact LA to get others. He suggests letting him look through them first.

Arizona suggests that it might be time for a c-section for Marnie. Marnie refuses and they ask if there's any other options. Arizona looks over at Ben.

Alex, Jo, and April operate on Pete and talk about their own dance experiences. Jo and Alex make fun of April's clean-cut history. April stands up for herself and Pete and Jamie.

Richard tells Amelia her mortality rate is better than Derek's, even with the tumor. She didn't hurt them. She's hurting the people she loves her if she doesn't let them help her.

Carr and Meredith talk about her relationship with Nathan. She says Nathan understood what she was going through without losing the love of your life. He didn't expect to replace Derek. The difference was Megan wasn't really dead. Meredith says she's angry because Nathan made her look like a liar. He starts coding and Meredith steps in to stabilize him.

Catherine wants to take a break. Harper says there's no need. He's made his decision to withdraw funding from the hospital. Bailey says they'll fold if he does. She begs him to reconsider and he says he will keep the funding, but she's fired. He asks them to give him the room to make some calls.

Nathan and Maggie work on Dr. Carr. Nathan tries to talk about Meredith, but Maggie redirects the conversation.

Megan and Owen walk around the hospital. Megan tells Owen he's in an unhappy marriage. He tells her to slow down, but she wants to get back to Farouk.

April tells Jamie Pete can probably still go to the dance. Jamie says she might have said yes, but then the crash made her popular and she has the chance to go with a senior. April tells her to go with the guy who made the grand gesture.

Carina hears Marnie's moaning and figures out that Arizona decided to use her technique. Arizona denies it and says Marnie and her husband just wanted some alone time. Carina comes up behind her and flirts heavily. They stop when Marnie's husband comes out and says she's crowning.

Amelia brings Maggie into the scan room to show her her tumor. She also needs her help to tell Owen and needs her to tell Meredith on her own because Meredith already thinks Amelia's crazy.

Catherine and Bailey talk about Bailey's firing and Catherine offers to stand up for her. Bailey says she can't let Catherine go back in alone. They go back into the room and find him sleeping. Catherine tries to wake him and they find that he's actually dead.

Harper's body is taken away. They're not sure what happened. Bailey says he fired her, but Jacksons says he can't do that anymore.

Catherine and Jackson awkwardly eulogize Harper on the stairs.

Carr wakes up and Meredith is in his room. She wanted to be there when he woke up. He says she wants to know what he was going to say before he croaked. She's already figured it out. She gives him his wedding ring back.

Meredith goes to Nathan, who's taking some personal days. She tells him not to do that. She's angry at him because he got a gift she'll never get and he's wasting it. They had the same dream and he's betraying it. He admits that he really is in love with Meredith. She tells him to go tell Megan the truth and fight for her. She tells him not to blow it.

Bailey tells Ben Harper fired her, but he says it doesn't count because he died. She's in pain. Ben say he learned something about natural pain relief and pulls her down on the bed.

Jo holds up a sign that says "Homecoming?" for Alex. She's asking him to come back home. They start making out.

Owen is on the roof when he gets a text from Amelia.

April brings Jamie to see Pete. She brings in a balloon.

Owen comes in and yells at Amelia for how she's been acting. He stops when he sees her name on the scans.

Meredith sits by Carr's bedside as he sleeps. Maggie comes in and asks if she has a minute.

Amelia gets admitted to the hospital for her surgery.

Meredith comes into Amelia's room and climbs into the bed behind her.

Cast[]

Main Cast[]

Guest Stars[]

Co-Starring[]

Medical Notes[]

Megan Hunt[]

  • Diagnosis:
  • Treatment:

Megan had sensation in her new skin and no signs of infection.

Walter Carr[]

  • Diagnosis:
    • Clot
  • Treatment:
    • Thrombectomy

Walter, 64, had shortness of breath, leg swelling, and sinus tach. A CT showed a 24-inch clot. He had a planned thrombectomy, but Nathan had the idea to use a vacuum to suck out the clot instead. He agreed to it, but before he could have surgery, he started coding. Meredith was able to stabilize him and he was taken into surgery to remove the clot.

Amelia Shepherd[]

  • Diagnosis:
    • Benign grade I meningioma
  • Treatment:

Amelia brought in Tom to operate on her tumor. Tom estimated based on her scans that the tumor had been growing for nearly ten years. He said she couldn't work on patients until he cleared it because the tumor altered her brain function.

Marnie[]

  • Diagnosis:
    • Pregnancy
  • Treatment:
    • Clitoral stimulation

Marnie had had fetal ablation when she was 18 weeks pregnant and was in labor. Her water had broken, but she was only four centimeters dilated. She had a bad reaction to an epidural during a prior delivery and is allergic to pitocin, so she was left just to labor. After more than 20 hours of labor, Arizona suggested a c-section, but Marnie and her husband didn't want that and asked for any other solutions. Carina DeLuca suggested clitoral stimulation. With her husband's help, Marnie was quickly crowning.

Pete Hover[]

  • Diagnosis:
    • Blunt trauma to the abdomen
    • Broken leg
    • Flash burns
  • Treatment:
    • Surgery

Pete, 16, was injured when a hot air balloon landing went wrong. He had blunt trauma to his abdomen and a broken left leg, as well as flash burns to his arms. The balloon was also fused to his skin. The burns were superficial and were debrided in the ER. He was then taken into the OR to repair his internal injuries.

Music[]

Song Performer Scene
"Hey Mama" Maggie Eckford
  • Amelia looks at scans of her tumor.
  • Meredith gets ready for the day.
  • Bailey goes around the hospital, checking on the renovations.
  • Andrew tells Amelia she should tells someone as it's been a week.
  • Alex jogs.
  • Meredith tells Zola a lot of people live in the house and they're the only ones who do their parts.
  • Meredith says she needs a minute after Alex comes in and doesn't help.
"Whatever You Want" Billie + Air
  • Ben goes to monitor Arizona's patient.
  • Jo and Alex make out in the elevator.
"Footprints" Molly Kate Kestner
  • Richard goes over Amelia's files. He tells her her mortality rate is lower than Derek's.
  • Meredith talks to Dr. Carr about why she chose Nathan.
  • He's impressed with her being able to talk about her feelings.
"Free" Francesca Blanchard
  • Jo asks Alex to come home and they kiss.
  • Owen stands on the roof.
  • April brings Jamie to visit Pete.
  • Owen comes in upset with Amelia. Then he notices that Amelia's name is on the scans.
  • Meredith sits by Dr. Carr's bedside. She tells Maggie he's stable.
  • Owen helps Amelia get admitted for her surgery.
  • Meredith comes in to see her.

Notes and Trivia[]

Grey's_Anatomy_14x03_Promo_"Go_Big_or_Go_Home"_(HD)_Season_14_Episode_3_Promo

Grey's Anatomy 14x03 Promo "Go Big or Go Home" (HD) Season 14 Episode 3 Promo

Gallery[]

Episode Stills[]

Behind the Scenes[]

Quotes[]

Tom: See Shepherd's hands, DeLuca? All me. I should charge every time she uses them.
Amelia: He's the most arrogant teacher I've ever had. I didn't want to call him for this, but...
Tom: Say it. You have to say it. Out loud.
Amelia: You're the best.
Tom: Damn straight.

Tom: I'm not gonna follow your plan because the part of your brain that makes plans is compromised. Your plans, your judgment, your decision making, your impulse control, it's all tumor. You understand? You are not of sound mind now and you haven't been for years.

Bailey: Dr. Avery, I'll be more than happy to walk you through every decision you're questioning.
Harper: I hope you cleared your day.

Owen: I try to check up on her and she bites my head off. I tell her about Teddy and she's completely unfazed. But she still wears her wedding ring. I don't know what the hell she wants me to do. You know, live miserably alone and still keep her shoes in the closet? Sorry, did you need this card?
Megan: I haven't farted naturally in six months because of a bag attached to my side. And I have a stranger's abs sewn onto me. I'm separated from my child by 10 time zones and I just sent the man that I'm in love with back to the woman he fell in love with while I was supposedly dead. Oh, but let's keep discussing your tragic life.

Andrew: I wanted to talk about how things ended between us.
Maggie: Huh?
Andrew: You know, you and I.
Maggie: Uh, why?
Andrew: Well, I've been thinking a lot about us and you know, things ended so poorly. I wanted to try to ameliorate the situation and shepherd in a new era.
Maggie: I thought we were fine now.
Andrew: Define fine. Are we friends, are we colleagues who tell each other things, important things?
Maggie: I mean, I'm fine now, but I wasn't. You dropped me like I was severely burning your hand and then never said a word about it. It was kind of humiliating.
Andrew: Right, yeah. I shouldn't have done that.
Maggie: And you told Richard Webber, my biological father, what I'm like in bed. He knows what sex sounds I make now because of you. I never let that dawn.
Andrew: To be fair, I...
Maggie: You know, you did owe me an apology. Thank you for manning up. I'm good now. We're good.

Meredith: I don't do love triangles. I was raised in one, I fell in love with my husband in one. I am done with triangles.

Richard: Years ago, I also had a brain tumor. Derek removed it, but I had some bad days. What I'm saying is, I've been where you are. I know how frightening this is.
Amelia: This is you? Optic nerve looks pristine, clean margins, no shift. You were lucky.
Richard: No, those are my pre-op scans. Okay, you see the tumor right there?
Amelia: That? That's not artifact?
Richard: No, it's a tumor. I was dizzy for weeks. I almost went blind.
Amelia: (pointing at her scan) That's a tumor.
Richard: What, it's some kind of competition?
Amelia: I could've removed this tumor before breakfast, with my eyes closed.
Richard: Oh, now you're just being unkind.
Amelia: Koracick would let me remove this tumor while he removed mine.
Richard: I have patients.
Amelia: Did they even have microscopes strong enough to see this tumor back then?

Carina: It's no mistake that God put a G-spot in the birth canal.
Richard: That's the first time I've ever heard those three things in the same sentence.

Richard: I've checked your mortality rate since you've arrived at Grey Sloan. It's a 0.9%. Derek's was 1.3%. Yours is better than his and he didn't have a brain tumor. All I see here is successes and surgical firsts. You didn't hurt these people, Amelia, but you are hurting the people who love you. If you don't let them help you get through this, you'll hurt them a lot worse.

Walter: You could've had anyone. Why Riggs?
Meredith: He pursued me.
Walter: And you resisted.
Meredith: I did. And then I gave in.
Walter: Why?
Meredith: He got me. He knew what it was like to lose the one you love most in the world. And he didn't imagine for a minute that he could replace Derek.
Walter: I'm so impressed with how far you've come with talking about your feelings.
Meredith: You taught me well.
Walter: Oh, well, then I'm so impressed with myself.

April: That boy worked two jobs to rent a hot air balloon and an ugly tux for you. Life is too short and too hard to care more about your social media status than the person who did that for you. I was proposed to with a flashmob. The guy paid dancers to put on a whole show for me. Do you know how rare that is? Guys like that do not come along all that often. So when they do, you say yes.
Jamie: You had a flashmob proposal? That's so sweet! Did you marry him?
April: That's not the point. The point is, you go to the dance with the guy who crashed the hot air balloon for you.

Amelia: I'm gonna need your help telling Owen and you are gonna have to tell Meredith, because I can't do it. She's been telling me I'm crazy for years and this kinda makes me... This kinda makes her right, and I hate that. More than anything, I hate that.

Jackson: Harper Avery was not only a prominent fixure in medicine, he was my grandfather. I take special comfort in knowing that he died... doing, doing what he loved.

Nathan: You don't get a vote on this. We're not friends, you made that very clear.
Meredith: Because I'm angry. Because you got a gift that I'll never get and you're wasting it. You are throwing it away. We had the same dream and when you didn't fight for her, you're betraying that and you're betraying me.
Nathan: I'm not betraying you. She doesn't want to be with me because she thinks I'm still in love with you. And I am, okay? Or I was. And I'm not gonna look at her and lie.
Meredith: God, you can be infuriating sometimes. Nathan, life is complicated and Megan gets that. You don't have to lie. You have to fight. Show her that you love her. Remind her of why she fell in love with you. Make her see that she is your first and only choice. Please don't blow this.

See Also[]

A complete overview of this episode's crew can be found here.


References[]

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