Dr. Bailey's Monologue About Miscarriage on Grey's Anatomy Has People Talking
Grey’s Anatomy returned last night (January 23) after a brief hiatus—and it was an incredibly emotional episode.
The action picked up after the midseason cliffhanger that saw a car crashing into Joe’s Bar, the regular hangout for the doctors at Grey-Sloan. While we didn’t really get any new information about Alex Karev and how the show will handle Justin Chambers’s permanent departure, fans did get some very emotional scenes between the three remaining OG doctors: Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson), Richard Webber (James Pickens Jr.), and Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo).
In the midseason finale, we learned that Bailey suffered a miscarriage. When we last saw her, she was definitely trying to bottle up her emotions and carry on with her job. In the face of some of her interns hurt in the Joe’s Bar accident, she continued to do just that—and saved lives in the process. But when all was said and done, Bailey needed a release and broke down in a powerful conversation about her loss with Dr. Webber.
“Everyone I touched today, everyone I held in my hands or gave to another surgeon to put back together again — fine,” Bailey said. “But I made that fine. I made that work. This…this…This, I…I am not fine.”
“She [her baby] isn’t fine. And I can’t even hold her in my hands. Or put her in someone else’s hands who can put her back together again,” Bailey cried. “She just was! And now she isn’t. And I can’t do anything but just stand here—stand here and lose her.” Bailey collapses into Webber’s arms and sobs—as did I. Later, he brings Meredith in to comfort her friend with a box of tissues and a box of donuts. Meredith holds Bailey’s hand and says, “I had a miscarriage once. I never felt so lonely.” (Longtime fans will remember Meredith suffered a miscarriage back in season six, when a shooter went on a rampage in the hospital, injuring Derek and leaving Meredith and Cristina to operate on him at gunpoint.)
These are the emotional moments that Grey’s Anatomy has done so well since it premiered in 2005. People on Twitter had strong reactions to Bailey’s monologue:
We’ll surely see more of how Dr. Bailey copes with this devastating loss in future episodes. Prep your tear ducts accordingly.