One Flight Down (Grey's Anatomy)
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"One Flight Down" is the twentieth episode of the eleventh season of the American television
medical drama A medical drama is a television show or film in which events center upon a hospital, an ambulance staff, or any medical environment. Most recent medical drama (film and television), dramatic programming go beyond the events pertaining to the chara ...
'' Grey's Anatomy'', and is the 240th episode overall. It aired on April 16, 2015 on
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
in the United States. The episode was written Austin Guzman and directed by
David Greenspan (filmmaker) David Greenspan (born 1956) is an American actor and playwright. He is the recipient of six Obies, including an award in 2010 for Sustained Achievement. Life Greenspan was born in 1956 in Los Angeles, California. He holds a B.A. in Drama f ...
. The episode features a plane crash in Seattle bringing patients to Grey Sloan Memorial and old memories of the season 8's tragic plane crash that claimed the lives of Mark Sloan ( Eric Dane) and Lexie Grey (
Chyler Leigh Chyler Leigh West (pronounced ; '' née'' Potts), known professionally as Chyler Leigh, is an American actress, singer and model. She is known for portraying Janey Briggs in the comedy film ''Not Another Teen Movie'' (2001), Lexie Grey in the ...
) back to Meredith Grey, Arizona Robbins, Derek Shepherd and Cristina Yang.


Plot

A plane crash in downtown Seattle brings a crop of new patients to Grey Sloan Memorial and old memories back to Meredith, Arizona, and Owen. Meredith tries to make it through the day without freaking out about not knowing where Derek is; Bailey gives her a 5:00 time frame for freaking out. No freaking out until 5:00 pm. Alex sticks close to Arizona to make sure that she's okay, but she finds him more annoying than helpful. Alex tells Arizona that it was he who cut off her leg, not Callie. When asked, Callie tells Arizona that she was the one to make the call anyway, and she wanted her to have Alex and just be mad at her alone. Owen and Amelia's separation becomes exacerbated when he's reminded of how he “failed his men” when he hired the service of the plane that went down with his doctors on it. Stephanie, who's obsessed with finding love, is determined to make her patient remember the pilot with whom she fell in love. The clock finally strikes 5:00 pm, but when Meredith goes to the phone to call Derek, she sees lights from a cop car pulling in her driveway.


Reception


Broadcast

The episode was initially aired on April 16, 2015 and was viewed by 7.60 million viewers on its initial airing marking an increase from the previous episode "Crazy Love" which was watched by 7.42 million viewers. It garnered a 2.1/7
Nielsen ratings Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...
an increase from the previous installment.


Reviews

The episode received mostly positive reviews from critics. The reactions of Owen, Meredith and Arizona to the plane crash were praised but critics disliked the developments in the relationship of
Owen Hunt Major (Ret.) Owen Hunt, M.D., F.A.C.S. is a fictional character from the medical drama television series ''Grey's Anatomy'', which airs on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the United States. The character was created by series' produc ...
and
Amelia Shepherd Amelia Frances Shepherd, Doctor of Medicine, M.D., Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, F.A.C.S. is a fictional character on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC American television ''Grey's Anatomy (TV series), Grey's Anatomy ''medical d ...
. ''TvEquals'' wrote, "Overall, “One Flight Down” was a solid episode – not my favorite, but pretty entertaining. Owen and Meredith dealing with their respective guilt and PTSD, along with Maggie learning about the crash and Lexie, were the strongest parts of the episode." also praising Kevin McKidd, "Owen opening up about his guilt about being responsible for signing off on the plane that crashed was my favorite aspect of revisiting the fatal events from a few seasons ago. Kevin McKidd was so great in that scene." '' Entertainment Weekly'' praised Owen's character saying, "Owen’s not—his guilt is irrational, but it’s real. And to see that, something that so many people struggle with in real life, on TV is both comforting and powerful." Criticizing the development of Owen-Amelia relationship the site wrote, "Owen and Amelia’s relationship is far from easy and slowly descending into farce. It almost seems too complicated to keep going and this is Owen’s modus operendi in cutting it dead. This is a very confused coupling and in danger of losing fans even before it’s really got started. " Also criticizing their relationship Ashley Bissette of ''Tv Fanatic'' wrote, "Amelia and Owen are making me want to bang my head against a wall. I initially loved the idea of these two being together, but now they are just infuriating." '' Zap2it'' noted Patrick Dempsey's absence, "Just as fans were used to having him back after his sojourn to D.C. and declaring that he loves Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) and his family more than changing the world, Derek Shepherd has gone missing." The episode also focused on
Kelly McCreary Kelly J. McCreary (born September 29, 1981) is an American actress, best known for her role on the ABC drama series ''Grey's Anatomy'' as Dr. Maggie Pierce, the half-sister of series protagonist Meredith Grey. She joined the series as a guest at ...
's character learning about Lexie Grey (Meredith's sister)) and the story-arc was praised, ''Tv Equals'' wrote, "I had completely forgotten that during the midst of all of this sisterly bonding, Maggie knew nothing about Lexie. Watching Meredith and Maggie learn more about each other is absolutely one of my favorite things about this season."


References


External links

* {{Grey's Anatomy episodes, 11 Grey's Anatomy (season 11) episodes 2015 American television episodes