'Grey’s Anatomy' Character Scorecard: “Puzzle with a Missing Piece”

Sara Chaffee ’16 / Emertainment Monthly Staff Writer

Grey’s Anatomy’s second episode of the season revolved around new character Maggie Pierce (Kelly McCreary), who was introduced in the last season finale as Meredith Grey’s (Ellen Pompeo) half-sister. With a format largely similar to last season’s standout episode “Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word,” which revolved around Callie’s (Sara Ramirez) malpractice lawsuit, the episode stood out creatively from the standard sequence of most episodes.
While “Puzzle with a Missing Piece” was refreshing with its format choice, the main issue with it was that the audience simply doesn’t care about Maggie yet. Though the storytelling was great overall, it felt as if the writer was forcing the viewer to care about her. With discussions of her past and overhearing heartwarming conversations with her parents, the audience is bombarded with all of the positive aspects of the new cardiothoracic surgeon. The point of the episode was to make the audience care about this new character; the only problem is that this intention shouldn’t be so blatant. Had this episode occurred later in the season, it could have been much more successful.
The other issue with the episode is that because it is centered on Maggie, the other characters were largely ignored. Grey’s Anatomy’s 13 series regulars already receive limited screen time. By focusing the episode on one character, most others appeared in only one scene. After viewers have waited four months for their favorite characters to return, they should be rewarded with seeing them in greater depth for the first several episodes. Again, had this episode aired later in the season, it would have worked better and felt less foreign to the audience.

Because of the limited screen time, this week’s Character Scorecard is slightly reduced:
Maggie
-5 for thinking she’s special for liking puzzles
-15 for hogging the entire episode
Jo
-10 for loudly exclaiming that a patient was at risk for sudden cardiac death in front of said patient
Meredith
+10 for exercising superb resting bitch-face
Amelia
+5 for the steady stream of jokes after a woman had a stroke during sex. Personal favorite: “That’s what you call one mind-blowing orgasm.”
Callie
+10 for having an extremely healthy exchange with her wife (a true rarity) and telling her to take the fellowship because it makes her happy
Overall Episode Grade: B
Overall Character Drama Grade: C-