As morning broke in Seattle, we found Owen and Cristina having taken full advantage of their reunion which both stepped into in the previous episode. While Cristina checked the day's weather report in preparation for her flight overseas to her new hospital posting, we saw Owen attempt to entice her with another try at goodbye which seemed to involve them not being able to keep their hands off of each other. Owen and Cristina have always had a passionate connection, as evidenced by how playful and romantic they remain with each other, yet we also learned crucial information from their exchange as Owen outed Cristina's struggle over the past two weeks to leave town as she stated was her intention. In keeping with the light hearted poignancy of this scene, we saw Cristina wave off a formalized goodbye with Owen, stating she'd see him later at the hospital after a side trip to the mall for a new phone charger.
Naturally enough, given that this was a Grey's Anatomy season finale, soon after Owen started his work day at the hospital he learned there had been a sizable and deadly explosion at a Seattle mall. As he began the diligent work of prepping the hospital for an influx of trauma patients, Owen also found himself facing his potent fear of being separated from Cristina by something much more concrete and long-lasting than a geographical switch to a new gig at a European hospital. Fortunately neither Owen nor viewers were left twisting in the wind too long on this one as we saw Cristina appear unexpectedly to help Alex Karev with a cardiac patient. At least the mall subplot got Crowen fans a callback to Cristina and Owen's history as Cristina reminisced about having gotten all the furniture to furnish their beloved firehouse from that mall.
Soon thereafter a complicated day got even more complicated as it turned out a heart was available for one of Cristina and Owen's remaining pediatric cardiac patients. As Cristina bustled from one surgery to the next, we hoped there would be a moment at which she and Owen would cross paths and he would have verification of her safety plus they would have their planned for chance to reconnect before her flight. Unfortunately Owen stepped into the duty of operating on another trauma patient while Cristina also prepared to scrub in on another surgery which kept them again on divergent paths in their day.
At least in the meantime we gained insight into Cristina's two-week struggle to leave town as it turned out she felt like her life in Seattle was unfinished, personal and professional combining into something she didn't know how to leave behind, feeling as perpetually bonded as she does to Owen, her friends, and her work. Meredith Grey, who also struggled to let go of her friend, in a moment of clarity reminded Cristina that this was not about there being a finish line, that this was simply a new chapter for them all. As this episode drew to a close we saw Cristina race to find Owen who was still operating on his tenuously surviving patient. Even as we'd hoped for them to have words, hugs, and kisses for each other, we saw all of Owen and Cristina's passion poured into their tearful expressions as they stared longingly at each other through the OR's gallery glass. Here's hoping that the unfinished nature of Cristina and Owen's business together and their love for each other, which all their personal struggles together has done nothing to diminish, will lead them back to each other for a shared future.
Elsewhere in the hospital: Derek Shepherd and Meredith Grey's seeming plans to build a new life for themselves in Washington DC veered off track; Alex Karev bonded with the idea of the outward trappings of success his private practice gig might net him while also contemplating advice from Cristina about how he might miss using his other medical talents; Catherine Avery made peace with the idea that her son Jackson and April Kepner may make her a grandmother; Callie Torres and Arizona Robbins realized they both still considered the idea of having another baby; we saw the exit of two residents; Richard Webber endorsed Miranda Bailey for the empty seat on the board while we learned Cristina had left her shares in the hospital and her board seat for Alex; Richard Webber also learned their new chief of cardio might be his daughter when she announced she'd chosen to work at Grey Sloan Memorial because her birth mother was Ellis Grey.
Big thank you to "ella1967" for all her amazing reviews of Grey's Season 10 and of course she will be back to review Season 11