"True Colors" is the twenty-third and the penultimate episode of the thirteenth season of the American medical drama ''Grey's Anatomy'', and the 292nd episode overall. Written by William Harper and directed by

Kevin McKidd Kevin McKidd (born 9 August 1973) is a Scottish actor and television director best known as Dr. Owen Hunt in ''Grey's Anatomy'' and Tommy Mackenzie in Danny Boyle's '' Trainspotting'' (1996). McKidd played Colin in the 2008 film Made of Hono ...

, the episode aired on the

American Broadcasting Company The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) is an American Commercial broadcasting, commercial broadcast Television broadcaster, television and radio Radio network, network that serves as the flagship property of the Disney Entertainment division ...

(ABC) in the United States on May 11, 2017. The episode focuses on

Owen Hunt Major (Ret.) Owen Hunt, Doctor of Medicine, M.D., Fellow of the American College of Surgeons, 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) i ...

(McKidd) as he learns shocking news about the fate of his sister, Megan (

Abigail Spencer Abigail Leigh Spencer (born August 4, 1981) is an American actress. She began her career playing Rebecca Tyree on the ABC daytime television soap opera ''All My Children'' (1999–2001) before going on to star in the Lifetime crime drama serie ...

), who had been missing in action and is the fiancée of Nathan Riggs (

Martin Henderson Martin Henderson (born 8 October 1974) is a New Zealand actor. He is known for his roles on the American medical drama series '' Off the Map'' as Dr. Ben Keeton (2011), the medical drama series ''Grey's Anatomy'' as Dr. Nathan Riggs (2015–20 ...

). Meanwhile,

Alex Karev Alexander Michael "Alex" Karev (né Evans), M.D., F.A.C.S. is a fictional character on the ABC television series ''Grey's Anatomy'', portrayed by actor Justin Chambers. Introduced as a surgical intern at the fictional Seattle Grace Hospital, Ka ...

(

Justin Chambers Justin Willman Chambers (born July 11, 1970) is an American actor and former model best known for his role as Dr. Alex Karev in ''Grey's Anatomy'' (2005-20). Born in Ohio, he went to Southeastern High School, South Charleston, and later studi ...

) uncovers the identity of Jo Wilson's (

Camilla Luddington Camilla Anne Luddington (born 15 December 1983) is an English actress, best known for her role as Dr. Jo Wilson in the ABC medical drama series ''Grey's Anatomy''. She is also known for voicing Lara Croft in the ''Tomb Raider'' video games and ...

) abusive ex-husband, leading to an emotional confrontation. At Grey Sloan Memorial, the doctors treat a couple involved in a car accident, only to later realize that one of them is a rapist and the other his victim. The episode served as a key setup for the season finale as well as the eventual departure of series regular Jerrika Hinton ( Stephanie Edwards). Upon its original broadcast, "True Colors" was watched by 7.02 million viewers in the United States, ranking #2 in its time-slot, and earned a 1.8/7

Nielsen rating 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 TV ...

in the 18–49 demographic. The episode received positive reviews from television critics, with high praise directed towards the performances of McKidd and Hinton.

Plot

The episode opens with a

voice-over Voice-over (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique used in radio, television, filmmaking, theatre, and other media in which a descriptive or expository voice that is not part of the narrative (i.e., non- ...

narration from

Meredith Grey Meredith Grey M.D., F.A.C.S., (born 1977 or 1978) is a fictional and titular 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 c ...

(

Ellen Pompeo Ellen Kathleen Pompeo (; born November 10, 1969) is an American actress. One of the world's highest-paid actors since 2017, she has made multiple appearances on ''Forbes'' year-end lists. Her accolades include a Screen Actors Guild Award and a ...

) about the fleeting nature of perfect moments and the unpredictability of life. Meredith wakes up next to Nathan Riggs (

) after a date night and hurriedly asks him to leave before her three children notice him. Struggling with the idea of entering a new relationship after her husband

Derek Shepherd Derek Christopher Shepherd, often referred to as "McDreamy" for his "attractiveness", is a fictional surgeon from the ABC medical drama ''Grey's Anatomy'', portrayed by actor Patrick Dempsey. He made his first appearance in the series' pilot ep ...

's (

Patrick Dempsey Patrick Galen Dempsey (born January 13, 1966) is an American actor and racing driver best known for playing neurosurgeon Derek Shepherd in ''Grey's Anatomy'' (2005–15; 2020–21). He is also known for his leading man romantic film roles, such ...

) death, she tells Nathan she isn't ready for him to meet her kids. Meanwhile,

(

) is visited by two army soldiers who deliver shocking news about his sister Megan (

), who had been

missing in action Missing in action (MIA) is a casualty (person), casualty classification assigned to combatants, military chaplains, combat medics, and prisoner of war, prisoners of war who are reported missing during wartime or ceasefire. They may have been ...

for years. As the day progresses, Meredith reconsiders and nervously invites Nathan to meet her children after a conversation with Amelia Shepherd (

Caterina Scorsone Caterina Scorsone is a Canadian actress. She is known for her role as neurosurgeon Dr. Amelia Shepherd on the ABC medical drama ''Grey's Anatomy'' (2010–present) and its spin-offs '' Private Practice'' (2010–2013) and ''Station 19'' (2020– ...

), who encourages her to move on. Owen, however, spirals after learning that Megan has been found alive, exhibiting erratic behavior and showing signs of

PTSD Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder that develops from experiencing a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, warfare and its associated traumas, natural disaster, traffic collision, ...

. Amelia confronts him, and Owen reveals that Megan was discovered in a rebel-held neighborhood and is currently being treated at an army hospital in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. While Owen struggles to believe the news, Amelia takes matters into her own hands and contacts Teddy Altman (

Kim Raver Kimberly Jayne Raver (born March 15, 1969) is an American actress. She is known for television roles such as Dr. Teddy Altman on American Broadcasting Company, ABC's medical drama ''Grey's Anatomy'', Kim Zambrano on ''Third Watch'', and Audrey R ...

) to arrange Megan's transfer to Grey Sloan Memorial. Stephanie Edwards ( Jerrika Hinton), returning to work after mandated counseling sessions overseen by Eliza Minnick ( Marika Domińczyk), deals with her emotional turmoil while treating patients. She and Jackson Avery ( Jesse Williams) discover that one of the patients from a car accident is actually a victim of a kidnapping and rape attempt, Alison. After being informed about the lockdown, Keith holds a scalpel to Stephanie' neck, threatening her to take him to see Alison, the woman he had assaulted. However, they both end up trapped on an empty floor along with Erin, a young girl who had been wandering the hospital unattended while her frantic parents were preoccupied with her baby sister, who had nearly choked on a penny. Keith grows increasingly agitated when Stephanie tells him that the lockdown will only be lifted in the event of a major emergency, such as a fire.

(

) attends a medical conference in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, where he comes face to face with Paul Stadler (

Matthew Morrison Matthew James Morrison (born October 30, 1978) is an American actor, dancer, and singer, best known for his role as Will Schuester on the Fox television show ''Glee'' (2009–2015). He has starred in multiple Broadway and off-Broadway produ ...

), Jo Wilson’s (

) abusive, estranged husband. Alex imagines multiple scenarios of confronting Paul but ultimately chooses restraint, knowing that any rash action could land him in prison and put Jo in more danger. In a desperate attempt to trigger the fire alarm system, Keith lights a piece of cloth soaked in alcohol on fire, hoping it will set off the smoke detectors. As he holds the burning cloth toward the alarm, Stephanie notices the discarded scalpel lying next to the bottle of alcohol he had used. She quickly assesses the situation and tells Erin to turn around and cover her eyes, framing it like a game of "

hide-and-seek Hide-and-seek (sometimes known as hide-and-go-seek) is a children's game in which at least two players (usually at least three) conceal themselves in a set environment, to be found by one or more seekers. The game is played by one chosen playe ...

". Seizing the moment, Stephanie rushes forward, grabs the bottle of alcohol, and douses Keith with it. A stray ember from the cloth falls onto Keith, igniting him instantly. Stephanie tries to flee with Erin, but as she glances back, she sees Keith collapsing next to a cluster of

oxygen tank An oxygen tank is an oxygen storage vessel, which is either held under pressure in gas cylinders, referred to in the industry as high pressure oxygen cylinders, or as liquid oxygen in a cryogenic storage tank. Uses Oxygen tanks are used to stor ...

s. Realizing the imminent danger, she attempts to drag him away, but before she can reach him, the tanks explode in a fiery blast. The explosion is seen from outside the hospital by Meredith, who has just arrived, searching for Nathan, to inform him about Megan's return.

Production

"True Colors" was conceived as a vehicle for the eventual exit of series regular Jerrika Hinton in the season finale, "Ring of Fire".

Release

"True Colors" was originally broadcast on May 11, 2017 in the United States on the

(ABC), and was watched by 7.02 million viewers, ranking #2 in its time-slot, and earned a 1.8/7 Nielsen rating in the 18–49 demographic.

Reception

"True Colors" received positive reviews from television critics, with high praise directed towards the performances of

(

) and Jerrika Hinton ( Stephanie Edwards). Ashley Bissette Sumerel of ''Tell-Tale TV'' awarded the episode 4/5 stars, praising its conflict and suspense but critiquing the episode's ending and the subplot involving

(

) and Jo Wilson’s (

) abusive, estranged husband, Paul Stadler (

). She remarked, "We get a bit more focus on Alex — something that’s been strangely missing for much of the season — but it doesn’t seem to go anywhere." Gwen Ihnat from ''The A.V. Club'' also praised the episode, highlighting child actress Darby Camp’s performance and the clever use of a twist in the main patient’s storyline. Ihnat commended the direction, stating, "McKidd directed, doing a fine job with an episode that included his own character’s breakdown."

References

External links

* {{Grey's Anatomy episodes, 13 2017 American television episodes Grey's Anatomy season 13 episodes