‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Brings Ndugu & Millin to a Breaking Point (Spoilers)

Welp. Thanks to a future episode description, we knew things were going to get tough for Grey’s Anatomy‘s newest fan-favorite ‘ship, Winston Ndugu (Anthony Hill) and Jules Millin (Adelaide Kane), and soon. But what we didn’t know was how or why. Thanks to Thursday’s (October 22) new episode, though, the writing is now on the wall. Warning: The following post contains spoilers for Grey’s Anatomy Season 23 Episode 2, “Slippin’ and Slidin’.”

The episode found Ndugu under pressure from Ben Warren (Jason George), who repeatedly reminded Ndugu that he knew something was going on between himself and Jules… to the point that he even accused the newly-minted residency boss of showing favor to Jules — like that’s never happened in this hospital before, sigh. After Jules came up with a procedure idea on her own, Ndugu chose to have her carry it out instead of Wes Bryant (Trevor Jackson), naturally, but with Ben’s incessant tut-tutting in his head, Ndugu snapped at her in the OR for making a mistake.

After that, she called him out for his heavy hand, and he told her about Ben’s accusation. Millin wasn’t so much upset that Ben (1) knew about their relationship and (2) made such a conjecture; rather, she was more miffed that it might be true. Ultimately, Ndugu admitted that it was, saying, “Look, you’re great at your job, but I also want to help you in your career probably more than any other resident.” However, Millin didn’t want preferential treatment, whether intentional or not, and concluded, “This was never going to work, was it?” So is that it for these two, or just another chapter in the will-they-or-won’t-they saga they’ve had going on these last few seasons? We shall see.

Elsewhere in the episode, Benson “Blue” Kwan (Harry Shum Jr.) had some thinking to do about his future, and he got some seemingly sage advice from the new chief, Seth Norton (James Wolk), that the easy road was the best one — he suggested dermatology, and, as any Grey’s fan will remember, that floor is pretty cushy. However, after watching Simone Griffith (Alexis Floyd) step up and help Bailey and Atticus “Link” Lincoln (Chris Carmack) repair a man whose fall caused his femur to enter his rectum, well, he decided surgery was still his top choice. Upon hearing this news, Seth hired Blue back right away … but only because Miranda had already beaten him to the punch to convince him. With that, the kid is back … but how will Richard Webber (James Pickens Jr.) feel about it?

Disney / Ser Baffo

Speaking of Richard, he developed another, perhaps bigger qualm with Seth after he helped Seth convince Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) to make herself available to the VIP suite by promising she could bring some of her underprivileged patients into the service, including her newest one, Charlie (Martin Martinez). Though Meredith was permitted to operate on Charlie pro bono, her intern, Dani Spencer (Jade Pettyjohn), was wildly distracted by the real VIP of the floor, the wife of a CEO who’d paid through the nose for her procedure.

Things got so bad that Dani nearly killed Charlie by ordering double the dose of potassium for him, and Seth’s only response was, essentially, to snap to with her priority patient anyway. Richard, who has been defending Seth and the concept of the whole luxury lounge, looked deeply dismayed by Seth’s attitude. Can this situation really last?

The episode also saw Simone seemingly come to a decision about her pregnancy. After Blue mentioned her pregnancy a little too loudly in a public space, Wes overheard and became cold and distant to her, especially after finding out the baby might not even be his. After a few hours, though, he had a change of heart and came through with a much sunnier statement to Simone. “I know this is a lot right now, but I care about you. I’m not walking away,” he said.

Though Simone seemed wistful at the sight of a happy mother with her baby, and she knew this could be her only chance at carrying one of her own, she appeared to choose not to continue with the pregnancy, explaining, “Kids deserve to be wanted. And right now, more than anything, I want to be a surgeon, which might mean that I never carry a baby. But there are other ways to have a family, and, when the time is right, I’ll figure it out.”

Meanwhile, Jo Wilson (Camilla Luddington) struggled to make her kids’ Halloween costumes, and, even after Amelia Shepherd (Caterina Scorsone) and Toni Wright (Jen Landon) showed up to lend a hand, couldn’t get the job done and burned some macaroni and cheese. Jo’s feelings of failure were strong, but they were also ones that Amelia, of all people, could genuinely relate to. In the end, she cheered up and decided she could still be a good mom and hire a seamstress to make that raccoon suit. The encounter also brought Amelia and Toni closer than ever, and the latter got the chance to bond with Scout, with great success. These two are digging in for the long haul now, clearly.

Last, but not least, another relationship that self-corrected onto the right track in this week’s events was that of Dani and Lucas Adams (Niko Terho). She spent most of the day brushing him off, and when he finally confronted her over it, she, a few beers deep, revealed she’d developed feelings for him because he made her like him when all he wanted was a casual fling. Not so, he insisted, though, and they left Joe’s Bar with a restaurant date on the rise. Absent a big love triangle and baby mama scandal with Simone, this has promise, too.

Grey’s Anatomy, Thursdays, 10/9c, ABC