A few weeks ago, the world noticed Grey’s Anatomy heroine Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) didn’t exactly treat newbie Grey Sloan hunk Atticus Lincoln (Chris Carmack) very nicely. While Meredith didn’t owe Link her romantic interest at all, she also didn’t have to stand him up on Valentine’s Day while making out with Andrew DeLuca (Giacomo Gianniotti) on a roof. By the close of “Girlfriend in a Coma,” we predicted Link would soon find someone else to romance around the halls of his impossibly sexy hospital.
Well, amid all the destruction and chaos of Thursday night’s “I Want A New Drug,” Grey’s Anatomy hinted that time of romantic rebirth is upon us. It sure seemed like some chemistry was brewing between the orthopedic surgeon and none other than Amelia Shepherd (Caterina Scorsone), current partner to Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd). Before you shut down this possible new pairing, let’s look at the evidence.
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“A New Drug,” is a generally upsetting episode. The fatal ramifications of the opioid crisis hang over the entire hour and nearly claim the life of Betty-Britney (Peyton Kennedy). However, one of the kindest and most optimistic moments of the installment arrives when Amelia attempts to process Betty-Britney’s health crisis as Link takes a moment to decompress over the horde of opioid-related catastrophes flowing into the hospital. In one of Link’s most revealing moments since joining Grey’s, he vents over his career frustrations. The surgeon explains that all of his hard work feels “futile” as people outside are killing themselves or others so much faster than doctors could ever fix them.
“What’s the point?” he sighs.
That question leads to an instant moment of connection. Rather than give a rousing speech on the importance of medicine, Amelia agrees with Link. “What’s your secret fantasy escape hatch?” she asks as a genuine distraction. This is how we learn Link once found a blues bar in Barbados run by a bunch of American expats, who were also likely fed up with the trials and tribulations of their real lives. “Waves, rum, sand, quiet,” Link recalls, getting awfully far into Amelia’s personal space as rousing instrumental music starts to play. When Link asks what Amelia's ideal Plan B is, she responds, “Right now, that sounds pretty great.” Then they share some intense lingering eye contact.
Immediately, it becomes pretty easy to see these two leaving everything awful behind for a beachy paradise. Especially if you remember Link asked Amelia out on a date all the way back in the beginning of season 15 with “Gut Feeling.”
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In true Grey’s fashion, Link then proves to be an even better romantic option when tragedy strikes. The pair’s longing looks are cut short when blood starts pouring out of a closet; Betty-Britney’s boyfriend Linus (Joshua Bassett) falls out of a closet, dead. When Amelia understandably spirals over the death of a young person she knew, Link tries to comfort her as best he can without crossing any boundaries. For a show like Grey’s Anatomy, that kind of endearing reaction usually suggests this is only the beginning of a relationship.
But, of course, there’s the issue of Owen, Amelia’s long-term partner who just chose her over the mother of his unborn child, Teddy Altman (Kim Raver). Hypothetically, Owen’s decision should cement Owen and Amelia as a couple. However, last week’s “I Walk The Line” proved there are cracks in the relationship. As TV Guide pointed out, the episode confirmed the pair have distinctly different outlooks on their family. For Owen, baby Leo, son of Betty-Britney, is his major concern. Amelia, who sees a lot of herself in fellow addict Betty-Britney, sees Leo and his mom Betty-Britney as valuable family members. Yet, Owen dismisses that idea during “Line's” most stressful time, yelling, “She's never been much of mother, I think we both know that.” It’s such a harsh rejection that Amelia can do nothing but storm away.
After a rough encounter like that — which is sure to only get rougher now that Betty-Britney is back, alive, and awake, and her parents are more invested than ever — a nice handsome doctor who loves Caribbean blues bars must look pretty appealing.