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'Grey's Anatomy' Season 17 Episode 9: Will Owen forgive Teddy? Here's how Meredith helped her overcome PTSD

Will he be able to put the pain aside and at least be able to co-parent with her or has what Amelia explained to him about the various forms of PTSD had some impact?

Fans have been wondering what sort of headspace Teddy Altman (Kim Raver) has been in of late that has led her to some truly uncharacteristic behavior. Well, they got their answer and how on the latest episode of ‘Grey’s Anatomy’. We see Teddy lying catatonic to the outside world, but in her head, she lurches from one hallucination to the next.

Hallucinations in which Andrew De Luca (Giacomo Gianniotti) features prominently as a narrator of sorts to Teddy’s thoughts. We see that the guilt around DeLuca’s death weighs heavily on Teddy and in the hallucinations, she’s constantly trying to save him. At one point she says that if she never met him, then she couldn’t have killed him.

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Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) also features as a guide of sorts through Teddy's hallucinations. She mysteriously tells Teddy that she has to go back further. That turns out to be sound advice, because the messy relationships Teddy has found herself in, of late, are a symptom of the deeper trauma that Teddy has undergone way before being a part of Grey Sloan Memorial and even the war.

We see that things started to go awry in Teddy’s life, as it did for many, on the morning of 9/11. The love of Teddy's life Allison was trying to convince Teddy to take the day off and stay with her. Teddy, however, rushed to work and has blamed herself since then for not protecting Allison who died in the 9/11 tragedy.

We also understand from a hallucination Teddy has where she's talking to DeLuca that Allison was the one who kept Teddy emotionally and mentally afloat after she lost both her parents. She was Teddy’s anchor and post that Teddy has been adrift.

She then tells DeLuca that if she had been with Allison that day then none of the horrible things that have taken place since then would have happened. Even DeLuca may still be alive. We understand that all that has come after Allison, including the war, Owen (Kevin McKidd) and her relationships, have added trauma upon the original trauma she has of losing the love of her life.

Teddy blames it all on herself — the death of her parents, the death of Allison and DeLuca's death. It's Meredith, however, giving her some tough love in the hallucination, that literally and figuratively wakes her up. Meredith tells Teddy that none of the horrible things that happened was her fault. Where Teddy has gone wrong, however, is that she has run from pain.

She ran from the pain of her parents' death into Allison's arms, she ran from the pain of Allison's death to the war, she ran from the pain of war to Owen and from Owen to Tom and it has become a never-ending cycle. Meredith, however, says all of us do this and we run from joy too because we feel we don't deserve it. Meredith gets through to Teddy and she says "please don't die" to Meredith.

Meredith tongue firmly in cheek even in the hallucination says, "I'll do my best". Teddy then wakes up and goes to comfort her daughter who is crying which Owen is shocked to see. But while Teddy may have seen the light of day, in a conversation he has with Amelia (Caterina Scorsone), we can see that Owen still harbors deep resentment towards Teddy for all the pain she has put him through.

He calls her despicable to which Amelia responds with the harsh truth that Owen strangled Christina because of his PTSD. PTSD shows up in everyone differently.  But is Owen too hurt to understand? Will he be able to put the pain aside and at least be able to co-parent with her or has what Amelia explained to him about the various forms of PTSD had some impact? 

Fans, however, loved how Amelia, in particular, stood up for Teddy. One fan tweeted, "AMELIA STICKING UP FOR TEDDY’S MENTAL ILNESS AND MENTIONING HOW OWEN STRANGLED CRISTINA #GreysAnatomy @GreysABC."

It may have been Teddy's episode but for some, it was all about getting to see DeLuca again. One fan clearly having DeLuca withdrawal symptoms said, "The only brightside to this hour long Teddy/Owen melodrama is seeing DeLuca on my TV screen again! #greysanatomy."

For others, it was simply good to see Meredith not in a hospital bed or on the beach but in the snow. One fan tweeted, "I KNOW IT WAS TEDDYS EP BUT JUST ONE MOMENT FOR MEREDITH IN THE SNOW OMG #greys #GreysAnatomy."

To find out more about Teddy's healing process and if Owen is a part of that journey, you can catch new episodes of 'Grey's Anatomy' on Thursdays at 9/8c on ABC.