[Warning: The following post contains MAJOR spoilers for Grey’s Anatomy Season 21 Episode 17, “Love You Like a Love Song.”]
There weren’t wedding bells at the wedding of Jo Wilson (Camilla Luddington) and Atticus Lincoln (Chris Carmack), but there was an entirely different kind of music at play.
After Link spent the day stressing over his inability to write meaningful vows for the slapdash ceremony — while Jo tried to keep his mom’s worst blue eyeshadow and borrowed veil instincts at bay — all day, Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson) gave him a pep talk and advice to communicate in a way that felt more natural to him. For Link, that meant toting an acoustic guitar to the altar and playing a song that was made just for the occasion.
The lyrics for the song were:
Strumming this guitar may seem like I don’t know what to say,
But I swear I have the answers to the questions of the day.
Do I promise to love you always, to be faithful, and be true?
Do I promise to love you forevermore? I do. I do.
We have stood by each other through the good times and through tears,
We were meant to be together, it just took us 20 years.
And I promise to love you always, to be faithful, and be true.
Do I promise to love you forevermore?
I can’t promise you a fairy tale or a happy ever after,
But ’til the world ends from climate change, we’ll seek out joy and laughter.
When our kids are all grown up, and our days have neared their end,
When your gray, and so is mine, you’ll still be my best friend.
Do I promise to love you always, to be faithful, and be true?
Do I promise to love you forevermore? Jo, I do.
“Are you okay?” he asked after, as she wiped away tears.
“No!” she declared. “How’m I supposed to follow that?”
This grand gesture certainly raised the spirits of Jo, who was feeling wistful about the fact that, unlike Link, she didn’t have a parent there for her big day — and her officiant Levi Schmitt (Jake Borelli) had to pull double duty and walk her down the aisle instead.
The JoLink wedding joined a grand tradition of colorful nuptial ceremonies to occur throughout Greys‘ two-decade run. So how did it compare to some of the weddings of the past?
It was certainly less eventful than some of the others past. Remember what happened at Jo’s last wedding(s) to Alex Karev (Justin Chambers)? In the first, they locked themselves in a shed for hours, so for the second, they went for the ferry boat backdrop instead. We’ve also seen multiple runaways, several courthouse elopements, a few over-the-top theme weddings, and, of course, one Post-It note special.
This is also the first full-on concert experience in quite a while for the show, following the memorable musical episode in Season 7 and a few patients’ performances (R.I.P. forever, Kyle Diaz!).
Elsewhere in the episode, romance seemed to be dying: After Amelia’s (Caterina Scorsone) patient was left not only paralyzed but also no longer showing signs of cognitive response, Lucas (Niko Terho) went to Simone Griffiths (Alexis Floyd) and had an argument that resulted in him walking away and her falling into the arms of another man. Plus, after a season full of turmoil, Owen (Kevin McKidd) may have finally done enough to push Teddy (Kim Raver) away. When his childhood friend-turned-open marriage hookup Nina arrived at the hospital in dire straits, and surgery went badly for her, Teddy worked with Winston (Anthony Hill) to come up with a hail mary surgery option and, while attempting to deliver the news, she instead spotted Owen cuddled up next to her. So, yes, he did break the rules about not catching feelings.
So do you think they’re finally going to be over? Be sure to hit the comments below with your thoughts on this big wedding episode!
Grey’s Anatomy, Thursdays, 10/9c, ABC
