Grey's Midseason Report Card: 5 Things That Are Working — and 1 That's Not

With Grey’s Anatomy now on its holiday hiatus, TVLine is seizing the opportunity to check the vitals of the long-running ABC drama and evaluate what about Season 15 is working… and what isn’t. The good news: We’ve put more in the first column than the second. The bad: What’s in that second column is a real bummer. Read on, and we’ll go over the chart…

WHAT’S WORKING

Meredith and DeLuca’s Flirtation: Thanks to the master class in chemistry that Ellen Pompeo and Giacomo Gianniotti have been teaching since their characters shared an impromptu kiss in Season 14’s finale, we’ve been ’shipping the potential couple hard. By now, it’s all we can do not to roll our eyes along with DeLuca anytime Mer gives the time of day to romantic rival Link (on whom the jury remains out).

Levi and Nico’s Romance: The series’ first gay male relationship has been an out-of-the-gate smash, thanks in small part to Alex Landi’s eye-popping abs and in large part to the adorkable sincerity that Jake Borelli has brought to Schmitt’s sexual awakening. And did we mention they’re hilarious? Whether Nico was refusing to be Glasses’ “gay Sherpa” or Levi was questioning whether Grey Sloan was really a teaching hospital, the couple prescribed a healthy dose of what is said to be the best medicine.

Richard’s Downward Spiral: Taking the slow-but-steadily-worsening approach to Webber’s grief over the loss of his friend and AA sponsor Ollie has paid off beautifully, both for the show and James Pickens Jr. In fact, “Anybody Have a Map?” — written by showrunner Krista Vernoff — arguably provided the actor with one the most powerful and moving showcases he’s gotten to play in ages.

Omelia: The Sequel: We’re not sure the former marrieds’ suddenly-full house even needed the monkey wrench of Teddy’s pregnancy thrown into it. We were already happily going along for the bumpy ride as Owen and Amelia worked out the kinks of their new mom-and-pop operation, and Caterina Scorsone turned her once-polarizing character into the divine romcom heroine we always knew that she could be.

Koracick 2.0: When Greg Germann’s womanizing Tom was introduced in Season 14, we wrote him off as a walking HR violation. But as we’ve gotten to know him — and learned not only about the soul-crushing heartaches he’s withstood but his deep affection for Catherine — we’ve realized to our surprise that we’ve begun seeing him less as someone to snicker at and more someone to root for. Miraculous.

WHAT’S NOT WORKING

Jackson and Maggie as a Couple: We were willing to give this pairing a chance. But thus far, the match-up has done only two things: 1. It’s turned Jackson into the kind of grade-A jerk who, despite knowing how it feels to be abandoned by one’s significant other, split on his girlfriend to go on his “God quest,” then blamed her for his need to talk to other women (including his ex April — which only served to make viewers ask again, “Why isn’t Sarah Drew still on?”). And 2. it’s made a Debbie Downer of Maggie, who’d previously been brilliant, fun and funny — the epitome of quirky effervescence.

What do you think, Grey’s fans? What’s been working for you and what hasn’t? Weigh in in the comments.