In case you somehow forgot during these dark, Grey’s Anatomy-less weeks, when the series wrapped for the winter break, we were left with the worst cliffhanger since Kate Beckett’s apartment blew up in season 2 of Castle. Jo’s abusive husband, Dr. Paul Stadler, interrupted her mad dash out of an elevator to save Alex’s tiny patient, all while the hospital was in an involuntary lockdown due to hackers controlling the cardiac monitors, the blood banks and more.
It seemed like too good of a coincidence for Stadler to show up while all hell was breaking loose, and I came to suspect that perhaps he was behind the hacking in an effort to come in and find Jo while her friends and colleagues were dealing with the chaos around them. After this week’s spring premiere, titled “1-800-799-7233,” I’m not quite as sure as I was, but I still feel like he could be behind it.
He easily integrated himself into the chaos (the perfect cover?), taking opportunities to impress the crew at Grey Sloane and trying to convince Meredith that Jo was the problem. All in all, the timing could be a massive coincidence, but… does Shonda ever really deal in coincidence? He may truly just be an opportunist; there were some potential indications in the newest ep that Stadler might not be behind it at all, but there are also three new compelling pieces of evidence that Stadler could be the one behind the hack.
1) The same thing happened at another hospital while he was there
While Dr. Webber was explaining the situation, Stadler told him, “I was at Alexandria when they got hacked. It was a nightmare.”
Soon after, he asked to lend an extra hand.
“I know how bad this can be, so if I can lend an extra hand I’d be happy to.” Hmm, is that because you did it?
2) He sure was in a hurry to bounce after he signed the papers
When all seemed said and done between Stadler and Jo, he sure was in a rush to leave the building.
He told his fiancé when she asked what had happened, “Let’s just get the hell out of here.”
Was it because he got what he came for and wasn’t interested in continuing his charade of the jilted husband? Or could it be that he needed to get as far away as he could before they uncovered his involvement?
3) The hacker got in using the WiFi
While Bailey was interrogating the FBI about their progress, she asked if they had searched for unwanted guest WiFi traffic, and the agent told her that that’s how they found the hacker’s IP address. I don’t know much about this, so I could be way off base, but do you not need to be in the immediate area to access the WiFi? So the hacker must be very near, if not in, the hospital.
Well, there you have it. I’m still waiting on that confession, Dr. Stadler, but since next week’s preview suggests we’re leaving the hacking plotline in the dust, we may never know the truth. Therefore,
