ABC
Another season, another lie — the season premiere of Grey’s Anatomy was once again NOT an actual crossover with Station 19, they just wanted the ratings buy-in for the floundering spin-off. (Some things never change.) Yes there was a plastics patient who got brought in from Station 19 but was featured so minimally that it doesn’t actually count. There were no Grey’s characters on 19 and vice versa. Always great to know we’re getting off to a fresh seasonal start with the same old ‘crossover event’ lies we’ve been peddled since the spin-off started.
But on the upside, they fully acknowledge prior to the start of the season (in text voiced over by Meredith) that this season of Grey’s Anatomy takes place in a post-COVID world, which represents the hopes and dreams of reality as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage the medical community and the rest of the world. It’s very touching and very necessary. And while it is not something we can ever forget, Grey’s has done a bang up job of jumping right back into the good old days.
Dream-Ellis is back at the top of the episode for less than 30 seconds, once again reminding Meredith that she’s failing to be brilliant, but it was still good to see Ellis Grey being Ellis Grey. The other shocker-return was such an obscure blast from the past that for several whole minutes there was a Googling of ‘who is Nick on Grey’s Anatomy?’ (Does anybody remember that kidney patient who was also a doctor that Meredith saved back in Season 15? Played by Scott Speedman? I guess you might remember him more if you cared about Scott Speedman?) At any rate — HE’s back also.
Because Meredith is in Minnesota. Why can’t hospitals who want to poach the title characters ever be nearer to Grey-Sloan? He’s actually not even at the hospital, she accidentally sees him (so unrecognizable/unrememberable was he that the way she follows seeing him with ‘I’m not a neurosurgeon’ makes one think she was just seeing a dreamy guy and missing Derek.) At any rate, late on in his re-introduction he starts dropping reminders for those of us who have forgotten who he was — and it’s only then that we learn about Meredith and Hayes’ breakup.
WHAT!? Meredith and Hayes broke up!? But we didn’t even get to see them dating!!! So apparently there’s a ten month gap between when 17 closed and 18 picks up (which you only know if you slogged through the Station 19 opener because they play with the ’10 months ago’ and ‘now’ very well as far as time-hops go.) And in that gap, Mer & McWidow started dating … right up until Hayes’ younger son started having panic attacks when he learned his dad was dating and that apparently ended that. Maybe in upcoming episodes we’ll get more of that.
The bigger takeaway this opener was Bailey and Richard trying to fill all the holes that were left behind by the mass-exodus at the end of Season 17. Jo (who is still around but no longer whatever she was because (A) she’s on maternity leave and (B) is now in OBGYN), Koracick, and Avery all need replacing. The interviews are pretty hilarious. But they do settle on a really impressive candidate to replace Avery, who gets insta-privileges because the emergent patient (from the non-crossover event?) needs his face reconstructed and she just happens to be there. Hope she sticks around; Grey-Sloan could use more powerful women on the show.
The rest of the usual drama is on par (sorry guys, no Nathan Riggs returning in the rig … apparently he and Meghan Hunt called it quits — according to Meghan they were just another pandemic casualty. Sound familiar? *coughcough* April and Matthew?) Because you know, when you sneak off and try to get married, no good thing happens. (Remember when George snuck off and married Callie?) Oh yeah, Teddy and Owen tried to sneak off and get married in the park. With Owen’s mom, the kids, and his sister and her kid and a priest.
And then in true Grey’s fashion, the ‘Undies Bicycle Race’ literally crashed right through the middle of their wedding before they could say ‘I do’, and unfortunately the priest didn’t make it. Teddy & Owen do ultimately tie the know, officiated by Meghan, in the bar at the end of the episode. Third time’s a charm? Cristina, Amelia, Teddy? Hopefully it’ll work out for him this time. Especially since it seems like it was her that he should have been with all along.
Speaking of Amelia, she’s still icing Link out and that’s okay for her but he’s not dealing with it. He can’t see it her way and she can’t see it his. And they have a child together; things do not look good for them. (Though it was hilarious how they set up that opening scene with the two of them in an office …) They still work great together, she still loves him, he still loves her, but he wants marriage and she does not. Strongly reminiscent of the uncompromising and irreconcilable differences between Cristina and Owen.
ABC
Mer spends most of the entire episode away in Minnesota being wooed by Dr. SomeSuchOrOther, played by Peter Gallagher, under the initial guise that they’re dedicating a research library to her mother only to learn that he basically wants to pull a Burke and give her this zillion dollar state-of-the-futuristic-art research-med lab … to cure his Parkinsons. So there’s that Sword of Damocles hanging over her head. And then she meets Scott Speedman’s doctor in the bar. (After losing DeLuca, who was never endgame, re-marrying McDreamy on COVID-beach, and bolting at the first sign of struggles with McWidow.)
Jo is still struggling to adjust to life with Luna. She doesn’t want the baby to ever feel abandoned … so she can’t even leave the car to take her to daycare so she can start back to work. Fun and games here and there with this and that. The usual commentary on the characters’ relationships as told through the lines of the patients. Oh and Maggie and Winston have sex injuries from their honeymoon but at least they didn’t get sand in their bootock, as Bailey did when she went on hers.
All in all a good reboot, right back to where we were before the year of chaos and crazy. Let’s all sit back and watch the drama unfold as we wait around for Addison to show up in two episodes’ time!
What did you think of the season premiere? Start a conversation in the comments section below.
Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursdays at 9:00 PM on ABC.
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