Warning! SPOILERS about Grey’s Anatomy season 21, episode 1 ahead.
Grey’s Anatomy season 21 returned with a bang, tying up season 20’s finale’s loose ends and introducing new challenges for Grey Sloan Memorial’s doctors. Catherine and Meredith’s fight took center stage in Grey’s Anatomy season 21’s premiere, involving Amelia and Jackson even more in their attempts to make the two foes cooperate instead of letting the two enumerate the many ways in which they were different. Another major development was Bailey being fired for standing up for the interns, something that was revealed in Grey’s Anatomy season 20’s finale but whose consequences weren’t shown until Miranda dreamed of slapping Catherine.
Members of three major couples finally admitted their feelings for one another in Grey’s Anatomy season 21’s premiere, whether by finally confronting them or making a choice that will also impact their career. The return of an original Grey’s Anatomy character 17 years after their last appearance perfectly blended with another key character’s personal journey to decide their next steps professionally. Finally, a major storyline in Grey’s Anatomy season 20 when Richard Webber’s surgical skills seemingly killed a patient actually backtracked with an impressive save from Richard in season 21’s premiere, showing how much knowledge he has still to share.
9 Miranda Slapping Catherine Never Happened But Her Attitude Definitely Changes
Richard Knew Putting Sydney In Charge Of The Interns Would Motivate Miranda
A massive moment in Grey’s Anatomy season 21’s trailer saw Miranda Bailey not only standing up for the interns but also herself, slapping Catherine after her affront of firing her. However, Grey’s Anatomy season 21, episode 1 began by showing how Miranda slapping Catherine was all part of the general surgeon’s recurrent dream/nightmare she had been having since being fired from Grey Sloan Memorial. Despite happening only in her head, Miranda’s refusal to accept passively Catherine’s decision still shaped her approach going forward.
Indeed, while Bailey seemed resigned to accepting Catherine’s decision and happily focusing only on the Elena Bailey clinic for reproductive health, she took any chance she got to return to Grey Sloan Memorial. Learning that her rival Sydney Heron had taken her place as residency program director infuriated her, especially as it was Richard who chose Sydney to replace her. However, Richard proved farsighted, as his choice annoyed Miranda into taking a stand, as by the end of Grey’s Anatomy season 21’s premiere Bailey had already decided she would have fought to get her rightful place back at Grey Sloan.
8 Jules & Mika’s Kiss Finally Resolves Their Grey’s Anatomy Season 20’s Moment
Their Rational Decision Couldn’t Negate Their Chemistry
After the tense medical case almost led Mika and Jules to kiss as they comforted each other in Grey’s Anatomy season 20’s finale, the awkwardness between them was palpable in season 21’s premiere. Mika eventually decided to discuss the almost-kiss head-on, squashing Grey’s Anatomy season 21’s best relationship before it started, but Jules took her by surprise and kissed her after seemingly agreeing with Mika’s rational assessment of what brought them to have a moment.
The chemistry between them was already palpable when Jules listened to Mika and taught her a trick to relieve stress after Mika confessed that Taryn betrayed her by keeping her off a major case, but it became hard to ignore as the two studied together. Mika’s choice to tone their connection down was the sensible thing to do, but Jules kissing her essentially forced Mika to face the truth that it wasn’t just losing the patient that brought them together, essentially proving Mika’s every rationalization wrong, as there was something between them.
7 Meredith Keeping Catherine’s Secret Pushes Catherine To Accept Her Demands
Catherine Didn’t Need To Blackmail Meredith After Doing What She Asked
Catherine’s cancer’s progression had already been revealed in Grey’s Anatomy season 19 when she refused any treatment Tom Koracick proposed and to share the news with Jackson and Richard. However, Catherine’s collapse in Grey’s Anatomy season 21’s premiere acknowledged how fast it was growing, with Meredith pushing for an invasive treatment to try and help Catherine, even as it went against her wishes. While Catherine’s refusal was inflexible, her collapse in front of Meredith got the general surgeon the ammunition she needed to obtain what she wanted from the Catherine Fox Foundation.
Not telling Richard and Jackson about Catherine’s worsening condition went against Meredith’s every instinct, because of the lies and because she cared about them too and considered them family. Still, with Catherine unable to be convinced to tell them or to do the procedure, Meredith could at least bargain Catherine’s secret in exchange for freedom from the Fox Foundation regarding the Alzheimer’s study and Catherine’s word that Amelia, Teddy and Owen would have gotten their jobs back. Such a favorable outcome would puzzle Jackson, but it also helped Meredith keep Catherine’s secret, being far from both Richard and Jackson.
6 Volunteering At The Clinic Isn’t What Ben Expected When He Left SFD
Ben Left SFD To Complete His Surgical Residency
Station 19 ending with season 7 and Ben’s ending storyline guaranteed his return to medicine but not the one to the medical drama, which was only confirmed some time after Station 19’s end and before the beginning of Grey’s Anatomy season 21. However, Ben’s return to Grey’s Anatomy proved anticlimactic in season 21’s premiere, as he hadn’t yet returned to be a surgical resident and was only volunteering at the Elena Bailey clinic, far from the ORs he felt drawn to throughout Station 19 season 7.
Miranda pushing Ben to apply to Grey Sloan Memorial as a resident nudged him in the right direction for the path Ben had told Andy he needed to follow in Station 19’s series finale. Indeed, if Station 19 came to be from Ben’s need to feel more useful by helping patients on location, Ben’s return to medicine was motivated by his tendency to focus more on the medical aspects, evident throughout Station 19 season 7, making Ben’s return to Grey’s Anatomy season 21 natural.
5 Jackson’s Return Shows He Still Wants To Work With Meredith Despite The Fight
Jackson Thought About The Research While Catherine & Meredith Fought
While Jackson confronted first his mother about all the doctors she fired from Grey Sloan Memorial, he went straight to Meredith after. Meredith’s welcome showed how much she truly believed that she wasn’t angry at him but only at Catherine’s attempts to control who led her Alzheimer’s research, but Meredith still couldn’t see Jackson’s perspective, wanting to sever her connection to Catherine Fox just as much as Catherine wanted to sever her connection to Meredith.
Despite being behind some of the Cease and Desists that kept scaring away Amelia and Meredith’s potential donors, Jackson made it clear he wanted to continue funding Meredith’s study. The fight being eventually resolved by Meredith discovering Catherine’s secret made Meredith’s research still hers, although temporarily out of the Fox Foundation’s hands. However, Jackson’s willingness to pursue diplomatic ways to solve the fight hints that he might soon discover the truth behind Catherine and Meredith’s pact, hopefully bringing Meredith’s research back to Grey Sloan where it belongs.
4 Blue’s Secret Is Finally Revealed As Molly Discovers Who He Was To Her
Molly Realizing She Was Right & Knew Blue Opens Up Old Scars
Among the various shocking revelations of Grey’s Anatomy season 20’s finale, Blue meeting his ex-fiancée who didn’t remember him was among the most heartbreaking. Grey’s Anatomy had already revealed how Blue’s seemingly cold approach stemmed from his sad history, as he not only lost his mother to cancer but also bankrupted himself trying to pay for her medical bills. However, Molly’s arrival in the ER in season 20, episode 10 was a cruel twist of fate that eventually led him to explain to Lucas why he needed him to take her as a patient.
Molly already had doubts about Blue in season 20’s finale, when he helped her and she thought she had known him from before. However, Molly’s willingness to track him down in Grey’s Anatomy season 21’s premiere and confront him about their shared past made it impossible for Blue to ignore her, especially considering how she had proof of their connection. Grey’s Anatomy season 21 thus firmly set up their connection, which could just help Molly rediscover herself, but could also potentially lead Blue to connect with someone else profoundly, something he tried to avoid ever since his Grey Sloan arrival.
3 Catherine’s Collapse Hints At Difficult Times Ahead For Her, Jackson & Richard
Catherine Had Already Decided Not To Pursue Invasive Treatments In Season 19
Meredith being the one to see Catherine collapse was simultaneously convenient and the worst possible thing to happen to Catherine. Indeed, Catherine and Meredith were in a fight, and seeing her like that gave Meredith an advantage, but the moment was also convenient because it wasn’t Jackson or Richard who found her, and Catherine hadn’t shared the truth of her cancer progressing with either of them. During her chemotherapy treatments, Catherine had already told Richard she would not go through those again, but at the time it was a remote problem.
Indeed, only in Grey’s Anatomy season 19, episode 5 was it revealed that Catherine’s tumor was slowly growing, to Koracick’s chagrin who wanted Catherine to do something about it or at least push her to tell Jackson and Richard, but she refused. Catherine’s crisis in Grey’s Anatomy season 21, episode 1 confirmed that her condition worsened, making it impossible for her to hide it. Her deal with Meredith made everything more difficult, hinting at Jackson and Richard learning the truth about Catherine’s condition soon.
2 Lucas Choses Grey Sloan Over Chicago For Simone
Simone Put Her Job On The Line To Save His, Proving Her Feelings & Loyalty
Simone already put her and every other intern’s job on the line so that Catherine considered keeping Lucas in Grey’s Anatomy season 20’s finale, but even that didn’t convince Lucas on what to do, whether to remain in Seattle or go to Chicago. After she threw Lucas under the bus with the hospital’s lawyers, telling them she wouldn’t have operated on Sam Sutton if it weren’t for Lucas, Simone did everything in her power to save him.
However, Grey’s Anatomy season 21’s premiere also saw her admit to his face that the Heart Center of Chicago was an amazing opportunity that Lucas should take. Despite going against her wishes, as she wanted him in Seattle, Simone put Lucas first at last, thinking about what would be better for his career. This proved to Lucas that Simone really cared about him, despite their history and his doubts after what she told the hospital’s lawyers, finally leading to their reunion at the end of Grey’s Anatomy season 21’s premiere.
1 Richard’s Solve Proves It Would Be A Waste For Him To Retire Now
He Might Leave Surgery, But Richard Has Still Much To Teach
Grey’s Anatomy season 21, episode 1 saw Richard in a dark place about his surgical skills. Indeed, losing the patient in season 20’s finale hit him hard, confirming his fears he shouldn’t be operating anymore. After he came clean about the surgery with Winston, Richard avoided all and every surgery. However, Richard also explained how he hadn’t decided on whether he was ready to leave surgery or to start operating again, making everything more delicate, especially with Winston’s continuous invites to operate.
While Richard’s fear cannot be ignored in Grey’s Anatomy, he also proved indispensable in season 21’s premiere. Indeed, without his solve about the patient’s clavicle, the patient would have died. Winston asking Richard for help despite having been “trained by the best” in cardiothoracic surgery because he realized how much he lacked a more all-encompassing approach highlighted Richard’s incommensurable expertise, proving him still fundamental as a teacher for interns and attendings alike.
Grey’s Anatomy season 21 releases new episodes every Thursday at 10 pm ET on ABC.
