Grey’s Anatomy is back after its usual summer break, and in case you have forgotten where we left off, I am here to help with an update.
First off, let’s start with a round of applause for this series, despite critics believing the show should’ve ended ten seasons ago—it has still continued, making it the longest-running medical drama of all time. We have lost many lovable characters along the way (RIP McDreamy and McSteamy), including the main character, Meredith, who stepped back a few seasons ago. She still appears every now and then, being that she is still alive and living in Boston, and, of course, her iconic voice-over remains in most episodes.
When’s the Premiere?
The Season 22 official premiere is on Thursday, October 9, keeping its typical timeslot of 10/9c. The current showrunner is Meg Marinis, making this her third season as showrunner. I know, some of you might be thinking…wait a second, I thought Shonda Rhimes was the showrunner of Grey’s Anatomy? Well, it’s okay, I thought the same, which means we have all been clueless for almost a decade because apparently, Rhimes left the show in Season 14 (2017). She was replaced by Krista Vernoff, who managed the show until Meg took over in Season 20.
Now…I am not trying to start any drama…but perhaps the loss of Rhimes contributed to the show’s slight decline. Not because Marinis and Vernoff are bad showrunners, but more so because Grey’s Anatomy was Shonda’s baby, and I think that only she truly knew how to take care of it.
Or perhaps the decline was inevitable–I mean, nothing can stay at its peak forever. The characters had to evolve, which naturally meant many of them moved on–some died epically and some left in the worst way possible (cough, cough Alex Karev.) That allowed room for new characters and actors to enter the show, which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. I was most excited about the addition of Adelaide Kane, who plays the intern Jules. Adelaide was most famous for her role as Mary Queen of Scots in the show Reign, where she completely excelled in the role. She’s still awesome in Grey’s, but her character arc seems a little bit all over the place–hopefully they can reign it in a bit this season.
Who’s Returning, and Will There Be Special Appearances?
As mentioned earlier, Ellen Pompeo(Meredith) will make appearances this season, seven episodes in total, to be exact. In addition, Chandra Wilson, who plays Miranda Bailey, and James Pickens Jr, who plays Richard Webber, will both be back as series regulars appearing in every episode this season. Those two deserve a round of applause for hanging on for all twenty-two seasons and remaining staple characters of the show.
The regulars from last season are all expected to return, including characters like Jo Wilson, Owen Hunt, and Amelia Shepherd. They won’t be introducing a new set of interns and will continue building the stories of the group of interns that became residents at the end of last season. All of which will return, except Mika, played by Midori Francis, who left in the middle of the last season and isn’t slated to return.
As for special appearances, there hasn’t been an official announcement, but Grey’s is notorious for bringing back our favorite characters–even the ones that died. Grey’s still found a way. However, there are a few characters that are still alive in the show that have not been reintroduced since their exit. At the top of the list is Christina Yang, Meredith’s best friend and the second half of the duo that created the concept of a ‘person.’ Christina left in Season 10 when Preston Burke offered her his position running a cutting-edge cardiothoracic research and innovation center in Switzerland. Sandra Oh, who plays Christina, has made comments about feeling that her character arc was complete and there is no need for a return, but who knows, maybe she will change her mind.
A few others that we haven’t seen in quite some time include two iconic couples that have continued to be mentioned, Arizona and Callie, and Izzie and Alex. Both couples had very long break-ups, but they are said to be back together in their respective cities, away from Seattle. Izzie has had the longest absence, having disappeared in season 6 and not returned since. She was referenced when Alex left his wife to join her in raising their twins that he didn’t know existed, but Katherine Heigl didn’t actually appear in the episode. Honestly, the best thing they could do is bring back both Izzie and Alex because they have some explaining to do. Alex leaving his wife, Jo, and divorcing her in a letter was…wild. They had built Alex up from being a total jerk to an amazing, loyal pediatric surgeon, and then at the last second had him go against everything we had thought he had become. Bringing him back and offering Jo a better explanation than the one she received is the best thing they could do to repair it.
As for Arizona and Callie, when Arizona left the show in Season 14, there was a hint of her wanting to rekindle her relationship with Callie, and henceforth, she moved to New York, where Callie moved in Season 12. I feel like hinting isn’t enough to fully satisfy the ending of their characters–we need them both back to confirm that they lived happily ever after–even just one episode would do. I mean…or they could just move back to Seattle. Honestly, my biggest hope for the finale of the show is for all of the original interns (including George’s ghost) to move back to Seattle and grow old together.
Where We Left Off
After a long summer, many of us have probably forgotten what tragedy Grey’s ended their season on this time. Was it a plane crash? A ferry explosion? Nope–this time it was an old run-of-the-mill explosion in the hospital itself. The Season 21 finale concluded with Meredith walking to her car and turning back in shock, realizing part of the hospital had burst into flames. Long story short, a mother brought in a canister of gas to threaten the surgeons into fixing her son. The mother thought the canister was empty, but it was, in fact, not empty. And henceforth, it exploded.
The cliffhanger was that we have no idea who was impacted by the explosion, but a few good guesses include Lucas, Teddy, Amelia, Owen, Jo, and, most importantly, Jo’s fiancé Link. Link was last seen attempting to evacuate the floor where the tank exploded, and the new season promos do not show him as part of the group outside of the hospital after the explosion.
As someone who has seen every single episode of the series, I can confidently say I know the way the showrunners like to pull on our heartstrings–especially when a character seems happy. Jo and Link were days away from a wedding and from the birth of their twins…so, yeah, he’s pretty much a shoo-in to be the person the surgeons are rushing to save in the first episode, which just happens to be titled ‘Only the Strong Survive.’ All I can say is, Link better be the ‘strong that survives’ because Jo has seriously been through enough heartbreak.
But that title means that someone’s gotta go. My bet is that there are several injuries, but the surgeons all survive, and perhaps there is a heartwrenching loss of a patient.
