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GreysAnatomyS16premiere.jpg

Wait, Meredith Grey is Going to Jail? And Other Questions You May Have Before 'Grey's Anatomy' Returns Tonight

By Genevieve Burgess | TV | September 26, 2019 |

By Genevieve Burgess | TV | September 26, 2019 |


GreysAnatomyS16premiere.jpg

We’re about to start the 16th season of Grey’s Anatomy which means there have now been approximately 15 seasons without ghost sex and one with. There’s a LOT going on, but there always is, so I’ll try to distill the highlights if you’re going to try to jump in tonight even after not having seen the past several seasons. Here’s what’s important to know from just season 15:

Who’s new?

Two Ortho guys, Link and Nico. Link seems to have been added to the show as a love interest for the adult ladies and Nico as a way to have a plotline involving a gay couple since he starts hooking up with intern Schmitt.

Who’s still around?

Meredith and Alex are the only two remaining of the original interns. Chief Webber and Bailey are also still around. We also still have Jackson and Jo from the Mercy West intern group and Owen Hunt continues to ruin the lives of various smart, professional women.

Obviously Bokhee is still there too. This show can’t exist without Bokhee and Meredith Gray.

Who died?

Thatcher Gray, several patients who taught our doctors Valuable Life Lessons.

Who’s banging?

God, everyone. As always. Meredith hooks up with blond ortho guy Link and then the younger DeLuca. The other ortho guy, Nico, takes up with one of the interns with glasses, Schmitt, who did not realize he was gay until he saw the very handsome Nico which was a mildly interesting story arc. Now Link is with Amelia. Jackson and Maggie are continuing a relationship that’s basically been a bad idea always. Alex and Jo are married (except on paper because they forgot to mail their license in) and are staying married for now. Owen and Teddy have been trapped in a season-long “will they or won’t they” since Teddy showed up pregnant with Owen’s baby (because they definitely did) and then Owen got back together with Amelia and Teddy got together with somewhat new neuro guy named Koracik. But then Teddy HAD Owen’s baby and now it looks pretty certain that they’ll be together for, like, a year before Owen blows it up again somehow.

Generally, what is going on at the start of Season 16?

At the end of Season 15 a massive fog bank rolled in over Seattle and trapped people all over the city. Meredith used her daughter’s name and information to check-in a young immigrant girl who needed surgery and is being threatened with legal action but DeLuca is trying to take the fall for her. Jackson and Maggie took their doomed relationship camping which obviously did not go well and were trying to get back into town when they got stuck in the fog. Then Jackson wandered off to try to figure out what’s going on and didn’t come back to the car.

What’s the point anymore?

Gray’s Anatomy, for all the flaws of the show, is still a show that has been on the air for 16 years with a woman as the main character and a cast that consistently features women and people of color as extremely talented surgeons and hospital administrators thanks to a consistent policy of color-blind casting. While it’s not perfect on LGBTQI+ issues, they have a history of casting trans actors and actresses to play trans characters all the way back to 2006 and have a trans actor in the current recurring cast. It also tends to have some fascinating forays into what could be considered science fiction territory, the last season had a plot about fetal lambs being gestated in bags. Personally, I find the show’s almost completely antagonistic approach to weddings and marriage to be amusing in its own way. Twice now we’ve had a completely different couple get married at a wedding established for two other characters. And, while 16 seasons have taken a toll on her, Meredith Grey is still a very interesting main character. Someone who’s struggle with depression and suicidal ideation, who has genuinely grown as a person thanks to therapy, and who is just a perfect example of chaotic good. I liked her better when Cristina Yang was around, but she can still be pretty great on her own.

Season 16 will probably be frustrating, confusing, wildly scientifically inaccurate at times, but generally entertaining. I’m game.



Header Image Source: ABC