Grey’s Anatomy season 16 episode 8 review: Let’s talk about that twist
By Meg Dowell
The 350th episode of Grey’s Anatomy was bound to bring back old memories, and it certainly packed in as many as it could fit.
OK, Grey’s Anatomy fans. Let’s all take a few deep breaths before we attempt to process what we just watched.
Are we ready? Good. Let’s start with Richard finally calling Bailey out on her petty jealousy. Because she really needed it.
This is something that has been at the forefront of the fandom’s frustration all season long. Bailey has been acting like everything that has happened since the end of season 15 has been purposefully done to hurt her, and well, she pretty much finally admitted it.
Her change of heart near the end of the episode doesn’t mean there still won’t be issues between her and Meredith. There’s bound to be tension. But maybe now the show can focus less on Bailey being terrible and more on, well, literally anything else.
Speaking of terrible, remember Derek? Meredith’s husband? Amelia’s brother? Guess who’s back? Not Derek, but a doctor who “treated” him.
Within the first two minutes of the episode, the night’s biggest twist hit us right in the gut. Thought you’d never see the doctor responsible for Derek’s death? Think again, because hello, here he is, partially responsible for deciding the future of Meredith’s medical career.
Happy #350. Here’s your complimentary Kleenex, enjoy!
He doesn’t remember Meredith, but he’s a real joy to be around regardless (actually he isn’t, but this surprised absolutely no one). But just when Meredith is losing her cool and jeopardizing her career (again) by calling him out for hurting Derek, he collapses into a seizure. Oh no!
But the show must go on. So while Tom is trying to save Dr. Terrible’s life (he was so gentle with Amelia — Good Tom is a gem), Alex somehow manages to recruit an army of Meredith’s former patients into the room to give their testimonies about how amazing she is.
I know I wasn’t the only one holding my breath when they all started flooding in. Would we get to see some familiar faces — Callie? Arizona? Cristina?
No surprise returns from any OG main cast members. But Grey’s really took us back reintroducing some former patients, including Meredith’s very first from the pilot episode. We also sort of got a cameo from a fan favorite, but not an in-person appearance.
You could tell from the moment Alex started reading that letter that Cristina wrote it. That was the perfect way to honor both Sandra Oh and the character she portrayed brilliantly for so many years. Fan service? One hundred percent. Are we mad? Not even a little bit.
Unsurprisingly, all these kind words — even a few from Bailey — likely contributed to Meredith getting to keep her license and return to Grey Sloan Memorial by the end of the night. This is strangely the least dramatic moment of the episode, because not long after, DeLuca dumps her. Surprising? No. But yikes. We really thought they might last.
What a stressful episode. Especially having to watch both Meredith and Amelia relive one of their biggest traumas. If you think about it, though, this really wasn’t thrown in for Meredith — not entirely. It was really there mostly for Amelia. Not only did it give her and Link another moment of proof that they are absolutely perfect for each other, but in a dark and twisty way, it gave her the closure she never got when her brother died.
She wasn’t there when it happened, and she never got to call him out for the careless mistake that cost Derek his life. But she did do her duty as a medical professional and make sure he got the care he needed (unlike Derek), even if he didn’t survive.
One by one, pieces of her past are finally settling so that she can move forward.
I’ve said it many times before and I will keep on saying it: Touch Link and Amelia’s perfect relationship and we riot.
It’s probably a good thing this wasn’t the last episode of the year. It ended way too happily even with the breakup and Jaggie drama. (Seriously? I thought we were done with that) From the preview we’ve seen, it looks like something bad’s going down.
Bring it on.
This is Alex Karev, he's all grown now. dark. Next