Grey’s Anatomy season 16 episode 12 preview: Who ordered the awkward family dinner?

Is it possible to have a family dinner without drama? Absolutely not. This is Grey’s Anatomy, after all.

Even though Grey’s Anatomy is truly at its best when it’s focusing more on dramatic medical cases than on the often drawn-out drama of its doctors’ personal lives, it doesn’t hurt to mix things up every now and then and focus on a more everyday event. Like a family dinner, for instance.

It seems Catherine and Richard have decided to invite the family to a meal. Which technically includes Maggie, since she’s Richard’s biological daughter. Jackson is also bringing his girlfriend, who he started dating arguably a little too soon after breaking up with Maggie (and after his girlfriend’s fiance died unexpectedly… it’s a long story).

For once, the episode promo for this week didn’t give away too much about the upcoming plot. We know Maggie has returned to Grey Sloan, though we aren’t sure why or whether or not it’s temporary. We also know that this will be another crossover with Station 19, or will at least prominently feature a few characters from the spin-off series.

What can we expect? Plenty of passive aggressive commentary between Maggie and Jackson. Hilarious commentary from Dean (he’s comic relief in the absolute best way possible). Oh, and let’s not forget the meltdown that’s about to commence between Richard and Catherine.

Watch the promo trailer for “The Last Supper” here:

These two have been quietly feuding for a while now, and this episode might actually be the one that breaks them apart for good.

It’s a shame that Catherine’s cancer storyline didn’t bring them closer together as it could have. It’s even more disappointing that it didn’t change her as a character at all. She’s just as awful as she was before, at least in most situations we’ve seen her in lately (not that there have been many).

Richard really hasn’t done anything wrong. He tried his best to support his wife when she needed him most. And sure, there were some phone calls he should have answered and didn’t. But at what point do you stop trying to connect with someone who doesn’t seem to want it?

If Gilmore Girls taught us anything, it’s that family dinners can be some of the most disastrous events in our favorite characters’ lives. They can sometimes, however, lead to some of the best and most memorable moments of all.

There will be fighting — there’s no denying that. But maybe, just maybe, one or two people at that table — at a minimum — will walk away better off than they were when they sat down.

There are actually a lot of fans rooting for Maggie and Dean (from Station 19) to get together. And honestly? It just might work.

Grey’s Anatomy returns to ABC this Thursday at 9 p.m. ET.