Grey’s Anatomy season 16 episode 20 review: It’s not what it looks like

Grey’s Anatomy got its start forming thematic storylines around medical mysteries, and this week feels just like old times.

Not all medical dramas manage to find a good balance between interesting medical storylines and the dramatic lives of the doctors practicing fictional medicine. In the beginning, Grey’s Anatomy stood out because it absolutely nailed this balance.

Over the years, however, it’s lost its footing here and there, as all shows that run longer than 15 seasons are bound to do. Every once in a while, though, fans are treated to an episode that feels like it’s season 1 all over again.

From spontaneously singing patients to false labor pains, this week’s episode provided just the kinds of twists, turns, and head-scratching medical mysteries that actually make fans want to keep coming back after every commercial.

The one storyline we all collectively showed up for — finding out what’s wrong with Richard Webber — did not disappoint. With the best doctors at Grey Sloan Memorial on the case, you’d expect to get an answer within a 43-minute window. But we didn’t. And that made the episode even more engaging.

What’s most intriguing about it all is that not every doctor working through the possible diagnoses agrees. Maggie is convinced Richard has Alzheimer’s, but Meredith isn’t having it. And even if Maggie’s suspicions do turn out to be true, giving fans the chance to work through the possibilities right alongside the characters brings back so much of the magic that built this show’s fan base at the start of it all.

They’ve presumably already ruled out Lewy Body dementia and other common neurological disorders, but Alzheimer’s hasn’t technically been taken off the table yet.

It would be an unprecedented direction to take his storyline in, since two characters close to him have already died due to complications of the same condition. But maybe they’re going for a tragic ending here — or this could inspire Meredith to refocus her efforts in a related area of research.

Next week’s preview wants us to believe it’s not Alzheimer’s, but instead something rare but treatable. With DeLuca back in the fray, it looks like there might be another answer none of us have guessed yet just waiting to be discovered. And he might actually have it.

There have been plenty of guesses as to where the show’s writers are going with this particular narrative, but it’s impossible to know whether any predictions are even remotely close to what’s coming. Nearing the end of the season, it’s the perfect time to deprive viewers of their certainty. We don’t know what’s going to happen. It’s exciting. And probably not nearly as predictable as we’ve come to expect.

Even though season 16 has to end a few episodes short, it seems as though they’re still going to be able to give us a good cliffhanger. That’s the hope, anyway, since this week left us with enough questions to get us through the week ahead. Barely.

What’s your prediction about Richard? Do you think Grey’s Anatomy will go the Alzheimer’s route again — or is there really something else going on?