Grey’s Anatomy season 16 finale review: A baby, a surgery, and a cheater

As far as Grey’s Anatomy season finales go, this one managed to satisfy many viewers despite the lack of a steep cliffhanger.

Most season finales in the Grey’s Anatomy universe end with everyone’s jaw on the floor (or pretty close to it). Fans typically reach for their phones as soon as the episode ends, trying to count the days until they’ll find out what happens on the show next.

Last night hit a little different, though. The collective viewership came into this episode knowing it wouldn’t be a “traditional” season finale. Because season 16 had no choice but to end four episodes shy of its intended episode count, most weren’t sure what this week’s final moments would look like.

At the very least, fans knew they wouldn’t get a season 17 preview. Most also (accurately) guessed no major characters would die, get seriously injured, or leave.

So where did that leave the audience? Hanging onto the hope that Amelia and Link would have a healthy baby (check — as far as we know), that Teddy would finally make a choice between Tom and Owen (debatable), and that we’d find out what was secretly causing Richard’s illness.

Let’s start with the satisfying end to a thrilling character arc.

Grey’s was first built on a foundation of dramatic medical mysteries, and Richard’s seemingly undiagnosable condition kept fans guessing and discussing among themselves for weeks. Was it some form of dementia? That seemed too easy. A brain tumor? Been there, survived that.

In a truly surprising turn of events — did anyone out there guess this? — DeLuca discovered Richard’s hip replacement must be slowly poisoning him. Tests revealed the faulty hip had started leaking metal into his bloodstream, which explained his haywire nervous system — along with the hallucinations, dementia-like symptoms, depression, and losing feeling in his arms and legs.

And the condition ended up being 100 percent curable, which led to one of the best moments of the season hands down: Richard waking up, looking right into Catherine’s face, and telling her to leave. Finally.

Some more good news: Amelia, who’d been pregnant since the beginning of season 16, finally welcomed a (presumably) healthy son into he world. Link missed it because he had to go save Richard’s life and all, but Bailey stepped in … the same way George did for her all those years ago.

Now, unfortunately, we have to get to the storyline that has most of the fandom collectively disappointed: Owen finding out Teddy has been cheating on him, and Teddy intending to keep it a secret.

It’s about time Teddy got caught, but the way Owen had to find out (awkwardly in front of a room full of colleagues) was heartbreaking. He’s gotten a lot of hate over the years for pretty much acting like a terrible person, but he really has changed for the better. He didn’t deserve that kind of humiliation since it’s obvious he really does care about Teddy.

He cares so much, in fact, that he chose not to confront her about it in front of everyone. He’s trying to force her to own up to what she did and take responsibility for it the way he did when he cheated on Cristina.

I stand by my opinion that she doesn’t deserve either of them at this point. She may have been able to redeem herself eventually if she’d confessed, but she planned on never telling Owen, and that’s unforgivable … isn’t it?

For an episode that wasn’t originally intended to act as a season finale, this actually wrapped everything up quite nicely. Where do we go from here? DeLuca finally getting help, hopefully. Meredith and Hayes getting together. Richard and Catherine splitting up for good. Hopefully.

Since the show’s return is completely up in the air at this point, now seems like the perfect time to start a Grey’s Anatomy rewatch. Is there a rewatch podcast in the works yet? Shonda? Are you listening?

Did Richard’s diagnosis surprise you? How about his reaction to Catherine after he wakes up — did she deserve it?