Grey’s Anatomy season 17 finale breathed relief and joy back into the series

Grey’s Anatomy, television’s longest-running medical drama, decided to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic in its seventeenth season.

2020 was devastatingly portrayed in Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital as the doctors actively tried to handle the incoming patients, many of which died because of the virus. But, Grey’s Anatomy season 17 also threw in a plot twist right from the start as series lead Meredith Grey collapsed from Covid-19 at the end of the two-hour season premiere.

A season of horror toes the line of portraying the emotional despair of living in a pandemic and the constant fear of what is to come, along with the uncertainty of when or if things will ever return to a world the doctors are familiar with.

To keep things a bit on the happier side, Meredith’s unconsciousness takes her to a beach, where she reunites with her late husband Derek Shepherd and other past relatives and friends, including Lexi Grey, George O’Malley, and Mark Sloan.

But, in the real world of the show, Covid-19 is still rampaging, and the entire season mostly lives in a world of torment as the show’s events hit way too close to home for the audience, making season 17 arguably the most polarizing season of Grey’s Anatomy.

However, the Grey’s Anatomy season 17 finale, “Someone Saved My Life Tonight,” changes that. With Meredith awake and home, Grey’s Anatomy takes the time to simultaneously slow down to take a better look at Meredith’s rehabilitation from having Covid-19 while also speeding up through the rest of 2020 and into 2021.

One of the most exciting elements portrays the doctors of Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital receiving their first doses of the Covid-19 vaccine in January 2021. The excitement and relief on everyone’s faces is the first step to the light at the end of the tunnel.

“Someone Saved My Life Tonight” shows that the series has been waiting for a time to give nearly every character a chance at some real joy, and that’s exactly what happens.

Maggie and Winston, who agreed to postpone their wedding until more guests could arrive, get their chance at a big ceremony on the beach with their friends and families in attendance.

Teddy and Owen return to their previous engagement status when Owen proposes on Christmas.

Jo, who spends the final episodes deciding to adopt Luna, finally ends up with the baby and takes over Jackson’s old apartment.

Meredith, and Teddy, who also tests positive for a mild case of Covid-19, even get to close out the season pulling off a successful surgery Meredith had been arguing Bailey to agree to.

Yet, perhaps the best example of joy truly coming through is that after Meredith and Teddy finish their surgery, the rest of their friends greet them, having left the wedding, for a clap out.

Meredith had skipped her clap out from surviving Covid-19 during “Tradition,” so all her friends gathered around to pull it off finally; led by Doctor Bailey is a solid conclusion of hope and progress.

Sadly, the only person that truly ends the season on a low note is Link. Amelia had been revealing over the months that while Link is hoping for marriage and more children, Amelia does not share those desires. Richard Webber even tells Amelia that she can accept that her relationship with Link may not survive, which is also okay.

So, when Link proposes, Amelia does not respond, and after a few moments, Link understands the answer to be a “no” and ends up at Jo’s apartment.

Grey’s Anatomy has never pulled punches and season 17 was a genuine example and tragic mirror of the state of the world during 2020. Yet, “Someone Saved My Life Tonight” made sure to create storylines that suggested progress, hope, joy, and a breath of relief that, at least in terms of the pandemic, things will get better.