Ah, the time has arrived once again -- Grey's Anatomy season finale week. Although we already know that Season 22 is heading our way this fall -- the end of the show may never come, and that's not terrible news as far as I'm concerned -- we don't know all the details about who's staying and who, if anyone, is leaving. The promo for this week's episode, however, has already given us some important, and quite worrisome, clues.
While much of last week's episode focused on Jo and Link's wedding, the ongoing storyline featuring young Dylan and her distraught parents remained as a vital subplot to balance out all the warm and fuzzy feelings. Amelia, Simone, and Lucas continued to do what they could to help the now paralyzed patient, but her prognosis grew less and less optimistic as the episode progressed.
Last week on Grey's Anatomy: Foreshadowing for an explosive finale
Dylan's mother was the most upset by the outcome, blaming Amelia directly for the surgery that left Dylan only able to blink. She was the one who ultimately pushed for the surgery -- Dylan's father wanted to hold off and let their daughter live as good of a life as she could without such a risky intervention.
Apparently, the mother is so upset that this week's episode -- and the long-awaited season finale -- has her threatening to set off an explosive in the operating room if Amelia doesn't "fix" Dylan's brain. A good old-fashioned high-stakes Grey's Anatomy finale, if you will. "How Do I Live" indeed. Chances are someone isn't going to, and the possibilities aren't minimal.
A Grey's Anatomy season finale to remember
Amelia, Lucas, and the rest of the surgical team -- plus Dylan, of course -- are trapped in the operating room as Dylan's mother threatens to end them all if Amelia doesn't do what she asks. Dr. Shepherd was already under enough pressure without having to operate under more life-threatening circumstances; the chances of her succeeding are less likely now more than ever. And if Amelia does survive this, what's that going to do to her in the aftermath? She's in danger of relapse every day in recovery. This could push her over the edge again ... if she survives.
Lucas is also in danger of only making it out of the season finale in a body bag, but the show has done a decent job of setting up an opportunity for him and Simone to reconcile. At least Meredith Grey is there to help keep things calm -- she's been through a lot in her time at this hospital; she probably knows how to handle things better than the police at this point, let's be honest.
There are a lot of different ways this could end, but there are a few definite outcomes: One of them being that this incident's survivors aren't going to emerge from this unscathed. "How Do I Live" implies that someone -- or multiple people -- will be left to question the value and meaning of their own lives after they walk out of that OR when all this is over.
Two: This episode is going to end on a cliffhanger. We're not actually going to get the answers we want for months when Season 22 premieres. Grey's always has great twists wedged into its narratives, but its finales are always, in some key ways, predictable.
The Grey's Anatomy Season 21 finale airs this Thursday on ABC.