Whew — Grey’s Anatomy was on an IV drip of adrenaline as it kicked off Season 20 Thursday night. Over the course of an action-packed hour, the resurgent ABC drama revealed both Teddy and Sam’s fates, plopped down the entire class of interns in the hot seat, turned loose a (badly) self-driving car and made Meredith and Amelia coconspirators in a bid to change the world. How? Read on, and we’ll discuss all the twists of plot that were turned out by “We’ve Only Just Begun.”
As the episode began, Catherine called out Mer for going rogue at the award ceremony and making her foundation “look like a joke” by spouting off about her out-there Alzheimer’s theory. To save face with the donors, Catherine had lied that Grey was just dehydrated. “I haven’t had to dance like that since the ’80s,” she added. In the end, Dr. Moneybags gave Mer an ultimatum: “Shut up, or I shut down your lab. You can go back to Boston now. But not on my plane.”
‘Do Not Move, Do Not Practice Medicine’
Off the events of the Season 19 finale, Nick was at a loss as to how to deal with his interns. He couldn’t even decide which of them to fire. Plus, on the off chance that he didn’t give somebody the axe — scalpel? — they’d all have to be evaluated, he told Mer, and it would be a helluva long time before they were again allowed near a patient. Sure, Jan.
‘Marsh Cannot Find Out About This!’
In no time, Lucas had roped Simone into helping him treat a patient in an ambulance that had broken down before reaching the E.R. entrance — just as the ambulance started being repeatedly rammed by a malfunctioning self-driving car! Before a quick-thinking Blue punctured the vehicle’s tire, triggering its shutdown mechanism, Lucas and Simone had had to perform a tricky procedure with Bailey and Meredith calling the shots from a safe distance.
‘I Gave Her a Smoothie’
Rushing Teddy into the O.R., Winston gave Mika the all-clear to scrub in, Nick’s orders be damned. But when she froze at a critical moment, owing to her trauma over Sam’s death, he replaced her with Levi, at whom he was already steamed for not ordering a CT on the patient. Meanwhile, Owen beat himself up for treating his wife’s toothache with a smoothie. Luckily, all the hand-wringing was for nothing. Not only did Teddy pull through, but Winston and Levi were able to save the leg that she’d been in danger of losing along with her life.
‘She Is Hungry, Talking and Annoyed’
As Max’s condition continued to improve, Jules and Blue danced around their feelings. It was as obvious as the color of their scrubs that they were in love, but she insisted that she hadn’t meant it when she’d dropped the L word on him. That, he lied, was a relief; it would have made things awkward. Anything you say, kids.
‘I Won’t Ever Apologize for Trying’
After her adventure with Lucas that morning, Simone was despondent. She could lose her whole dream of becoming a doctor, and for what? Him. “Because I can’t say no to you, Lucas.” She was still in shock that they had killed Sam in less than two minutes. Did she regret that she and Lucas had gotten together? Not exactly, but… Yeah, she was gonna need a minute. Two oughta do the trick.
‘No One Came Until It Was Too Late’
Jo spent the day being taken to task for Sam’s death. First, his mother chewed her and Link out. Then, Mika blasted her for being MIA when the interns had needed an attending. So by wine o’clock, Jo was feeling seriously guilty about feeling… well, happy. She had Luna, and Link, and was alive, and… In response, her new significant other reassured her that she’d been through enough s—t; she didn’t have to feel guilty about anything. Well, then!
‘I’m One-Day Sober’
As afternoon bled into evening, Richard confided in Bailey that at the award ceremony, he’d come thisclose to taking a drink. “You’ve been here before,” she reminded him. “You know how to get back.” Indeed, it seemed that he did. He next attended an AA meeting at which he admitted that he considered his desire to imbibe a slip, therefore he was hitting “reset” with the group’s help.
‘I Have Five Rules’
In the episode’s final moments, Meredith told Catherine, “I will stick with what’s being funded. You win.” This was no shock to Richard’s better half. “I always do,” she replied. But secretly, Mer met with Amelia and confessed that “I’ve gotten a little further [with the research] than I’ve led you to believe” — and she wanted her sister-in-law to pick up where she left off. Though Nick had been reluctant to leave the interns and move to Boston when they were such a mess, he found the perfect replacement to take over the program: Bailey. And Owen breathed a sigh of relief when at last Teddy awakened.
