Grey’s Anatomy season 21 ended with Meredith Grey making a proposal to return to Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital on a limited basis, but, after she witnessed the hostage situation and bomb explosion caused by a patient’s enraged parent, it’s a terrible idea for her to come back in season 22.
Meredith came to Grey Sloan during the Grey’s Anatomy season 21 finale because she wanted to inform Catherine Fox (Debbie Allen) that she was selling her hospital shares in order to fund her Alzheimer’s research. However, Richard Webber (James Pickens Jr.) was hurt by Meredith’s decision, telling her that he always thought that she and Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson) would take over.
During the hostage situation, Meredith was able to calm Jenna Gatlin (Piper Perabo) so that she could deliver life-saving fresh frozen plasma (FFP) to her daughter, Dylan (Sophia Kopera), during the brain surgery that Jenna forced Amelia Shepherd (Caterina Scorsone) to perform without proper safety precautions in place.
Jenna had been threatening to blow up the hospital with a tank of acetylene that she’d taken from her husband Aaron’s (Andy Bean) truck, but, as she was being arrested, she revealed that the container had been empty the whole time.
As Link began his surgery, a spark flew from the cautery he was using, and then the scene cut to Meredith, who watched in horror as a huge explosion blew apart an upper floor of the hospital. From the look on Meredith’s face, her decision to return to Grey Sloan was a horrible idea for her.
Meredith Witnessed An Earlier Bomb Explode At The Hospital
Back in Grey’s Anatomy season 2, a man was brought into the emergency room and discovered to have a piece of explosive ammunition inside of him. Paramedic Hannah Davies (Christina Ricci) initially had her hand inside his chest to stop the bleeding, but now she was the only thing stopping the bomb from exploding as taking her hand out could set it off.
Meredith was able to safely remove the bomb from the patient and give it to the leader of the bomb squad, Dylan Young (Kyle Chandler). However, the bomb then exploded, killing Dylan and another member of the bomb squad, and Meredith was knocked unconscious.
As Meredith watched the latest bomb explode and destroy part of Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital, possibly killing or seriously injuring more people, including her friends, she must’ve had flashbacks to that moment with the bomb squad leader, Dylan. In addition, the name of the patient whose mother caused the latest explosion was also Dylan.
Meredith Has Experienced Many Other Traumas At Grey Sloan
The two bomb explosions weren’t the only traumas that Meredith experienced at Grey Sloan. During Grey’s Anatomy season 6, a shooter, Gary Clark (Michael O’Neill), opened fire in the hospital. He shot Meredith’s husband, Derek Shepherd, but he survived. She also had a miscarriage while performing surgery to save Owen Hunt’s (Kevin McKidd) life after he was shot as well.
Meredith also went through the death of one of her best friends, George O’Malley (T.R. Knight), who was hit by a bus because he saved a woman’s life. In addition, Meredith battled COVID-19 at Grey Sloan during Grey’s Anatomy season 17. She was seriously ill, but ultimately made a full recovery. These are just a few of the many horrific experiences that Meredith went through at that hospital.
Throughout the past few seasons of Grey’s Anatomy when she’s been away from Grey Sloan working on her Alzheimer’s research in Boston, Meredith has seemed much happier. A return to Seattle, especially after witnessing yet another terrifying tragedy at the hospital there, would be detrimental to her mental health.
Meredith has healed from a lot of the trauma that she experienced at Grey Sloan, and going back now would only open those old wounds. Sadly, she’s also set to return in Grey’s Anatomy season 22.
