The Doctors were back for the season 20 premiere of Grey’s Anatomy on Thursday – and a familiar face was still there with them.
Longtime series star Ellen Pompeo announced last year that she would step away from the show and only appear as a recurring star in season 20, leaving some fans wondering why she appeared in promos for the upcoming season. However, the reason quickly became clear.
The episode, titled “We’ve Only Just Begun,” picked up immediately after the events of the season 19 finale, meaning that Pompeo’s Dr. Meredith Gray hadn’t yet left for Boston to pursue her Alzheimer’s disease — and, instead, it was halfway there. of another disorderly day at Gray Sloan Memorial Hospital while facing a potential threat to her happily ever after.
After a chaotic night for the interns ends with all of their jobs in jeopardy, Dr. Nick Marsh (Scott Speedman) isn’t sure if he can leave the show behind and go with Meredith to Boston. Not only that, but the Gray Sloan family is left in crisis after Dr. Teddy Altman (Kim Raver) collapses during surgery and is rushed into his own series of life-saving procedures.
Meredith finds herself trying to be nice to Dr. Catherine Avery (Debbie Allen) after throwing her benefit into chaos the night before when she announced that she planned to look into alternative causes for Alzheimer’s – not just the ones Catherine was helping fund her for. . to look for.
However, she walks away when a self-driving car traps two of the interns in an ambulance with a dying man – explaining complicated procedures to them through an open window – and even ends up scrambling to save the victim’s life when they are finally freed.
By the end of the episode, things calm down enough for Meredith to finally be ready to take action. Teddy survives, all the interns stay, and Nick is ready to leave for Boston—with experienced intern Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson) taking her place.
Wilson teased ET about Pompeo’s departure in the 2023 Emmys red carpetwhere some of the cast – including Katherine Heigl – gathered on stage to present an award together.
“I told you Meredith isn’t going anywhere,” she joked. “I don’t know why they’re talking about leaving and going to Boston. Meredith is there Grey’s Anatomy.”
Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursdays at 9pm PT/ET on ABC.
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