‘Grey’s Anatomy’: 8 Burning Questions for Season 19
Grey’s Anatomy ended its 18th season with quite a lot up in the air — relationships, jobs, characters’ freedom — which suggested that things could look very different when we see everyone again in the fall.
Take, for example, the status of Grey Sloan, with its residency program shut down, multiple doctors leaving, and the person who could be interim chief, Dr. Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), torn between Seattle and a new job in Minnesota. Then there are Dr. Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd) and Dr. Teddy Altman (Kim Raver), fleeing from the police after a man reported what Owen was doing after he refused to help his dying wife end her life. And we have no idea where the fall will find a few relationships, including one couple that just reunited.
Scroll down as we take a look at our burning questions for the new episodes this fall.
Grey’s Anatomy, Season 19, Fall 2022, ABC
Will Meredith stay in Seattle?
Meredith had one foot out the door (and on a plane) when Dr. Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson) surprised her by quitting and leaving the keys to her office in her hand. Dr. Jackson Avery (Jesse Williams) asked her to at least be interim chief, and the finale did end with her in the office. But she was also very resistant and never actually said yes to the job. But given the state of Grey Sloan, she might not feel she has much of a choice. Plus, there’s the matter of her relationship with Dr. Nick Marsh (Scott Speedman).
Will Owen and Teddy return without facing any consequences?
Bailey gave Owen and Teddy enough time to flee before calling the police once she found out what was going on, and last we saw them, they were on a plane. But where will they end up? And what will it take for them to both be able to return to Seattle and Grey Sloan? That’s going to be pretty tricky.
What will bring Bailey back to Grey Sloan?
Near the end of the finale, Bailey gave Meredith the keys to the chief’s office — “you broke it, you bought it” — and told her and Jackson she quit. “I have to protect my health and my sanity first,” she explained. “I’m done. No notice.” With that reasoning, it’s hard to imagine her returning to Grey Sloan anytime soon, but maybe she does just need some time away. What we do know is that it’s impossible to imagine the hospital without Bailey in charge in some capacity, but it’s possible that may not be as chief anymore. We could see a job change in her future when she comes back, and we assume that will be connected in some way to restoring the residency program.
Do Meredith and Nick have a future?
Things seemed to be going so well (too well?) for Meredith and Nick. He met her sisters. He met her kids. He met her friends. He temporarily moved to Seattle to help her try to save Grey Sloan’s residency program. They said “I love you.” But after he called her out on what was driving her to perform a risky surgery in the finale after it failed, she told him to go back to Minnesota — and he left. She tried to stop him, but it appeared that she might have been too late. (We don’t know if he might have heard her.) Whether or not she stopped him, it’s unclear what the future could hold for them and if Speedman will continue to be a series regular in Season 19. There’s also still the aforementioned question of where Meredith will be next season, considering she was planning to move to Minnesota before the events of the finale.
Will Richard return to Grey Sloan from his sabbatical?
When the finale ended, Dr. Richard Webber (James Pickens Jr.) and Dr. Catherine Fox (Debbie Allen) were traveling and going to see the Great Pyramids. (They had just received good news about her cancer.) It was ostensibly a sabbatical, but considering how much the Webber method had been questioned and the residency program being shut down, it’s not hard to imagine Richard not being ready to return to Grey Sloan quite so quickly. But it’s also impossible to think of the hospital without him being there, so what might be different when he eventually comes back?
Will Grey Sloan be able to restore its residency program?
The residency program was shut down in the finale, and Jamarah Blake (Dawnn Lewis) from the medical accreditation board told Bailey that she had to “rebuild” and “recalibrate” it from scratch after what she saw (including Meredith’s risky surgery). Meredith had originally planned to stay in Seattle to help get the program in a state where that wouldn’t happen, but now she seems to be the only one left to take charge of trying to rebuild it. Who might she recruit to help her? And what does this mean for the residents we saw packing up in the finale?
When will Jo and Link get together?
It seems inevitable that Dr. Jo Wilson (Camilla Luddington) and Dr. Atticus “Link” Lincoln (Chris Carmack) are going to eventually get together. Her feelings are out there, he’s gotten closure with Dr. Amelia Shepherd (Caterina Scorsone), and the best friends ended the season leaving together. Season 18 tackled jealousy with Jo’s love interest Todd (Skylar Astin), but will something else keep them apart in the fall?
Can Amelia and Kai make a relationship work?
Amelia and Dr. Kai Bartley’s (E.R. Fightmaster) breakup didn’t appear to last for long, with the latter showing up in the Grey Sloan parking lot near the end of the finale. “I can’t sleep,” they told Amelia, who kissed them. However, there is still the matter of Kai not wanting kids since they weren’t ready to put other things second and the long distance with them in Minnesota and Amelia in Seattle. So while that finale moment was great, there’s still a lot the two need to discuss.
