‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Couples Check-Up: Where Your Favorite Pairs Stand as Season 20 Continues
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[Warning: The below will contain MAJOR spoilers throughout Grey’s Anatomy Season 20.]
Grey’s Anatomy should really have a love doctor on standby given all the relationship highs and lows among the Grey Sloan doctors. The long-running ABC series returned for its milestone 20th season on March 14, and the romantic drama has overshadowed any of the hospital’s major surgeries.
In the first batch of Season 20 episodes, there have been many developments for notable couples like Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) and Nick (Scott Speedman), Jo (Camilla Luddington) and Link (Chris Carmack), and Simone (Alexis Floyd) and Lucas (Niko Terho). From a pregnancy scare to a betrayal, Grey’s Anatomy is upping the ante when it comes to the love lives of the doctors.
TV Insider is checking the charts of Grey’s Anatomy couples as Season 20 continues. Which couples are still together? Which relationships are on life support? Read on to find out if your favorite couple needs help STAT.
Grey’s Anatomy, Season 20, Thursdays, 9/8c, ABC
Jo & Link: Blissfully in Love
Link professed his love for Jo in the Season 19 finale after an entire season of will-they-won’t-they. In the Season 20 premiere, Link and Jo shared a passionate kiss after she woke up from her nap. The dream.
Later at home, Jo asked Link if he felt guilty about what happened to Sam. Link told Jo that Sam didn’t die because of something they did. It was a terrible complication that some of the best doctors can’t fix.
Jo, who’s spent her life fighting for everything she has, wondered why she deserved to be this blissfully happy when “other people will never get that chance again.” Link had the perfect response for his love and brought up how she’s experienced a “lifetime of hard.”
He continued, “And every time I saw you go through something awful, it broke my heart because you are the fiercest, kindest, smartest, most loyal person. Those years when we weren’t in each other’s lives, those were dark years. And I thought of you every single day. So we’ve been through too much — together and apart. You deserve this. We deserve this.”
She responded, “What if we don’t work out?” Link remained confident about their relationship. “Oh, we’re going to work out. I just wasted 20 years of my life not acting on it,” he said.
In Episode 2, Link and Jo’s romantic bliss continued. She recalled a moment when they were both broke doctors-to-be and how Link always managed to cheer her up. Back then, he told her that one day she’d become a doctor and “make enough to afford everything on the menu.” Years later, she brought everything full circle and did just that.
In Episode 5, Jo and Link had a pregnancy scare. They both acknowledged they were too busy with their babies right now to welcome another, but Jo admitted that she wants to have a baby with Link.
Lucas & Simone: Not Dead Yet
Simone pulled a Runaway Bride and bailed on her wedding to Trey (William Martinez) in last season’s finale. Simone ended up sleeping with Lucas in the break room at the hospital. These two got wrapped up in even more hospital drama when Teddy (Kim Raver) collapsed in the middle of Sam’s surgery. Lucas stepped in to perform surgery without an attending, and Simone helped him.
In the Season 20 premiere, Simone wanted to discuss all that happened. Like a true Shepherd, Lucas deflected and wanted to focus on work. Simone and Lucas got trapped in an ambulance and were forced to perform surgery together once again. Simone was hesitant, at first, and boldly told Lucas, “I can’t have another death on my hands because of you.”
The surgery was a success, and they were able to get out of the ambulance safely. Later on, Simone was mulling over her future. She could lose her future because of Lucas. He confronted her and asked her why she even helped him in the first place. “Because I can’t say no to you, Lucas,” she quickly said.
Simone and Lucas don’t see eye-to-eye about what happened with Sam. “I don’t live with regrets,” Lucas told her. She replied, “I guess that’s where you and I are different.”
Lucas started to wonder if Simone regretted sleeping together. “No, I just… You and me, last night, everything’s happened so fast, and I think I need a minute,” she said. This was very reminiscent of Meredith and Derek’s (Patrick Dempsey) post-hookup fallout in Season 3.
In Episode 2, Simone and Lucas’ relationship took a turn for the worse. Simone admitted to Lucas that she was “scared to admit” that it wasn’t a “good time” for a relationship. “I need to put me first,” she said. Lucas snapped back that Simone has always put herself first. “You are I are done,” he declared.
Lucas decided to move out of the intern house to avoid Simone. Lucas and Simone were giving cold shoulder vibes for a couple of episodes, especially after Lucas accused Simone of throwing him under the bus regarding Sam’s death.
Episode 5 was a turning point for them. After a particularly tough day at work, Simone reached out to Lucas and asked him to crawl into bed with her.
Yasuda & Helm: On Life Support
When it comes to the interns, most them have been in the midst of relationship woes. Yasuda (Midori Francis) and Helm (Jaicy Elliot) kicked off Episode 2 with wild sex, which kept the rest of the intern house awake all night.
Yasuda and Helm were doing well — until they weren’t. In Episode 5, Schmitt (Jake Borelli) told Yasuda that he tried to put her on the impalement surgery, but Helm “overruled” him. Yasuda felt “betrayed” by Helm blocking her from a case. Yasuda didn’t get the chance to confront Helm, but she will.
Teddy & Owen: Still Together
Teddy (Kim Raver) collapsed in the middle of surgery in the Season 19 finale after complaining of a toothache. She went into V-fib but was able to be resuscitated. Winston (Anthony Hill) discovered that Teddy has bacterial endocarditis caused by a dental infection. Owen (Kevin McKidd) was understandably shaken and worried about Teddy.
He tried to keep it together for his kids, but Amelia stressed to him that he doesn’t have to pretend everything was normal.
Later, Teddy suffered yet another complication. She had to have immediate surgery to save her leg. Teddy made it out of the surgery, and Owen was by her side when she woke up.
In Episode 2, Teddy was back on her feet. Owen worried about Teddy pushing herself too hard, so he had Yasuda keep a close eye on her. Teddy finally broke down about her near-death experience, and Owen was right there to tell her to take it easy.
Teddy’s journey back to the operating room was a slower process than she was expecting, but she finally got the all clear in Episode 5.
Bailey & Ben: Still Together
If Bailey (Chandra Wilson) and Ben (Jason George) ever split up, love will truly be dead.
In Episode 2, Ben was waiting for Bailey to finish up her shift. She vented about her day and questioned whether or not she was still good enough to lead and teach the interns because she’s changed so much over the years. Ben, always the supportive husband, gave Bailey some sound advice that helped calm her nerves. “You’ve changed but for the better,” he said.
When a patient was up on the roof and threatening to jump, Bailey called Ben for help in Episode 5. When her nerves nearly got the best of her, Ben was there to calm Bailey down. Over on Station 19, Ben found himself in a life-threatening fire he thought he wouldn’t survive. “Tell Miranda she was worth waiting for,” Ben said over his radio. Thankfully, he made it out alive.
Meredith & Nick: Still Together
Meredith and Nick returned to Grey Sloan after Nick’s epic declaration of love in Boston. Nick had to deal with the fallout of the Sam Sutton (Sam Page) surgery catastrophe. Nick told Meredith that he couldn’t in good conscience leave the interns behind to be with her if they weren’t in good hands.
“You hate Boston,” Meredith told Nick. He replied, “I do, but you know, second chances.” By the end of the episode, Nick felt like he could move to Boston to be with Meredith full time. Why? Because he left Bailey (Chandra Wilson) in charge of the interns.
While Meredith was in Seattle doing Alzheimer’s research in Episode 5, Nick called from Boston to let her know that her son was in the hospital. Meredith got on a Catherine’s (Debbie Allen) private plane immediately. Initially, she was angry at Nick for calling a Boston doctor first instead of her. She later apologized, and Nick stressed that she doesn’t have to feel alone in raising her kids. He’s there for her no matter what.
Blue & Jules: On Life Support
Jules (Adelaide Kane) and Blue (Harry Shum Jr.) are going to be Grey’s Anatomy’s next great slow burn. Jules told Blue that she loved him in the Season 19 finale, and she immediately went on defense in the Season 20 premiere. Jules’ declaration led to a major complication: Blue ignored Maxine’s (Juliet Mills) DNI [Do Not Intubate] request in the heat of the moment.
Naturally, Blue danced around his feelings for Jules, but what he did say held a lot of weight. “You love Maxine, and I know what it feels like to lose someone you love. I don’t want you to have to go through that,” Blue told Jules about why he ignored her roommate’s DNI.
Later, Blue and Jules crossed paths in the stairwell, one of Grey Sloan’s most romantic locations. As he began to walk away, he stopped and asked Jules if she wanted to come over tonight.
“I said I hated you. I mean, I also said that I loved you. But I said that I hated you,” Jules said. Blue replied that one doesn’t cancel the other out. Jules started to really put up a wall.
“What I’m saying is that I clearly wasn’t making sense. I was an emotional mess because of Maxine, and vulnerability leads to emotional external extremes. I say both of those things to a lot of people,” she sputtered.
Blue started to tease her, and Jules just couldn’t stop word vomiting. She apologized for giving him the “wrong idea.” Blue realized that this was going nowhere. He called her apology a “relief.” He followed her lead and declared it’s better that they stay just friends. Jules’ response proved that was not the reaction she ultimately wanted.
Maggie & Winston: On Life Support
Winston and Maggie (Kelly McCreary) got married in the Season 17 finale, but their happily ever after was short-lived.
When Maggie left Grey Sloan for Chicago in Season 19, Winston didn’t join her. They briefly reunited in Boston when the latest Catherine Fox Award was handed out, but it didn’t lead to a full-blown reconciliation.
Given their long distance situation and past issues, Winston brought up divorce so they could both focus on their careers. Maggie told Winston to hold off calling time of death on their relationship. They remain “married but apart.” In the Season 20 premiere, Winston settled into his new role as head of cardio nicely, but there was no word about Maggie.
Kai & Amelia: Call Time of Death
Kai and Amelia had their fair share of highs and lows in Season 19. They bonded over research before their relationship turned into something more. Despite their feelings for one another, Kai was honest about not wanting kids.
Kai broke things off with Amelia after meeting Scout, Amelia and Link’s son. But Kai, who was initially based in Minnesota, just couldn’t quit Amelia. They surprised Amelia in Seattle, and the pair shared a passionate night together.
Kai and Amelia’s problem has never been their feelings for one another. It’s always been wrong place, wrong time. Kai and Amelia ended things seemingly for good when Kai moved to London for a new job. Kai and Amelia could find their way back to each other, but it’s not looking good right now.
