Warning: this article contains spoilers.
ABC's hit medical drama, "Grey's Anatomy," returned to television on March 16 for a landmark 20th season, bringing a new beginning to the doctors of Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital with callbacks to previous seasons.
Recap
Season 20 picks up right where Season 19 left off. While many have changed over the show's duration, one thing remains the same: the interns are in trouble. Season 19 introduced new surgical interns to the hospital: Simone Griffith, played by Alexis Floyd; Jules Millin, played by Adelaide Kane; Lucas Adams, played by Niko Terho; Mika Yasuda, played by Midori Francis; and Benson "Blue" Kwan, played by Henry Shum.
The season premiere opens with the interns being questioned by Resident Director Nick Marsh after a patient died under the interns' watch. The interns are then banned from practicing medicine. This, of course, does not stop the eager surgeons in training, and Adams and Griffith find themselves trapped in an ambulance trying to save a patient while a driverless car continuously rams into the back of the ambulance.
For longtime Grey's fans, this is unsurprising. The show's original class of interns, Meredith Grey, Cristina Yang, Alex Karev, George O'Malley and Izzie Stevens, were constantly getting into trouble. In fact, Grey, played by Ellen Pompeo, is still getting into trouble.
Grey ended Season 19 and began Season 20 with a breakthrough in Alzheimer's research that overrides the research of everyone else before her, upsetting important hospital donors and other people in power. Catherine Fox, founder of the Catherine Fox Foundation, orders Grey to halt her current research to avoid further conflict with the donors. But, to the surprise of no one, Grey goes behind Fox's back and recruits neurosurgeon Amelia Shepherd to work on her research in secret.
While Meredith and the interns are getting in trouble, Chief of Surgery Teddy Altman is fighting for her life. After complaining of a toothache, Altman collapsed in surgery at the end of Season 19. Season 20 reveals she had developed bacterial endocarditis, an infection that inflames the lining of the heart's valves and chambers. Altman was rushed into emergency surgery and Cardiothoracic Chief Dr. Winston Ndugu saved her life. The episode also touches on Jo Wilson and Atticus Lincoln's budding relationship and Richard Webber's ongoing journey with addiction.
At the end of the season premiere, Marsh decides to leave Seattle and head to Boston, with Grey opening the door for another doctor to step up and supervise the interns in his place. Enter Miranda Bailey. Bailey takes charge of the interns, uttering her classic line, "I have five rules."
This line is nostalgic to all Grey's fans, as Bailey first used it in Season 1 on the show's original intern group. Bailey, leading an intern group, promises bright futures for the young doctors and assures new changes awaiting the surgical residency program at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital.
Review
Season 20 looks a little different than seasons past. This season will have only 10 episodes in total, differing from the normal 20 episode seasons Grey's fans are used to. This is also the first season the show's namesake, Meredith Grey, will not be featured as a season regular. This leaves Bailey and Weber as the only remaining original characters.
While the Season 20 premiere was lackluster compared to old season premieres filled with grief, cheating scandals, weddings and deaths, this season has many events in store and future episodes leave a lot to look forward to. Fan favorite Arizona Robbins, played by Jessica Capshaw, is returning after seven years.
New showrunner Meg Marinis told Deadline: "A theme for this season is back to basics. You see a lot of people reset in the premiere, and Bailey's not going to go easy on these interns." Longtime Grey's fans may be in for a treat this season.
