‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Didn’t Miss a Beat with Covid and [Spoiler] Returns

We were thrown right in the middle of Covid. With temperature checks for all doctors, Meredith Grey saying all the patients are dying while being in full PPE gear, the doctors staying in hotels not to risk giving the virus to their families. There were mentions of it hitting the black and brown community the worst. Even a patient said he didn’t want an Asian doctor. There were mentions of forest fires and teens were parting. They got everything in. They didn’t miss a beat.

We spent two hours catching up with our favorite characters and watching the doctors handle covid. But the most shocking part of the two-hour season premiere was when Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) was found passed out in the parking lot. Then we went back to her on a beach, and we hear a familiar voice calling her name. It was coming from Derek. Our favorite Grey’s Anatomy couple was reunited. Is Meredith dying or is she dreaming?

My heart dropped. But that story is for next week. Grey’s certainly knows how to keep us hanging when we’ve already been hanging for so long.

There was a lot going on in this episode. Jackson Avery (Jesse Williams) and Jo Willson (Camilla Luddington) almost hooked up. She awkwardly asked him for sex to put her marriage in the review mirror. And then they awkwardly tried to have sex with Jo showing up in a sweater dress and bringing some sort of hard liquor and Jackson having wine, candles, and Kenny G playing in the background. Then, Jo started crying when they were kissing.

It was so odd and came way from left field. It was some nice comic relief to an otherwise pretty intense episode, though.

They made us wait almost two hours to see the conversation between Teddy Altman (Kim Raver) and Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd). They had broken up before the pandemic hit, but we had to wait to find out. Owen even played her the voicemail recording. That was brutal.

As we watched these two reach bliss last season, I loved them. It was a long time coming. But I actually do prefer Teddy with Tom Koracick (Greg Germann). They are just so in sync with each other, and Teddy brings out Koracick’s sweet side.

The writers are really making us hate Teddy. I think it’s going to take a long time for the fans to forgive her.

Another beloved couple, Nico Kim (Alex Landi) and Levi Schmitt (Jake Borelli), are not doing well. Nico is back because of the pandemic, but they never got back together. I’m not too fond of Nico giving Schmitt a stress release. This isn’t going to end well. Or maybe it could bring them back together? They were cute together.

We did have a fave couple happy in this episode though, Amelia Shepherd (Caterina Scorsone) and Atticus Lincoln (Chris Carmack). Though, like us, they have forgotten what day of the week it is. (As I said, they got everything in.) They have also forgotten what week it is. They forgot Link’s birthday, but they are taking care of a new baby and Meredith’s three kids. That’s a lot.

They did manage to get the kids occupied enough to have sex. And we finally learn how sex will be this year. It’s pretty sexy even if they are apart from each other. Though their legs were tangled together and there was just something about that sheet that finished it off nicely.

And Schmitt and Nico’s sex scene was similar. There is no kissing. Though the guys’ sex scene wasn’t as sexy as Amelia and Link’s, that’s probably because we weren’t too thrilled about what’s going on with them.

It took almost one hour, but Grey’s Anatomy did make me cry, as I knew it would. It was Andrew Deluca (Giacomo Gianniotti) that made me break first. His intervention was heartbreaking. All he ever wanted was to not end up like his father, and that’s what happened. I lost it during Deluca’s monologue. But he got the help he needed, and he’s even an attending now.

And as we saw at the end of last season, Deluca was right. The young girl was kidnapped. She comes back in this episode, and he’s able to save her.

Right after that, the tears came more because Meredith had a breakdown from losing another patient.

It wasn’t all gloom and doom with covid, though. Richard Webber (James Pickens Jr.) is back and even came up with a solution to clean the masks and was promoted to Chief of Cheifs and reunited with Catherine Avery. (Debbie Allen)

Maggie Pierce (Kelly McCreary) is probably the least stressed right now. She’s in a blissful new long-distance relationship, and she’s super aunt from behind closed doors.

I loved the scene with Maggie and Katherine when they were just yelling out all their frustrations. It seemed to help, and I think we should try it sometime.

There was a lot packed into two hours. And I know I didn’t mention everything that happened. But it was an intense one that made us cry, laugh, feel terrified, and rejoice to have our characters back.

I’m excited about the wild season we’re embarking on, but first, they must fix whatever is wrong with Meredith.

What did you think of the two-hour premiere episode? Tweet me @MandyTTCarr or comment below.