It’s all hands on deck in the Season 23 premiere of “Grey’s Anatomy” as a plane collision plunges Grey Sloan into utter chaos. Of course, that’s nothing compared to the metaphorical plane collisions blowing up each of the doctors’ personal lives this week.
Let’s begin with Simone, who has officially chosen Wes over Lucas, officially putting an end to their love triangle. Just kidding! Simone still has big feelings for Lucas, making it all the more awkward when she, say, accidentally walks in on him taking a shower whilst searching the bathroom for a condom to use with Wes. Her life is basically one big sexual farce at the moment.
Of course, Simone is no dummy. She’s fully aware of the tangled web she hath woven, and her only way out is to tell Lucas that she needs some “space” from him. He’s not thrilled, but he understands, promising to respect her wishes. And just like that, Simone can breathe a sigh of relief, knowing that her future with Wes is secure and uncomplicated.
Ha! Kidding again. The episode ends with Simone excusing herself to go to the bathroom, where she’s looking at the results of — wait for it — a pregnancy test! And even though Simone and Lucas only slept together once, it’s entirely possible that he could be the father of this baby. That’s right, ladies and gentlemen, we have ourselves a good ol’ fashioned paternity mystery.
Jo quits
Jo ended Season 22 in a low place, and she isn’t much better when we reunite with her in this premiere. She’s working through things with her therapist — who tells Jo to throw out anything that reminds her of her traumatic birth, which she collects in an I-Almost-Died box — but she’s still questioning her future in medicine.
Link and Jo are both thrust into the chaos caused by the plane wreckage, but the two spouses come away from it with very different conclusions. While Link feels revitalized, reminded of why they became doctors in the first place, Jo feels the exact opposite, nearly passing out in an elevator while watching a patient bleed out during an emergency procedure.
In fact, the whole thing apparently helped Jo make up her mind about her career. As she reveals to Link when dust finally settles, she quit! As if that isn’t bad enough, we see Link stealing a bottle of pills from Jo’s misery box right before she comes home. We don’t have a good feeling about any of this.
Amelia and Toni get back together
In happier news, Amelia and Toni get back together at the end of the premiere, but their road reuniting is anything but smooth. Toni still hasn’t forgiven her for sleeping with Cass, admitting that she only responds to Amelia’s texts because they’re still co-workers and she doesn’t want to make things weird.
In true “Grey’s Anatomy” fashion, the ladies’ drama spills over to their medical endeavors, as they bicker while operating on one of the plane’s pilots. Through a series of unprofessional exchanges, they basically equate their situation to that of a plane crash. With the patient serving as a metaphor for their relationship, Amelia fights like hell to keep her alive, while Toni insists that she can’t be saved. When Toni finally calls the woman’s time of death, it feels like she’s doing the same for her relationship with Amelia.
Amelia then shows up at Toni’s house with her tail between her legs, literally begging to be taken back. She recognizes that her sleeping with Cass “nearly destroyed” Toni, but Amelia also admits she has “a penchant for self-destruction.” In a dramatic confession, Amelia says, “I’m desperately, madly, dizzyingly in love with you,” pleading that if any part of Toni still feels the same way, she cannot let this die between them.
After making Amelia sweat it out for a few seconds — which feel like hours — she finally replies, “I’m not done,” sealing their make-up with an epic kiss.
Meredith delivers a warning
Along with being chaotic, the planes’ collision is also extremely inconvenient, happening on the same day that Grey Sloan Memorial debuts its new “Olympic floor,” a privately funded wing for VIP guests to receive the best treatment money can buy. Most of the doctors are opposed to this addition, but no one more than Meredith, who fails to give proper care to a patient because she’s forced to perform a concurrent (and elective!) surgery on the hospital’s first-ever VIP client. (Side note: When the VIP patient demands Meredith “or Sloan,” we nearly lost it. Such disrespect!)
A 17-year-old boy in foster care named Charlie arrives at Grey Sloan with a hernia, a condition that significantly worsens while Meredith is away doing the VIP’s procedure. Charlie is furious with Meredith for abandoning him, but she still operates on him, discovering something that could be cancer in the process. She asks for Charlie’s forgiveness, promising to get him through whatever comes next if he lets her be his doctor.
Absolutely wrecked by this whole experience, Meredith vents her frustrations with Webber and Seth Norton (recurring guest star James Wolk), the CEO who funded the Olympic floor — and the hospital’s new Chief of Surgery. That second part takes Meredith aback even more, prompting her to warn Webber, “This will implode.”
Is Jules and Winston’s ‘ship sunk? And is Kwan gone for good?
Elsewhere in the “Grey’s Anatomy” Season 23 premiere…
- Bailey gets so caught up in the plane crash craziness that she (oops!) forgets to register for classes. Winston says a simple phone call should clear things up, but at this point, Bailey is beginning to question her decision to enroll at all. With so many people, both at the hospital and at home, counting on her, how can she possibly add schoolwork to her plate? But Winston isn’t about to let Bailey give up, reminding her that other people will step up if she agrees to delegate some of her responsibilities.
- The delegating begins with Bailey offering Winston her position as director of the residents, but can he accept? Earlier in the episode, Ben tells Winston that he knows about his relationship with Jules, telling him “as a friend” to “come clean and get ahead of it.” Winston obviously doesn’t have time to do so before this offer comes through, putting him — and his future with Jules — in a very difficult position.
- Still extremely fired from Grey Sloan Memorial, Kwan is filling his time by learning French at home. But one’s calling cannot be denied, so when he notices that his teacher is exhibiting symptoms of a stroke during their Zoom class, he tells her to meet him at the hospital. With Simone’s help, Kwan properly treats his teacher, catching a serious condition just in time. Simone offers to tell Webber about Kwan’s heroics, which might get Webber to reconsider rehiring him, but Kwan says it’ll never happen. His days at Grey Sloan are over, and it’s time for him to move on. Sacré bleu!
What did you think of the “Grey’s Anatomy” Season 23 premiere? Let’s talk: Which of Simone’s boy toys might become her baby daddy? Will Jo’s decision to quit actually stick? And are you relieved that Amelia and Toni worked things out? Grade the episode in the poll below, then drop a comment with your full review.
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