Good Medicine

Venerable medical ensemble Grey’s Anatomy returns for Season 21 on September 26 after last year’s “Thursday night massacre,” which left viewers wondering about the fallout. Catherine (Debbie Allen), whose Fox Foundation runs the hospital, was angry at Amelia (Caterina Scorsone) and Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) for using foundation funding for Alzheimer’s research and publishing the results without approval. Amelia was fired, and Meredith resigned. Then Catherine fired Owen (Kevin McKidd) for allowing his wife, Teddy (Kim Raver) — sacked the episode prior — to help him save Station 19 firefighter Theo Ruiz (Carlos Miranda).

“Everyone’s job is on the line,” says showrunner Meg Marinis.  “I don’t think anybody will expect what we’ve got planned and how they reconcile the job losses. I’ll just say that Catherine is a very spiteful person, and it’s not like those people are back working at the hospital. She is true to her word. She is very powerful and she clearly doesn’t like when somebody tries to challenge her like Meredith has. There are consequences.”

The first episode, “is packed,” Marinis explains, because of the last strike-shortened season. “There are lots of loose ends we have to pick up.” Among them, Richard (James Pickens Jr), Catherine’s husband, who must decide whether it’s finally time to retire after allowing interns to take over an operation that proved fatal. “He’s grappling,” Marinis adds, “with whether he made a mistake surgically and if so, what does that mean for his future career?”

As for Amelia, “she’s in a big mess,” the showrunner notes.  “She followed Meredith along for this ride, and she’s in trouble!”

OB-GYN Jo (Camilla Ludington), has other anxieties, though her job is safe so far. She fears telling her partner orthopedist chief Link (Chris Carmack) that she’s pregnant with a third child he’s not eager for, which was made clear when she appeared to fail an earlier pregnancy test. “You’ve got two working doctors who already have two children in the house,” says Marinis. “Who knows how he’ll respond to the news; we really haven’t explored how she feels about the [pregnancy] either.”

Meanwhile, the surgical interns are in flux both professionally and personally. Griffith (Alexis Floyd) bravely demonstrated her strong feelings for Adams (Niko Terho) when, despite his brilliant new research, Catherine was intent on making him repeat his intern year since she blamed him for the death of a patient. Incensed at the unfairness for someone she cares so much about, Griffith managed to get the other interns to offer their resignations if he was left behind. Catherine only backed down when the esteemed Dr Bailey (Chandra Wilson) threatened to quit as well. “When we pick up,” says Marinis, “we’ll see what Adams’ response to Griffith’s grand gesture is.”

There were more shocks and surprises for the interns, beginning with Kwan (Harry Shum Jr) who discovered an amnesiac victim of the finale’s wildfire is his former fiancée. “We’re excited about that,” says Marinis, “because it’s giving us — and the fans — some insight into his character.” Then there’s that almost kiss between Millin (Adelaide Kane) and Yasuda (Midori Francis), who had just broken up with Taryn (Jaicy Elliot). “A connection was there,” Marinis admits. “The attraction between those characters was surprising to both of them and we’ll see where it goes.” Decisions will have to be made quickly since Francis — along with Jake Borelli, who plays chief resident Schmitt — will be departing the show sometime this season.

Speaking of romance, Natalie Morales, who plays pediatric surgeon Monica Beltran, has been upped from guest star to recurring and could well be a love interest for the smitten Winston Ndugu (Anthony Hill), now that he and Maggie (Kelly McCreary) are divorced.

There’s also a new recurring character — James (Michael Thomas Grant, Zoey’s Extraordinary Play List), a gay hospital chaplain — and two returning characters this season. Surgeon-turned-firefighter Ben Warren (Jason George) is back full-time at Grey Sloan where he’ll be replaying a surgical residency under his wife Bailey, which won’t be easy. And after 17 years, Katie Rocha’s cheerful Dr. Sidney Heron, who may be remembered for unsuccessfully challenging Bailey for Chief Resident and having a disastrous date with Dr. Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey), returns for a three-episode arc.

Last but certainly not least, we’ll be seeing a lot more of Meredith and transplant specialist Nick Marsh (Scott Speedman) in Season 21. Though Meredith is untethered right now after publishing her Alzheimer’s research and losing her job, she finally seemed to be fully committed to sharing her life — and her family — with Nick, her on-and-off boyfriend. She even reveals that she bought a house in a charming suburb right outside of Boston in which they can all settle down. Good decision, Meredith.

Grey’s Anatomy, Season 21 Premiere, Thursday, September 26, 10/9c, ABC