Can you believe ABC's Grey's Anatomy is about to enter its lucky 13th season? At times, it feels like the series premiere — featuring Meredith Gray and her fellow Seattle Grace interns on the interminable first shift — aired just yesterday. At other times, the weight of the medical soap's long history can truly be felt, as its beloved characters (and the actors who played them) have aged over a decade in the time we've watched them. That's a lot of history...so it's easy to forget specific plot points sometimes. That's what this Grey's Anatomy Season 12 recap is all about.
Last year's batch of episodes was arguably the show's best in years, creatively building on the tragic death of Grey's Anatomy mainstay Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey) in Season 11 Recover. Part of this resurgence is due to the renewed focus on Meredith herself after a few years, with the titular character having somewhat faded into the show's larger spotlight. But Ellen Pompeo's performance as the grieving and recovering widow - especially in the harrowing episode "The Voice of Silence" - is riveting and, in my opinion, worthy of Beautiful award.
If you haven't had a chance to rewatch the epic 12-season marathon of Grey's Anatomy that I recommended a few months ago, here's a brief refresher course on the highlights of what happened last year in Seattle's busiest fictional hospital :
Doctors Without Borders
What happened to the female doctor at Gray Sloan Memorial Hospital? Their inability to maintain appropriate professional boundaries with their stronger male patients? In the great Grey's tradition established by Izzy and her heart patient Danny and continued by Teddy and her oncology patient Henry, Season 12 brings Stephanie's turn to fall in love with Kyle, a man with multiple sclerosis. dreamy musician. Then, like Izzy and Teddy before her, Stephanie's heart is inevitably broken when Kyle rises and dies on top of her.
Four Weddings and a Funeral minus Three Weddings and a Funeral
Derek's sister Amelia was equally devastated by his death, leading to frequent fights between the two grieving women. Amelia found comfort in her on-again, off-again relationship with Owen, which she eventually solidified by proposing to him in the penultimate episode of the season. In the finale, pre-wedding jitters nearly caused Amelia to leave Owen at the altar—she and bridesmaids Meredith and Maggie did, in fact, flee the church for a time—but in the end Meredith was able to Speak to her sister-in-law to return the item and make a deal.
(Meanwhile, Irving has been busy all season waging his own drama with new Gray Sloan surgeon Nathan Riggs, the ex-fiancé of Irving's late sister Megan , he may be indirectly or directly responsible for her death, depending on who tells the story).
oops! i did it again
Bailey was promoted to chief of surgery at the beginning of the season, a development that caused tension between her and Ben, as she was now his boss. But their marital squabbles seemed trivial compared to the troubles Ben got into after undergoing not one but two impromptu surgeries - the first using a clipboard to cut open a mentally ill patient, the second to prevent a hospital blockade Later, an operation was performed on a pregnant woman in the corridor. They couldn't get to the operating room. Ben was suspended for the latter violation after both the patient and her baby died.
Meanwhile, in Season 11, April and Jackson were going through their own marital woes after the death of their infant son, Samuel. The couple eventually divorced when April ditched Jackson to work overseas as a military medic; and, of course, immediately after signing the papers, April learned she was pregnant with their second child. The two storylines collided in the Season 12 finale, when a storm prevented them from getting to the hospital and Ben was forced to undergo yet another makeshift surgery in order to save April's baby - this time with his wife's blessing.
postpartum depression
For a while, things were going well between divorced couple Callie and Arizona, with the former starting a relationship with Penny (the doctor responsible for Derek's death, much to Meredith's chagrin) and the latter moving out Goes to move in with new intern Andrew and starts dating Richard. Her unlikely wingman. However, things fall apart when Penny gets a grant to work in New York City for a year and Carly decides to go with her, taking her daughter Sophia with her.
Unwilling to just leave Sophia's life and move across the country as she pleased, Arizona took Callie to court to fight for custody of the children. Many of their colleagues were forced to awkwardly pick sides in the ongoing legal battle...but ultimately Arizona prevailed, winning full custody of Sophia. Subsequently, a frustrated Kelly left Seattle and the show, following Penny to New York.
secrets and lies
After Derek's sudden death, Meredith and Alex grew closer, causing friction between Alex and Joe. (Don't worry, Meredith and Alex are still just friends.) Alex tries to calm Joe's fears by proposing to him, but when she first says she needs more time and ends up rejecting him , he felt very frustrated.
We finally learned why in the Season 12 finale, when Jo drunkenly revealed her secret to Andrew: She was technically still married to an abusive husband from whom she had fled years earlier She had this husband - and Joe wasn't even her real name! But when Alex returned home and saw Joe half-naked in bed with Andrew, the furious doctor began knocking the intern unconscious multiple times.
sister wives
Even though it's been over a year since Derek's death, thanks to Season 11's flash-forward, the widow is still understandably shy about pursuing any new relationships. A brief romance with Army medic Will Thorpe was the first step on the road back to love... which she may or may not have eventually found with Nathan. (If it's not love, then at least some pretty sexy lust.)
Meanwhile, her half-sister Maggie had a brief relationship with Andrew. But this didn't last long and she soon developed feelings for Nathan as well. Of course, Meredith didn't learn of her sister's crush until after Meredith and Nathan's steamy hookup, which is sure to lead to some awkward tension in Season 13. (Can't they share him?)
Will Alex get in trouble for beating up Andrew? Will April and Jackson get back together? Will Amelia and Owen live happily together? Will we ever see Kelly again? Find out when Grey's Anatomy Season 13 premieres Thursday nights at 8:00 pm ET on ABC.
Photo: Vivian Zink, Richard Cartwright (2), Eric McCandless, Kelsey McNeal, Byron Cohen (2)/ABC
