‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Has a Meredith Problem
[Warning: Spoilers for Grey’s Anatomy season 16, episode 3, “Reunited,” ahead.]
Over Grey’s Anatomy’s 16 seasons, Meredith Grey has been fired on several occasions...but this time, it doesn’t seem like she’s coming back—and that’s already becoming a major issue for Grey Sloan Memorial. On Thursday’s new episode, Meredith’s absence from the hospital caused massive problems for patients and the other doctors. Is this plotline already falling apart?!
First of all, a patient almost refused life-saving surgery because Meredith wasn’t there. She had to be FaceTimed in to get the patient to agree…and then Bailey hung up on her. To make matters worse, Qadri broke down in tears about not being able to learn from Meredith, because what’s the point of being in Grey Sloan’s program if she can’t learn from the surgeon who also happens to be the major selling point of the hospital? There’s no way she’s the only current doctor or potential future intern who feels that way.
Yeah, Meredith did something wrong, and there’s a protocol to be followed. Insurance fraud is a big deal, obviously. But she was trying to save a patient. That’s all she’s ever tried to do…you know, when her life wasn’t immediately being thrown off course by natural disasters, plane crashes, and bombs.
At the same time, Meredith is still part owner of the hospital, and her being fired (and potentially stripped of her medical license) doesn’t change that. It seems odd how that part has been so far not hammered out, minus the time she made Glasses bring her supplies from the hospital because technically, she does own those supplies.
And surprisingly enough, Meredith is thriving without the hospital. Now that she’s been confronted with how much the health-care system in America really can fail people—real people who she works alongside while doing her community service—she’s realized that she wants to help change things, and it would be hard for her to do that while also perpetuating and benefiting from the system that she’s realized is so broken. TBH, American health care has needed to change for a long time, inside the Grey’s universe and out…maybe Meredith can make it happen in the TV universe at least.
But the hospital isn’t thriving without Mer, and it seems like things are going downhill fast. Bailey is clearly still holding a grudge against her for the whole insurance fraud thing (come on, really?) and is losing good surgeons like Dr. Qadri who came to Grey Sloan specifically because of the legend of Meredith Grey.
And what’s worse is the fact that two of the other best surgeons in the hospital, Karev and Richard, are now working together in another hospital, which is in pretty bad shape but progressively getting better with their help. Bailey’s quickly running out of options and it’s hard to imagine what Grey’s would be without the hospital that has remained one of the only steady links between all these seasons and the revolving door of characters. Honestly, how strong can a hospital be if it falls apart after a simple personnel change? Aren’t we supposed to believe this is one of the best hospitals in the country?
Are we about to see a massive shift in what fans know as Grey’s Anatomy? That might actually end up being a good thing...if this becomes a show about Meredith dismantling the American health care system, I’m definitely in.
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