Grey’s Anatomy left a lot of balls in the air at the end of its Season 18 winter finale. Owen Hunt’s fate was left unknown after the vehicle he was in slid down a cliff, while Teddy was hitchhiking a donor heart back to Grey-Sloan Memorial to save Megan’s son Farouk. David Hamilton was fighting for his life as well, with Meredith having to cut him open after he failed to disclose an illness ahead of what should have been their groundbreaking Parkinson’s surgery. Thankfully, questions about those situations and more will be answered soon when the winter premiere arrives.
Even aside from the three lives hanging in the balance, there were a lot of other moving parts in the first half of Grey’s Anatomy’s 18th season, and I’ve got some things I definitely want to see when ABC's hit medical drama returns with its midseason opener. Let’s take a look at six of those wishes I have for Meredith Grey and company's return for the rest of Season 18, followed by one thing I don’t want to see.
Give Me More Amelia Shepherd And Kai Bartley
Grey’s Anatomy continued to break ground with its diverse casting this season with the addition of E.R. Fightmaster as Minnesota neuroscientist Kai Bartley, an integral part of David Hamilton’s fight against Parkinson’s disease. Kai and Amelia have had scorching hot chemistry since they first shared the screen, and viewers finally witnessed their first kiss during the winter finale, “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear.” I need more of this, stat.
I know that’s not going to make “Amelink” fans very happy. Link was all ready to tell Amelia he still loved her, and then walked outside to a front-row seat of the passionate moment between her and Kai. Link, I need you to just turn around and go back the other way, because we are witnessing the birth of a new Grey’s Anatomy power couple here.
Levi Schmitt Needs Niko Kim To Step Up After Surgery Disaster
I’ve historically been pretty anti-Levi and Niko. The orthopedic surgeon may have helped Levi transform from “Glasses” to “Dr. Schmitt,” but Levi outgrew Niko in emotional maturity ages ago. Niko is rarely featured in the show unless he’s causing trouble for Levi, but for some reason, the Grey’s Anatomy writers keep them together.
That said, Niko has a huge opportunity to step up and redeem himself as Levi’s rock after Levi’s surgery using the “Webber Method” failed, leaving a man dead. Levi’s going to face consequences, as is Webber, for allowing the interns to perform solo surgeries. This should make for a very interesting arc within Season 18’s second half, and I hope the show embraces the opportunity to show us more good from what Niko brings to his relationship with Levi.
Addison Montgomery, You’re Needed In The OR And Everywhere Else
Kate Walsh’s return to Grey’s Anatomy has been a celebration to longtime fans. From the callback to Addison Montgomery’s iconic Season 1 introduction to her emotional elevator meltdown over Derek Shepherd’s death, Addison is solid gold. And I keep waiting for her to show up with an update on her uterine transplant patient. Particularly, though, I need more scenes between her and Meredith Grey, as well as Amelia. Addie, please dispense some wisdom to your former sister-in-law about her love triangle with Kai and Link.
More Adventures From Minnesota’s The Grey Center
It sure seems odd that Grey’s Anatomy expanded its universe outside of Seattle, unless they’re planning a spinoff, of course. In any case, it would be such a shame to introduce Meredith’s namesake The Grey Center for Medical Research, as well as multiple new doctors, in Minnesota only to kill off David Hamilton and have their Parkinson’s trial go completely down the drain. I can’t imagine that happening, so whatever happens to Dr. Hamilton, they’ve got The Grey Center and an established world in Minnesota, so they’d better use them.
Newlywed Happiness For Maggie Pierce And Winston Ndugu
Prior to Season 18, Grey’s Anatomy executive producer Meg Marinis said the show would be celebrating the newlywed couple Maggie and Winston, who are now finally living and working together in Seattle. However, the first half of the season had Maggie in Boston taking care of her father while Winston was working in Seattle. Real life might have played a part in Maggie's absence, as actress Kelly McCreary recently gave birth to her first child, but she came back for the last couple of episodes before the break. Hopefully the second half of Season 18 will feature some fun moments for the newlyweds.
Can Meredith Grey Get Back Into Neurosurgery Already?
Ellen Pompeo teased on her podcast Tell Me back in October 2021 that one of Meredith’s storylines in Season 18 was going to be her return to neurosurgery. Fans might remember that Meredith’s first preference was neuro but after she was caught tampering with Derek Shepherd’s Alzheimer’s trial, Meredith switched her focus to general surgery. I would love to see this come to fruition in the second half of the season, because I have so many questions. What prompts the switch? Is it the Parkinson’s trial? Addison's return? We need to know!
And now for the one thing I DON’T want to see when Grey’s Anatomy returns:
Do Not Turn Jo and Link’s Friendship Into A Romance
Grey’s Anatomy has a phobia about letting friendships stay platonic (other than Alex Karev and Meredith, and even that was a question mark for a while). Jo and Link were established as friends — just friends — for like a decade before we even met Link. Why they needed to retcon Link having a crush on Jo in college is beyond me, and for Jo all of a sudden yearning for Link to love her is borderline insulting.
However, JoLink fans, I admit I'd rather see Link end up with Jo than Amelia (Kai deserves to have Amelia all to themself), and I do like that the BFFs have found themselves living together as single parents. I love Jo and Link’s relationship, don't get me wrong, but they’re just too much like brother and sister to get romantic.
The Grey’s Anatomy winter break is always a painful one to get through, but at least there’s a silver lining this time around, as we already know that our favorite surgeons will be returning for Season 19. The spring premiere will feature a two-hour crossover event in which the firefighters of Station 19 will deploy to try to save Owen Hunt’s life, with Grey’s Anatomy following. Tune in at 8 p.m. ET Thursday, February 24, on ABC, and be sure to check out our 2022 TV Schedule to see when your other shows are premiering.
