Spoiler alert! This story discusses the Season 18 episode of Grey’s Anatomy, “Road Trippin’.” Consider yourself warned!
Things have been getting messy at Grey Sloan, and I’m not talking about the surgeries. The shortage of doctors available in the hospital has gotten to an almost comical point, with a number of surgeons apparently quitting or retiring after COVID (remember, Grey’s Anatomy is now set in a fictional post-COVID world), and still more of our heroes are unavailable for a multitude of reasons. It seems like Miranda Bailey’s powder keg is about to explode under the pressure, and fans have reason to be worried about what’s to come.
Bailey (Chandra Wilson) tried to counteract the doctor shortage in “Road Trippin’” and joyfully grabbed an OR for herself, leaving a still-injured Hunt in charge to handle oversight. Unfortunately that would be the day that someone shows up to notify the hospital about complaints made against the residency program, and now they’re at risk of losing it. Let that sink in: The residency program that introduced us to Meredith, Cristina, Alex, Izzie and George might be shut down. Check out the description for next week’s episode, titled “Put It to the Test”:
Bailey is on edge when an accreditation council stops by Grey Sloan to review the residency program, while Richard sets an assessment of his own for the same day. Meanwhile, Nick returns to Seattle to perform a first-of-its-kind operation with Meredith.
Of course Bailey is “on edge,” because think about everyone who’s missing: Richard has been out since Schmitt’s Webber Method surgery-gone-wrong; Schmitt obviously also hasn’t returned, and even actor Jake Borelli is concerned about his fate; Hunt hasn’t been cleared to return to work following his near-death accident; Hayes left the country after learning about Owen’s illegal deeds; Meredith and Amelia spend half of their time in Minnesota; and those doctors must have forgotten about hand sanitizer in this post-COVID world, because first Maggie and now Meredith have taken turns stuck home with the flu.
But if all that sounds bad, the promo for the episode makes it look even worse. Check out what’s to come:
It’s no surprise that Webber and Bailey aren’t going to take the news well when they hear that Meredith has been offered a full-time position in Minnesota, but will that information push the chief over the edge to another heart attack? That would obviously be devastating for the Grey’s Anatomy cast, but it would also have implications in the events of Station 19.
Bailey and her husband Ben have been fighting for custody of Pru Miller, whose father Dean was killed in an accident earlier this season on the firefighter drama. Despite Ben and Bailey’s legal rights to custody, Dean’s parents wanted to raise their granddaughter, but had agreed to let Ben have her, as Dean’s mother had heart problems of her own. If something happened to Bailey, that could throw the whole custody agreement into turmoil, and that’s not even taking into consideration the Millers’ ultimatum to Ben regarding his firefighting career.
It doesn’t look good, y’all, but all we can do is tune in next week to see what happens. Grey’s Anatomy returns at 9 p.m. ET next Thursday, April 7, on ABC. In the meantime be sure to check out our 2022 TV schedule to see what new and returning shows are premiering soon.
