If Walls Could Talk, the 21st season premiere of Grey’s Anatomy on ABC on Thursday night, opened with significant changes at Grey Sloan Memorial. Catherine Fox (Debbie Allen – who also directed this episode) took drastic action by firing key figures including Meredith (Ellen Pompeo), Amelia (Caterina Scorsone), and Teddy (Kim Raver), after their unauthorized Alzheimer’s research.
Owen (Kevin McKidd) also lost his job for confronting Catherine over patient care. This led to tension with Bailey (Chandra Wilson), who defended intern Lucas (Niko Terho), only to clash with Catherine herself. Lucas, struggling with ADHD, was given the choice to repeat his first year or transfer, adding to the turmoil.
Bailey found herself in an uncomfortable position as Catherine continued to exert control. Sydney Heron returned as the new boss for the interns, while Bailey was forced out. Despite this, Bailey stayed close to the hospital, even helping to save a protester trapped in the air ducts after a chaotic climate change demonstration.
The episode also saw the return of Jackson Avery (Jesse Williams), who tried to mediate between Meredith and Catherine, following the ongoing fallout from the Alzheimer’s research.
The episode concluded with a tense medical emergency as Catherine collapsed. Meredith discovered she had a spinal tumor and a heart condition, but Catherine convinced her to keep it secret.
Meanwhile, Jo revealed to Link that she was pregnant, adding yet another storyline to the season’s already intense start.
Grey’s Anatomy airs on ABC on Thursday evenings at 10:00 PM.
