Note: This story contains spoilers from Season 22, Episode 2 of “Grey’s Anatomy.”
“Grey’s Anatomy” celebrated 450 episodes with a nostalgic and emotional hour, which gave fans long-awaited reunions and big reveals.
The landmark episode, titled “We Built This City,” saw Dr. Maggie Pierce (Kelly McCreary) return to Seattle to help Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) care for Amelia (Caterina Scorsone), who had fallen into a depression after the hospital explosion killed Monica (Natalie Morales) and nearly killed Link (Chris Carmack). Maggie’s return also brought big news, when she announced to her sisters that she was pregnant – choosing to find a donor so she could become a single mother.
“When Maggie came back, we wanted to show that she was doing well and moving forward with her life. And in ‘Grey’s,’ we always love a good pregnancy,” longtime “Grey’s” writer Zoanne Clack told TheWrap. “We considered different ways this could have happened. Was she in a relationship? Was she getting married? But we landed on this because it seemed like something a strong, independent woman who wanted to move forward in her life would do.”
Clack added that the script pays homage to her own journey to becoming a single mother by choice – “her donor number is my donor number – as well as that of series creator Shonda Rhimes. She said she watched other 450th episodes on television for inspiration – for “SVU” and “The Simpsons,” in particular – and ended up writing an eventful hour that felt like the epitome of “Grey’s.”
Seeing Meredith, Maggie and Amelia together surely tugged at viewers’ hearts, as the doctors reminisced about past shenanigans and theorized what life would be like if they decided to do something else for work — “no one dies in wine bars” — and Meredith vowed to always be there for Maggie if she needed parental advice.
The reunion helped Amelia realize she needed to step away from work and get to know herself, announcing to Richard her plans to take a sabbatical from Gray Sloan. Clack announced that the decision will reduce Amelia’s screen time somewhat, “but she will come back periodically and for good.”
“She realizes that she traded one addiction for another, and it was very destabilizing for her when she realized that,” Clack said of Amelia using her job as a crutch. “Usually she gets back on the horse through surgery, but this time she realized she needs to find balance in her life… She needs to reconnect with the outside world and just have time to heal.”
And these are just two of the highlights of this eventful hour, which also saw the arrival of a new class of interns at the hospital – as renovations are underway to get back on track after the explosion; Teddy (Kim Raver) and Owen (Kevin McKidd) have cemented their separation; interns-turned-residents spent time getting to know their subordinates and memorializing Monica; Bailey (Chandra Wilson) named Ben (Jason George) the new chief resident; and Link (Chris Carmack) struggled to recover.
Below, Clack breaks down the biggest moments from the 450th episode and teases what’s next.
TheWrap: The opening scene with the carousel, Ellis, the kids, and Maggie’s return really set the stage for this to be a big celebration of Grey’s with season 11 vibes. Why highlight that particular era with this episode?
Clack: It was really about trying to recapture some nostalgia for the past. And we were like, “Who do we want to come back with? What are the names that people would really connect with?” And then, of course, we looked at the season and where we were going, and Amelia struggled after the finale and the premiere, so we immediately thought about what would help her the most? Sisterhood obviously came to mind. So we were thrilled when Kelly said yes.
Maggie returned to help Amelia and dropped the bombshell that she was pregnant, saying she chose to have a baby alone with a donor. Does this mean we’ll see Maggie again to accompany her throughout this pregnancy?
We will definitely mention it throughout the season. This will have an impact on Richard (James Pickens Jr.) – and whether or not Winston (Anthony Hill) will have an impact, we’ll see.
But it all depends on whether we can see her again or not. Kelly is a busy woman.
The banter between the sisters was notable in the episode, especially Meredith’s suggestion that they open a wine bar together. How did it feel to write for this trio again?
It was really, really, really nice to see Kelly — and actually, during filming, her husband, who she met on “Grey’s Anatomy,” as a director, and her daughter came over during one of her scenes. So it was very nostalgic.
We took them back to what used to be the Sister House and now it’s the Resident House. And we loved the laundry situation because it showed so much of what Amelia was like and what she was in denial about and what she was going through, and she was also able to take us there and talk about old times and really try to figure out how to get Amelia out of her funk. I loved talking about the fall of the wall, how they were doing this together, and the sister chefs.
The second years, led by Jules, honored Monica with this candlelight moment near the end of the episode. How did this come about as your homage to this beloved character?
We wanted to recognize his impact on the show and on these people’s lives and not let his death go in vain. It was a big mystery even to us when we came back, who was going to survive and who was going to die. [in the explosion]. So as that was the outcome, we didn’t want it to feel like it was done, because Monica was such an interesting and impactful character for everyone.
We also thought that [the memorial] was a way to think about the original Fab Five [interns]. Because no matter what’s going on in their personal lives and their feuds, when they need each other, they come together and bond.
Link is still recovering from the injuries he suffered in the explosion, and the road ahead will be difficult. How did you approach writing this darker side of him, drawing on his history with hospitals as a young cancer patient?
It was something we always talked about in the room: seeing a different side of Link, because he’s still so perfect. He always says: “I am for this environmental cause” and “I am the light in the darkness”. And, you know, sometimes he’s in the darkness in the light, especially when it comes to his story and being so patient again. We thought it was a very interesting reflection of how grateful he feels and how irritated he is by that fact, and being able to show that and show his different levels really deepens his character.
We also had an iconic case in this episode with a man who was pinned by a forklift, leading Bailey to appoint Ben as the new head resident. How does this prepare them to move forward?
Ben has always been a very charismatic and very simple character. But he had to control it when he returned to the hospital so as not to derail. So we just like to bring Ben back and look at him as a mentor to these younger doctors and really let him blossom.
We are excited to let him assume his leadership role and move him forward. [Now, they’re a] power couple!
And Teddy decided to step away from administrative duties for a bit, putting Richard back in the position of boss. How does this determine what happens next for them this season?
Richard will never be the boss. Even when he’s not the boss, he’s the boss.
As for Teddy, she is going to go on a journey of self-discovery. She’s going to experience some of the repercussions of her new aortic procedure that she had last season that will happen this season, and we’ll see how she deals with the new notoriety that that brings.
The fact that even in this episode, she remembers that and all the good she can do with her hands, instead of hiding behind these mountains of paperwork…she has big things to discover this season.
You’ve been working on “Grey’s Anatomy” for a while, with writing credits beginning in Season 2, and you’ve written some iconic episodes over the years. Which one you wrote had the most impact on you?
The ones I liked the most were in season 6, episode “The Time Warp”. We were able to return to the journey of Richard and Callie (Sara Ramirez) and Bailey. When I discovered the theme of the excluded, it really came together in a very coherent way. And we had to talk about the beginning of the AIDS epidemic.
I don’t know if you know this, but I’m an emergency room physician and public health official, so it was like, “Boom! All my interests come together. Which also reflects my other favorite episode, which was 1705, during COVID season. I love that we’re honoring the struggles of doctors and medical professionals, what they faced on the ground at that time and how everyone was so isolated. But seeing it on TV made people realize that everyone was going through this together, but separately.
The episode I did, episode 5, reflected my mother’s journey – even though she didn’t die – but as Bailey’s mother, I was able to relate my entire experience as a black woman growing up in America and reflecting on my mother’s situation… I really loved the catharsis and the beauty of that.
“Grey’s Anatomy” airs Thursdays at 10 p.m. ET/PT on ABC and streams the next day on Hulu.
