Welcome back, Teddy! Hello, Carina! ET checks up on all your favorite Grey Sloan couples.
Warning: Spoiler alert! Do not proceed if you haven’t watched Thursday’s two-hour premiere of Grey’s Anatomy.
Grey’s Anatomy is back!
The hit medical drama returned with a supersized two-hour season 14 premiere on Thursday, which had everything from family reunions, returning faces and a shocking health revelation for one of our favorite Grey Sloan Memorial doctors.
Grey’s picked back up right where things left off in the finale. A day or so after the fire that ruined parts of the hospital (and the catalyst for Stephanie to leave), Meredith and company attempt to get back to work -- with Owen’s sister, Megan (Abigail Spencer), and closing up her open battle wound their primary objective (which they’re successful doing). Megan’s Seattle arrival also prompts the return of a former colleague, Teddy (Kim Raver), causing a already-present rift between Owen and his wife, Amelia.
Meanwhile, DeLuca’s older sister, Carina (Stefania Spampinato), makes a memorable entrance into the Grey Sloan universe (turns out, she’s a sex doctor!), much to DeLuca’s dismay, who catches her in a rather compromising position on the couch with Arizona. Oops!
But the biggest life-altering surprise came at the very end, when Amelia learns devastating news about her health: She has a brain tumor. Will she tell Owen? How will she handle the diagnosis? Has the ticking clock on her mortality officially begun?
With two hours of Grey’s to unpack, ET checks up on all your favorite couples and love triangles at the start of the new season.
Meredith, Nathan and Megan: Megan’s arrival complicates things romantically for Meredith and Nathan, that much is clear. But it’s even further muddied when Meredith walks in on Nathan preparing to propose marriage -- an engagement ring and all -- to his former love. It takes Meredith a moment to process what she may have just interrupted, but the slight pang of hurt is still evident on her face. It all comes back around when Meredith catches Nathan, sitting alone on a bench outside the hospital looking unhappy about something, that she gets the full picture of just how difficult this will get. “She doesn’t want to be with me,” a distraught Nathan confesses to Meredith. “She thinks I’m still in love with you.” Is he?
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Owen and Amelia (and Teddy): The status of Owen and Amelia’s marriage becomes a hot topic throughout the episode, especially when Megan confronts her brother over the “sham” of a union the two have, from her perspective. Making matters worse, Owen’s “person,” Teddy, is back in town to see through Megan’s surgeries and recovery -- and ultimately sides with Megan’s take on things. “Why is your wife not the person you turn to?” Megan brings up, a dig at Amelia’s avoidance of Owen’s family during Megan’s ordeal, who reveals that she’s unofficially adopted a Syrian refugee named Faruq. Owen has a talk with Amelia, telling her that she may still be suffering from PTSD and needs to remedy it through therapy or meds, which doesn’t go over well with Amelia, who storms off after telling Owen, he can have Teddy: “No skin off my back!” Yikes.
Sure enough, Owen confides in Teddy, telling her that Amelia isn’t intimate with him anymore before the two lean in for a passionate kiss. Thankfully, Teddy has the wherewithal to nip this in the bud before things get even more dicey. “You’re married and you are conflicted and you are my favorite human on the planet, and if we are meant to be more in this lifetime, it can’t start with you cheating on your wife,” Teddy tells Owen. “I know your guilt. I know your shame. Let me stay your favorite person for a while…” Surely, Amelia’s brain tumor will be the ultimate test for Owen.
Jackson, April and Maggie: Whatever observations April made regarding Jackson and Maggie’s mutual attraction in the finale is addressed, sort of, but with Jackson and Maggie awkwardly avoiding each other whenever possible -- basically confirming that yes, there is some truth to April’s comments. You know it’s serious, though, when April comes to the tearful conclusion that she and Jackson can’t co-parent under the same roof anymore and that she needs to move out.
Alex, Jo and DeLuca: After Jo has an ill-advised hook-up with one of the new interns, “Glasses,” Alex has a heart to heart with Jo, revealing to her that he tracked down her estranged husband, Dr. Paul Stadler (Matthew Morrison). “I could never hurt you,” Alex promises, admitting that he’s not like Dad -- while he sometimes does the wrong thing, he “swears” he could never hurt Jo. “You saw Paul, and you didn’t kill him,” Jo concludes, with Alex admitting he “thought about it” but “came home instead.” Satisfied with the answer, Jo locks the door to the doctor’s lounge and kisses Alex. Guess they’re back to being OK again. But you can’t forget about DeLuca either, who, earlier in the premiere, meets Jo at a bar to talk work stuff -- only she preemptively assumes he’s there to talk about where they stand. “Can we not make it awkward?” she requests. Too late!
Arizona and Carina: Arizona sure moves on from Eliza quickly! DeLuca walks in on his roommate with his sister, Carina, getting hot and heavy on the couch. And it doesn’t take long for Carina to join Grey Sloan, mainly so she can conduct her sex study and make friends. But will Carina’s casual romance with Arizona turn into a long-term thing?
Ben and Miranda: Out of all the Grey Sloan docs, Ben and Miranda have the least amount of worries. Their biggest obstacle during the premiere? The crumbling hospital wings, Ben’s adrenaline kick for fire-fighting (he’ll transition to the firefighter spinoff soon) and their bedroom activities. Really, they’re A-OK.
What did you think of Grey’s Anatomy’s two-hour premiere? Hit us up in the comments below and tell us your thoughts on Twitter via @etnow!
Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.