‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Season 20 Finale Recap: Are the Cast Members Leaving?

ABC

SPOILER ALERT: The story includes details from ABC’s Season 20 finale. Grey’s Anatomy.

Over the past two decades, Grey’s Anatomy turned late-season cliffhangers into an art form, and, closing out its 20th season, the venerable medical drama did not disappoint.

The latest episode – aptly titled “Burn It Down” because it takes place during a massive wildfire – served up some bombshells.

After the false pregnancy scare in episode 5, Jo (Camilla Luddington) and Link (Chris Carmack) agreed that they would like to have a baby one day. That day came much sooner than either of them expected: tests taken after Jo passed out revealed that she was pregnant, a fact she chose not to share with the future. father, postponing this conversation until season 21.

Kwan (Harry Shum Jr.) also left us hanging with a bombshell that he casually dropped, revealing to Adams (Niko Terho) that an amnesiac wildfire victim was his ex-fiancée. While he only casually mentioned an ex-girlfriend for the first time in the last episode, the existence of an ex-fiancée is certainly a development that deserves serious expansion next season.

At the end of the episode, no one’s life was at stake like the previous one. Grey’s Anatomy The season ends, but most of the doctors – including all of the interns – have found themselves at career crossroads, with their jobs at Gray Sloan in limbo, raising questions about the actors’ futures on the show . (We’ll talk more about this later.)

The list includes Meredith’s (Ellen Pompeo) co-conspirators in her secret Alzheimer’s research, Amelia (Caterina Scorsone) and Teddy (Kim Raver), who were both fired by Catherine Fox (Debbie Allen) after that Meredith defied her boss at the Catherine Fox Foundation by refusing to abandon the project and hand over all her notes to Koracick. Instead, she posted a summary of the study online.

Owen (Kevin McKidd) also found his badge deactivated after standing up to Catherine and refusing to kick Teddy from the team trying to save the life – and leg – of Station 19It’s Theo Ruiz. (It was a good decision because they did it successfully, with Teddy as the team’s MVP.)

For a moment, the season 20 finale felt like a repeat of season 19, with two interns caring for a patient in an operating room who later died. This time it was Millin (Adelaide Kane) and Yasuda (Midori Francis) under the supervision of Richard Webber (James Pickens Jr.).

The death shook Richard, whose confidence had already been shaken by his near-sobriety in the Season 19 finale, which he worked to rebuild all season.

“I think my time may be up,” he told Meredith. “I know I’ve said it before, I know I’ve taken OR breaks in the past, but this time it’s different. I feel like I need to think about putting the scalpel down.

Fortunately, Richard eventually realized that the patient’s death was not the result of the interns’ actions, allowing him to feel better about his judgment and perhaps rethink his retirement plans.

After sending Meredith, Amelia, Teddy and Owen away, Catherine wasn’t finished. She was about to comply with GME’s recommendation to have Adams repeat as a first-year intern when the rest of the interns (and a few random people in scrubs behind them) came into the room to defend him.

“We don’t want to leave anyone behind or lose anyone,” said Griffith (Alexis Floyd), who recently rekindled her romance with Adams. She had been sounding the alarm throughout the episode that Adams, who had the highest score on the big test, might quit after being offered a job at the Chicago Heart Center where Maggie works.

Griffith’s attempted threat, “If Adams leaves…” was quickly stopped by Catherine who bluntly told the interns that she could replace them the next day.

This led to the ultimate twist for Bailey (Chandra Wilson), who went on an emotional roller coaster in one episode, fighting to save Theo while worrying about her husband Ben as he battled the forest fire on the front line. (Who can blame him for having a pit in his stomach after those ominous parting words from Ben, “I love you Miranda Bailey, always have, always will.”) To cap off an episode of power moves, she delivered the biggest by waltzing in and confronting Catherine: “And me? Can you replace me? in the final cliffhanger of the finale.

We will have to wait until the fall to get Catherine’s response. As for the future of the cast, as Deadline exclusively reported, Jake Borelli and Midori Francis are on their way out. All the other series regulars have committed to returning next season, although veteran cast members likely won’t appear in every episode, with each potentially skipping a few.

As expected, Borelli and Francis made deals to return in the fall and wrap up their characters’ stories over multi-episode arcs. Indeed, the finale of season 20 did not provide closure for either Levi or Yasuda.

Levi was suspected of Borelli eventually getting Beltran’s (Natalie Morales) recommendation for the teaching fellowship he was pursuing, but that depended on his good test scores and he landed in the mediocre 62nd percentile.

“I want to rethink my whole life,” he tells Helm (Jaicy Elliot) upon seeing his result.

Nothing stood out about Yasuda who found herself in the same boat as the other interns who spoke on Adams’ behalf. Moments before the four stormed Catherine’s office, she shared an intimate moment with Millin where the two almost kissed.

A couple who did In the final minutes of the finale, Meredith and Nick (Scott Speedman) came from Boston to profess his love again, even though Meredith made it very difficult for him to be a part of his life, which he admitted.

“I’m in, I’ve been in, I can’t get out,” he said, telling Meredith that he would follow her wherever she decided to move after the secret research debacle, even if he would like them to be. partners in the future.

She responded with a grand gesture, revealing that she had just made an offer on the Chestnut Hill house that he had mentioned in the last episode as a place they could turn into a home together.

In other romantic developments, Beltran and Ndugu (Anthony Hill) are now officially a Grey’s couple after opening the finale by waking up together and closing it by arranging for a second hookup.