Grey's Anatomy Season 21, Episode 2 Recap

Warning! SPOILERS about Grey’s Anatomy season 21, episode 2 ahead.

Building on the surprising revelations of season 21’s premiere, Grey’s Anatomy season 21, episode 2 laid out even more clearly the key story arcs on which the medical drama’s 21st outing will likely focus. With the premiere tying up loose ends left by Grey’s Anatomy season 20’s finale and setting up new challenges connected to those, Grey’s Anatomy season 21, episode 2 showed life returning to normal at Grey Sloan Memorial, more similar to how it was before the Seattle wildfires. This involved new relationships, surgeons taking new mentees under their wing, and the return of most doctors previously fired.

While Owen, Teddy and Amelia being back at Grey Sloan meant exciting new medical cases, and for the first two even a reunion with Owen and Megan’s childhood neighbor, Meredith still had to grapple with the knowledge of Catherine’s worsening condition. Following her case and trying to convince Catherine to do more exams even got Meredith to involve Bailey, which proved the best possible development given how she eventually convinced Catherine to agree to a biopsy. Finally, Richard’s ignorance of everything going on with Catherine continued to be a problem, one Grey’s Anatomy season 21 will have to face soon.

9 Winston Is Unwillingly Competing With Maggie By Taking Lucas Under His Wing

Lucas Refusing The Spot In Chicago Put Him On Ndugu’s Radar

Lucas’s choice not to move to Chicago, instead staying at Grey Sloan Memorial despite the punishment of repeating the first year due to his mistakes in Grey’s Anatomy season 19’s finale, inevitably drew Winston Ndugu’s attention. Having been Maggie’s student, Winston knew what Lucas was saying no to. However, his recent divorce from Maggie also put Winston in competition with her, pushing him to ask Lucas to be on his service to show him what Grey Sloan could still offer him in terms of cardiothoracic teachings.

Winston’s journey to accept his divorce from Maggie was difficult in Grey’s Anatomy season 20, and he only proved strong enough to move away from Maggie’s kiss in season 20, episode 9, something he wouldn’t have said no to just the previous season. While he seemingly moved on after hooking up with Monica Beltran in Grey’s Anatomy season 20’s finale, interactions with Maggie of those relatively close to him still affected him, prompting Winston to take personally the responsibility of showing Lucas how his cardiothoracic education could still thrive, inevitably seeing himself in a kind of competition with Maggie.

8 Molly Asking Blue About Their Past Forces Him To Deal With Difficult Feelings

Their Kiss Makes Things Even Worse By Reminding Blue Why He Fell For Molly

After learning about their past connection in Grey’s Anatomy season 21, episode 1, Molly badgered Blue until he told her more about their story. Their exchanges throughout the day offered insights to Molly and viewers alike, about Blue’s backstory and how he eventually came to terms with the string of tragic events in his life. While Molly’s approach proved refreshing, showing someone very determined with her goals and optimistic enough to make the episode’s darkest moments lighter, her exchanges with Blue eventually brought him pain.

Between reliving the pain of admitting to his cheating and the guilt Blue always felt from their terrible fight prompting Molly to go for the drive during which her amnesia-inducing accident happened, Blue had a challenging day. The day was nevertheless made more difficult by Blue still feeling drawn to Molly, as she might not have remembered him, but he remembered her, and the person in front of him wasn’t that different from whom he remembered, despite the amnesia. With the almost-kiss seemingly affecting Molly, it’s unlikely for their story to have reached its end in Grey’s Anatomy season 21.

7 Schmitt Losing The Peds Fellowship Made Him Better On Beltran’s Service

Schmitt Has A Positive, Calm Approach Now That He Knows Peds Isn’t An Option

Schmitt had already chosen peds as his specialty in Grey’s Anatomy season 20, which motivated him to annoy Monica Beltran into giving him tips for his application. However, Schmitt’s lower ABSITE scores ensured his failure to be considered among the other peds fellowship applicants, guaranteeing he would never get a place at Grey Sloan Memorial. With Webber showing him the upside of the sad occurrence, inspiring him to look for another specialty still attainable to him, Schmitt’s approach nevertheless changed.

This greatly influenced Schmitt’s behavior with the case in Grey’s Anatomy season 21, episode 2. Despite butting heads with the chaplain, Schmitt was professional, understanding, and empathetic, never lacking in his bed manners nor his ability when operating with Beltran and Shepherd. Not having to try too hard to get Beltran’s approval made Schmitt a better doctor, one ready in the OR and helpful to the patient, proving he chose the right specialty the moment it became clear he would not be kept in consideration for it.

6 Amelia & Monica’s Seamless Collaboration Shows How Easily They Still Connect

Monica Hooked Up With Winston But There’s Still Something Between Her & Amelia

Monica going through a divorce effectively impeded her and Amelia’s exploration of their connection, which became even less central once Monica hooked up with Winston because of their similar situation of ending a marriage. However, Grey’s Anatomy season 20 already proved how seamlessly Amelia and Monica worked together because of how much they challenged each other, and Grey’s Anatomy season 21 showed how that didn’t change.

While Meredith and Amelia’s study might have focused all of Amelia’s attention, her return to Grey Sloan made it possible for Amelia to work with Monica again. Their difficult case was rewarding in the way they solved the issue at hand, but also unbelievably sad because of the patient’s negative outcome. The case highlighted how well Monica and Amelia worked together, but also how supportive of each other they were in times of crisis, having a similarly odd approach when dealing with sadness, one that could cheer up the other despite the heavy situation.

5 Lucas Not Wanting Special Treatment Hints At His Peace With Losing 1 Year

Lucas Seems Happy To Pay For Opening Up Sam Sutton To Try & Save His Life

Lucas choosing to stay at Grey Sloan had undoubtedly much to do with Simone not only standing up to Catherine but also having feelings for him. However, that also meant Lucas would have likely to repeat his first year to pay for his mistakes with Sam Sutton. While that could have discouraged the best, Lucas chose to face head-on the consequences of his mistakes, embracing his punishment, not trying to avoid it.

The competition among the interns always characterized the various classes, and even in the new one, Lucas and Blue often competed with one another on cases. However, Lucas’s acceptance of losing a year showed he truly was at peace with the punishment, knowing that would have meant he’d have to face the music instead of cutting corners as his family taught him to. This points to a different, maybe wiser Lucas, one cherishing the journey, trying to do what is right instead of getting there first.

4 Teddy Earning Back Her Chief Job Finally Puts Her Back Where She Belongs

Teddy’s Return As Chief Makes Meredith & Bailey’s Secret Surgery Possible

Grey’s Anatomy season 21, episode 2’s beginning made it clear Teddy had returned as a cardiothoracic surgeon only, with the interim chief position remaining to Richard Webber. Being fired for funding Meredith’s research in Grey’s Anatomy season 20, Teddy was separated from the job she was born to have. Indeed, in the few weeks Teddy was chief, she perfectly handled challenging situations and kept Grey Sloan running, even as it was recuperating after briefly losing the residency program.

Meredith and Bailey’s request for an OR nurse to help them with their secret surgery on Catherine already put Teddy in a precarious position, especially if Webber were to learn the full truth behind their request. Still, that doesn’t erase how Richard’s day away from the hospital gave him a type of clarity he lacked that morning, making him decide to give Teddy back her full job just because she asked.

3 Richard’s Focus On Retiring Hides His Top-notch Skills From Him

Ndugu Finally Convinces Richard That He Still Has Much To Offer

His OR mistakes in Grey’s Anatomy season 20’s finale heavily hinted at Richard’s retirement happening soon, even more so as they happened after a prolonged period he didn’t operate on patients, nor missed doing so. Richard’s certainty that he was unfit to be in an OR only grew by Grey’s Anatomy season 21’s premiere, prompting Winston’s campaign to convince him that that wasn’t the case.

Winston’s realization that he lacked Richard’s ability to get the overall view of the problems during surgery already reminded Richard of how much he still had to teach. However, it was besting Winston and Lucas as they played golf that convinced Richard he might have called the end of his career too soon, as Winston was undoubtedly right when he said that Richard’s endurance and concentration were still in top form. This made Richard’s doubts about his ability something that had to do more with his reaction to the mistake that cost the patient his life than his actual skills dipping.

2 Catherine Still Hasn’t Told Richard About Her Health

Catherine’s Hesitancy To Share Has Big Implications In Grey’s Anatomy Season 21

Catherine’s stubbornness in Grey’s Anatomy season 21’s premiere had much to do with her wish not to let Richard and Jackson know about her declining health before it was too late, clashing entirely with Meredith’s approach, as she believed they should have known and didn’t want to hide such a major development from them. While Catherine showed a softer side in season 21, episode 2, especially in the way Bailey and Meredith eventually convinced her to do an invasive procedure, she didn’t budge on Meredith’s request to involve Richard and Jackson in the updates about her health.

Grey’s Anatomy season 21, episode 2’s ending showed the dissonance between Richard’s newfound confidence that might push him to try again in the OR and Catherine’s worries, which focused her mind but still didn’t change her decision to involve her loved ones. Richard evidently noticed how Catherine’s head was somewhere else, pushing her to join him in song, and while Catherine did at last, the big secret she still couldn’t bring herself to share hovered between them.

1 Meredith & Bailey Convincing Catherine Links Them Together Even More

Doing The Biopsy Goes Against Catherine’s Initial Idea To Only Accept Palliative Care

The fate of Meredith and Bailey’s careers after Grey’s Anatomy season 20’s ending was similar even if Catherine didn’t fire Meredith but did so with Bailey. The three powerful women had respected each other for years and their ambition made them similar. However, how their goals put them against each other brought to their massive fights in Grey’s Anatomy season 20. While Meredith wasn’t fired, her relationship with Catherine was still dire, and Catherine firing Bailey ensured the general surgeon would have to move past her bruised ego before asking for her job back.

However, Bailey finally knowing, like Meredith, of Catherine’s declining health briefly halted their ongoing issues. With Meredith and Bailey both having great respect for and a personal relationship with Catherine, their fights came second once Catherine stubbornly wished not to explore what ailed her. Meredith and Bailey convincing Catherine to go ahead with the biopsy thus inevitably linked the three of them even more than their fights ever did. Indeed, they now shared a secret they would have to keep from Richard, someone they all loved differently, ensuring this storyline would be one of Grey’s Anatomy season 21’s biggest.

Grey’s Anatomy season 21 releases new episodes every Thursday at 10 pm ET on ABC.