Grey’s Anatomy Season-Finale Recap: Burning Down the House

Buckle up, Grey’s fam, it’s a hot one over here in the season-20 finale. And that’s not just because wildfires are ravaging the greater Seattle area, flooding Grey Sloan with patients, although that’s definitely part of it. The other part? Did you see Catherine’s face when Owen told her that her power trip would leave blood on her hands? Oh, buddy, if Catherine Fox looked at me that way I’d be Googling how does a person join WITSEC? And Owen isn’t the only person testing Catherine this evening. In fact, it feels like the entire hospital has risen up against her. There’s no way everyone will get out unscathed, right? I mean, one time Catherine literally bought a hospital to spite her husband, so, like, anything’s possible here.

Last week, thanks to Owen asking Catherine to look into the budget for funds for his civilian-trauma training program, she discovered that Teddy had secretly used the Grey Sloan discretionary funds to help Meredith and Amelia with their secret, forbidden Alzheimer’s research. So many secrets! Catherine promptly fired Teddy. Meanwhile, Meredith and Amelia discovered that there is a definite correlation between the gut microbiome and Alzheimer’s disease — Meredith’s theory was correct and their findings could change everything when it comes to the treatment and prevention of the disease. In short: Very bad timing for Catherine to be on to them.

In “Burn It All Down,” Meredith rushes to Seattle to finally face her maker. She and Amelia present their findings and try to impress upon Catherine just how important and revelatory this is — think of the millions and millions of people with Alzheimer’s or genetically predisposed to it whose lives they could change. Catherine isn’t unswayed by these monumental findings and so she offers them $5 million more in funding, but only if they hand over all of their research to Tom Koracick. He will take over the research and they will have nothing to do with it any longer. The research will continue without them, but they both, and Teddy, will all get to keep their jobs. That’s the deal. Naturally, Meredith hates this.

As she contemplates what to do, Meredith has a little heart-to-heart with Webber. I mean, people are literally performing thoracotomies in the hallway because the hospital is so overrun with wildfire victims at the moment, but I’m so glad Mer could find a quiet spot to take a breather. No one needs the assistance of one of the best general surgeons in the country at the moment, probably, so it’s fine. Webber reminds her that she “may not like the options, but she always has a choice.”

So Meredith chooses the option she hates least: She resigns from the Fox Foundation, and she and Amelia publish their work to the NIH website. It’s done. It’s over. The work is out there now. She tells Catherine that she is done playing games and politics with her because it isn’t fair to the patients they could help. Catherine has no move here. Well, actually, Catherine can probably sue the shit out of her, since she did the actual work while under contract with the foundation, but let’s not get into the nitty-gritty of contract law. That’s above my pay grade.

Let’s talk about love and grand gestures instead! As Meredith leaves, having blown up her life and blown up all preconceptions of Alzheimer’s, who should be waiting for her in the Grey Sloan ambulance bay but Nick Marsh. Sweet Nick! We love Nick! Last week, he once again made this whole speech about how he wants her to consider him in these huge life decisions because he wants a full life with Meredith and her kids, he wants to marry her. She told him that she doesn’t know if she wants marriage again, but she does want Nick in her life and this is her life, so he needs to be in or out. He flies across the country to basically be like, Meredith, could I be any more in? I have always been in! This poor sap has followed her around the country even after she used the “connection is bad” excuse when he told her he loved her. Remember that? It still makes me laugh. Anyway, he gives her yet another great speech about how he doesn’t want to follow her anymore, he wants to do things side by side, as partners. Nick’s not the only one with big romantic gestures, though: Meredith has already put an offer on a house in Boston that Nick loves and would fit the whole family. She is in, too. They are very cute. I’m sorry, but I love them.

Let’s talk about another man saying some big, romantic things to the woman he loves: Ben Warren. Obviously, with the wildfires raging, Bailey is preoccupied with worry over her husband’s safety. Ben shows up at Grey Sloan early on with a fellow firefighter, Theo Ruiz, who was crushed by a large tree branch pushing another firefighter, Travis Montgomery, out of the way. If you watched Station 19 last week, it was very intense and emotional!

As much as Bailey would like her husband to stay at Grey Sloan so she knows he’s safe, he has to get back out into the field. They both know things are only getting more dangerous out there the longer the wildfires go on. As he hops on to the elevator to leave, he takes a long look at her and says, “I love you, Miranda Bailey. Always have, always will.” First of all, very hot. Second of all, do not say that to your extremely scared wife, it sounds very “I might never see you again!” And though swoony, it is not in any way calming. But off Ben goes.

Bailey tries to bury herself in work, assisting with Theo’s complicated surgery (Theo ends up being okay), but she is so overwhelmed with fear for Ben that partway through, she has to step out. She is overcome! Simone finds her staring out the window with worry and asks if there is anything she can do. All Bailey wants is to know that her husband is safe — he hasn’t answered her texts in hours. Well, thankfully, Simone can help with that. It turns out Lucas Adams, seeing how many people were rushing to the hospital looking for news on loved ones, created a public database for people to share and find the status of friends and family. Thanks to a little assist from Dorian (who gets released in this episode, yay!) and his mother, who previously worked for the city, the database is now tracking first responders, and Ben Warren is on that list. Ben is just fine. Bailey is beyond relieved.

Now, if you don’t watch Station 19, here is a little fun fact for you: By the end of Station 19’s finale, Ben decides to give up firefighting and return to his surgical residency. That is (1) hilarious, because can this man stick with a career path for once? And (2) quite lovely news for Bailey. She’ll be so happy and we love that for her.

Last week, Bailey was already beginning to show signs that she had become quite attached to this crop of interns as they waited for their ABSITE exam results, and after the happenings during the wildfires, there is no denying it anymore. She’s hooked! Last week we learned that because of the whole Sam Sutton business (his family settled with the hospital; Jo and Link have made zero mention of the man!), the GME Council recommended that Lucas be made to repeat his first intern year. It isn’t worried about his skills, but rather his judgment. It would be a humiliating blow for our Saddest Boy. So, when Maggie Pierce stopped by for a surgery and to finalize her divorce with Winston, and impressed with Lucas’s work, offers him a second-year residency job at her hospital in Chicago, he is tempted to take it. Simone is distraught over the thought of him leaving.

When Lucas learns that he actually scored the highest out of his intern class on the ABSITE and yet still might have to repeat his first year, he’s all but sold on moving to Chicago and starting a career in cardio. He has one final meeting with Catherine Fox to learn what her final decision is. Just as she is about to decide his fate, however, Simone and all the other first-year interns bust into the conference room. They are standing in solidarity with Lucas. They refuse to lose him. If he goes, they go. Catherine pretty much laughs at them — they know she could replace all of them by tomorrow, right?

But then, from the back of the crowd, Bailey walks in. She is standing up for her interns, for Lucas too. “What about me? Can you replace me?” she asks Catherine. Reader, I clapped! Miranda Bailey is the mama bird around this place — do not mess with her!

• Grey’s Anatomy is nothing if not a soap opera, folks, so I’ve got to tell you: I am very onboard with this amnesia plot we’ve got going on. A woman comes into the ER with some minor injuries from the wildfires. She tells Lucas all about how she got in a car accident a few years ago and doesn’t remember her life before then and has since started over … and that woman winds up being Kwan’s ex-fiancée?! Oh, we are living.

• Jo is pregnant and decides not to tell Link. Please do not withhold this info from him for too long or this man is going to have all sorts of PTSD from that debacle with Amelia.

• I am legit cackling over the fact that next season we might get a full-blown love triangle situation between Winston, Monica, and Amelia. Winston and Amelia already have such a tenuous relationship, to have them competing for the same woman? Oh, it brings me joy.

• Could this really be it for Webber? He messes up big time while guiding Mika and Jules through an aortic repair, and the patient ends up dying. He thinks it might finally (no, for real this time) be the time to hang up his scrubs. He also comes clean to Winston about what went down — he can get in trouble for this, no?

• Mika and Jules share an almost-kiss after a few episodes of some flirting. An interesting development, if we didn’t already know Mika is leaving next season.

• Seeing Teddy kick ass in Theo’s surgery this week reminded me of why she was such a great character when she initially arrived at Seattle Grace. Anyone else? I mean, this season ends with Teddy, Owen, and Amelia all fired from Grey Sloan for standing up to Catherine, so we’ll see what happens. I can’t imagine we’re ditching all three, but who knows what kind of disaster will strike the hospital next and wipe out a few main characters! Be on your toes for season 21, friends!