Grey’s Anatomy Review: Nothing Left to Cling To (Season 16 Episode 1)

The new season of Grey’s Anatomy is off to a strong start. Many questions are answered and several characters are in a state of transition on Grey’s Anatomy Season 16 Episode 1, “Nothing Left to Cling To.”

Jackson is okay, and that’s good news. He was, of course, stuck in the darkness doing everything he could to save a life. That makes it a little harder to be upset at the way he walked off from Maggie in the first place, since it meant being able to save someone.

The episode progresses on a week-by-week timeline that, among other things, makes it clear that Jackson and Maggie are over. After the way their relationship fell apart, it’s a bit of a relief to see them draw that line. I’m also intrigued by the developing romance between Jackson and Station 19’s Vic (Barrett Doss).

And I do enjoy seeing a week-by-week progression like this when it comes to patients. It’s a unique way of showing the long healing process, and in this case, the ups and downs of it, while letting us become attached to the patients maybe even a little more quickly than we usually would.

This particular case also has an added complexity: Mari knows Jae wouldn’t want to be kept alive, stuck in his body if there was no hope for recovery. That has her nervous about the experimental treatments, and it also begs the question — was what she went through to save him all for nothing?

That story gets a happy ending, thankfully, which feels right for this couple and for the season premiere.

Then we have the doctors who have been fired. Poor Richard doesn’t quite know what to do with himself or who he can ever turn to. We see him at an AA meeting talking about how the person he mentored fired him while his wife stood by and did nothing.

It’s a lonely place to be, and there’s a time where I might have been worried for him, but Richard has come really far over the years and he’s dealing with everything okay. He’s angry, sure. But he has a plan and he’s the one giving advice to Alex and convincing him to clean up his act.

There is something funny about seeing our former chief doing housecalls and getting puked on, but it’s more important to see Richard finding reasons to continue to work.

And no, person interviewing him for a chief of surgery job at Pac. North, he isn’t going to be retiring any time soon.

Maybe he doesn’t get that job, but he knows someone who should. Alex. 

Alex does have the experience as a chief now, and he’s proven that he knows how to turn things around and be innovative. But at present, he’s a bit of mess. 

Richard and Alex’s bonding moment is a highlight of this episode, and I love any chance to Richard to be a chief Webber again. He all but lays out a plan for Alex — he’s going to get the job at the other hospital, hire Richard, clean himself up (and clean up his place!) and give his wife a reason to want to come back.

Alex has grown up so much. I talk about this a lot, but the character development we’ve seen in these original characters over the years is remarkable, especially when it comes to Alex Karev. And he’s not done yet, either. 

He is visibly nervous dropping of Jo at the facility, but he’s incredibly supportive and he shows up to be part of her therapy. That’s where he admits being afraid, and it’s honestly one of the most mature moments we’ve ever seen from his character. Justin Chambers and Camilla Luddington both give powerful performances in this entire episode.

Jo is vulnerable and strong at the same time. Just her willingness to do the work is a big deal, and it’s something I appreciate seeing on television and seeing be normalized. 

With the week-by-week timeline, we eventually see Jo leave at the end of her thirty days. Alex is there to pick her up, dressed in a suit and tie and ready to propose to his wife all over again. 

It’s a beautiful, endearing moment and I’ve never loved the two of them together quite as much as I do now.

And then, of course, there’s Meredith. 

In terms of legal ramifications, Meredith is surprised to find out that she probably won’t be going to prison. There’s some obvious bias happening. She’s a wealthy, successful, white woman. Her lawyer defends her well even when she’s unable to show the remorse she’s supposed to show, though, so it’s community service for her.

It’s interesting to see Meredith in that position, picking up trash on the side of the road. She does so with such an acceptance that she’s not even as mortified as you’d expect when a mom from Zola’s school sees her.

She doesn’t take kindly to the comment about her lack of volunteering at the school. She tells the woman that working mothers are, you know, busy working. And then when they aren’t working, they’re busy parenting.

Thank you, Meredith Grey, for saying what needed to be said there. 

That idea of being a working mom (and trying to balance everything that comes with it) comes up again with Teddy, who has just had a baby and is now living in a hotel because she doesn’t feel comfortable living in the place where Owen and Amelia lived together.

If there’s anything I appreciate about this episode, it’s the honesty with which we see Teddy’s first weeks of motherhood. The baby won’t stop crying, so Teddy can barely stop crying either. She’s visibly exhausted and just wants a shower and a little help, but he’s not entirely willing to let Owen do that.

Especially since he offers to milk her.

I’m just going to leave that there.

Owen takes a big step by listing his house for sale and beginning the process of finding a new one — a place where he and Teddy can start their own lives together. It’s satisfying to see them work through this after everything they’ve been through.

But yet, I’m heartbroken for Tom. I’m also suddenly liking the guy very much based on the way he reacts to Teddy at the beginning of the episode. He’s no idiot.

He understands pretty quickly that Teddy is going to be with Owen now, and rather than act upset about it, he states pretty simply that he knows he’s a great guy, and if she comes to her senses he’ll be there for her because he loves her.

In the meantime, he says, they’ll be friends. He takes it all incredibly well. That doesn’t mean things won’t get complicated now that he’s in such a high position at the hospital, though. We’ll see what happens with that.

Oh, and we certainly can’t talk about motherhood without talking about Amelia, can we?

She and Link have been dating and taking things slow, just having fun and enjoying each other’s company. It’s pretty great, quite frankly, but that’s about to be Grey’s Anatomy level complicated.

Amelia admits to Link that one thing she’s always wanted to do but never has is to sleep with more than one person. She is so embarrassed going to Caterina to invite her for such experience — it’s a new layer to Amelia that I really love seeing, both because of her crush on Caterina and because of her complete nervousness. 

Caterina assumes Amelia is there to see her for something else entirely. To discuss her pregnancy.

There are clues throughout the episode, but they’re subtle and not cliche ones like, say, Amelia constantly throwing up or something. But when Caterina brings the symptoms to her attention, it hits her like a bombshell.

This could be a great storyline for Amelia considering the baby she lost on her Private Practice days, but it is kind of a shame how that could change things with Link. I’m curious to see how it plays out.

What did you think of this episode of Grey’s Anatomy? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursdays at 8/7c on ABC.

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