Grey’s Anatomy Season 21 Episode 1 Review: If Walls Could Talk

Grey’s Anatomy pulls off one of the most clever cast member returns imaginable on its Season 21 premiere. On Grey’s Anatomy Season 21 Episode 1, “If Walls Could Talk,” Sydney Heron returns to Grey-Sloan Memorial as the new residency director and Miranda Bailey’s replacement. 

It’s impressive enough that the show has been running long enough to bring someone back from the past who has been away for 17 years, but it’s that much more clever because of the circumstances.

Sydney Heron, played by Kali Rocha, was Bailey’s replacement in Season 2 while Bailey was on maternity leave. She took charge of the original group of interns — Meredith, Cristina, Izzie, George, and Alex — surprising them with her overly enthusiastic personality and her motto, “heal with love.”

Now, years later, she’s doing the exact same thing and getting a similar response. Of course, this only worked in the first place because the show had positioned Bailey to be back in charge of interns, and it’s a little ridiculous that Bailey was fired in the first place, but the payoff here is pretty great. 

There’s the same juxtaposition between the two characters and their teacher styles paired with the same competitiveness. Plus, it adds a little humor. 

More importantly, it’s Sydney’s return and the way it all hits her on such a personal level that inspires Bailey to declare she’s going to get her job back.

She’s been filling her time by working at her clinic in the meantime, which is nice to see. Ben has been volunteering there as well, and while his presence is both welcome and somewhat calculated, I have a problem with the fact that we’re clearly supposed to know why he’s no longer working as a firefighter.

Station 19 is no longer on the air, so this shouldn’t be a problem much longer, but this is yet another example of the show assuming viewers were watching and staying up to date on both series. 

Of course, I also still occasionally bemoan that we don’t get enough references into Amelia’s days on Private Practice, so do with that what you will.

Meanwhile, in Boston, Amelia and Meredith are dealing with the fallout from publishing their research, with court orders and cease and desist letters coming in constantly. Jackson shows up, which is a nice touch, to talk some sense into Meredith as he has become known to do, but it’s mostly all kind of… boring. 

The situation itself is interesting enough, but it’s getting old seeing Meredith shuffle papers around on her occasional appearances on the show. She’ll be back a bit more this season, and hopefully, that means we’ll see her doing more, but for now, it’s dragging things down. 

Of course, Catherine’s collapse as Meredith comes in to, presumably, make an apology because Jackson urged her to, changes things up a bit. Still, it mostly just becomes another conversation with threats and blackmail, even though the power dynamic shifts just a bit because Catherine wants the state of her health kept secret.

There’s still so much anger there, though, and it’s frustrating because it continues to feel very one-note. Obviously, we’re meant to understand that Catherine’s health is playing a part in her actions, but the firing spree and the way she’s been talking about everyone — it’s too much. 

There will be some sort of change with the research. After coming back from her prolonged visit with Catherine, Meredith tells Jackson and Amelia that everyone is getting their jobs back. The research will continue, but either elsewhere or in some different form, which Meredith is vague about, and though stoic, you can tell she’s lost the battle.

I’ve lost count of how many times various attendings have been fired and re-hired at the hospital, so I’m at least relieved that portion of the story is resolved quickly. 

The interns also have plenty of drama to deal with on this season premiere, each of them experiencing some sort of pivotal moment, not to mention their search for a patient who manages to get lost in the ceiling and then trapped behind a wall.

Jules and Yasuda kiss in the locker room, confirming that the moment from last season where they almost kissed but were interrupted actually did mean something. I’m glad that wasn’t just a throwaway moment, but rather one that signaled something more.  

Knowing that Midori Francis, who plays Mika Yasuda, is leaving this season, makes me curious to see how this will all play out.

Theirs isn’t the only romance that takes a step forward on this premiere, though. Lucas makes the decision to stay in Seattle after hearing that Simone asked everyone to support him, and also because of what Blu tells him about his own life, which I’ll get to in s second.

Simone learns of Lucas’s decision to stay when he bangs down her door and greets her with a kiss. The way Simone bounds down those familiar steps calls right back to the early days of the show.

Have I mentioned how much I love the fact that there are interns living there again? Trick question — I have. But I’m saying it again, because that detail makes such a difference in the way this show is able to keep going the way it is.

Blue has the most intriguing storyline on this episode, with the return of his former fiancé, Molly, who doesn’t remember him because of a car accident. The first time she appeared was at the end of last season, but Blue reveals the details of the heartbreaking story to Lucas on the premiere, explaining why he ultimately left to come to Seattle. 

Not much later, Molly comes looking for Blue, telling him she’s trying to put the pieces together of her former life. She knew that she knew him, somehow, and is only beginning to figure out why.  

Other thoughts:

• The trailer for this season showed that epic moment when Bailey slaps Catherine, and I have to say, I don’t think I’ve been that let down by a show this badly in a long time. It’s a dream? It’s a DREAM? Come on. This might have been a great moment revealing Bailey’s psyche if it hadn’t been for all the hype.
• Jo finally, finally reveals to Link that she’s pregnant. Well, he figures it, but the good news is that he’s happy, and she seems to be also.
• Winston asking Richard to help teach him something new is one of the most satisfying moments of the episode.  

 

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 10/9c on ABC.

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