Grey’s Anatomy Season 22 Episode 2 Review: We Built This City

The hospital is under construction after the deadly explosion, and that brings new challenges on Grey’s Anatomy Season 22 Episode 2, “We Built This City.”

The focus of this episode is recovery, both physical and mental. The hospital itself is being rebuilt, which forces everyone to adapt to different circumstances. There are fewer surgeries and different priorities as the new group of interns finally gets their start.

Link is recovering physically and pushing himself too hard in the process, but he’s also struggling with feelings of guilt and resentment. 

Jules is struggling with the trauma of having been with Monica Beltran when she died, though she tries to move forward and ignore her feelings as much as possible. And Amelia is in such a deep state of grief that she’ll barely get out of bed — which brings Maggie to town and reunites the group of three sisters — Meredith, Maggie, and Amelia. 

It’s ultimately a solid follow-up to the season premiere episode, and everything that happens is well-connected to the events of that explosion. Even the most interesting surgery that the residents are clamoring for is a direct result of construction happening in the hospital. We have to have a little bit of shock value too, right? 

We’re also watching Simone, Lucas, Blue, and Jules move from being interns to teachers, and it’s a learning curve for every single one of them. Bailey gives them guidelines as they take on their new rules, calling back to earlier seasons by telling them they must call their interns by name — not alternatives such as numbers, as Cristina Yang famously did. 

Those little details are so important to keeping the show going as long as it has. The same thing happens when Richard welcomes in the new group, giving the same speech he once gave to Meredith, Cristina, Izzie, George, and Alex — though doing so now in a markedly different tone, and in a room that’s being rebuilt. 

Meanwhile, Maggie’s visit has a similar function. It brings the three sisters together, and even allows for some revisiting of backstory on the part of all three of them.

They also move themselves from Amelia’s place to Meredith’s — despite the fact that Meredith has tenants living there — while they work on laundry for Amelia. The house is once again this central location for found family — and they even talk about the changes that have been made over the years. 

There’s also the symbolism of the carousel. First, it’s in Meredith’s dream, which includes her mother criticizing her. Then the episode ends with a real visit to that carousel — which is now a place for Meredith’s children to play while Maggie confides to Meredith about her fears of motherhood.

That reveal is interesting too — Maggie is pregnant, with plans of being a single mother. It makes me wonder if we’ll see a bit more of Maggie this season as well. 

As for what Amelia will do next, she does finally get herself back to the hospital, but not to work. She tells Richard, who has just offered to fill in for Teddy with chief duties (another full circle part of this episode), that she needs to take a sabbatical.

It makes sense for her character, and it’s probably the right move considering all she’s been through, but I hate the thought that we won’t see Amelia for a while. Deadline reports that Caterina Scorsone will be on a hiatus from the show for eight episodes and won’t return until 2026.

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Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursdays at 10/9c on ABC.

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