Good news, Grey's Anatomy fam. Meredith Grey is alive, and Bailey, Webber, and Maggie are watching over her, hoping that she makes it through her first Death Beach-dream-free night in a long time. And while that is all fine and dandy, there is a very clear set up happening with Amelia and Link that I'm not sure any fan is ready to grapple with. Sit with me on this.
Richard Webber catching Meredith wake up (however little) is great news, maybe, if you're very invested in her health and haven't watched this show for over a decade. But if you have, and can get real with yourself after the second glass of wine you poured in the latter half of "Sorry Doesn't Make It Alright" (or, the most boring episode to date, which is saying a lot), that flicker of Mer's eyeball only means that she's still in a hospital bed, sleeping off a coronavirus coma, and there is a high probability that things could still take a turn. Let's all hope that she doesn't pull a Mark Sloan (again). It was only a flicker after all, and I'm not buying it.
At the risk of repeating myself, this is all torture! After the wonder that was last week's episode with Mark and Lexie, Meredith's fate is still worth betting on. And the subplot of Amelia and Link this entire season is making me think very, very dark things are to come.
Amelia and Link's late night convo about staying together in the backyard had some very strong "let me light candles in front of your trailer, Derek" vibes. Now, the show loves a good candle set up, so it might not mean anything, but that convo between Amelia and Link was very much like the scene between Teddy and a ghost-Meredith a few weeks ago. We are being asked to invest in side characters and it feels ominous. Because why would we be asked to invest so much in Amelia and Luke and their pillow talk? Because...
Something terribly sad is about to happen. Now, I don't know this for sure, but after years and years of watching and covering the show, I feel confident saying something terribly sad is about to happen. It could be Meredith Grey dying. Or maybe she will leave Seattle as soon as she recuperates. If you can find it in your heart to accept it (cue an Ingrid Michaelson-ish song), perhaps accept this too: Amelia and Link may be the new "MerDer" anchor couple. The set up, the scenes – we, the audience, are just like a patient awaiting surgery and Shondaland is in the prep room washing their hands, just waiting for the moment to make the call.