Among the many twists Grey’s Anatomy season 21’s finale delivered, one wasn’t life-threatening for Grey Sloan Memorial’s doctors, but it has the potential to bring back a bond similar to Meredith and Derek’s from Grey’s Anatomy season 1. With the hostage situation dictating the pace of the day at Grey Sloan Memorial and Nora’s being the only other medical case being furthered, the stakes were high in Grey’s Anatomy season 21, episode 18. Even when the twists Grey’s Anatomy season 21’s finale delivered weren’t a matter of life and death, they were inexorably connected to Nora and Dylan’s cases.
Jenna threatening to light up OR 2 on fire was instrumental in getting Simone and Lucas to move past their fight from the night before and admit they wanted to be together, no matter their differences. Similarly, but going in the opposite direction, Teddy saving Nora opened her eyes to her belief that a life without Owen being impossible was actually a failure of imagination, with the improbable success of Nora’s case prompting Teddy to leave Owen in Grey’s Anatomy season 21’s finale and put herself first. However, the episode also subtly repeated a Grey’s Anatomy season 1 story.
Lucas’s frustration at Simone’s matter-of-fact approach to Dylan’s condition led to a fight in Grey’s Anatomy season 21, episode 17’s ending. The crux of their disagreement about Dylan’s case and their differences came up in Lucas’s expression of his unwavering belief in “going down fighting” instead of resigning himself to the realities of life, and Simone’s rebuttal that not everyone had the privilege to be bailed out when things go wrong. Simone’s words reminding Lucas of his connection to the Shepherds that he tried so hard to shake off were the last straw, prompting Lucas to break up with Simone.
Caterina Scorsone as Amelia Shepherd, Midori Francis as Mika Yasuda, Adelaide Kane as Jules Millin, Jake Borelli as Levi Schmitt and Natalie Morales as Monica Beltran in Grey’s Anatomy season 21
While their breakup didn’t change Lucas’s plans of going to Link and Jo’s wedding, it drove Simone to Joe’s Bar, where a stranger flirting with her eventually led them to hook up. Their interaction in the morning in Grey’s Anatomy season 21, episode 18 didn’t clarify who he was, with Simone more focused on regretting their one-night stand rather than getting his name. Their chance meeting and how it developed already mirrored Meredith and Derek’s first encounter, but what truly consolidated the similarity was Simone discovering he was a new incoming Grey Sloan intern in Grey’s Anatomy season 21’s ending.
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Simone’s evident shock at realizing that the person she impulsively hooked up with could very much threaten her and Lucas’s relationship because of his inevitable presence in their lives, being an intern, especially after she and Lucas had just gotten back together, eerily mirrored Meredith’s surprise realizing Derek was Seattle Grace’s head of neurosurgery. At the same time, while the similarity between the two situations is uncanny, except for Simone being in a position of power unlike Meredith, Grey’s Anatomy has been setting up Simone and Lucas’s relationship as the most likely replacement of Meredith and Derek’s since their arrival.
The expectation that Lucas and Simone would be together forever helped with Simone and Lucas’s relationship being the one most closely resembling Meredith and Derek’s epic romance.
Ever since connecting in Grey’s Anatomy season 19, Simone and Lucas’s relationship had the potential to cause cataclysmic consequences. Between Alzheimer’s being in Simone’s life through her grandmother and Lucas being a Shepherd wanting to separate himself from what that meant and his past, the similarities between them and Meredith and Derek are several. The expectation that Lucas and Simone would be together forever, as expressed by Jules in Grey’s Anatomy season 21, episode 13, helped with Simone and Lucas’s relationship being the one most closely resembling Meredith and Derek’s epic romance, and the new intern could help cement that.
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The intern potentially being an obstacle to Lucas and Simone’s relationship means Grey’s Anatomy season 22 can keep the fun aspects of Meredith and Derek’s season 1 will they/won’t they dynamic, making the situation less serious in contrast with Lucas and Simone’s relationship problems. Whether his and Simone’s bond can compete with her relationship with Lucas is up for debate and something Grey’s Anatomy season 22 will need to tackle, but the promise of a lightness similar to the one brought by Meredith and Derek’s bond in Grey’s Anatomy season 1 already changes things up for Lucas and Simone.
Given how Grey’s Anatomy season 21’s finale lingered on Simone’s horror realizing what she had done and who she had done it with after meeting the new interns, it looks like Grey’s Anatomy season 22 can show her trying to limit the damages instead of considering the intern as a possible romantic partner. Still, the presence of someone to threaten Lucas and Simone’s relationship, in addition to their issues, can be good for the pair in Grey’s Anatomy season 22, as overcoming that problem can finally let Simone and Lucas know they are confident in their bond with certainty.
