'Grey’s Anatomy' Season 16: Episode 8 Review

*This review contains spoilers for “Grey’s Anatomy.”

Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) invented the phrase “can’t catch a break.” After surviving a near-drowning, bombing, shooting, plane crash, and the losses of her sister and husband—to name a few—she’s seen it all. Or so we thought.

Grey’s latest challenge in season 16 of “Grey’s Anatomy” comes with her facing charges of insurance fraud from helping an undocumented child receive medical care. Truthfully, I don’t see why anyone is mad at her for this. It’s also yet another reason why she is a queen. This season follows the aftermath of Grey’s suspension and episode eight is the long-awaited trial for whether she gets to keep her medical license.

The episode opens with Grey arriving at her hearing. The audience hears a voiceover from Grey explaining the use of extraordinary measures to save a life, a clever foreshadowing for the episode. She will need extraordinary measures to save her career’s life.

As a viewer, it is pretty clear that Meredith Grey needs a miracle to save her medical license, because she did in fact do the illegal thing she is accused of doing. In true “Grey’s Anatomy” fashion, a miracle is what she got.

Trying to follow her attorney’s advice, we see Grey biting her tongue throughout the hearing. She wants to stand up for herself, one of her most admirable traits, and yet she holds herself back. Of course, this was just a ticking time bomb. Mid-episode, Grey finally stands up for herself against one of the chief critics on the hearing panel— Paul Castello (Mike McColl), the same doctor who mishandled her husband’s care before he died. When she finally tells him off, he collapses and is rushed to the hospital where he dies. Like I said, can’t catch a break.

Eventually, when we return to the hearing, the judge announces that it will be postponed due to the circumstances. Grey’s best friend, Alex Karev (Justin Chambers) stands up and says the hearing can’t be postponed, because there are people who came to attend it. All of a sudden, all the most iconic and memorable patients Grey has treated in her career walk in. This moment gave me chills. It is the most “Grey’s Anatomy” thing ever in that the doctors always have each other’s backs. Even when they face turmoil or disagree with each other, they always come back to each other because they are a family. This is one of the most compelling things about both Karev and Grey’s friendship and the show overall. The fact that Karev went out of his way to help Grey is one of the reasons why viewers are sure to get attached to the show’s characters.

The judge realized they had to continue with the hearing, and they do. They hear the stories of all the patients who Grey saved, equally nostalgic and moving for both Grey and us as viewers. Then, Karev reads a letter from Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh), Grey’s best friend who moved overseas a few seasons back. This moment tugs at our heartstrings, as Yang and Grey’s friendship was unique and strange but that’s why it worked. We almost get to hear letters from the show’s other beloved fallen members when the judge ends the display of support.

The hearing is seemingly over when Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson), Grey’s boss who has been hard on her for her actions, stands up and speaks to Grey’s abilities. As a viewer, this made my heart happy because Bailey and Grey have been beefing all season, and finally we see that come to an end. This was the perfectly dramatic and necessary scenario for it.

Ultimately the panel decides Grey gets to keep her license. This hearing was, as predicted, a truly extraordinary measure to save Grey’s career, but it wouldn’t be the show we know and love without the dramatics. Every time we think something might take out Grey, she overcomes it in the most unlikely of ways. This is why we’ve stuck around for 16 seasons watching her.

Moreover, the idea to bring in her old patients was ingenious. Not only was it completely unexpected, but it was also a nostalgic and emotional moment. These people were introduced to us through different versions of Meredith, and we’ve seen her mature and grow through her care of them. Not only is it symbolic of how far she has come in her career, but it is also symbolic of how far she has come personally. It was the perfect move, and how could any hearing board say no to that?

This episode is one of the most memorable in my mind as an example of the tenacity of the show’s characters. They’ve been through a lot of traumas, but these earnest moments are celebrated much less than they deserve to be. This episode is an opportunity for us as viewers to be reminded of what draws us into the show in the first place, and that’s the unwavering loyalty these surgeons have for one another and their patients.