Grey’s Anatomy is an American medical series, first released back in 2005, and continues to air as of the present moment. The show has been on the air for the past eighteen years, with 19 seasons and more than 400 episodes to its name. It is available on Disney+Hotstar for streaming purposes.
Considering the show is a medical drama, Grey’s Anatomy follows the life of the hospital staff, including surgeons, interns, and residents. Over the 19 seasons, we see them grow into established doctors and how they manage their private and professional lives.
The show mainly revolves around the lead character, Meredith Grey, played by Ellen Pompeo, a young woman who first starts off as an aspiring doctor at the hospital and, in the following years, becomes a respected doctor.
Apart from her, the cast includes Patrick Dempsey as Dr. Derek Shepherd, who was also romantically involved with Meredith Grey. Famous actress Sandra Oh as Cristina Yang alongside Chandra Wilson as Miranda Bailey is also in the show. Over its many seasons, the show has found itself embedded with quite a star-studded cast.
Grey’s Anatomy Season 19 Episode 8 Storyline
Since its first release, Grey’s Anatomy has put out episodes as long as forty minutes. The show recently released its nineteenth season, and it is already 8 episodes in. This recent episode came out on March 2nd, 2023.
Prior to the release of the recent episodes of Grey’s Anatomy, it was made public that actress Ellen Pompeo, the lead of the show for the past 18 years, was going to say her goodbyes to the show, her iconic character, and its fans.
The episode previous to the most recent one, i.e., Grey’s Anatomy Season nineteen episode seven, was all about this farewell. Meredith and Nick Marsh (Scott Speedman), having fought previously, finally share a conversation about their relationship and about Meredith going away.
Episode seven heavily focuses on bidding the character Meredith and actress Ellen Pompeo a goodbye. The employees of the Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital come together and offer toasts to Meredith”s new journey.
Episode eight is the first one without Meredith, it feels a bit empty, but the business at Grey Sloan is still on. A new patient story is introduced as news spreads within the hospital of a young football player-to-be who has been admitted to the hospital for knee surgery to be performed by Dr. Atticus Lincoln.
Pressure is full-on Link because this is the surgery that decides poor Jermaine’s fate. If you are a fan of the show, then you know what is about to come. In what is obviously the Grey’s Anatomy format, the surgery goes perfectly well, and now we wait for the post-recovery period.
And, yes, because no patient at Grey Sloan is sent home without any life-impacting drama post-surgery, there are complications that arise once Jermaine has been moved to his usual ward. The intensity of the drama is high this time because the poor boy ends up passing away.
Dr. Kwan is the one who bears the responsibility of telling Jermaine’s mother the sad news. It is an emotional scene and heart-wrenching even for the doctors and interns present. Simone, an intern, who had been the closest to Jermaine, is the most upset, and this cues an intense make-out scene between her and Lucas, a fellow intern.
The episode further hints at their relationship and where it might go. It is even harder for Link, who is grief struck and also being called a literal murderer by the media. Meanwhile, another patient named Sierra is introduced. She is a mother-to-be, eleven weeks pregnant, and heavily depressed. Not ready to have another child, she asks her doctors, Jo and Jules, about the possibility of getting an abortion.
The woman, Sierra, and her husband both agree to get an abortion. In another scene, we see Winston struggling because of the death of Jermaine. Maggie, his wife, tries to console him and distract him by bringing up work and patients.
She does it with the intention of getting his mind to focus on something else for a while, but it backfires when Winston tells her that he wishes to dwell on his emotions and feel the grief. They have different ways of coping with the situation, and the entire situation turns into a fight, with Winston finally admitting that maybe their marriage is also one of the few things that cannot be resuscitated.
Grey’s Anatomy Season 19 Episode 8 Review
The show, Grey’s Anatomy, was on a hiatus since November of last year. Fans of the show have missed it, but it is back now with a new season and twenty-two new episodes.
With only fourteen more episodes left to go and the lead, Ellen Pompeo, having left the show, fans were both worried and disappointed that the show might come to an end. Viewers can rest assured that there have been no official announcements made to give heat to the rumors.
If you have kept track of the show over the past eighteen years, you have to be familiar with the pattern and how the show flows. After its long break, the show seems like it has brought with itself some endings and new beginnings. Episode seven of the show saw Meredith leaving the Grey Sloan Memorial to start a new journey.
Episode eight brought with it a sad state of affairs. Jermaine’s death heavily impacted the doctors and the interns involved. Link and Winston both suffer immensely and are distressed.
The show has a previous history of introducing post-surgical complications, usually which the doctors are able to resolve just as quickly as they appear. Thus, the death of the young boy comes as a shock felt by both doctors and the audience.
It is heartwarming to see the doctors care so much about their patients, and even the budding doctors all seem very well-realized and empathetic. Link, the one who performed the surgery on Jermaine, is shown drunk and wallowing in self-loathing. This is a side of doctors that patients do not usually get to see, and it is nice to see it included as it makes the characters more human and real.
This episode of Grey’s Anatomy also covers a sensitive but important topic of abortion. The way the makers of the show went about exploring different aspects of it and the little detail of making sure to include the father of the unborn fetus while making the decision to abort the child goes to show their sensitivity.
The way the story was woven around the mother, Sierra, wanting to abort the fetus and the mention of her post-partum depression all seem handled very delicately. Sierra’s story is only a part of the story of this particular episode, but it is created and depicted with a lot of care.
Another aspect this episode covered really well was portraying the difference in personalities of the married couple, Winston and Maggie. The couple has been seeking help from a couples therapist and trying their best to resolve their issues. They are not on talking terms, but when Winston is going through a rough time, she is there to console him.
They share a heated argument during one of the scenes, and it clearly depicts the differences between the two. Winston is more the type to take time to process his emotions instead of ignoring them or suppressing them. He is the feeling type, and opposite to this, Maggie is more of a thinking type.
She believes in drowning herself in her work till she is able to overcome her negative feelings. The two are completely opposite to one another, and it shows clearly. Maggie’s way of consoling Winston was not what he needed at that moment.
The two love each other, but there is a sense of disconnect between them, and this scene depicts just that. Their marriage has been under stress, and this scene may be a hint to some more future obstacles that they might face.
Our Verdict
This particular episode of the season managed to be a full-blown emotional roller coaster for the audience. We went from feeling wholesome and happy for the patients to go through the five stages of grief while grieving Jermaine’s death to feeling pity for Link and Winston to feeling frustration and anger because of the miscommunication and misunderstandings between Maggie and Winston.
It felt like an emotional fest, and it did well with it. This season has set a great premise for the interns of Grey Sloan, along with a lot of potential directions for the doctors. Meredith Grey’s presence is heavily felt, but the show continues to go on gracefully, even without her. We give this episode a rating of 4 stars out of 5.
Our Rating: ⭐ (4/5).
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