A new episode of Grey’s Anatomy aired on Thursday night, and it had a sequence of events that really made an impact. No, it wasn’t something even involving Meredith Grey, but rather one of the other characters on the show.
The tone of the episode was set very early when Dr. Jackson Avery was on a run and he came across protestors on street corners holding up signs stating that they couldn’t breathe. Maggie was texting Winston when she received phone alerts to be safe as he traveled. She kept getting safety and news alerts about what was going on. That ended up foreshadowing what was coming.
Midway through the episode, Maggie received a call from Winston as he was still driving, and they started chatting about where he was going to live. He then let her know that he was being pulled over and that he needed to get off the phone. Maggie begged him to stay on the phone and turn on his camera as the process unfolded.
We knew early on that a lot of the focus for the episode was going to be on Maggie Pierce (Kelly McCreary) and Winston Ndugu (Anthony Hill).
The episode then shifted to new intern James Chee (played by Robert I Mesa) and Dr. Levi Schmitt (Jake Borelli) as they took care of Meredith in a hyperbaric chamber.
Schmitt talked a lot about how he looked up to Meredith, and Chee noted that he hadn’t even really met her before she got sick this season. Later, Schmitt would help save another man in the chamber, all while hearing the voice of Meredith, leading him through a similar procedure.
The scene then went back to part of the traffic stop before the show left us on a huge commercial cliffhanger.
While going back and forth from that impactful scene, we say Bailey trying to convince a COVID-positive patient that it wasn’t a scam. We also saw Jackson and Webber discussing how protests had impacted them as they operated on someone who had been injured during one. Bailey’s patient would later die after refusing treatment and getting himself discharged.
The Grey’s Anatomy traffic stop
As he was being pulled over, Winston spoke out loud to himself about how he was making sure the music was turned off, that his hat was off, and that he had both hands on the wheel.
One officer went to the passenger’s side with his K-9 while the other officer asked for Winston’s license and registration at the driver’s side of the vehicle. Winston asked why he was pulled over when we heard Maggie’s voice on the phone as she stated she couldn’t hear what was going on.
The officer asked Winston to turn off the phone, to which he responded by saying Maggie was worried about him. The officer then asked him if he was refusing to comply when he didn’t immediately hang up.
Winston reached over to turn it off, and we went to a dramatic commercial. After the commercial, Maggie was shown repeatedly trying to call him back as she also tried to treat a patient. She was steadily getting worked up – as were the viewers at home.
Webber ended up having to take Maggie’s phone, and he promised that if he weren’t able to get hold of Winston soon, he would search for him.
Maggie had nearly completed an entire procedure when Winston finally called back. She asked why it took him so long, and he said that they let him go but that they first made him get out, take his mask off, and do a DUI test before they checked the trunk and then checked the car.
As he was telling this, we could see his belongings all over the side of the highway. He said the cops had it done so the dog could sniff it all, and then the dog sniffed him before he was released.
Winston said, “My bike rack was obscuring my license plate and then they saw me – so it turned into one of those things, I guess.”
He wasn’t sure he was good to drive and said that he was shaken up before he slammed the door on his vehicle and slumped down next to his vehicle to just try to breathe.
Maggie and Amelia were outside waiting late that night when Winston finally drove up to the house. They embraced and we could feel everything that they had been through that day.
The episode ended with a clip for the next new episode of Grey’s Anatomy, which will also feature the return of Patrick Dempsey as Derek Shepherd again.
Grey’s Anatomy season finale coming up soon
There are a few episodes left in Grey’s Anatomy Season 17, with the finale scheduled to air in May. As we wait for news on whether or not Grey’s Anatomy Season 18 will take place, make sure to tune in each week to watch each new episode on Thursday nights.
Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursdays at 9/8c on ABC.