Warning! SPOILERS about Grey’s Anatomy season 20, episode 5 ahead.

Summary

• Meredith's Alzheimer's story allowed her to be featured more on Grey's Anatomy despite Ellen Pompeo's reduced role.
• Moving to Boston unsettled Meredith's life but revealed strong connections with characters like Richard and Amelia.
• Richard's continued of Meredith showcased an unbreakable bond that was pivotal in their personal and professional lives.

Meredith’s Alzheimer’s story gave her the chance to appear often on Grey’s Anatomy season 20 despite Ellen Pompeo’s reduced role since season 19, and it showcased one of her most ive relationships in doing so. While moving to Boston was what Zola needed in Grey’s Anatomy season 19, it visibly upended Meredith’s life as she knew it, as leaving Seattle meant leaving behind the city she called home for decades. In addition to leaving what housed her safe place Grey Sloan Memorial, Meredith and her kids’ move guaranteed separating from the doctors who had also become part of their family.

From Amelia, who became as much of a sister to Meredith as Maggie, to Miranda, who had always been her mentor before growing so close that Meredith used her surname to name her second-born, Seattle included plenty of central figures in Meredith’s life. Still, Meredith’s Alzheimer’s bombshell in Grey’s Anatomy season 19’s finale and the pushback it generated from Catherine gave Meredith the chance to consistently return to Seattle. This way, Meredith’s work on her Alzheimer’s research with Amelia prompted an intriguing storyline due to having to keep it secret from Catherine and reunited Meredith with those closest to her.

Meredith & Richard's Boston Trip Proves Their Bond Is Still Strong In Grey's Anatomy Season 20

Meredith Apologized To Nick Because Richard Got Through To Her

Richard offering her a ride to Boston on the foundation’s jet so that she could get to Bailey proved he would always and help Meredith, just like he did in the past. Without Richard, Meredith would have never realized that she wasn’t really alone when facing challenges with her children, nor would she have seen how unfair she had been to Nick, who brought Bailey to the hospital without telling her only because of how fast everything happened. The ordeal once again proved Richard was one of the few Meredith listened to and one of her most reliable relationships.

Grey’s Anatomy season 20, episode 5 firmly showed Meredith and Richard’s relationship didn’t change for the worst. Indeed, Meredith itting to Richard how she felt alone due to Derek’s death and how afraid she was that something like what happened to Derek could happen to Bailey showed a kind of vulnerability rarely seen in her. Richard’s insight even helped Meredith face the truth and feel less alone, as by highlighting her unfairness to Nick, Richard brought the best out of Meredith, mentoring her through her personal life as he did in the past for her career.

Meredith & Richard's Grey's Anatomy History Makes Their Relationship Unbreakable

From Ellis To Adele To Them ing Each Other Every Time, Their Bond Can't Be Broken

While their mentor-mentee relationship originally guaranteed a power imbalance, making Richard the one to Meredith more often than not, their relationship slowly mutated into a familial one, with Meredith being often described on Grey’s Anatomy as the closest Richard ever had to a daughter. Richard having had an affair with Ellis Grey after all impacted the very reason why Meredith was matched with Seattle Grace Hospital in Grey’s Anatomy season 1, characterizing their bond with the unconditional that at times almost looked like favoritism from the very beginning.

Richard often put his career on the line to protect Meredith, hiding her insurance fraud in Grey’s Anatomy season 15 despite lecturing her about it and even lying about Meredith invalidating Derek’s trial during her license hearing in season 16. However, Meredith did just the same for him, from tampering with the trial to give Adele the experimental drug to paying Richard’s bail to get him out of jail after he destroyed a bar exchanging sobriety chips for shots. Their for each other through thick and thin makes Richard and Meredith’s bond one of the strongest in Grey’s Anatomy.

Grey’s Anatomy returns on ABC with season 7, episode 6 on May 2, 2024.