Spoiler alert! This story contains spoilers for Grey’s Anatomy’s Season 20 finale “Burn It Down,” which aired May 30. If you aren’t caught up, you can stream the episode with a Hulu subscription.
It was all but promised that Catherine Fox would be on a tear when Grey’s Anatomy kicked off its Season 20 finale, as she learned in the unhinged penultimate episode that Meredith, Amelia and Teddy had gone behind her back to continue their groundbreaking research into Alzheimer’s disease. But there were a couple of times in “Burn It Down” when the Seattle surgeons held their ground against the intimidating Fox Foundation owner, including a grand gesture by Miranda Bailey and the interns to end the season on a cliffhanger. While it was a powerful statement of solidarity, the whole thing fell flat to me.
Miranda And The Interns Threaten To Quit The Hospital
Catherine (Debbie Allen) got called out more than once in Grey’s Anatomy’s season finale. Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) refused to be bullied into handing over her Alzheimer’s research, choosing to publish it instead, and Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd) accused Catherine of being on an ego trip when she told Teddy Altman (Kim Raver) that she couldn’t operate on Station 19’s Theo Ruiz. However, the biggest stand against Catherine came from Miranda and the first-years in defense of Lucas Adams.
At the end of Season 19, Lucas (Niko Terho) chose to operate on a patient after Teddy collapsed on the OR floor. The patient didn’t survive, and after an investigation, the hospital board recommended that Catherine make the intern repeat his first year.
As she was about to dole out the punishment, the other four interns barged into the office and demanded that Catherine go against the board’s recommendation or they would all walk. Catherine scoffed at the notion, saying they were all replaceable, and that’s when Miranda (Chandra Wilson) made her entrance, asking if she, too, could be so easily replaced. The episode ended with the women in a death-stare stalemate.
Why The Grand Gesture Didn’t Work For Me
Of the three times someone stood up to Catherine Fox in the Season 20 finale, Lucas’ situation held the lowest stakes. Meredith was fighting to save millions of people from Alzheimer’s. Teddy was fighting to save a firefighter’s life. The interns were fighting to save … Lucas from either having to repeat a year or accept the cushy job he’d been offered in Chicago? Um, I think he’ll be OK.
I love to see Miranda stand up for what’s right, especially when she’s coming to the defense of one of her protégés, but it’s hard for me to believe this was the hill she’d choose to die on. She certainly did no such thing when George O’Malley failed his intern exam and had to repeat a year. Miranda even told Simone earlier in the episode that it wasn’t up to them where Lucas chose to continue his career.
Unfortunately, the “all or none” attitude of the interns was kind of hard for me to accept as well, due to behind-the-scenes happenings. If the first-year residents feel that strongly about remaining five strong, what’s going to happen when Grey’s Anatomy loses cast member Midori Francis? No one knows yet how Mika Yasuda will be written out of the show, but will everyone threaten to quit again when that exit comes in Season 21?
We’ve got a few months before we find out how Catherine responds to Miranda’s ultimatum, but in the meantime, you can relive Season 20 or any of your favorite Grey’s Anatomy eras on Hulu. Also be sure to check out our 2024 TV schedule to see what’s premiering soon.