In Krista Vernoff's final season as showrunner of Grey's Anatomy — at least for now — she infused the long-running ABC drama with fresh blood, a new class of medical residents that is, if not as immediately appealing as the show's OGs, damn close to it. The EP also tackled head-on the far-reaching repercussions of SCOTUS' roll-back of women's reproductive rights (in the process, bringing home MVP Kate Walsh as Addison), installed Teddy as Grey Sloan's latest chief, transplanted Helm from Joe's Bar to the O.R., ordered a drink for recovering alcoholic Richard and teed up guest-star turns by Dream Emmy nominee Marla Gibbs and Juliet Mills.

But not every twist of plot was a turn for the better. Maggie and Winston's once-charming relationship deteriorated to the point that we were less sorry that they split up — owing to Kelly McCreary's exit as a series regular — than that they hooked up again in the Season 19 finale. Amelia's romance with Kai, the series' first nonbinary character, was back-burnered and then nudged right off the stove. And Ellen Pompeo's sendoff as Meredith left (at least some of) us not caring too terribly much whether or how often she returned.Given that Kim Raver has already inked a contract to return for Season 20, nobody really thinks that her character is going to succumb to the "toothache" that felled her in the last seconds of Season 19's finale. (Read that recap here.) But when Owen's better half eventually recovers, we don't just want her back in action, we want to see her giving us all a reason to sing "Hail to the Chief.

The article is not finished. Click on the next page to continue.