Season 16 of Grey’s Anatomy was one of the best seasons I have seen so far. From the suspense to excitement to heartbreak, this season had everything. I was skeptical about this season after hearing that the filming was cut short due to the coronavirus. Not many shows that have been popular for a long time continue to make each season better than the previous without being repetitive, but Grey’s Anatomy continues to find a way to do this. 

Grey’s Anatomy is a hospital drama that revolves around the life of Ellen Pompeo who plays Meredith Grey. She starts as an intern at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital and as the seasons go on, you grow up with her and her fellow interns and attendings. While it is focused around surgery and medicine, there is no shortage of relationships, family, love, death, heartbreak, and drama. So much has happened in the past 15 seasons and if you haven’t watched those, I recommend that you start there. 

This season starts with Meredith Grey, played by Ellen Pompeo, on probation from the insurance fraud she committed for a patient in season 15. She is doing community service and realizes how twisted our country’s health care system has become. I loved that this was incorporated because it brings a real-world problem to the stage and makes you think about things deeper and beyond the screen. When Meredith has to go to court and try to keep her medical license, there is a very empowering scene of her speaking to the panel about her husband and his death. I won’t spoil too much, but it goes well and Meredith gets to keep her medical license and continue working at Grey Sloan. 

The writers of this show did a great job on this script. It brings in new characters and events, but also reflects on the plot and characters from the past 15 seasons. Justin Chambers, who plays Alex Karev on the show, left during this season and this episode was a tear-jerker. As someone who has watched the entire series multiple times, his departure was very sad for me. However, this episode was so well written that I loved it (even though I cried). After Alex had been gone for some time, the characters found letters that he had left for each of them. He thanks them and reflects on their past years together and all of the ups and downs that this entailed. There were scenes cut-up from early seasons looking back at his career at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. Overall, a sad moment, but a great episode. 

This show covers topics from relationships, family, work, medical practices, social issues, and more. The focus this season on social and personal issues made it unique from past seasons which were much more filled with medical issues and relationships within the hospital walls. It is the perfect combination of death and life and love and heartbreak. I highly recommend watching the entire show, but specifically this season because once you start watching, it is hard to stop as you get so intertwined in all of the characters’ lives.