The 7 Most Awesome Moments From The Grey's Anatomy Season 18 Finale (2023)

Following the creative decision to keep the COVID-19 pandemic in the rearview mirror, season 18 ofGrey's Anatomyreturned to the types of storylines the show is best known for, including newromanticRelationships, heartbreaking disasters and major hospital dramas - it all comes to a head in the two-part finale, which consists of the episodes "Out for Blood" and "You Are the Blood", the latter of which also serves as the series' 400th episode. The two episodes revolved around a major blood shortage across the country, leaving the doctors at Gray Sloan Memorial in charge of expanding their limited blood supply as much as possible.

As the historic 400th episode, You Are the Blood also featured a number of callbacks from previous episodes, reminding viewers how far we've come over the course of 18 seasons. And, of course, as is often the case withGrey's AnatomyTwo-part, both episodes were also filled with big twists, shockers, and things that made us go, "Really?" Here are the seven most emotional moments from the two-hour finale of Season 18 ofGrey's Anatomy.

What Happened in the Season 18 FinaleGrey's Anatomy

Owen and Teddy are on the run from the law.

When a man named John comes to Owen (Kevin McKidd), who seeks his help in securing a dignified death for his wife, a veteran named Rosie, he threatens to reveal that Owen has helped other veterans end their lives if he refuses. However, Teddy (Kim Raber) insists that Owen cannot give John what he asks for, and together they reject him.

True to his word, John goes straight to the authorities... which in this case is Chief Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson). She angrily confronts Owen and Teddy just as they are about to pack to run away. After putting them both out nicely, Miranda tells them that she has an obligation to call the police... but first she has to deal with an administrative crisis that could last a few hours. She wishes them both luck and the two prepare to take their children and flee. After asking Amelia (Caterina Scorsone) to take the children to Joe's Bar, they say a hasty goodbye to her and leave for worlds unknown.

Does this mean that Owen and Teddy are gone for good? We don't know, and there have been official confirmations one way or another. Her last scene — sitting on a plane with her two kids — definitely feels like a cliffhanger, and this storyline is new territory for her.Grey's Anatomy(a rare occurrence in 18 seasons), so we wouldn't be surprised if the show found a way to bring them back after leaving their fate up in the air for a while.

Related:Grey's AnatomyEllen Pompeo: "I hated medical programs"

The blood goes bad

Amidst a severe blood shortage, the hospital cancels all elective surgeries and asks everyone to donate blood (a problem needlessly exacerbated by the fact that an archaic law prohibits sexually active gay men from donating blood - leading Levi (Jake Borelli) and several other queer residents at the hospital to organize a blood drive for their non-sexually active friends on social media). But as a risky operation Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) goes south, blood suddenly becomes primordial - only for Ben (Jason George) to call Miranda to tell her that the blood transport was involved in an accident and the blood has now spilled into a puddle across the street.

Scarcity leads to all sorts of difficult decisions, especially when pregnant patient Kristen (Bianca Santos) suffers an abrupt placenta and her incurable husband Simon (Cedrico Sander) – who happens to have the same blood type – is donating the blood needed to continue his ECMO treatment so that his wife and son will have a better chance. In doing so, Simon realizes he may be missing out on meeting his son, but Winston (strong>Anthony Hill) goes to his wife's operating room to get the baby and races to get him to Simon as soon as possible. . As Simon disappears, Winston and Link (Chris Carmack) placing his son on his chest where Simon can kiss him and say "hello forever" to him before he dies.

Jackson eAprilReturns

After thisgo to boston together(though not together...yet) In the season 17 finale, former series regular Jackson Avery (Jess Williams) e April Kepner (Sarah Drew) return to Seattle in "You Are the Blood" so that Jackson, as head of the Fox Foundation, can meet with the residency adviser (and pay premature - and unnecessary - praise to his mother). April and Harriet show up, apparently mainly to provide moral support, but April has barely set foot in the hospital when she is immediately put in charge of the pit after Miranda discovers what Owen has done.

April and Jackson don't have much to do in the show's landmark episode, but they fit the cast perfectly, with April having a brief heart-to-heart with Amelia and Jackson making tough love to Meredith as only someone who's done a residency with her can. . The most emotional moment, however, came at the end of the episode, when the couple ride an elevator out of the hospital... and kiss as the doors close, confirming that the couple did indeed get back together while in Boston. .spin-off, anyone?

blasts from the past

During You Are the Blood, we're treated to a variety of throwbacks to previous seasons. When Meredith, her patient Cora, Ellis Gray (Kate Burton) is at the forefront of her memory, teaching Meredith about not living up to her potential or Ellis' expectations. So when things go wrong with Cora, Meredith's memories go away.your husband Derek(Patrick Dempsey) and remembered scolding her in the operating room. Later, when Cora falls, Meredith's memories shift to the time Derek was shot at the end of season 6 and eventually his death in season 11.

But later, as Meredith reflects on her own stay, we see several other familiar faces, with Meredith reminiscing about her early days as an intern at Izzie (Katherine Heigl), Alexandre (Justin Chambers), Cristina (Sandra Ach) and George (T.R. Ritter). And at the end of the episode, the floodgates open, with moments where there's just too much to see.each main characterAnyone who's ever appeared on the show flicks by, reminding us of everything that's happened in the hospital hallways over the years. There were a few of them throughout "You Are the Blood" too.Grey's Anatomythe most memorable songs, including "How to Save a Life", "The Story" and "Chasing Cars", which give the whole episode a breath of fresh aira lingering sense of nostalgia.

Related:Ellen Pompeo opens up about Grey's Anatomy's 'toxic' work environment and says she only stayed because I had to 'take care of my family'

Gray Sloan Memorial Residency Program Is Ending

It's been growing all season, and finally it's time for the Residency Program Accreditation Council representative (Dawn Lewis) to make your judgment. At first, she seems almost ready to allow Gray Sloan to carry on with business as usual, but then things change dramatically.

Be Richard (James Pickens Jr.) thwarts Meredith's idea of ​​an ambitious operation to remove and reinsert all of her patient's organs from her body, Meredith ignores her call and plans anyway. Richard fears the process is too risky while the residency program is still under such scrutiny, but Meredith thinks it might be just the thing to save the program.

Unfortunately, she is wrong, and her patient dies after an operation that destroys much of the hospital's meager blood supply. Afterwards, Richard tells Meredith how frustrated he is with her decision, andNick (Scott Speedman)agrees and tells Meredith that the surgery wasn't necessary and consumed a lot of precious resources.

After observing Meredith's decision and considering Richard's decision to promote the "Webber Method" against Miranda's wishes earlier in the season, the evaluator concludes that the Gray Sloan executives are very close, to the point where their clothing does not respect more antiquity. She notes that this is how they see each otherfamily, which is personally enriching, but can be a drain on the hospital. The result, she believes, is an environment that is not conducive to good teaching and leaves her with no choice but to drop out of the residency program.

Kai changes his mind

While other doctors wereto runCovered in blood, Amelia spent the season finale reeling from her abrupt breakup last week with Kai (E.R. Battlemaster) after Kai revealed he didn't want kids. With Amelia already a mother, it seemed like an insurmountable obstacle and the couple broke up. Finding herself on the receiving end of heartbreak caused by her partner not wanting the same things as her, Amelia then apologizes to Link for how she handled the breakup. She tells him that if she only knew what it's like, she would have done things differently. He accepts and tells her that he loves her, just "not in the painful way anymore".

But just as Amelia made up, Kai showed up in the parking lot! "I couldn't sleep," they tell her, and that's all it takes for them to hug again. So, I guess fatherhood is back on the table?

Miranda Bailey quits

true to form,Grey's Anatomyit saves its biggest shock of the night for the final minutes of the episode. After being crazy all season-and actually since her first day as a resident at Seattle Grace-the residency program was terminated the same day that two of her assistants dropped out to evade the law, which was the final straw. Miranda Bailey water. In the final minutes of the episode, she hands in her resignation from the hospital with immediate effect and hands her office keys to Meredith, who appoints her de facto chief of surgery (is anyone really arguing?). Meredith doesn't seem thrilled about having the job, but she also doesn't think she has much of a choice (unless she does have one? The final moments of the episode leave things a little hazy).

Granted, we've known for some time that Miranda's work was significantly impacting Miranda's mental health and marriage, leading her to take a brief sabbatical early in the season, but we never thought that this would result in her simply quitting the spot. . Miranda lives and breathes surgery - or at least we think so. We can't imagine what Gray Sloan will be like without Miranda Bailey, but we can find out what Season 19 will be like.

When are your favorite doctors coming back? Here's everything we know about Grey's Anatomy season 19.