When Grey’s Anatomy first announced that Dr. Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) would be “leaving” the series, it sounded more clear-cut than it ended up being. In the wake of the announcement, Pompeo clarified that she was cutting down on her Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital commitments in order to film a Hulu series, among other things. In Grey’s Anatomy season 19’s ending, Meredith, who’s pursuing groundbreaking Alzheimer’s research in Boston with the Catherine Fox Foundation, reveals that she’s made a discovery that would rewrite textbooks. In Seattle, Grey’s latest batch of surgical interns continued the show’s signature drama.
In a sort-of throwback to the show’s origins, season 19 introduced a group of five interns, all of whom were positioned to have big roles in the massive Grey’s Anatomy ensemble. Those new characters included Lucas Adams (Niko Terho), the late Derek Shepherd’s nephew; the somewhat-gruff Benson “Blue” Kwan (Harry Shum Jr.); the determined Mika Yasuda (Midori Francis); the passionate Jules Millin (Adelaide Kane); and Simone Griffith (Alexis Floyd), the most obvious Meredith Grey stand-in — at least at first. With Grey’s Anatomy season 20 ending, it’s clear the show is still struggling to fill the Meredith void.
Grey’s Anatomy Is Struggling For Structure Without Meredith Grey
Ellen Pompeo’s Limited Screentime Has Had A Big Impact
As Ellen Pompeo herself put it, the show is “the house that [Meredith] Grey built” (via Entertainment Tonight). The show’s central character is both there in spirit — most of the new interns are even living in her long-standing childhood home — and Pompeo has appeared in nearly half of season 20’s episodes. Even so, the series is clearly struggling to find its footing without the constant presence of Meredith Grey. In fact, the general surgeon still narrates the episodes’ opening and closing moments, indicating that it’s still her story. The series is afraid to completely change.
The truncated 10-episode Grey’s Anatomy season 20 has proven that the series excels when there’s someone to orbit.
At the same time, Grey’s Anatomy doesn’t have the same solid structure it once did. Although Meredith is not the focus of every episode of the show in its first 19 seasons, her threads generally play a key role. Sometimes, her stories add color or much needed levity. At other times, Meredith’s plotlines are deliberately spaced out, allowing her to take center stage in the season finale. Regardless, there’s always a main character for the ensemble series to fall back on. If anything, the truncated 10-episode Grey’s Anatomy season 20 has proven that the series excels when there’s someone to orbit.
Yasuda Would Have Been Grey’s Anatomy’s Perfect Meredith Replacement
Midori Francis Will Not Return For Season 21
Although ABC announced that Grey’s Anatomy season 21 was green-lit, the network also broke some disappointing news. Several fan-favorite cast members, including Jake Borelli, who plays Co-Chief Resident Dr. Levi Schmitt, and Midori Francis, who plays the fledgling Dr. Mika Yasuda, will both be leaving the show. While Borelli has been on Grey’s Anatomy for nearly 10 seasons, Francis just joined the cast in season 19. Given Yasuda’s prominence in season 20, the actor’s departure is somewhat surprising. Determined, funny, and perhaps the most distinct of all the interns, Yasuda now feels like the perfect Meredith replacement.
Grey’s Anatomy Season 21 Really Needs A Central Character
A Newer Character Should Become The “New Meredith”
In the same way that there’s no replacing Dr. Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh), there’s no replacing Meredith Grey. There’s no need to create a character that echoes Meredith in a one-to-one way. Instead, Grey’s Anatomy season 21 needs a character with as much narrative staying power as Meredith. Essentially, it needs someone to orbit around, even if it does so loosely. It’s hard to imagine characters who have been on the show since the beginning, like Dr. Richard Webber (James Pickens Jr.) and Dr. Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson), filling that void. Viewers have seen their biggest plots unfold.
That said, it would make more sense for Grey’s Anatomy to really focus on one of its newer characters, be it one of the surgical interns who isn’t leaving the series ahead of season 21, or another character who hasn’t gotten a ton of screentime yet. Natalie Morales’ no-nonsense Dr. Monica Beltran, the latest pediatric surgeon to join the team at Grey Sloan, could be a solid fit. So far, viewers don’t know too much about her personal life or backstory, though the show has teased Monica being part of Grey’s Anatomy’s newest romance.
Grey’s Anatomy Season 19 Teased Simone As Meredith Grey’s Replacement
Simone’s Key Storylines Echo Meredith’s Season 1 Plots
There’s no denying that Simone was initially primed to be the Meredith Grey replacement. In an effort to have some full-circle synergy, Simone is not only navigating a family member’s recent Alzheimer’s diagnosis, but has a traumatic history with Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. Moreover, her on-again, off-again romance with Lucas is positioned to be the new Meredith and Derek-style endgame relationship. While those threads all played a big part in season 19, Grey’s Anatomy season 20 dropped most of these stories. However, given Yasuda’s departure, it’s possible the show will go all in on Simone again in Grey’s Anatomy season 21.