Meredith’s story in Grey’s Anatomy season 20, episode 5 prompted a fight with Nick and some reminiscing over her peculiar situation when her kids are involved, but it also contradicted a Grey’s Anatomy season 10 story. While Grey’s Anatomy season 20 surprisingly gave Meredith a win romantically with Nick moving to Boston to put their relationship first, Meredith’s trips to and from Seattle for the secret Alzheimer’s research interfered with it. That is especially true given that the secret trips prompted Nick to often take care of Meredith’s children, causing arguments between Nick and Meredith in case of emergencies.
Balancing the importance of her secret research with her family commitments proved especially difficult with Catherine on the warpath as a result of Meredith’s Alzheimer’s statements in Grey’s Anatomy season 19’s ending. Despite their precarious situation, Richard offered Meredith the Fox Foundation’s private jet to get her to Boston in time for when Bailey woke up after surgery, proving once again the unbreakability of Meredith and Richard’s bond in Grey’s Anatomy. Their trip prompted a rare admission of fragility from Meredith about feeling lonely due to raising her kids without Derek. However, when they raised them together, similar problems arose.
Meredith’s Protectiveness In Grey’s Anatomy Season 20 Mirrors Her Derek Problem From Season 10
Meredith Was Mad At Derek Because The President’s Project Took All His Attention Losing Sight Of The Kids
Meredith not wanting to be in the same room with Nick because he didn’t call her straight away after suspecting Bailey’s appendicitis showed how extremely protective she was about her children. Richard and Meredith’s exchange about her not actually being alone in raising them was a consequence of Richard noticing how closed-off Meredith was with Nick after what happened and of Meredith’s confession that she felt lonely in raising them without Derek. However, Meredith’s complaints against Nick in Grey’s Ana tomy season 20 were the same as she had against Derek in Grey’s Anatomy season 10, episode 20.
Grey’s Anatomy season 10 saw Meredith and Derek’s biggest-ever fight arise from his accepting to lead the presidential brain mapping initiative despite having promised to take a step back to care for their family as Meredith focused on her career. Overwhelmed by all his commitments and accused of “dropping the ball” on teaching the residents and operating on patients by Hunt and Webber, Derek forgot to tell Meredith with whom their kids were in Grey’s Anatomy season 10, episode 20, resulting in Meredith being worried about her kids’ whereabouts for three hours and as she operated on someone.
Meredith’s confession to Richard in Grey’s Anatomy season 20 romanticized her past with Derek, forgetting the problems she had when Derek took care of their children and what she accused him of, which exactly mirrored the reason behind Meredith’s anger at Nick.
This Grey’s Anatomy Season 20 Story Can Bring Meredith Out Of Her Comfort Zone
Meredith Was Free To Choose Alone For Her Kids For So Long, Even Recklessly So Sometimes
For most of Grey’s Anatomy, Meredith raised her children alone. While Amelia, Maggie and Alex greatly helped her in her day-to-day life, decisions about her children were always taken by Meredith by herself. Meredith’s apologies to Nick in Grey’s Anatomy season 20, episode 5 centered the point, as it wasn’t that she didn’t trust him, but that she was used to making decisions about them on her own. However, changing her approach and including Nick in the decisions might actually help Meredith and her children too.
After all, Meredith’s inclination to fight for the right thing often impacted her kids as well. When committing insurance fraud in Grey’s Anatomy season 15, Meredith put her daughter Ellis’s name on the chart. When she almost lost her medical license the following season, her kids could also be affected as it would have impacted Meredith’s livelihood and theirs. Thus, making decisions with someone else like Nick could mitigate Meredith’s recklessness, bringing her out of her comfort zone and helping her, Zola, Bailey and Ellis as a result in Grey’s Anatomy.