I think it’s safe to declare Shonda Rhimes the queen of television right now. She can very proudly say she owns, and has owned, some of the most successful TV dramas in the last decade. That’s why a celebration was in order for Shondaland fans this week as both Grey’s Anatomy and How To Get Away With Murder premiered their new seasons on Thursday, so time to get your #TGIT hashtags out again, guys!
I will admit I’m just a sucker for shows created by Shonda Rhimes, so I was very excited about it all. I even downloaded the season 12 finale of Grey’s Anatomy to prepare myself for the newest episode, so needless to say, I couldn’t wait to see what the thirteenth season of the medical drama would bring. What I wasn’t expecting was to notice where Grey’s is going wrong lately. (I can hear you sob from here. I’m doing the same thing.)
- I really, really, really don’t care about the new generations of doctors
I think one of the keys to success when it comes to such a long-running show is change and surprise, which Grey’s has always mastered. However, I think they may be taking it too seriously here. While I understand why they’re placing such importance on new-ish characters as most of the original actors have either decided to flee the show or been fired, I think they’re relying too much on their storylines. Again, I can totally see why and I’m not blaming anyone in the slightest, but I just can’t bring myself to care about Wilson or Edwards as much as I cared about Torres or Addison. For example, Stephanie’s boyfriend (spoiler alert) died last season. I didn’t shed a tear. I, just like a lot of other viewers who have been watching the show for a long time, can’t get emotionally attached to these characters. This poor girl’s boyfriend died, and I didn’t care. DeLuca was going through hell in this week’s episode, and the only thing I cared about was how that was going to affect Karev’s career. See where I’m going?
- Stop going back to basics (or how Karev deserves to live his life)
Speaking of the man himself, I have many issues with the treatment he’s receiving. Yes, he started out as the bad boy. Yes, over the seasons we got to see why and how messed up his family life was as a boy. Yes, he used to think the solution to everything was just violence and bad behavior. But come on, how old is the original cast supposed to be now? 35-ish going on 40? Alex is no longer a bitter twenty-something, why is that so hard to see? He pretty much got over his anger management issues and overall irresponsible behavior back when he was with Izzy. It’s been a long time. Alex has been with Wilson for ages now. I don’t particularly like the girl (nothing against Camilla Luddington, obviously – it’s just the character that doesn’t do it for me), but she makes Alex happy. Or, at least, she did. Can’t we introduce drama in this very dear character’s life without dragging him back to old habits? He’s my baby, you guys. He deserves to have a normal life where he doesn’t go around punching people and ending up in jail. That’s sooooo S3.
- On the bright side, S13 will focus on the originals – that is to say, Meredith and Alex, because everyone else is either deceased of far away.
About a month and a half ago, Kelly McCreary (Meredith’s half-sister Maggie Pierce) shared that we were “gonna be spending some more time with [the foundational characters of the show] to check in where they are.” I wish that involved Sandra Oh (Cristina Yang), for example, as I feel like the show has heavily noted the absence of Meredith’s person, but so far it includes Meredith herself, Alex (see point 2) and, apparently, Webber and Bailey – although I really don’t think they serve many purposes on the show now. Hopefully, that’ll change this season. I know they are the original cast, and I also know I just said I don’t care about the newest doctors, but I I think Grey’s Anatomy can pride itself in successfully bringing new blood into the show (no pun intended) in general – just like they did with Addison, Sloan, Torres, Lexie, Teddy and her husband, etc. They succeeded in bringing those characters in and they have too when it comes to certain other characters who are still working at the Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital, as weird as that sounds by now. For example, I want S13 to focus on Owen and Amelia as well, as they are tied to two of the pillars of the show (Cristina and Derek) and you just naturally care about them. Also, Arizona. I adore her, and I’m really interested in seeing how they’ll try to keep her relevant without Callie on the side. And, of course, Jackson and April. I have loved their story since the very beginning and last season it broke my heart how they were tearing it apart for no real reason, so here’s to Japril living a happy life together. I want everyone to be happy; maybe I’m watching the wrong show?
Are you still watching Grey’s Anatomy? What are your hopes and fears for season 13? Let us know!