Masking Up for Season 18 of Grey’s Anatomy: Are we sure about this?

ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy just announced their approval for an eighteenth season, but should they have stopped after seventeen?

*Article may contain spoilers so read with caution if you plan to watch the show or have not watched all seventeen seasons*

Meredith Grey has defied all odds for seventeen seasons. Having survived a bombing, drowning, a plane crash, the death of her husband, Derek Shepherd, a patient attack, giving birth in a power outage, a car accident in a thunderstorm, the loss of her best friend George and her mother, and just recently, the life-threatening effects of COVID-19. Has she not had enough? 

Clearly the answer is “No” to ABC producers! But for the fans who have watched since 2005 (or discovered the show during the height of quarantine and became overly invested), I think we can all agree it is fair to say that it is time to say goodbye. Since the premiere of season 17 in November, I think there has been a noticeable shift in the emotion behind the show.

Personally, I feel that the writers of the show have felt obligated to cover every movement and issue taking place in the world right now. In fear of “cancel culture” (defined by dictionary.com as “the phenomenon or practice of publicly rejecting, boycotting, or ending support for particular people or groups because of their socially or morally unacceptable views or actions”) you can see the forced or rather, unnatural acting portrayed by the main characters. 

The show has also focused harshly on the negative side of the COVID-19 pandemic. For a show that was once my escape from reality during the most unprecedented and lonely parts of quarantine, it was difficult to sit down for an hour and watch people dying on your favorite TV show from a disease that is affecting all those around you. Some may argue this because prior to season 17, a lot of cases and sick patients on the show had common issues such as liver disease or car accidents, which affects millions of people each year. But for me, watching season 17 did nothing but make me sad about what is happening around the world right now. The show stopped being my escape from reality.

Granted it makes sense to cover a PANDEMIC when the show takes place in a HOSPITAL, but we had to watch as our beloved Meredith Grey (the MAIN character) nearly die and was in a coma for weeks as the people around her fell apart. It was traumatizing and I think the writers and producers need to take some time to reflect before starting a new season.

Another reason I do not want to watch an eighteenth season is because Mr. JACKSON AVERY is gone?! WHAT??? How are we supposed to watch Grey’s Anatomy without Jackson?! If Shonda Rhimes continues to write off more and more of the original class (although he didn’t come until season 6), there’s going to be no one left! Absolutely no one! Plus, Mr. Richard Webber, former chief of general surgery, can NOT act anymore. I hate to admit it, but someone needed to say it. He took far too long of a break and forgot all of his acting skills. Being in a relationship with Catherine Avery doesn’t help much either. BUT if they get married, Jackson will come back!

I know many of these opinions can be considered controversial. The Grey’s Anatomy Fans Facebook groups that I join for pure entertainment go back and forth daily on whether the show should continue or not. I know if some of those people were to read this article, I would be under fire. 

For the meantime, we get to see Maggie and Winston get married in upcoming episodes, Meredith come home and be with her kids, Amelia and Link move out and get to start their new family, and hopefully watch as COVID gets better and under control at Grey-Sloan memorial.