Grey’s Anatomy Is Bound To Repeat A Controversial George Plot From 18 Years Ago (But With A Twist)

Warning! SPOILERS about Grey’s Anatomy season 21, episode 13 ahead.

The batch of interns joining Grey Sloan Memorial in Grey’s Anatomy

season 19 had much in common with MAGIC, and they might share yet another similarity as Grey’s Anatomy season 21 frequently hinted at someone repeating his intern year. Through the years, Grey’s Anatomy put the challenges of interns and residents at the front and center of the story, but not all classes of interns mesmerized audiences the same way. The higher stakes due to Simone, Lucas, Mika, Jules and Blue having reached their last chance to be surgeons made them exceptionally ambitious, which prompted comparisons with the original interns.

Just like MAGIC’s, Simone, Jules, Lucas and Blue’s intern year covered three Grey’s Anatomy seasons, which included several chances for the interns to get in trouble, risk dying, and lose their loved ones, something that happened repeatedly to Meredith, Alex, George, Izzie and Cristina too. Grey’s Anatomy season 20’s finale revealing the new interns all passed their exam teased a better future for the entire new class. However, Grey’s Anatomy season 21, episode 13 setting up the interns’ next steps finally brought back into focus the fact Lucas can’t proceed along with the others due to a season 19 tragedy.

Why Lucas Could Be Repeating A Year In Grey’s Anatomy Despite Excelling In It

The Events Of Grey’s Anatomy Season 19’s Finale Still Affect Lucas

Lucas’s intern year didn’t start optimally after he found himself overwhelmed by the bulk of work expected from interns, but it eventually got better after Nick Marsh’s mentoring and help in getting Lucas an ADHD assessment. The state of his performance didn’t change how Lucas cared for patients, and Lucas still jumped at the chance to try to save Sam Sutton in Grey’s Anatomy season 19’s finale despite no attending being in the OR bar Teddy, who had collapsed and was being revived by Mika. The investigation into Sam’s death meant Catherine Fox had to choose a punishment for Lucas.

Bailey understanding Lucas’s true value after seeing him care for Dorian and create the first responder database for the Seattle wildfire convinced her to stand up for Lucas, but this didn’t change Catherine Fox’s mind in Grey’s Anatomy season 20’s finale. Indeed, it only resulted in Catherine firing Bailey along with the Grey’s Anatomy doctors not returning to Grey Sloan in season 21, and dooming Lucas to repeat his intern year as a punishment for cutting into Sam Sutton without following protocol, deemed more important than potentially buying Sam some time by Catherine as boss of the Fox Foundation.

George Repeated A Year Because He Failed In Grey’s Anatomy Season 3, But Lucas Doesn’t

George Failed His Intern Year Exam, But Lucas Didn’t, Instead Being His Class’s Best

Lucas’s discussions with Nick and Richard respectively in Grey’s Anatomy season 21, episode 13 proved his wish to try and overturn his punishment, not deeming it right when he progressed just as much as Simone, Jules, or Blue. Lucas repeating his intern year would nonetheless increase the similarities between the new interns and MAGIC, as George too was forced to repeat his intern year after failing his first-year exam in Grey’s Anatomy season 3.

Lucas’s and George’s reactions to repeating their intern year couldn’t be more different, with Lucas wanting to try everything to avoid it and George initially refusing to return, only to do so by Grey’s Anatomy season 4’s beginning. However, the different approaches make sense – after all, George failed the first-year exam fair and square, while Lucas obtained the best grade in his class. This makes Lucas’s punishment especially hurtful against him and a missed opportunity for Grey Sloan Memorial, which could benefit from its residents’ success instead of being forced to enact Catherine Fox’s petty revenge plots in Grey’s Anatomy.

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Grey’s Anatomy

9/10

Release Date

March 27, 2005

Directors

Rob Corn, Kevin McKidd, Debbie Allen, Chandra Wilson, Allison Liddi-Brown, Jeannot Szwarc, Tony Phelan

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  Ellen Pompeo

  Dr. Meredith Grey

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  Chandra Wilson

  Dr. Miranda Bailey