Grey's Anatomy has celebrated its 250th episode on primetime TV -- currently dubbed by many fans as the "best episode ever." The numbers might actually validate the claim as Variety reports that the popular ABC medical drama "rose to four-week highs lifting ABC to a No. 1 finish among non-sports networks." Shonda Rhimes' show produced a 2.4 rating/8 share among adults ages 18 to 49 years old and a whopping 8.96 million viewers in total for the 8PM timeslot (also by Variety). Moreover, it was recorded as the best rating since Grey's Anatomy premiered last September 24. The show joined other "Shondaland" shows such as Scandal and How To Get Away With Murder in the roster of best performing TV series of the night.
Cosmopolitan gave a thorough review of the "Meredith Grey narrated" series with the show said to be opening to a very unassuming dinner party -- a remarkable depart from the usual hospital scenes. However, Shonda-produced series are known for "storytelling risks" and the well-received 250th episode is no exception.
Clearing up last episode's cliff hanger, series protagonist Meredith Grey opens the door to Callie's new love interest, Penny -- who actually, in an unfortunate string of events, was a main "accessory" to Derek's death. It can be recalled that Penny has failed to perform a standard CT scan which could have prevented Dr Sheppard's brain haemorrhage leading to his demise. Basically, the dinner party gathered all known doctors in season 12, including the elephant in the room, Penny. Emotional and passionate exchanges between the guests followed when everyone discovered the part she played in Derek's death and tried to make sense of her explanation about her medically-informed choices. However, towards the end of the episode Jackson and April argued the term "killed" in reference to almost everyone identifying Penny as Dr Sheppard's killer.
Notably, the episode is recognized as the only time the whole lot of physicians who knew and loved Derek grieved over him together. Mostly, the episode was a concoction of unresolved and complicated emotions: Callie is doing her best to protect and defend "Derek's killer" Penny, Penny giving her all to stay composed, Meredith and Amelia having a passionately loud back-and-forth on their "situations" post-Derek's death, Alex persuading Meredith to disclose, Owen comforting Amelia, April and Jackson dealing and apparently getting over their "estrangement."
The most jaw-dropping plot twist though is when Penny announced that she will be restarting her career as resident at Gray Sloan Memorial -- as the small hospital where Derek was last seen alive has closed. Another "exchange" ensued threatening her new job by supposedly calling a board meeting and getting her fired. However, Meredith refuses to accept it and "ominously" says, "I'll see you Monday. Don't be late."