Essential Grey's Anatomy Episodes You Need to Watch Before Season 15 Premieres

Competition in the real world is entertaining. But, competition in the surgical world is inevitable and necessary. It creates sharks — and surgeons who win Harper Avery Awards. Remember when Alex was an "evil spawn" and all you wanted to see was Meredith beat him with her tiny ineffectual fists?


In this episode, Meredith and Alex have their first real competition with each other when casualties from the Dead Baby Bike Race come rolling through Seattle Grace Hospital. They fight for Viper, a biker who has some pins in his side and wants to get back out on the road as soon as possible. We see inexperienced and full-of-himself Alex Karev brush off Meredith with his overconfident attitude that made him very hard to love early on — good thing he was easy on the eyes. When Alex gets too big for his britches, Meredith makes sure to set him in his place, and Meredith has to end up saving Viper because of Alex's mistake. We didn't know then just how important these two would be in each other's lives. Oh, how "our people" change us. Alex and Meredith have come a long way on such different paths, and Dr. Richard Webber was right when he said, "The seven years you spend here as a surgical resident will be the best and worst of your life."


They say our people make us better, but they also make you fight to be better. The theme of this episode screams competition. In Grey Sloan Memorial, there's always enough competition starting from the very beginning. Going into season 15, we hope the competition continues, because it's more exciting with it around!

Never judge what you don't know. Back when Alex was giving nurses syphilis, we didn't know much about him, so it was easy for him to be evil. But during this episode, when Alex takes on patient Scott Sibert, we learn about Alex's dark past. Scott and his mom came into the ER after his father had a bad case of road rage and crashed their car. His father needs a liver transplant, and Scott is a match. But Scott is internalizing something, which Alex sees as a familiar past. Scott's father is abusive toward his mother, and we learn Alex's father was abusive as well.

In life, you can meet a person but never really know them. It's not until you dive in and get to know them at their core that you find out what kind of book they are. Obviously, now it's like that side of Alex never existed, and it's like reading a completely different book. Current Alex is definitely an upgrade. There's always something laying underneath the surface, which creates all of that roller coaster drama that we love. With new characters coming in to play this season, remember never to judge the book before you know what's inside.

"Because I think it's important to take the time to tell the people you love how much you love them while they can hear you."


Since season 15 is the Season of Love, this episode has so many important moments that created the groundwork for this amazing show. It's the beginning of Owen Hunt's journey to finding love and, boy, has that been a journey. Alex Karev is taking steps to show he is more than just an "evil spawn" and has a heart capable of loving someone else, so when he finally meets Jo, he is able to fall in love.


And no one can forget the love of a lifetime that started it all: Derek Shepherd and Meredith Grey getting married on a Post-it — it's the stuff of legends. The episode also features Miranda Bailey proving she is more than just the tough-skinned resident; she cares for her interns, which is a love that lasts all the way to present day. There is so much love shown in many different forms, making this episode a must see.

In this episode, the survivors of the plane crash attempt to save the hospital by purchasing it. The plane crash was a life-altering event that sets a course no one could have foreseen. No one knew that the hospital would end up going bankrupt, or that these doctors would step in to purchase it, making it the first hospital run entirely by doctors! But as the Grey Sloan Seven try to keep the hospital alive from the outside, everyone is panicking inside as rumors of the hospital closing spin out of control.


This is also the episode where Alex knows how he feels about Jo Wilson, and we see that Jo just might care about him as much as he cares for her. When Jo tells Alex that she will miss him the most if the hospital were to shut down, you know that their feelings are real even if they haven't acknowledged them yet. You never give up on something you love, whether it be a person or a hospital. You fight, you win. We already know these doctors are fighters, and they fight for what they love. Going into season 15, there better not be anyone who tries to get in the way of that love, because lord help them.

They say bad things happen in threes, but they also say love finds a way — although contradictory sayings, this episode proves both to be true. As a storm rages into Seattle, the hospital prepares for the worst. Meredith goes into labor as the power goes out and must have a C-section in the dark. Dr. Bailey is still coping with the fallout from her staph infection and is unable to operate out of fear. And Jackson Avery tries to save a bus full of churchgoers that has flipped over trying to get to safety from the storm.


Just when you think there's a light at the end of the tunnel, Meredith starts to bleed out postsurgery, and her last hope is Dr. Bailey, who hasn't been able to operate in weeks. And Jackson goes back into the burning bus to find an unaccounted-for little girl. The range of emotions in such a short time is enough to put you into cardiac arrest.

But love finds a way! Bailey overcomes her fears to save a person who she loves, while Jackson reunites the girl with her mother, who would have been destroyed if she lost her daughter. And we can't forget that Alex finally tells Jo that he loves her! It took him long enough!


This episode is essential to watch before season 15 because after the storm has passed, love is still there. And with the season of love coming, we need to prepare our emotional heart strings for all the feelings we are going to feel.

Death is inevitable. It may sound morbid, but it's the truth. Meredith has left Seattle following Derek's death. She has cut off all contact with everyone at Grey Sloan and is trying to cope with the loss of her great love. Jackson works through his anger about his baby's death and finds it difficult having to face it alone. And finally, to really drive the waterworks home, Jo faces a difficult case when one of the two burn victims she has been treating dies. Both victims became support buddies to get each other through, and Jo grew close to them on their journey to recovery. To lose one of them was heartbreaking, not only for Jo but for her patient, as well. People deal with loss differently, some become angry, some fight, some laugh, and some flee completely. But the pain is real to each one who experiences loss.

Going into season 15, Jackson has Harriet and a new relationship with Maggie, which means he doesn't need to face things alone anymore. Jo has Alex and no longer has to worry about Paul, her abusive ex-husband. And maybe Meredith will be able to find love again, but if not, she always has her kids who she loves with her whole heart and her people who are always there for her. Death might be inevitable, but life and love are, too. If you look for it, you will find it. Season 15 will be the season to bring a whole lot of love to a whole lot of people.

Another common theme of the show is being there for the people we care about and love. In this episode, Meredith is attacked by a patient in a postictal state following a seizure. Her people are all there for her; they've got her. The extent of the injuries is extreme, and Meredith is left without her most basic functions, needing to rely on those around her. Meredith can't talk because her mouth is wired shut, she can't hear because her eardrums were ruptured, and she is physically unable to move for weeks while her body heals. But even after all of that, she is no longer dark and twisty; she is the sun, and her people are there for her.


Amelia Shepherd relapses, thinking it was her fault Meredith was attacked. She blames herself for not coming for a consult when Meredith asked her to and thinks she could have stopped the attack from happening. Although Meredith admits to being not ready to forgive her, she is there for Amelia even if it's just the simplest gesture of keeping her sobriety chip. The struggle Amelia faces in this episode helps us understand what she is going through with baby Leo's mom this past season and going into season 15.

While Meredith was recovering, she saw things she normally wouldn't notice, like how Jo cares about Alex. Meredith has changed over the years and now looks at love as a gift, something which has continued long after her husband's death. And Alex is her person, who she has vowed to be there for. She tells Alex, "Jo loves you. Post-it on the wall loves you," opening Alex's eyes to just how much Jo means to him. Since Alex and Jo are going to guide us into the Season of Love, I'd like to think we have bedridden Meredith to thank for that.

You can't take back the things you've done, you can only choose to do what's right to fix them. Following Alex finding Andrew DeLuca and Jo together at their apartment — and beating him to within inches of life — Alex comes in with DeLuca to the ER. After finding out what happened, Meredith covers for Alex, showing he is still her person no matter how many times he screws up or starts going back to his old ways. Meredith knows he has changed, but when Maggie finds out that she was covering for Alex, it tests the trust of their sisterhood.

When Alex tries to apologize to DeLuca, DeLuca becomes scared for his life and starts to panic. Alex feels so badly and knows that he can't take back what he did, so he turns himself in to the police to show everyone that he has changed. Meredith has to apologize to Maggie for keeping it from her that she knew what Alex had done all along. She broke the trust of her sister, but now knows that having another sister is rare, and she must do everything to make it right.


This episode is so pivotal because we see a side of Alex that proves he has become a better man thanks to Jo. With her by his side, "evil spawn" is no more. It also shows that Meredith has learned so much from her loss, you don't get many chances with the people that you love, they can leave you at any moment. Cherish the time you have with them while you have it, and don't let anything get in the way.

Get your tissue box ready for this episode! After Maggie Pierce's mother dies, she's still processing her grief. Owen's friends come in to have a surgery on their unborn baby, and Maggie wants to take on the big surgery, but everyone is hesitant to let her jump back in so fast.


Maggie learns to live without her mom in the world. She "lost something she's had her whole life" and is adjusting. This is such a significant moment for Maggie. She has lost a parent, her mom, but gained a parent in Richard who continues to try and prove himself to her. Maggie's mom left Jackson some photos to help Maggie through her grief, which he gives to her to comfort her and show that he is there for her even though she doubted him. Maggie's mom trusted Jackson to take care of her.

It's hard to come to terms with loss, especially loss of a parent, someone who has been with you your entire life. But mother always knows best, and she saw something in Jackson that she knew would help her daughter through her grief. This strengthened the relationship between Jackson and Maggie and now going into season 15, they care for each other even more. You never fully get over such a great loss, but if you have the right people by your side, it's easier to handle.

Have you ever had a headache, and your first thought was, "it's a tumor"? It happens to me all the time. My mother tells me it's all in my head, but if I had a brain tumor, it would be all in my head, so she wouldn't exactly be wrong.

Amelia's surgery to remove her brain tumor has everyone by her side for support. She isn't sure what's real and what's the brain tumor talking anymore but tries her best to convey her feelings to those she loves. Amelia is battling her postop without drugs because of her addiction, which is the biggest test she has to face yet — but she shows just how far she has come to beat it.

I think the theme for this episode is "the struggle is real and so is your brain tumor." This episode is so essential because she has to struggle with her addiction. Going into a surgery and opting out of all pain meds because you're an addict is a very real thing that people have to do. The struggle shows just how strong she is, even after having a brain tumor for almost 10 years. And Amelia's people are still there for her. They've forgiven her for all her mistakes. Knowing that they can look past all of the times she made them question her choices — since it was not really her — shows just how strong a bond they all hold with each other. Going into Season 15, we have posttumor Amelia, who has taken on fostering a drug-addicted teenage mom and has made it out of her own struggle that she is able to help others with theirs.

Your life is an occasion, rise to it. In the 300th episode of Grey's Anatomy, a special tribute is paid to past and present characters. Alex and Meredith are met with the ghosts of friends past when three young interns come in who wildly resemble their people. Meredith must save the lives of those who remind her so much of her friends while also trying to make it to the Harper Avery Awards. When one of the young interns learns they resemble Meredith's best friend and "person" Cristina Yang, she asks her to save her as if she were trying to save her friend. Meredith struggles with how much this patient reminds her of Cristina, which causes her to do her very best work and save the young girl's life.


Unable to make it to the Harper Avery's ceremony, Meredith finds herself surrounded by her friends and colleagues at Grey Sloan as she is announced the winner of the Harper Avery Award. Her entire career, Meredith has been trying to make her late mother proud. As she finally feels that she has, she sees her mother looking down on her, proud of the amazing surgeon she has become.


This is the moment Meredith has worked for her entire life, the moment she knew she was extraordinary. It encompasses her entire struggle, her intern year, the friends she lost, the family she lost, and how despite all of that, she still rose to the occasion to become an extraordinary surgeon, mother, and friend. It's Meredith Grey proving how extraordinary she is and how strong she has become.

What person wouldn't want their mother there for that moment? The moment she would be most proud of. I think a lot of people strive to be the person their mother dreams of them becoming. You can do extraordinary things with your life if you rise to the occasion. Make it count. If this episode didn't give you goosebumps and make you want to be everything you've ever dreamed you could be, you need to go watch it again. The episode is Grey's Anatomy itself.

Even if you lose a love, there's always room for more as long as you keep the door open to the possibilities. Meredith meets Dr. Nick Marsh after a transplant surgery, where he admits to having one of his own recently. He collapses and becomes Meredith's patient, where they talk about life and what they would do if they weren't doctors. The sparks between them are strong, but Meredith is cautious about falling for her patient. She walks dangerously close to flirtation while trying to remain professional. She admits to Alex that this is the first time she's felt anything real since Derek.

This is a huge moment, since Derek was Meredith's great love. Everyone thought she would never find another, but thanks to this episode, we know that it's possible. Going into season 15, it gives hope that it might be possible for Meredith to fall in love again.


Meanwhile, Amelia tells Owen to go after Teddy Altman, who Owen has always had feelings for. Owen flies to Germany to tell Teddy he wants to be with her. After Owen tells her there is nothing in their way anymore, she takes the plunge. But when Teddy finds out that Owen has left Amelia fewer than 24 hours earlier — only because Amelia told him to — she tells him to leave and that she's done being his second choice. In true Grey's fashion, this isn't the end for Owen and Teddy; in the season 14 finale, we see Teddy back at Grey Sloan and carrying a child. There's obviously going to be some drama coming with this love triangle, and we cannot wait to see what happens. But also, we can't wait for all the possibilities that love has to offer! Maybe it's in another form of a hot dreamy doctor with great hair?

The saying goes, "if you love something set it free" — this goes for friends that you love as well as jobs in high-ranking positions you've worked your life for. Jo and Alex's wedding is here; the long road of their love finally comes to its peak. But before they can cross that mountaintop, they have to get out of a shed they've managed to lock themselves in when they tried to have a last-minute quickie. Meredith officiates Alex and Jo's relocated wedding on a ferry boat. She is his person, after all. Meredith struggles, because Alex is her person — he is all she has left. But still, she wants him to be happy and wants Jo to flourish in her career. Meanwhile, Jackson gives his final farewell to his first love, opening the possibilities to his relationship with Maggie in the upcoming season 15.


Back at the hospital, Bailey wants to take a step back from work for a bit and focus on herself. She asks Teddy, who has recently come back to town, to step in as her interim chief. Teddy is carrying a secret of her own when she says she is expecting but doesn't say who the father is. Considering her last encounter with Owen, when she let the thing she loved go, we can count on the fact that it's going to bring some drama when we find out. The entire episode has a number of can't-miss moments that make your heart warm, wondering how you can find love like this.


This season-ending episode makes you want to find your people, find love, and find yourself. It also leaves the possibilities for season 15 wide open and I, for one, cannot be more excited to see what happens during the season premiere. But you can expect one thing: it will bring all the feels.


Be sure to tune in to the two-hour season 15 premiere of Grey's Anatomy at 8 p.m. Eastern time (7 p.m. Central).