Warning! SPOILERS ahead about Grey’s Anatomy season 23, episode 1.Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital may face its greatest threat yet in Grey’s Anatomy season 23. Returning for an iconic 23rd season that makes the ABC TV show’s record as the longest-running medical drama on primetime TV even longer, Grey’s Anatomy has plenty of storylines that season 22 left hanging and now needs to continue. In a bid to go back to what made it great in its earlier seasons, Grey’s Anatomy season 23 chose to prioritize its romances by putting them front and center, something that couldn’t have been clearer from its trailer.
In addition to updating audiences on its biggest love stories of the moment, Grey’s Anatomy season 23’s premiere also needed to solve the problems caused by the loss of one department head and a chief of surgery with Teddy and Owen’s exits in Grey’s Anatomy season 22’s finale. The season 23 premiere makes a point of showcasing the difficulties Grey Sloan Memorial faced due to understaffing, but Grey’s Anatomy season 23, episode 1 ends up quickly offering a solution with the nomination of newcomer Seth Norton as chief of surgery.
Seth Norton’s swift promotion to chief of surgery nevertheless raises some questions, especially as Grey’s Anatomy just introduced him as the mind behind Grey Sloan’s VIP floor, along with establishing his other commitments, being the CEO of Olympic Regent Health. The development, coupled with Meredith’s ominous predictions of Grey Sloan Memorial under a chief of surgery who puts money first, all point to the hospital at the heart of Grey’s Anatomy risking its very soul in season 23.
Seth Norton Becoming Chief Changes Grey Sloan Memorial As We Know It
Grey’s Anatomy season 23’s premiere offers a peculiar snapshot of Catherine Fox and Richard Webber’s priorities regarding Grey Sloan Memorial, one that Meredith comments on extensively in the ending of season 23, episode 1. However, even putting aside Meredith’s legitimate concerns, Seth Norton becoming Grey Sloan’s chief of surgery marks uncharted territory for Grey’s Anatomy, as the hospital at its center never had an outsider as chief.
Granted, it’s unknown who was the chief before Richard and at the time before the series, but even before Grey’s Anatomy began, Richard had been chief for several years. His being removed by the board after Derek reported that he had started to drink again was the first development that shook the Grey’s Anatomy hospital’s foundations, and then Grey Sloan only knew stability under Owen Hunt as chief first, and Miranda Bailey second, even if many more others had become chief before and after them.
Still, all the chiefs who followed one another in Grey’s Anatomy were always internal promotions, making their perspective more or less similar even if they had great plans for the hospital. Seth’s promotion to chief instead puts an outsider at the helm of Grey Sloan Memorial, which goes well beyond the interests of his company and his involvement in the hospital’s VIP floor, potentially having the calamitous repercussions that Meredith warns against in Grey’s Anatomy season 23’s premiere.
Why Grey’s Anatomy Season 23 Hiring An Outsider As Chief Can Be Fantastic, Drama-Wise
Norton’s nomination as chief doesn’t necessarily mean he’s here to stay permanently. After all, James Wolk joins Grey’s Anatomy season 23 in a recurring role, which means that he could eventually be bumped up to the main cast, but he could also just stay for a short while. In the meantime, the chaos that Seth Norton as chief can bring is a panacea for Grey’s Anatomy season 23’s drama.
Meredith’s admission that her standard of care dropped in Grey’s Anatomy season 23’s premiere as a result of Catherine’s push to operate on the VIP patient already starts stirring drama. It also places her on opposite sides of Richard, who followed her to defend his and Catherine’s choice to hire Norton for the job. More importantly, what happened with her teenage patient ignites Meredith’s drive to do something to be more present at Grey Sloan and potentially change the direction of the hospital that shaped her life, or at least try.
This frames Seth Norton’s arrival at the Grey’s Anatomy hospital as almost villainous, as it threatens what Grey Sloan Memorial always stood for. It can also set up a fight between the newcomer and Meredith, who has always been synonymous with Grey’s Anatomy and its hospital. Such a development effectively prompts an epic battle for Grey Sloan Memorial’s soul, one that can have its doctors face one another from opposite trenches, thus raising the bar of Grey’s Anatomy season 23’s drama.
- Release Date
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March 27, 2005
- Showrunner
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Meg Marinis
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Ellen Pompeo
Dr. Meredith Grey
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Chandra Wilson
Dr. Miranda Bailey
