Grey’s Anatomy Set Up Ellen Pompeo’s Return In Season Finale With Surprise Boston Trip, And Multiple Relationships Are At Stake

Spoiler alert! This story contains spoilers about Grey’s Anatomy’s May 11 episode, “Ready to Run.” Be sure you’re caught up before you keep reading!

Medicine may be the reason that the Grey Sloan Memorial surgeons will travel to Boston for Grey’s Anatomy’s Season 19 finale next week, but make no mistake — relationships will be the primary focus. "Ready to Run" teed up several stories that will undoubtedly lead to drama before the ABC mainstay goes on hiatus. Ellen Pompeo is coming back, as Meredith Grey will be reunited with Nick Marsh for the first time since she left Seattle, and Kelly McCreary’s Maggie Pierce will also return, with she and estranged husband Winston Ndugu both being nominated for an award. That, my friends, is only the beginning, because we’ve also got a wedding to attend.

The relationship drama gods were hard at work in “Ready to Run,” when it was announced that Nick and Winston (with Maggie) had been nominated for the esteemed Catherine Fox Foundation award being presented in Boston, which put both on track for run-ins with their (former?) partners. 

While we knew that Ellen Pompeo would be back for the finale, it was unknown that we'd be traveling to her stomping grounds. Setting at least part of the two-hour event in Boston opens up the possibility for more big guest appearances, including Jackson Avery (Jesse Williams), April Kepner (Sarah Drew) and Tom Koracick (Greg Germann). I can’t emphasize this enough: I need a Japril fix!

The Boston trip alone provides enough potential excitement, but back in Seattle, the remaining doctors are gearing up for Simone Griffith’s (Alexis Floyd) wedding, and if we’ve learned anything about a Grey’s Anatomy wedding over 19 seasons, it’s that they rarely go off as planned. 

“Ready to Run” proved that the love triangle between Simone, Lucas Adams (Niko Terho) and Trey (William Martinez) is still fully on, when McDreamy’s nephew professed his love for Simone and begged her to call off the wedding. We can see from the preview that doesn’t happen: 

Will Lucas “speak now or forever hold his peace”? I cannot wait to find out. As we can also see from the preview, things might FINALLY happen one way or the other between Jo Wilson (Camilla Luddington) and Link (Chris Carmack), after Grey’s Anatomy has been teasing us all season. 

In new relationship news, Mika Yasuda (Midori Francis) will be attending the nuptials with Taryn Helm (Jaicy Elliot). Helm has agreed to leave Joe's Bar behind and return to the hospital for Season 20, so maybe these two can have a drama-free first date before Helm becomes Yasuda's boss? Fingers crossed!

There is so much to be excited about when the back-to-back episodes “Wedding Bell Blues” and “Happily Ever After?” arrive next Thursday that I don’t know how they’re going to fit it into two hours, AND give us the “twisty end” promised in the preview. Don’t miss Meredith’s return to Grey’s Anatomy, as it all starts at 9 p.m. ET May 18 on ABC, and be sure to check out our 2023 TV schedule to see what premieres are coming soon. 

Heidi Venable
Content Producer

Heidi Venable is a Content Producer for CinemaBlend, a mom of two and a hard-core '90s kid. She started freelancing for CinemaBlend in 2020 and officially came on board in 2021. Her job entails writing news stories and TV reactions from some of her favorite prime-time shows like Grey's Anatomy and The Bachelor. She graduated from Louisiana Tech University with a degree in Journalism and worked in the newspaper industry for almost two decades in multiple roles including Sports Editor, Page Designer and Online Editor. Unprovoked, will quote Friends in any situation. Thrives on New Orleans Saints football, The West Wing and taco trucks.