The episode opens with a voice-over narration from Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) reflecting on how disasters reveal our true selves, showing that preparation can only go so far when facing a crisis.

Richard Webber (James Pickens Jr.) returns and adjusts to new safety protocols, helping Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson) implement a UV light to disinfect PPE.

Meredith struggles emotionally as she watches patients die alone, while Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd) and Jackson Avery (Jesse Williams) treat teenagers brought in from a wildfire.

Teddy Altman (Kim Raver) faces lingering tension with Owen, and Andrew DeLuca (Giacomo Gianniotti) returns to Grey-Sloan after an intervention to help a frustrated Meredith.

Maggie Pierce (Kelly McCreary) navigates her long-distance relationship with Winston Ndugu (Anthony Hill), while Levi Schmitt (Jake Borelli) confides in Nico Kim (Alex Landi) about the toll of the pandemic.

The episode opens with a voice-over narration from Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) highlighting the role of stitches in surgery, noting that while precision is crucial, true healing relies on the body's natural processes.

Catherine Avery (Debbie Allen) navigates financial challenges caused by the pandemic, and Tom Koracick (Greg Germann) is demoted after mistakenly ordering the wrong PPE.

Meredith collapses in the parking garage and, in a hallucination, sees her late husband, Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey), on a beach.

This was followed by "All Tomorrow's Parties" and "The Center Won't Hold" of Grey's Anatomy, which aired in the following two-hour timeslot, and were watched live by 5.92 million viewers.

[12] Jasmine Blu, also from TV Fanatic, reviewed the second and third parts, expressing that the multiple storylines created "a mishmash of confusion and too much crammed into the premiere," but praised the ending for delivering "the shock of a lifetime with a fallen Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) and a Derek sighting!