Grey’s Anatomy Season 22 Episode 4 “Goodbye Horses” Recap Apologies, Awkward Exes and Meredith Grey Leaves Again
- Je-Ree
- 3 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Grey’s Anatomy is deep into its twenty-second season, but somehow the surgeons at Grey Sloan Memorial still manage to find new ways to make a mess of their personal lives while slicing people open with expert precision. The latest episode, “Goodbye Horses,” gives fans everything they crave from this medical melodrama: awkward romantic run-ins, surgical showdowns, and a good old-fashioned round of heartfelt apologies. It is an hour that reminds viewers why this series continues to thrive after more than two decades, it is all catharsis and a healthy dose of self-realization, Seattle-style.
“Goodbye Horses” starts off with tension thick enough to cut with a scalpel. Teddy Altman and Owen Hunt are still navigating their post-breakup blues, and their emotions spill into the hospital halls. Teddy’s new pseudo-girlfriend Cass Beckman becomes the unwitting third wheel in a day filled with awkward encounters and misread signals. When Teddy has to treat Owen’s former flame Nora for chest pains, which turn out to be good old-fashioned indigestion, it is peak Grey’s awkwardness. Meanwhile, Owen is stewing after spotting Teddy and Cass carpooling to work. By the end of the day, both Teddy and Owen offer up their apologies, clearing the air just enough to keep things from exploding again. And no, they do not go home together. Progress, not relapse.
Across the hospital, another battle is brewing, this time in the operating room. Jackson Avery makes his return from Boston to perform reconstructive surgery on a breast cancer survivor. The moment he steps into Grey Sloan, you can practically hear the collective gasp from fans. His partnership with Meredith Grey should have been smooth sailing, but this is Grey’s Anatomy, so of course it is not. When Meredith suggests repairing the patient’s hernia during the same surgery, Jackson balks. What follows is a classic surgical standoff, complete with raised eyebrows, clipped dialogue, and surgical masks hiding passive aggression. Predictably, Meredith turns out to be right, forcing Jackson to eat a generous helping of humble pie.
The tension between them dissolves into something more nostalgic when Jackson offers Meredith a ride home on his private jet. Their conversation reveals a deeper problem: Meredith’s research has stalled, and Tom Koracick has swooped in to publish Alzheimer’s findings that suspiciously exclude female test subjects. Meredith realizes she has fallen behind in her own work and decides to return to Boston. Richard Webber, ever the father figure, handles her latest goodbye with quiet grace. It is bittersweet but feels right Meredith is still the heartbeat of the show, even when she is flying off into the clouds.
Elsewhere, Ben Warren impresses during surgery and gets Bailey’s blessing to pursue a specialty in plastics. The interns provide their usual brand of comic chaos: Benson Kwan fumbles his way out of the Plastics Posse while Kavita Mohanty earns her spot with quick thinking. Jules Millin’s roommate plans a wedding, Simone Griffith misunderstands her motives, and we learn that Jules lives with retirees because they cannot hear her army of alarm clocks. It is weirdly charming in that Grey’s Anatomy way. Meanwhile, Lucas Adams shows unusual interest in a gastric cancer patient, blurring the line between curiosity and crush.
“Goodbye Horses” might not have delivered a jaw-dropping cliffhanger, but it nails the emotional beats that keep this long-running series alive. It is about humility, moving forward, and rediscovering purpose themes that feel especially relevant for both the characters and the show itself. Meredith leaving again might sting, but it also sets up fresh stories for the interns to stumble through and the veterans to untangle.
Grey’s Anatomy Season 22 Episode 4 proves that even after twenty years of heartbreak and heroics, the doctors of Grey Sloan still know how to keep viewers hooked. It is messy, emotional, occasionally ridiculous, and endlessly entertaining in other words, everything fans have come to expect. If this is the tone for the rest of the season, it looks like Grey Sloan still has plenty of life left in it.
What did you think?
Loved it
Hated it
So/So