Grey's Anatomy Season 21: Ben's Return Exposes a Harsh Truth About Intern Careers!
Ben Warren's Grey's Anatomy Comeback: A Bitter Reminder of What Happens to Interns
Ben Warren (Jason George) is back at Grey Sloan Memorial in Grey's Anatomy season 21, episode 4—and his return throws a seriously sad spotlight on what actually happens to surgical interns. He's been an anesthesiologist, a surgeon-in-training, and a firefighter, that is until now. He jumped between jobs quite often in Grey's Anatomy which actually made him fairly disliked among newer generations of residents (we learn that this happened due to Sydney Heron’s recent reintroduction). Yet despite a slightly rough start (new systems, navigating some clumsy situations), Ben's experience at Grey Sloan proved it was "home", but it is also the very thing which allowed for a major re-evaluation of that same generation's surgical interns.
Ben’s return gives us a bittersweet reunion with Jo Wilson (Camilla Luddington) after both finish surgical residencies. They are now re-united as residents. This actually shows an extremely difficult truth about those surgical interns; showing exactly just why they have developed and advanced professionally over all those earlier seasons.
The Bleak Reality: What Happened to Ben and Jo's Intern Class
This is actually a serious reminder, highlighting an important yet ultimately rather sad realization about these early Grey's Anatomy seasons. Their reunion in Grey's Anatomy season 21 reveals the unfortunate fates of almost every other member of their group! Only Jo and Ben remained at Grey Sloan. What happened?
- Heather Brooks tragically died.
- Leah Murphy and Stephanie Edwards left or were fired.
- Shane Ross followed Cristina Yang to Switzerland.
That is bleak; a difficult reminder about what usually happens even in high-profile fields such as medical professions; emphasizing a cruel and sobering reminder of reality!
A Storytelling Problem? The Forgotten Residents of Grey's Anatomy
That Jo and Ben reunion highlights something that really hurts Grey's Anatomy’s storytelling; It’s meant to focus on medical training and this aspect of advancement in one's field is an extremely essential component of that story arc which might affect the general viewing experience; for example, viewers are meant to invest deeply into those main characters throughout their medical education! It succeeded many times; namely MAGIC’s class, and also with Ben and Jo's intern year. Those survivors however (Bailey, Jackson, and April) saw great success. Everyone else however never really made that long jump; instead those people and many important, well-loved residents seemed forgotten shortly after completing that residency.
This article focuses specifically on one such detail but is indicative of another broader storytelling approach that this franchise might consider in its future iterations, and really challenges the entire premise itself of showcasing that medical training progress: This choice demonstrates the importance and emphasis it creates surrounding its main characters as opposed to those considered secondary. Thus that reunion made Ben and Jo that much more meaningful and emphasized their achievements despite its initially negative implications surrounding what typically happens in most residencies, especially the rate of completion that even the top-level universities frequently exhibit.
Conclusion: A Powerful Reminder of Career Challenges
Ben’s return provided that bittersweet reminder: many things impact a resident's journey and success in Grey's Anatomy! It is really an honest look at the harsh realities surrounding the field and especially for the many people competing in these intense competitive training environments and highlighting these often unexpected pitfalls is necessary. Even high-achievers might face those unexpectedly difficult circumstances.
This reunion, however unexpected might also emphasize how those relationships could persist in those various challenging environments, proving the persistence of friendships, in those challenging environments where only few can endure; highlighting what actually creates longevity within that very specific field and context!
