MADDY REMINGTON
managing editor

Grey’s Anatomy is back and better than ever for it’s 17th season.

The writers decided to dedicate the sea- son to the people battling the COVID-19 pan- demic on the frontlines.

In doing so, they showcase some of the tough situations that are happening in hospi- tals across the world.

The show has a reputation for covering very current storylines. And in the first 10 minutes, we see a few examples of this with scenes centered around racism.

One of the scenes depicts a man coming to the hospital to receive treatment, but before being treated remarks that he doesn’t want a “Chinese doctor.”

In true Grey’s fashion, the nurse does ex- actly what the audience would have done and tells him off.

There is even a line included in another scene about how the pandemic disproportion- ately affects black individuals. This further shows how culturally sensitive the writers were in developing the script.

The two-part premiere highlights the tough situations these healthcare professionals have been through.

Grey’s doesn’t tiptoe around the cold- hard truth with this pandemic and certainly does healthcare professionals justice.

The entire first episode shows how much the healthcare industry has had to evolve dur- ing these unprecedented times and how much work, physically and emotionally, the doctors and nurses have had to put in to counter the pandemic’s attacks.

It doesn’t stray away from the difficult conversations, especially those involving COVID-19 parties and deaths.

One of the storylines in the first episode involves a boy who attends a COVID-19 party and receives severe burns.

The season premiere showcases the traumatic time that doctors and nurses are going through and handles these storylines very effectively.

The various scenes that show how Meredith deals with the trauma of losing patient after patient resonates with viewers, as we can’t imagine how difficult it is to try every- thing to save a person’s life, only for them to die alone.

The cinematography adds very intriguing elements to the story with lots of interesting camera angles, especially in the opening and closing scenes.

The lighting is perfect as it seems to be dark and suitable for a hospital, which makes the scenes more accurate in depiction.

The score is on-point as always, with music that seems like it was written specifi- cally for the scenes.

It adds to the cinematography, making the viewers feel like they are a part of the epi- sode.

All in all, the two-part season 17 pre- miere brought out all the stops for fans to enjoy a level of escapism while recognizing the harsh reality of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Grey’s Anatomy always brings storylines together to create a genuine show that is as accurate as possible, and this work shines through in this season.

Longtime Grey’s fans should bring out the tissue boxes for the last few scenes of the premiere.

It’s sure to make viewers nostalgic and emotional.

If you haven’t already seen the first 16 seasons, you can binge-watch on Netflix dur- ing your quarantine.

Then you can catch up on season 17 on Hulu or ABC on Thursdays at 8 p.m.

Although these were only the first two episodes, this season is sure to be a roller- coaster of emotions for new and old fans alike.