Arizona Robbins brought a little bit of magic back to Grey’s Anatomy.
The blonde Peds Goddess made a triumphant return during Grey’s Anatomy Season 20 Episode 4, and while the interns weren’t the least bit impressed with her ability to pull off a miracle.
It was hard for viewers not to be impressed with this fan-favorite character making a big return after her controversial departure during Grey’s Anatomy Season 14.
For the most part, it was an understated return for her, and the vibe of the hour overall was as well.
But it was still a solid enough hour that delivered some nostalgia, even if it left us hanging about a few things.
One of our most pressing questions was whether Arizona and Callie found their way back to each other after she made the big move to the Big Apple to be closer to Sophia.
Shockingly, they didn’t squeeze in a single scene or throwaway line that gave us any confirmation about the fate of Calzona.
Related: Grey’s Anatomy: How Arizona Robbins Return Sparks Hope for a Calzona Comeback
Seriously? SERIOUSLY?!
I want a word with the writers and showrunner regarding that move because what possessed them to bring Jessica Capshaw back for an installment and then not even hint at one of the most pressing questions about the character and what is inarguably one of the most iconic ships of the entire series?
They had the time to give us some form of closure, but they opted not to do so.
Dare I say they simply forgot to make any reference at all, which was the most bizarre aspect of Arizona’s return.
Following up on that, they also didn’t give us an Arizona and Teddy Altman reunion, which was strange because they were close.
They also had Arizona give a pep talk to Bailey about her having some of the greatest minds and mentees, and she didn’t so much as utter Alex Karev’s name.
I, too, call foul on that.
It’s as if they had people who weren’t familiar with Arizona’s greatness and the things that people love most about her in charge of her return, and they fumbled on some key points that would’ve really sent the fandom into a tizzy.
Nevertheless, Arizona’s return was generally fun.
I don’t know what the interns did to get banned from the OR; I’m sure it was awful. But if ou don’t let them see the magic, how will they be motivated to get back in?
Arizona
She showed up to make some history, and she did that with a controversial procedure that consisted of her and Amelia performing brain surgery on a fetus in utero.
It was pretty damn badass, and it almost didn’t happen because the baby’s mom, Vita, had some reservations about the whole thing.
She also had no idea that she would be the guinea pig for a clinical trial that had just started. And any normal person would have reservations about that sort of thing.
They hit some bumps in the road with this case. Still, fortunately, Vita and her husband were on board with the procedure by the end, especially when Arizona Robbins took to utilizing some of the same practices she would with Herman to explain things adequately.
Vita had low vision, and her ability to see and feel what would happen changed her mind a bit.
It also was generally a great excuse for Arizona to bring up Herman.
But for the most part, Arizona got to spend most of the hour with Bailey, which was great, and they had some solid moments together that triggered a bit of nostalgia.
Arizona also got to work with Amelia, which was fantastic, and Jo, which would’ve been nice if she and Arizona had a conversation that acknowledged Jo’s shift into Peds or something.
Bailey: You said you’d make history, and you did.
Arizona: We did.
It also woudlve been an excellent opportunity to bring up Alex. Still, even if they avoided it during their interaction, there was plenty of room for them to have a special bond about Jo pursuing the field.
But if we’re on the topic of missed opportunities, it would also be a great time to point out that it made little sense that Carina was nowhere around for this case.
She’s part of the OBGYN squad, and if there was ever a time when they could’ve incorporated her into Grey’s Anatomy rather than sticking her on Station 19, it was for this huge, groundbreaking, history-making medical procedure.
It would’ve made more sense to have Carina DeLuca in this episode than Warren.
But I digress.
It was great to have Arizona back. She brought a little bit of sunshine back into the series, and it was strictly a nostalgic appearance for her as she essentially popped up for this one case, and then she’s off again.
She had some words of wisdom for Bailey, which she probably needed to hear.
Bailey has been having a rough time with this batch of interns and not knowing how to handle them properly or what to do with them.
Everyone can see her struggling with them and treating them differently than she’s done in the past, so it’s interesting to see yet another person call her out and remind her of what made her a great mentor in the first place.
She’s Miranda Freaking Bailey. She’s the woman behind Meredith Grey, Cristina Yang, and Alex Karev. They are her legacy, and they’re a damn great legacy for her to have.
She can whip these interns into shape, too. She has to stop giving up on herself and them so easily.
And the best way for them to get better at all this is to spend more time in the OR.
It’s so hard letting them out of our sight. But you have to trust in things you can’t see. Sometimes, you gotta trust that things will be okay.
Arizona
Some of them are a bit shell-shocked. For all of Blue’s bluster, he was a prime example, seeing Maxine’s face everywhere as this glaring error he made and not wanting to repeat that.
He lost confidence in his own abilities, which had him second-guessing every move he made while working alongside Levi.
For once, I was grateful that Levi gave Blue some genuine advice and leveled with him personally rather than acting as if he was above it all or annoyed by him.
Levi knows what it’s like to have made some mistakes as an intern, too. He’s been in a similar position as Blue.
He was right that he’ll never stop being haunted by his errors, but in a way, you want that; it keeps you honest and true, and the real concern is if the past mistakes don’t haunt you.
The interns are all struggling in their own ways, but I’m glad to see Bailey end things with them as she did. They won’t get through their intern years if they don’t learn to work together and rely on one another.
And it’s quintessential Miranda Bailey to lay a gauntlet down. That means that none of them will see the OR until they complete their assignments, not just Mika.
It’s what they need if they ever have a prayer at working together despite all their personal issues.
But it still sucks that Mika is the person who keeps getting the worst of the punishments when she’s the only one who didn’t do anything wrong.
I know she must always be sick of paying the price for everyone else.
But she had some great moments assisting Jules. She’s nothing if not a team player; she just needs the others to pull their weight.
Jules’ storyline with her brother had its amusing moments. He was such a character and not the fun kind. No wonder she doesn’t want anything to do with her own family and has buried herself in her own world with Maxine.
I’d really rather not die, so can somebody please call whoever Dr. Hunt is?
Joshie
Doug was such a joke. Hell, even Owen couldn’t resist telling him as much. And the vote of confidence he gave Jules was enough to have her flying on cloud nine.
However, the intern who continues to struggle the most is Lucas, and he’s having a difficult time in the likability department, too. I don’t understand why they’ve randomly made him so offputting, but I hate it.
He wasn’t much better during this installment either, and he and Simone got into it yet again when he felt as if she threw him under the bus while talking to the lawyers.
In her defense, she told him repeatedly before that she wouldn’t have made any moves if he hadn’t initiated them. It scares her how much she was willing to follow in his footsteps and go against her own judgment just because of her feelings for him.
Related: Station 19 Review: Trouble Man
He hasn’t fully grasped that because she also hasn’t been the greatest at expressing those feelings for him or letting him know how genuine they are.
But nothing she said during that meeting with the lawyers was false or even new.
But Lucas took it as an attack, as he’s taking everything as such these days.
Unsurprisingly, he’s been staying with Amelia, and he’s been driving her absolutely insane the entire time. But as annoying as she may find him, she probably needed the company.
Their final scene together was endearing, and it was the type of quality content that some of us wanted from the second we learned of Lucas’ identity.
He and Amelia are more alike than they realize, so having them play off one another is fun.
He’s deeply insecure about whether or not he’ll be a great doctor and is cut out for this, and he’s having a hard time living in the shadow of the Shepherds.
We got a bit more insight into where his head has been these days, which is what we needed to humanize him a bit and add context to why he’s been such an ass.
Staying with Amelia Shepherd may do him some good.
While not much happened during this installment, it was still a fun episode to watch, especially with the Arizona return.
And we had some endearing moments with Teddy and Webber, too.
Teddy is ready to return to work, regardless of Winston’s reservations. And Link and Webber testing her through skills labs was hilarious.
But it was also endearing to see that Webber was having a hard time getting back into the OR himself, and Teddy was there to offer him the support he needed — the support he was attempting to give to her.
Simone: This morning, the lawyers asked if I would open Sam up if you hadn’t asked me to, and I said no.
Lucas: So you threw me under the bus.
Their friendship has always been underrated and sweet.
Over to you, Grey’s Fanatics. Did you enjoy Arizona’s big return, or were you underwhelmed? Let’s hear it below!
Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursdays at 9/8c on ABC. You can stream the following day on Hulu.
Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. She is an insomniac who spends late nights and early mornings binge-watching way too many shows and binge-drinking way too much tea. Her eclectic taste makes her an unpredictable viewer with an appreciation for complex characters, diverse representation, dynamic duos, compelling stories, and guilty pleasures. You’ll definitely find her obsessively live-tweeting, waxing poetic, and chatting up fellow Fanatics and readers. Follow her on X.
