“Grey’s Anatomy ”Recap: Meredith’s Lie Catches Up with Her, Maggie Returns and Teddy Faces Catherine Fox

Kelly McCreary reprised her role as Maggie Pierce on this week’s episode after departing the series last season

This post contains spoilers from the Thursday, May 23 episode of Grey's Anatomy.

The penultimate episode of season 20 of Grey's Anatomy was a night full of hard truths coming to the surface.

Maggie Pierce (Kelly McCreary) made her triumphant return to Grey Sloan Memorial, where she came face-to-face with her estranged husband, Winston Ndugu (Anthony Hill). Meanwhile, Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) was dealing with her own issues with her boyfriend Nick Marsh (Scott Speedman) as she attempted to keep moving forward with her secret research. After hooking up with Simone Griffin (Alexis Floyd), Lucas (Niko Terho) questioned the direction of his career.

Read on to learn more about this week's episode of Grey's Anatomy.

Related: Grey's Anatomy's Alexis Floyd on Simone Hitting 'Rock Bottom' and Why She and Lucas Shouldn't Reunite Yet (Exclusive)

Maggie Pierce Returns to Grey Sloan Memorial

Maggie arrived at the hospital and was immediately greeted by Richard Webber (James Pickens Jr.). Her welcome from her ex-husband was considerably more icy and, after small talk, he excused himself to prepare for surgery.

Maggie returned to the hospital to deliver “bad news” to her patient Brady and his partner Ian. Brady asked, “So it’s bad, right?” and she informed him that he needed to go back on the transplant list due to heart failure. However, she insisted Brady not lose “hope” amid the medical emergency.

After their awkward start, Maggie was surprised when Winston asked her to take part in heart-lung transplant. Their conversation quickly turned more personal when Winston admitted he hadn't signed their divorce papers yet. She appeared unconcerned and said she told her lawyers, “You’ll get them when you get them.” 

“You can be direct, some might say bossy,” he replied, to which she responded, “You said you loved that about me.”

Related: Grey's Anatomy's Camilla Luddington Reflects on Jo Wilson's Relationship with Justin Chambers' Alex Karev (Exclusive)

Meanwhile, Brady took a turn for the worse and the doctors raced to perform CPR. Maggie insisted they inform UNOS that he was in “critical condition.” However, they realized that they needed to do a domino heart transplant, using the healthy valves and arteries of another transplant patient Mason’s heart.

Ultimately the surgery was successful. “I think we still got it. Brady’s getting a new heart," Maggie told Winston.

“I remember everything that you taught me,” Winston shared before Maggie attempted to kiss him. Pulling away, he said he realized it was “time for us to let go” and he handed her the signed divorce papers.

“Until the next miraculous surgery,” Maggie said and Winston responded, “Goodbye, Maggie Pierce.”

After Maggie’s departure, Winston found comfort and common ground with Monica Beltran (Natalie Morales). They shared a drink and bonded over the fact they were both going through divorces before they hooked up.

Related: Grey's Anatomy's Debbie Allen Credits Meredith and Derek's Relationship for Keeping the Show 'Going Strong' (Exclusive)

Meredith’s Secret Is Revealed

Meredith and Amelia Shepherd (Caterina Scorsone) also faced their own crisis.

Amelia discovered Catherine Fox (Debbie Allen) popped into her lab — where she was conducting secret Alzheimer's research that goes against the expectations and wishes of the Catherine Fox Foundation. She told Meredith, “We have a problem.”

Amelia then raced to Boston with all of their research because she couldn’t “risk” Catherine finding anything further. Despite the new hurdle, Meredith insisted they were “sticking to the original plan” but Amelia worried that their work would take away from Derek Shepard’s (Patrick Dempsey) legacy.

“We are burying my brother deeper in the ground,” Amelia told Meredith but she insisted her late husband would understand and they should keep pushing forward. They were later thrilled to learn that their research did, in fact, show real promise.

Back at Grey Sloan, Teddy Altman (Kim Raver) worried that Catherine would discover she had given the hospital’s discretionary funds to Meredith and Amelia behind her back.

Once Teddy revealed the secret to her husband Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd), he encouraged her to tell the truth to Catherine, saying, “Better to come clean than get caught.” Teddy then went to Catherine, who told her she was “a woman of great principle” but couldn’t understand her decision to secretly fund Meredith’s project.

While Teddy faced the music for her actions — she was fired — Meredith’s boyfriend Nick Marsh (Scott Speedman) got frustrated that she didn’t consider his feelings while putting it all on the line for her research. Nick admitted to Meredith he wanted things to get more serious between them, including moving in together and marriage, but he needed to feel like a priority in her life.

Later, Meredith said she wasn’t sure if she was ready to tie the knot again but promised to love him forever.

“The issue is that I put work before you… but just right now,” she said. “That’s not forever. If you support me, I can do this. Are you in?”

Before he could answer, the phone rang, and he left.

Related: Shonda Rhimes Says She Hired Security After 'Passionate' Grey's Anatomy Fans 'Got Mean' Over Season Finales

Lucas Faces a Career Crossroads

Lucas Adams was facing the consequences for his own actions after operating on Sam Sutton without an attending present, which ultimately led to the patient’s death. Teddy informed him that Sam’s family had settled their lawsuit, but the board was recommending he repeat his intern year.

“Your judgment is in question, not your skills,” Teddy explained.

When Simone learned about Lucas’ situation, she felt she was to blame for the disciplinary action. She insisted, “We can defend you.”

However, Maggie offered him another opportunity: to move to Chicago and be a second-year cardio intern. When Lucas told Maggie he always thought about going into neurosurgery, she responded, “Why because you’re a Shepard?" before encouraging him to take the job.

He later told Simone about Maggie’s offer and admitted he was “considering it.”

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Grey's Anatomy airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.

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