Grey's Anatomy (season 9)

Plots

The season follows the story of surgical interns, residents and their competent mentors, as they experience the difficulties of the competitive careers they have chosen. It is set in the surgical wing of the fictional Seattle Grace-Mercy West Hospital, located in Seattle, Washington. A major theme of the season is the characters adapting to change, as all of the fifth-year surgical residents have turned into surgical attendings, and are now teaching interns, and operating on their own surgeries. The early episodes of the season depict the characters dealing with the aftermath of the season eight plane crash that claimed the life of Lexie Grey (Chyler Leigh) and upon rescue Mark Sloan (Eric Dane), who dies in the first episode.

Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey) finds his surgical career in doubt after badly damaging his hand but ultimately his sister Liz (Neve Campbell) donates a nerve from her leg and Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez) is able to save his hand. Later, Shepherd receives more good news when his wife Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) discovers that she is pregnant, despite her previously being told that it was unlikely that she could conceive. Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh) is severely traumatized upon rescue and suffers from brief reactive psychosis and eventually decides to take up her fellowship in Minnesota, though soon grows unhappy in her new surroundings and returns to Seattle after the death of her friend and mentor, Doctor Thomas. Arizona Robbins (Jessica Capshaw) survives the plane crash in spite of her leg injury, but upon return her wound becomes infected and her leg has to be amputated to save her life. Robbins reacts badly to this, becoming bitter and blaming her wife Callie and her former friend Alex Karev (Justin Chambers) and refuses to leave her bed or return to work.

Derek discovers that prior to the plane crash, the hospital had recently changed airlines to one with a poorer safety record for budgetary reasons, resulting in the four crash survivors (Grey, Shepherd, Robbins and Yang) deciding to pursue a lawsuit, and it soon becomes apparent that chief of surgery Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd) had given the go-ahead to the change. To prevent the doctors' court case from being thrown out, Hunt decides to divorce Yang, but the two secretly resume their relationship and agree to start again. Despite contemplating a settlement, the doctors decide to continue with the lawsuit and eventually are awarded fifteen million dollars each, but the insurance company discovers an unexpected loophole and refuse to pay, resulting in the hospital itself becoming liable, putting its future in extreme doubt. Dr. Alana Cahill (Constance Zimmer) is appointed to cut costs at the hospital and she eventually decides the best course of action would be to seek out a new buyer and attracts the interest of a company named Pegasus. Later however, Torres and Richard Webber (James Pickens Jr.) discover the unpleasant consequences that would fall upon the hospital should they be taken over by Pegasus prompting the four crash survivors (and Torres on the behalf of Sloan) to pool their money together in a bid to purchase the hospital themselves and quit their jobs, resulting in Pegasus pulling out. The doctors run into trouble when they fail to secure an extra benefactor, but at the last minute Catherine Avery (Debbie Allen) reveals that the Harper Avery Foundation is willing to provide a majority share in the company, on the condition that they have at least one member on the board of directors. The doctors agree and their purchase is complete, only for Catherine to appoint her son Jackson Avery (Jesse Williams) to part of the board, effectively putting him in charge of the entire hospital.

In other storylines, Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson) marries her partner Ben Warren (Jason George), despite suffering from last-minute nerves and missing the original wedding ceremony due to Adele Webber (Loretta Devine) being admitted to the hospital. Adele later dies after her surgery, leaving her husband Richard wracked with guilt due to his relationship with Catherine Avery. A new group of interns arrives at Seattle Grace and soon Karev strikes up a close friendship with Jo Wilson (Camilla Luddington) but the pair fall short of developing a romance, despite other characters commenting on their chemistry. After failing her board exams in season eight, April Kepner (Sarah Drew) returns home to Ohio, but is later brought back by Hunt and resumes her job at the hospital. Upon her return, Kepner restarts her sexual relationship with Jackson, despite being filled with conflict due to her religious beliefs. The pair eventually split up when Kepner refuses to make a commitment, and Avery starts dating intern Stephanie Edwards (Jerrika Hinton), while Kepner starts dating a paramedic named Matthew (Justin Bruening).

Casting

In May 2012, it was announced that six original cast mates, Ellen Pompeo, Patrick Dempsey, Sandra Oh, Chandra Wilson, Justin Chambers, and James Pickens, Jr. had renewed their contracts for another two seasons, as Meredith Grey, Derek Shepherd, Cristina Yang, Miranda Bailey, Alex Karev, and Richard Webber respectively. In July 2012, it was announced that cast member Eric Dane would not be returning to Grey's Anatomy as a series regular, and would leave after two episodes to give his character a proper ending. In addition, Chyler Leigh requested to be released from her contract to spend more time with her family and her character was killed off in the season eight finale, while Kim Raver also departed from the show following the events of the season eight finale, having declined the offer of a contract extension. Other series regulars, Sara Ramirez, Kevin McKidd, Jessica Capshaw, Sarah Drew, and Jesse Williams all returned to the series as regulars, though Capshaw would not have a major role in the first few episodes because of her maternity leave.

In August 2012, it was announced that Camilla Luddington, Gaius Charles, and Tina Majorino had been cast as Jo Wilson, Shane Ross, and Heather Brooks, respectively; these characters would be the new interns of Seattle Grace-Mercy West. TVGuide later reported that even with all of the recurring cast being added to Grey's Anatomy for the new season that True Blood star Camilla Luddington is the only actress with an option to become a series regular. In September 2012, it was announced that Jerrika Hinton and Tessa Ferrer had been cast as new interns Stephanie Edwards and Leah Murphy, respectively. In August 2012, it was announced that Debbie Allen would reprise her role as Catherine Avery at sometime in series, and she is set to direct the third episode. In September 2012, it was announced that Steven Culp would be cast as a new doctor at a new hospital, and would be known as Dr. Parker.

In September 2012, it was announced that William Daniels, former Boy Meets World star, and Jason George would reprise their roles as Dr. Craig Thomas, and Ben Warren respectively. In September 2012, TVLine reported that Bones's Andrew Leeds had been cast in a potentially recurring role for the ninth season. In December 2012, Wetpaint reported that Constance Zimmer had been cast in a recurring role as Dr. Cahill and would appear in at least four episodes. In November 2012 it was announced that Neve Campbell, known for her role in Scream, would be cast as one of Derek's sisters. It was not until late November that her role was revealed as Liz Shepherd, a therapist. In November 2012, it was announced that in 2013, someone would die on Grey's Anatomy. TVGuide then reported that Loretta Devine, who is known as Adele Webber, would be reprising her role for two episodes, and that she would be the one to die. In November 2012, TVLine reported that Nip/Tuck alum Roma Maffia was cast in a recurring role as a member of the hospital board. In December 2012, TVLine and Wetpaint reported that Ringer and Switched at Birth star, Justin Bruening,was cast as a paramedic known as Matt.

In January 2013, it was announced that Gaius Charles, Tina Majorino, Jerrika Hinton and Tessa Ferrer were all given the option to become series regulars if Grey's Anatomy were to be renewed. Sarah Chalke is set to guest star in an episode in the spring, as TVLine reported in January 2013. It was announced by E! Online on March 29, One Tree Hill alumni Hilarie Burton will be cast in a recurring role as a specialist in an investigation going on in the hospital. Her character is to arrive on the 22nd episode of the season. However, this later turned out to be untrue as Hilarie Burton ended up portraying a specialist doctor named Lauren Boswell.

Development

Grey's Anatomy was renewed by ABC on May 10, 2012. In June 2012, ABC set the premiere date of Grey's Anatomy to September 27, 2012, and it would remain in the Thursday at 9:00pm timeslot that it has had since the third season. In October 2012 it was reported that this season would have the same episode count as season eight, meaning it would have a total of 24 episodes. Shonda Rhimes revealed that the season nine finale would not revolve around a 'disaster' episode.

Ratings

Grey's Anatomy's ninth season opened up to 11.73 million viewers with a 4.4/12 Nielsen rating/share in the 18–49 demographic. The viewership for the episode was an 11 percent increase from the previous season premiere, which was viewed by a total of 10.38 million people. The rating was a 7 percent increase from the previous season premiere, which received a 4.1/10 Nielsen rating/share in the 18–49 demographic. The Nielsen score additionally registered the show as the week's highest-rated drama in the 18–49 demographic. As of December 2012 "Going, Going, Gone" has served as the season's most viewed episode. "Run, Baby, Run" is the season's least viewed episode, with 8.17 million viewers and a 2.9/8 Neilsen rating/share in the 18-49 demographic. At the time, the season finale was the series lowest watched season finale with 8.99 million viewers and 3.1 in the 18-49 rating demo.

Critical reception

The season received mostly positive reviews with critics praising numerous aspects of the long running medical drama including the bonds of the characters with each other and it's connection with the audience. Robert Bianco of USA Today noted that after 9 seasons, "There's still life left in Grey's." What Culture gave a positive review for the season, "Grey's Anatomy has developed into a fine example of how a TV show can mature beyond its initial purpose." Toronto Star called it "a solid return to form". TV Fanatic gave a largely positive review to the season, "Grey's Anatomy always knows how to bring the drama and they did not fail in the Season 9."

Melissa Maerz of Entertainment Weekly also gave a generally positive response stating, "There's still one good reason to keep watching: Where else can you find such deep friendships between female co-workers? Margaret Lyons of New York Magazine wrote that the first part of the season "has been mostly a downer, thanks in part to a whole bunch of people dying at the beginning of the season and also the shocking lack of interesting romances."

Examiner.com reviewing the season finale wrote, "[Greys] delivered yet another epic and emotional season finale that pushes our characters in challenging new directions". The site added, "Perfect Storm gets 5 out of 5 stars. This storm brought on all kinds of emotional strife and death that truly tests the seasoned doctors and pushes them to their element. They bond together, guiding each other through the dark and as the dust settles from this mayhem, there are casualties of all kinds. The tragedy that leaves us hanging until next fall is one hell of a thrill ride full to the brim with shocks."

Episodes

The number in the "No. in series" column refers to the episode's number within the overall series, whereas the number in the "No. in season" column refers to the episode's number within this particular season. "U.S. viewers in millions" refers to the number of Americans in millions who watched the episodes live.