‘Grey’s Anatomy’: Why did Dr. Bailey smack the bejeezus out of someone in the season 21 premiere?

Everyone was in a bad spot in the Grey’s Anatomy season 20 finale. Of course, that’s what should happen at the end of a good season, but it’s still tough to watch my favorite doctors in such miserable states. But while I care about Jo Wilson’s (Camilla Luddington) secret pregnancy and Meredith Grey’s (Ellen Pompeo) Alzheimer’s research, I raced to watch the season 21 premiere to find out more about that unexpected slap.

The season 21 premiere trailer showed Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson) slapping the bejeezus out of Catherine Avery (Debbie Allen)… but why? Thankfully, the first episode of the new season shared all the answers, and we need to discuss them.

Why did Bailey slap Catherine in the Grey’s Anatomy season 21 premiere?

To put it simply: after Catherine fired Bailey, Bailey slapped her. Catherine made the devastating comment, “You think you’re God’s gift to this hospital. Please, they won’t even notice the second you walk out that door” because, according to her, Bailey is easily replaceable. Excuse me?

Well, hold on… Bailey didn’t actually slap Catherine. She just had a dream that she slapped Catherine (or a nightmare). At the beginning of the Grey’s Anatomy season 21 premiere, Bailey wakes up in a sweat, and her sweet husband Ben Warren (Jason George), who is thankfully back where he belongs, asks if she’s had the same dream that she keeps having.

I’m torn about this. On the one hand, is there a cheesier explanation than “it was all a dream”? I’ll never forget my eighth-grade English teacher telling us that we should never conclude a story with a dream because it’s lazy and not creative. On the other hand, I don’t actually want to see Bailey slap Catherine (or any other character, for that matter). The Grey Sloan doctors might have their chaotic moments, and they might have all dated each other, but they’re still professionals and they still care about what they do. With the hospital in such disarray, the last thing anyone needs is for Bailey to get fired for real.

While Bailey pretends that she likes running her health clinic, she of course misses surgery. As soon as I tuned into the Grey’s Anatomy season 21 premiere, I knew it wouldn’t be long before she was rehired, but of course, it would be a rocky road to get there. The premiere revealed that Catherine hired Dr. Sydney Heron (Kali Rocha), who took over during Bailey’s maternity leave in season 2, to do Bailey’s job, which is just devastating. Sydney’s quirky and cheerful vibes are no match for the storm clouds at Grey Sloan right now, and no one appreciates her attempts to make everyone laugh and have fun.

In an interview with Deadline, showrunner Meg Marinis said “resilience” is the name of the game in season 21. When asked about Bailey being in charge of the interns once again, Marinis said, “It’s never safe to assume anything when it comes to Grey’s Anatomy!”

Bailey said “I’m getting my job back” at the end of the season 21 premiere, and I know she will. Now that we know the truth about that slap, let’s sit back every Thursday evening and see exactly how it all plays out.