Warning: SPOILERS for Grey’s Anatomy season 18 ahead.
Grey’s Anatomy might have been renewed for season 19, but the medical drama’s end has been believed to be near for some time, and Richard’s cognitive assessment storyline explored in season 18 makes a specific Grey’s Anatomy ending theory much more likely. Shondaland’s longest-running show had its viewership steadily decrease since the start of Grey’s Anatomy season 17, which also saw more central characters leaving the show, such as Jesse Williams’ Jackson Avery and Giacomo Gianniotti’s Andrew DeLuca. Considering Ellen Pompeo’s remarks about how Grey’s Anatomy should end too, it’s highly likely that the medical drama might reach the finish line sooner rather than later.
Grey’s Anatomy ending theories have been going around for quite some time, with some predicting a happily-ever-after for Pompeo’s Meredith Grey while others foreshadowed tragic endings. As the series focused on many characters that are long gone, a lot of Grey’s Anatomy ending theories involve all the characters that left Grey Sloan Memorial but haven’t died to come back to honor the hospital and the central character whose death, retirement, or promotion caused them to be there. Still, despite Shondaland’s medical drama being guaranteed a season 19, a specific Grey’s Anatomy season 18 storyline involving Richard Webber (James Pickens Jr.) might make one Grey’s Anatomy ending theory more probable than the others.
Because of the failure of the Webber Method and the belief the OR might not be the right place for him anymore, Richard Webber willingly chose to undergo cognitive and physical reviews. While Grey’s Anatomy season 18 episode 15 saw Richard passing the evaluation with flying colors, his proposal to the Medical Accreditation Council of stepping down as a surgeon and as residency program director made one Grey’s Anatomy ending theory more likely. Indeed, Richard’s suggestion might have been useless as the program was still put on probation, and he also effectively conveyed his desire not to retire, but his willingness to offer his resignation made much more probable the theory that Grey’s Anatomy will end with Richard Webber retiring, and his students coming back to celebrate him, creating a solid sendoff to the show.
This theory has been around for a couple of years, and it’s believed to be one of the happiest Grey’s Anatomy ending theories, considering some of them predict things like Meredith being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s like her mother was or almost dying. It would also be a fitting ending for the long-running medical drama, as Richard is one of the three characters still on Grey’s Anatomy from season 1 episode 1. No matter the kind of role Richard Webber had in the hospital throughout Grey’s Anatomy’s eighteen seasons, he had always been synonymous with Grey Sloan Memorial and a staple of the show. An ending that sees Richard passing the baton as the one in charge of teaching to the future class of surgeons would let Grey’s Anatomy come full circle, especially if that role were passed onto another central character such as Meredith.
The mention of Richard retiring in Grey’s Anatomy season 18 episode 15 won’t bring forward Grey’s Anatomy’s end. Still, letting the discourse about it be had makes the show’s ending with Richard’s retirement theory more likely. That way, despite all the hurt the show often caused to its characters, Grey’s Anatomy would end with a happily-ever-after that would make sense, be uplifting, and simultaneously honor the stories it told.
New episodes of Grey’s Anatomy release every Thursday on ABC.
