Grey’s Anatomy Season 20 Just Proved Maggie & Winston Won’t Be Endgame

Warning! SPOILERS about Grey’s Anatomy season 20, episode 3 ahead.

Winston and Maggie’s relationship seemed doomed before the Grey’s Anatomy season 19 finale gave some hope about it surviving, but season 20, episode 3 showed the true damage it secretly sustained. Maggie and Winston’s relationship differed from Maggie’s previous ones, possibly even lasting the longest because Winston brought out Maggie’s most easygoing side, countering her tendency to plan meticulously and act most reasonably with his spontaneity. Winston’s move to Seattle in Grey’s Anatomy season 17 was proof of that, with their relationship turning out to be one of the season’s happiest developments, given Meredith’s grave illness and the pandemic storyline.

While Maggie and Winston’s dating turned quickly into a marriage, they overcame what they didn’t have time to learn about each other with an eagerness to do their best from that moment forward. Grey’s Anatomy season 18 started showing irreconcilable differences between them when Winston shut everybody out, Maggie included, when his family’s problems and his brother Wendell surfaced, showing an opposition to listen to any perspective that wasn’t his, a side incongruous with how he presented himself beforehand. Although heartbreaking cases eventually reunited them, their different approaches couldn’t be more opposite, causing insurmountable problems in Grey’s Anatomy season 19.

Winston’s Reaction Proved He Reached The Point Owen Warned Him About In Season 19

His Love For Maggie Had Already Turned Into Resentment

Maggie and Winston hooking up in Grey’s Anatomy season 19’s ending brought out the best of their bond, with their connection seeming the most effortless as it had ever been throughout the season, thus raising hopes about a long-distance relationship between the two potentially working. However, Grey’s Anatomy season 20 repeatedly showed a more uncompromising Winston, either through his open discontent with Bailey’s Grey’s Anatomy season 20 intern methods or lack of bedside manners with Teddy and Owen. Grey’s Anatomy season 20, episode 3’s medical case eventually exposed Winston’s worst, with his anger even letting him snap at a patient.

Grey’s Anatomy season 20, episode 3’s beginning revealed Winston’s upcoming trip to Chicago, showing him seemingly calmer because of it. However, snapping at Nate Ardilla’s unreasonable goal to sail with his handmade floating bubble to Hong Kong exposed Winston’s lack of control, especially considering the patient’s extensive wounds that eventually killed him. Winston’s anger stemmed from Maggie canceling yet another time on him just before he was about to depart, with his and Owen’s ending discussion highlighting how fraught the situation was to frustrate Winston to the point of taking it out on a patient.

Owen’s helpful advice to pivot from asking himself at what point “to stop trying,” to why Winston still continued to do so eventually prompted him to remove his wedding band. Still, Winston’s realization and his behavior repeatedly showed that they had already reached the point of no return. Indeed, his frustration only let Winston see Maggie’s shortcomings of not keeping her promises, but his love for her had already turned to resentment unbeknownst to him, against which Owen warned him in Grey’s Anatomy season 19, episode 4 at a time Maggie and Winston both revealed not to respect the other.

The Floating Bubble Patient Lost Sight Of His Marriage (Like Maggie & Winston)

It Wasn’t Winston’s Sour Mood Indication Of Their Similar Situation

While the biggest hint in Grey’s Anatomy season 20, episode 3 could have been Winston’s mood, something else helped him realize how much he had lost sight of his relationship with Maggie. Simone’s kindness in lying to Nate’s wife so that she wouldn’t blame herself for his death after he told Simone to say that everything he did was for her showed how little the two spouses communicated. Nate mindlessly trying to prove himself against her ex-boyfriend’s accomplishments while Nate’s wife didn’t even think about him revealed that despite being in the same marriage, they didn’t have the same goals.

Winston’s attempts to save his marriage with Maggie mirrored Nate’s behavior, as he tried his best since his idea to switch specialties in Grey’s Anatomy season 19 to put their relationship front and center, organizing trips to Chicago even just to discuss how to proceed. However, in doing so, Winston didn’t check with Maggie about her goals and whether she truly wanted to continue to build something with him, just like Nate never asked what his wife’s wishes were, instead trying to prove himself against adventurous accomplishments she never cared about and dying because of them.

What Is Next For Maggie & Winston In Grey’s Anatomy?

Grey’s Anatomy Season 20, Episode 3 Definitely Closes Their Shared Chapter

Winston’s actions in Grey’s Anatomy season 20, episode 3’s ending right after Owen’s words got through to him clearly established he finally put himself first. Removing his wedding band symbolically meant Winston finally stopped trying to save an unsuccessful marriage at his expense. With Maggie away from Seattle and Kelly McCreary having officially left Grey’s Anatomy, this could be the best possible option for Winston, who can finally build the life he wants for himself without having to dampen his goals and wishes to make space for Maggie.

However, it could also be the best outcome for Maggie considering she spent the best part of Grey’s Anatomy season 19 either avoiding or fighting with Winston, not understanding his perspective more often than she did. Their relationship in Grey’s Anatomy season 19 consisted of the two never being able to accept the other’s point of view, losing respect for one another, and generally turning their hopeful relationship into something full of resentment. Winston finally letting the relationship end in Grey’s Anatomy season 20 thus gives him and Maggie a chance at happiness, unburdened by their past.