The Residency program is likely in shambles.

We have a break from all-new Grey's Anatomy, but our round table still gathered to discuss Grey's Anatomy Season 18 Episode 15, its incredible performances, and that classic nostalgic feel.

Join Meaghan Frey, Jasmin Pettie, and Joshua Johnson below.

Do you think saving his mother is Levi's breakthrough back into medicine? Discuss your thoughts on his arc during the episode.

Meaghan: Absolutely. Not only was his mother getting hurt, forcing him to use his skills again, but he was also confronted with her words about the hospital.

In defending the hospital and the residency program, he was forced to admit that what happened to him happens to every surgeon. Yes, the circumstances surrounding his first major patient death were extreme and unfair, but that first death was unavoidable; it was just a matter of time.

I loved everything about this story arc. Jake Borelli knocked it out of the park, as he has been doing all season. The way he slipped back and forth between a grieving loved one and an experienced physician, sometimes within seconds, was masterful.

I also loved that it built back the trust between Levi and Richard as teacher and student. Richard let Levi down with the Webber method.

By guiding Levi through saving his mother, he made up for that. That was the version of Richard that deserved to be the head of the residency program, not the man with the borderline god complex we saw recently.

I think Levi will need some more time before he is ready to dive back in completely, but this was a huge first step.

Jasmin: I do too! While I wish we would have seen him get some therapy or a psych consult before this, I enjoyed Levi's arc in this episode.

As Meaghan said, by confronting his mother about the things she said about the hospital, he was also forced to confront what happened to him in a way he hadn't before.

I hope that we will see him at her bedside over the next few episodes and hopefully get the help he needs while he's there. I also agree that Jake Borelli knocked it out of the park with this one! As Meaghan said, his acting has been great all season.

Joshua: First, I need to echo what Meaghan and Jasmin have already said: Jake Borelli absolutely killed this plot arc, and if SAG, the Golden Globes, and the Emmys still cared about Grey's Anatomy, he would absolutely receive a nomination.

I rewatched the scene where he gave his statement as soon as it was over because it was that good. Saving his mother will get him back into medicine, and I really hope that we see him go through counseling.

Something that frustrated me during the scene with his mother where he confronted her about her tweets is that he never took ownership for his part in Devon's death.

I agree that the Webber Method was flawed, but Levi still decided to do a part of the surgery that he was not authorized or permitted to do. Levi made that choice, and it's important that he acknowledges and accepts it if he plans to continue his education as a surgeon.

Did you expect Webber to offer to hang up his stethoscope after passing the fitness test if it meant saving the residency program?

Meaghan: If you had asked me a few weeks ago, I would have been shocked, but after watching Richard return to the man we've come to know over these past 18 seasons during this episode, I wasn't surprised at all.

Richard loves Grey Sloan, and he loves the residency program. The residency program is bigger than just him. It is the future of medicine, and that comes before his ego.

Can we also talk about how fun some parts of that fitness test looked? I'm pretty sure at least one of those tests is a game they have at Dave and Busters.

Jasmin: I was, and I wasn't. That was a big concession from Richard because operating and teaching are his life. But as Meaghan said, he loves both those things and the program he helped build, so if push comes to shove, the program has to come first.

I had a moment where I thought he might resign and take the fall for the whole thing. I was livid, so I was glad to see that that didn't wind up being the case.

The accreditation reviewers pointed out that the root issue that led to the Webber Method being introduced and Devon's death was the physician shortage that Grey Sloan and so many other hospitals are suffering from right now.

It wasn't any one person's fault. It was a method implemented to deal with an ongoing shortage that got expanded too quickly. Like Meaghan, I enjoyed watching Richard do the evaluation tests, especially the box with the little red lights that lit up. It brought back memories of restaurant and birthday party games from years past.

Joshua: As soon as Richard sat down with the accreditation specialists, I knew he would offer to resign. From the moment he brought up needing to be evaluated, I knew he'd pass, but it wasn't until this episode (and Meaghan's comment about his ego) that I realized his hubris was getting the best of him.

For years, everyone has lauded Richard for being an amazing educator, and he absolutely had a great idea with the Webber Method.

He saw two problems--a physician shortage and residents not getting to practice their surgical skills--and came up with what could have been a great idea had his ego not gotten in the way, so much so that Richard actually thought his faculties were leaving him.

Once he realized that wasn't the case, he--like Levi--needed to admit that he was at fault. What I thought was great about the moment is that it's very much in line with what Richard has learned in Alcoholics Anonymous: that he needs to acknowledge when he is at fault and needs to be honest about his choices.

Sitting with the accreditation specialists, admitting his guilt, and offering to resign to save the residency program was entirely in line with the Richard we know.

Which character interview with the accreditation women did you enjoy most?

Meaghan: Surprisingly, Jo's. As much crap as I've given the Jo switching to OB storyline, I still felt defensive of her and the residency program at that moment. Being a physician is a career that involves being accountable for someone's life. It isn't a job you can just phone in when you decide you hate it.

If Jo had stayed in surgery and remained unhappy, it could have eventually put her patients at risk. Jo made the right choice for herself. It also doesn't say anything about the program. The residency program can train someone to be a perfect surgeon, but they have no control over how someone feels about the job.

As Jo told the accreditation women, her time in the surgical residency program provided her with valuable skills that she could carry over into OB. That should be the main takeaway.

Jasmin: I'd say Jo and then second to that Maggie and Winston.

I agree with Meaghan.

While Jo isn't always my favorite character, I really loved her speech to the accreditation reviewers. She was completely right at that moment. I like that she stood up for herself, called them out on their superiority complex as surgeons, and made it clear that he personal choice to be happy and switch specialties was not a reflection on the program but something she did for herself.

As Meaghan pointed out, being a doctor isn't a job you can phone in, and when people do, patients suffer. If Jo had stayed in general surgery as unhappy as she was, eventually, someone would have died or suffered an unnecessary complication.

Joshua: Absolutely Jo's. She was calm, professional, and she called the specialists out on their condescending attitude toward her personal choice to change specialties. I also appreciated Maggie's refusal to answer questions related to her personal relationship, as it had nothing to do with the residency program.

What did you think of Nick's pig kidney transplant? Were you surprised by how good he is at teaching the residents?

Meaghan: I really enjoyed this storyline. When I think of donating a body to medical research, I always think of cadavers. I never really thought about the possibility of someone's body being donated to science once they are brain dead and kept alive for the research.

Nick being so passionate about wanting the pig kidney transplant to work made sense for his character. During the recent episode where he saw him performing a transplant, you could tell the donor aspect of transplants weighs on him emotionally.

Medical advancements, like a pig kidney transplant, would take away some of that emotional weight. It didn't necessarily surprise me how good he was at teaching the residents, but I hadn't really thought about it before now. I do think it shows a lot about each doctor when we see them interact with the residents.

When he said he sent the residents away so he wouldn't yell at any of them, that spoke volumes about him. Plenty of doctors we have seen on the series would have yelled without a second thought.

I do hope they continue to give Nick more of this type of screentime so that the viewers can continue to get to know him better outside of just being Mer's love interest.

Jasmin: I enjoyed this storyline as much as I could seeing as it centered around Nick and I greatly dislike his character this season.

If it had been any other character or love interest, minus DeLuca, paired with Meredith for this storyline, I would have absolutely loved it, so I totally get Meaghan's enthusiasm.

It was an interesting case for sure, as Meaghan highlighted, and I think it taught us as viewers something new about medical research. I, too, liked the moment when he told Meredith that he sent the residents away so he wouldn't yell at any of them. That spoke volumes about his character.

Joshua: I cared more about the medical aspect of this storyline than I did about Nick. As Meaghan said, I never thought about this particular idea.

Waaaay back in the day, I was a pre-med major, and medical advancement still astounds me. The fact that, in the real world, medicine has reached a point where they can xenograft pig kidneys to save transplant patients waiting on a kidney is nothing short of amazing!

I was not at all surprised about Nick being a good teacher; Wright is a fantastic resident, and he learned under Nick.

The fact that Nick taught the residents that the humanity of a transplant patient is paramount to the medicine tells you everything you need to know about Nick as a doctor. As someone whose job is mostly possible due to the death of other patients (living donors notwithstanding), it was great to see Nick get a mostly uncomplicated win.

Emotionally, the part of this plot that hit me the most was the new widow. When she saw her husband for the first time and exhaled, "Oh my love," I got a little emotional. It didn't help that Meredith was next to her, also on the verge of tears, watching the widow tell her husband, "I'll be okay," in the same way that Meredith told Derek when he was braindead.

How did you feel about Bailey's explosive tirade against Meredith and her heart attack? Do you understand why she's so angry, or is she being unfair?

Meaghan: I completely understand why she is so angry, but she is also being totally unfair.

Bailey has seen all of her interns either die, walk away from the hospital, or move on to bigger and better things. Mer is the last one standing, and because of that Bailey puts a lot of pressure on Mer to stick around and fulfill all her hopes and dreams that she had for them all.

We also have to remember Bailey herself has never left Grey Sloan. She feels a sense of loyalty to the hospital that made her the surgeon she is, and I think it's hard for her to understand when other people don't have that same loyalty.

I'm not going to lie; I did love her pulling out all of their dirty laundry from the past, especially the "You mind moving this tail wagon? You're blocking me in" moment. Classic Grey's Anatomy.

Jasmin: I thought the fight brought some much-needed tension to the episode, and I wasn't surprised it triggered another episode.

While I think Bailey was out of line with the things she said and how she said them, I understood where she was coming from. She was overwhelmed and angry, and she found out about Meredith potentially moving secondhand.

I also feel like Bailey echoed a lot of things that fans are feeling right now which regards to the Minnesota storyline, the show dropping Meredith and Hayes as a couple in favor of Meredith and Nick after so much build up, and how Meredith has been behaving this season.

While I do think Meredith taking the job in Minnesota is a logical decision for her to make, I can see why Bailey is angry. I, too, loved the call back to that classic Grey's moment.

Joshua: This scene was my favorite of the episode and probably of Season 18 in total. I absolutely understand why Bailey was so angry, and I think she's being unfair.

I didn't put my finger on it until I read Meaghan's answer (she's so insightful!). I think that Bailey sees Meredith how Richard saw Bailey: the star of her class, the one she's spent almost two decades mentoring, and the one Bailey can see taking over as chief when Bailey is ready to step down.

Starting with Richard, Grey Sloan has started to be a legacy hospital: he did his residency there and then came back to be an attending and subsequently chief.

As chief, he identified Bailey as someone to whom he could be a mentor and trained her not just to be a great surgeon but also to be chief. It makes complete sense that Bailey would then see Meredith as someone she could mentor to be a great surgeon and eventually take over as chief.

The problem here is that Meredith is not a Richard or a Bailey; she's an Ellis and medicine is more important to her than administration. Finding out that Meredith got an offer for Minnesota was the least stressful straw on Bailey's aching back. I don't think she meant anything she said, but hurt people hurt people.

On a scale of 1-10, how much did you enjoy those flashbacks to season one?

Meaghan: 10. I'm such a sucker for nostalgia, and they were pulling on all of my heartstrings with those flashbacks. I love any time we are reminded of Grey's Anatomy of years past, especially when it was in its prime.

The series is not the show it once was, but there is no denying that when it began, and for a long time after, it was the greatest medical show on television at that time.

The flashbacks also clearly had the desired effect as I have Grey's Anatomy Season 1 playing in the background as I write these responses.

Jasmin: It's a 10 for me too! I, too, love nostalgia, and I thought the flashbacks were well placed, well-timed, and the music was done well. I also agree that the early to mid-seasons of the show were fantastic, and I really miss those days. They were a good way to connect the current storyline to storylines of seasons past.

Joshua: It's (almost) always a 10 for me when they pull out the flashbacks. I'm currently rewatching the series with my boyfriend, who has somehow never seen Grey's; between that, and the flashbacks they gave us this week, the nostalgia is strong!

I also think it's a great way to show how the writers do their best to keep character continuity and series-long story continuity. It doesn't always work, but when it does, it's beautiful.

Meredith officially chose to move to Minnesota. React.

Meaghan: Yeah, that's not actually happening. They took all of the mystery out of the storyline by announcing months ago that not only was the show renewed but that Ellen had re-upped her contract for Season 19.

She's making the decision out of hurt over what Bailey said to her, but I think it could quickly change. My theory is to reduce her stress, Bailey is going to step down as chief and recommend Mer take over the role. It would show Mer that Bailey does in fact respect her as a surgeon and stroke her ego just enough to keep her around.

Then Mer will recruit Nick and bring him to Grey Sloan, upping their number of surgeons. I also think that Ben could possibly return as a surgeon to help appease Pru's grandparents.

Who knows, maybe we could also see a face from the past return -- but that might just be wishful thinking.

Jasmin: I also had a similar reaction. If the show's renewal was still up in the air and it wasn't clear if the show would be ending this season or if we knew the show would end this season, I think my reaction would have been different.

But because we know that the show has been renewed for another season, it took some of the emotional punch out of the moment because, as Meaghan said, I don't think that's happening either.

The show is called Grey's Anatomy, it's been picked up for another season, and Ellen Pompeo has signed on for another season. You can't have another season of Meredith splitting her time between two cities, as fans are already tiring of that plot.

Joshua: There's nothing I can say that Meaghan and Jasmin haven't already said. Meredith made an emotional decision, not a logical one. The season will not end without Meredith at Grey Sloan. It's almost foolish at this point.

What was your favorite scene, character, arc, etc. from the hour?

Meaghan: Levi and Webber were the shining stars of this episode. From getting to see Levi jump back into action to save his mom in the basement, to watching how great their dynamic was, to the growth it brought both of them as characters, it was as close as you can get to a perfect storyline.

Jasmin: I agree with Meaghan on this one too!

As a runner-up, I also really loved Jo's speech and how Maggie and Winston responded to the accreditation reviewers' inappropriate questions. They did nothing wrong, and I loved seeing them stand up for themselves and clarify they would not be entertaining that line of questioning.

Joshua: The Bailey/Meredith showdown, Jo's speech to the accreditation specialists, Levi's statement on the residency program--there was a lot to love in this episode.

Is there anything else you'd like to add?

Meaghan: Everybody accidentally dropping other people's secrets felt so old-school Grey's Anatomy, and I loved it. Sure, the hospital is still messy, but it used to be more of a fun type of messy than it is now.

Jasmin: I also really loved that moment between Bailey and Maggie! I agree. The hospital used to be the fun type of messy we saw in this episode instead of the dark and not so fun kind of messy it's been lately.

Joshua: For me, this was the best episode of the season. It was dramatic, the fun kind of messy, it was emotional, it was engaging... it absolutely felt like old Grey's Anatomy, all the way down to the performance.

Ellen Pompeo--who, quite frankly, has been phoning in her performance for the past couple of seasons, understandably--really came to life in this episode.

Her scene with Bailey, and her scene at the end of the episode with the widow, were beautifully acted. She, Chandra Wilson, Jake Borelli, and James Pickens Jr. all turned in laudable performances. This is an episode that I will probably rewatch before the next new episode.

Do you agree with our round table? Disagree? Sound off below!

Grey's Anatomy airs Thursdays on ABC.

Grey's Anatomy returns with all-new episodes on May 5.

Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. She is an insomniac who spends late nights and early mornings binge-watching way too many shows and binge-drinking way too much tea. Her eclectic taste makes her an unpredictable viewer with an appreciation for complex characters, diverse representation, dynamic duos, compelling stories, and guilty pleasures. You'll definitely find her obsessively live-tweeting, waxing poetic, and chatting up fellow Fanatics and readers. Follow her on X.