The extensive cast populating Grey’s Anatomy’s twenty seasons ensured plenty of characters could come back, making it important for some of them to return to the medical drama sooner rather than later. Whether through memories or coma-induced dreams like all the characters Meredith saw on the beach in Grey’s Anatomy season 17, many of those central to Meredith’s life and development returned despite their brutal deaths in the medical drama. Since the long-lasting drama managed such a feat, it would be reasonable to expect the characters still alive in Grey’s Anatomy’s world to return eventually, with some already doing so.
The brilliant careers Grey’s Anatomy kickstarted made it more difficult for the stars who made some characters famous to return. However, the unexpected news of one original character in the medical drama who had appeared between Grey’s Anatomy seasons 2 and 4 returning for three episodes in season 21 opened the door to the possibility of Grey’s Anatomy welcoming back many more characters’ brief visits in the future, something season 20, episode 4 already did with Arizona, which could easily repeat for various characters who are still alive on the show but not part of Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital anymore.
10 Alex Karev
Karev Had Become Meredith’s Person After Cristina’s Departure
An obvious possible return, given his and Meredith’s close bond, would be Alex Karev. Although the reason that brought Alex away from Seattle was his wish to reunite with Izzie and his biological children whom he knew nothing about before visiting Izzie, he still had various loved ones in Seattle, and returning for a case would be a wonderful chance to visit them. Alex visiting in Grey’s Anatomy season 21 could also prompt him to offer his support to Meredith in her fight against Catherine.
Alex Karev’s exit from Grey’s Anatomy was incredibly controversial, as he left a loving wife like Jo behind to jump into a relationship with Izzie Stevens. However, Karev returning to Grey Sloan Memorial could soften the blow of how he exited the show, offering him a chance to properly ask Jo for forgiveness for how he behaved and also say goodbye with calm to his home for many years.
9 The Shepherd Sister Who Is Lucas Adams’ Mother
Grey’s Anatomy Still Has Not Clarified Who Among The Shepherd Sisters Is Lucas’s Mother
Through the years, the entirety of Derek Shepherd’s family appeared in Grey’s Anatomy, with Amelia even remaining to become one of the medical drama’s central characters. However, the character of Lucas Adams and his being Derek Shepherd’s nephew made the return of a Shepherd sister more likely, especially if he were to be forced to do his internship year again.
Lucas failing his first-year exam or having to repeat his first year because of his conduct with Sam Sutton’s ordeal would be the perfect reason for his mother to get to Seattle, prompting another Shepherd reunion with both Amelia and Meredith. Such a development could also finally reveal who is among Derek’s sisters Lucas’s mother, a mystery that remained such ever since Grey’s Anatomy season 19 revealed the new intern Lucas’s illustrious parentage.
8 Cristina Yang
Meredith’s Person Could Offer Her Important Insights In Her Fight Against Catherine
Cristina Yang never returned to Grey Sloan Memorial ever since her departure for Switzerland in Grey’s Anatomy season 10, but her bond with Meredith clearly persisted, as shown by their exchanges about Cormac Hayes. Cristina’s return would be unexpected given the many major events in Meredith’s life for which she was not physically present ever since Sandra Oh’s departure from Grey’s Anatomy, but it would make sense based on her and Meredith’s close bond.
Moreover, Cristina’s return to Grey’s Anatomy season 21 could support Meredith in one of the greatest fights of her life. Grey’s Anatomy season 21’s trailer after all hinted at a legal battle between Catherine and Meredith based on the latter’s choice to publish her findings about her Alzheimer’s study despite those belonging to Catherine’s foundation, making it a particularly difficult moment in Meredith’s life. Indeed, Cristina’s support could be greatly beneficial to Meredith in Grey’s Anatomy season 21, and her return could provide her with ammunition against Catherine.
7 Addison Montgomery
Addison Had Already Returned To Grey Sloan To Teach & For Supplies
Addison Montgomery returned multiple times in Grey’s Anatomy’s latest seasons, having been a key character that joined Bailey, Jo and Carina’s fight to provide abortion care in states where it was limited and taught doctors whose universities refused to teach about reproductive care more completely. Addison’s work continued thanks to Bailey’s gift of the PRT, and the alignment of their objectives likely makes Addison one of the characters most likely to return in Grey’s Anatomy season 21.
Addison could nonetheless also return with another role. With the mass firings of season 20’s finale making sure that many doctors won’t return to Grey Sloan for Grey’s Anatomy season 21, Addison could be one of Grey Sloan Memorial’s old guard of doctors Catherine may be willing to bring back to teach the interns. This could provide them with incredible experience despite the absence of their usual teachers from the OR.
6 Izzie Stevens
Izzie’s Return Could Be Shocking & Finally Conclude Her Story
Katherine Heigl did not return as Izzie Stevens even when she was a big part of Alex Karev’s move away from Seattle, making her return unlikely. However, her importance throughout Grey’s Anatomy’s early years makes Izzie the perfect character still needing to return, as her reappearance in Alex’s story did not offer much in terms of updates about her life or path as a surgeon.
Izzie returning could finally reunite Meredith with one of the most important people of her formative years as a surgeon, giving them the chance to catch up as adults whose lives brought them far to places they could have never dreamed of as interns. Izzie’s return is highly unlikely, but given the news of Sydney Heron’s return, no past character should be considered off-limits, making the possibility of her visit more solid as time passes by.
5 Stephanie Edwards
Grey’s Anatomy Season 21 Could Show Edwards Finally Travelling The World
Another character whose return could be unexpected but would nonetheless be intriguing is Stephanie Edwards. Joining Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital as part of Jo’s same class of interns, Edwards had a promising future in neurosurgery. However, Stephanie’s exit storyline included having to fight off a patient who had taken her hostage and ending up in a fire with multiple burns, prompting her to leave surgery to travel the world and live instead of saving lives.
Stephanie could return to Grey Sloan Memorial in a variety of roles – as a patient, as someone who suggested the place to somebody else needing medical help, or even as a doctor, had she decided to return to study medicine after processing what happened to her. While not a character from Grey’s Anatomy’s earliest seasons, Stephanie was still a fan-favorite and very connected to Jo, making her possible return the perfect opportunity to let the two old friends catch up.
4 Jackson Avery
Jackson’s Involvement In Meredith’s Alzheimer’s Research Makes Him Likelier To Appear
Despite leaving Seattle in Grey’s Anatomy season 17, Jackson Avery turned out to be a big part of Meredith’s Grey’s Anatomy season 19 exit storyline, with her visit to the Catherine Fox Foundation and Jackson in Boston essentially convincing Meredith to study Alzheimer’s in a bid to help Zola. With Grey’s Anatomy season 21 setting up the showdown between Catherine and Meredith because of that very Alzheimer’s study Jackson pitched to Meredith, he will necessarily have to be involved.
Jackson returning in Grey’s Anatomy season 21 would also help in the fight between Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital doctors and Catherine. After all, Jackson always helped soften Catherine’s worst impulses, something she could need in her fight against most Grey Sloan doctors and Meredith herself. Jackson’s role within the Catherine Fox Foundation and his personal relationship with Meredith would make for great drama, making his return one of the few needing to happen as close to Grey’s Anatomy season 21 as possible.
3 Shane Ross
Shane’s Success With Cristina In Switzerland Makes His Potential Return More Likely
Another intern of Stephanie and Jo’s class, Shane Ross departed with Cristina to Switzerland in Grey’s Anatomy season 10 after developing an interest in cardiothoracic surgery. Grey’s Anatomy season 10 saw him face burnout and ruin the surgery of Alex’s father to the point he died as a consequence soon after, which almost lost Shane his spot at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. While Shane visiting Grey Sloan wouldn’t be as impactful as Cristina returning to Seattle, it would still be the closest she’d ever been given how she mentored Shane and decided to bring him with her to Switzerland.
Shane briefly returning with a patient could show how much he improved as a surgeon since his resident years in Grey’s Anatomy, and his close relationship with Cristina could make her part of the story despite her absence. Even without mentions of Cristina, it would be nice for viewers to see how another one of Jo’s class progressed, and it would mean even more were it to happen during Grey’s Anatomy season 21, given Ben Warren’s return to surgery.
2 April Kepner
April Finally Returned After Meredith Flew To Boston, But She Could Also Visit Seattle
With Meredith and Catherine’s fight over the Alzheimer’s study and the high likelihood of Jackson being involved with it, April’s return would make sense. Jackson and April’s relationship in Grey’s Anatomy made them one of the show’s key couples, and the two had been there for each other even after their divorce. Grey’s Anatomy season 18 finally confirming their getting back together in Boston makes it all the more likely for April to return along with Jackson, especially if his family were to be threatened.
However, April’s return wouldn’t necessarily have to do with Jackson. With her move to Boston also letting her be involved with the foundation, April could briefly return to Seattle on official business. With Meredith’s Alzheimer’s study being presented as one of Grey’s Anatomy season 21’s key stories, the Catherine Fox Foundation will undoubtedly be involved, making key figures like April Kepner more likely to appear.
1 Callie Torres
After Arizona Already Visited Grey Sloan, It Would Only Be Fair For Callie To Follow
Grey’s Anatomy season 20 saw the unlikely return of Arizona Robbins for work-related reasons in one episode, helping Bailey find the magic in surgery again. However, Arizona’s brief visit could potentially open the doors for more doctors to return in the same fashion, and Callie would be the perfect option, both because of Arizona’s recent return and Grey Sloan Memorial’s own Atticus Lincoln.
Callie returning to Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital in Grey’s Anatomy season 21 would prove the perfect chance to let her and Link work together on a patient, introducing the new ortho guard to the old one. This could also reunite original Grey’s Anatomy characters like Meredith, Bailey, Richard and Sydney, making Callie’s potential return a part of something bigger in the medical drama’s 21st season.
Grey’s Anatomy season 21 premieres on Thursday, September 26 at 10 p.m. ET on ABC.