Grey’s Anatomy recap: Nick reveals past engagement and talks about Meredith baby plans
Scott Speedman‘s character, Nick, returned to Grey’s anatomy to post an engagement revelation on Ellen Pompeos Meredith.
During the Thursday, January 22 episode of the hit ABC series, Nick and Meredith were waiting for his sister Erica (Brit Morgan) to stop by for a visit. Nick was nervous because his sister had previously struggled with substance abuse, but this time she surprised him with a baby.
It turned out that Nick’s sister was secretly welcoming a child, which caused tension between the siblings. They fought over the secret and Erica) left, but did not take her six-week-old son with her.
Nick and Meredith argued about next steps, leading him to reveal that the last time his life was in a good place, Erica abandoned her daughter Charlotte to him. Nick recalled preparing to propose to an unnamed girlfriend before taking on the responsibility of raising Erica’s then ten-year-old daughter.
“You never said you were engaged,” Meredith told Nick, who clarified that the ex “left before” he could bring up the subject. He noted that the woman was not interested in “becoming a parent” to a child at the time.
Erica eventually returned to the house and revealed that she was struggling with her sobriety. In an attempt to make things right, Nick asked Erica to stay with him and Meredith so they could help the new mother. At the end of the episode, Nick and Meredith reflected on their own relationship as they waited for her children — whom she shared with late husband Derek (Patrick Dempsey).
Meredith admitted she missed being around babies and Nick shared how happy he was with the life they had built together. However, the fictional couple agreed that there were no plans to expand their family with another child.
Speedman’s return came after he rejoined the cast as a recurring character in season 20 and stayed on Grey’s anatomy ever since. Speedman, 50, originally joined Grey’s anatomy as a guest star in season 14. He then appeared as the lead in seasons 18 and 19 as Meredith’s love interest before taking a break from the show.
“[The fans] have many thoughts. I thought it would be a layup, that I would come on the show,” Speedman said on SiriusXM’s The Spotlight With Jessica Shaw in October 2024. I’m not a big social media guy, but I remember going after my first episodes debuted with her, and they would tease like, “A character is coming back to the show.”
Fan-favorite TV couples like Buck and Eddie from 9-1-1, Sydney from The Bear, and Colter and Reenie from Carmy and Tracker – or Billie – deserve to finally appear on screen together in 2026. Based on Jeffery Deaver’s novel The Never Game, Tracker has viewers tuning in every week to see their favorite fictional survivalist – aka Colter […]
He continued: “And the fans, you know, on social media weren’t… There were a lot of vomit emojis, which I was like, ‘Oh, okay, okay.’”
Speedman noted that all he could do was “laugh at” the public reaction, adding, “It’s really funny how serious they are about that character, and who’s in that character and who’s not in that character.”
The actor’s guest appearance also comes after Amelia (Caterina Scorsone) chose to take a sabbatical while mourning the death of Monica Beltran (Natalie Morales). It was then reported that Scorsone’s hiatus will last until later this year. Outlets noted that the decision to cut back on Scorsone’s performances came as a cost-cutting measure.
Grey’s Anatomy is already lowering minimum guarantees for its veteran cast members to 14 of the show’s 18 episodes per season. While some of Grey’s Anatomy’s regular stars will be missing for four episodes, Scorsone’s absence was doubled.
Grey’s anatomy airs on ABC Thursdays at 10pm ET before streaming on Hulu the following day.
