Grey's Anatomy season 20 episode 3 recap: new doctor in town

Natalie Morales, Harry Shum Jr. and Caterina Scorsone in Grey's Anatomy
Natalie Morales, Harry Shum Jr. and Caterina Scorsone in Grey's Anatomy (Image credit: Disney/Anne Marie Fox)

In Grey's Anatomy season 20 episode 3, there's a new doctor at the hospital, as fans are introduced to Dr. Monica Beltran (Natalie Morales), a new pediatric attending. While that brings some exciting new developments, there's plenty going on with the usual staff at Grey Sloan. 

We find out what Nico (Alex Landi) has been up to since we last saw him. Meanwhile, Lucas (Niko Terho) unforgivably betrays Mika (Midori Francis), leading to another divide in the group of interns that will make a big change in their living arrangements. 

Read on for our breakdown of what happened in the episode, "Walk on the Ocean."

Welcome to Grey Sloan, Dr. Monica Beltran

What better way to be welcomed to Grey Sloan than having your parking spot stolen? It's safe to say after this encounter that Amelia (Caterina Scorsone) and Monica do not get off to a great start. However, they're working on the same case and while they try to be civil for the patient, they quickly disagree on what the best course of action is after seeing the scans. 

After a conversation with Richard (James Pickens Jr.), they come up with a new and safer plan they both agree on. The procedure is successful thanks to both doctors but that isn't enough to get them on good terms moving forward. 

Lucas' shocking move 

Per Miranda's (Chandra Wilson) instructions, Mika and Lucas are in charge of monitoring Dorian (Freddy Miyares), but that's not exciting enough for Lucas. Instead, he decides to ditch his fellow intern, wanting to get back in the OR before Blue (Harry Shum Jr.). Everything quickly goes downhill from there, but after Lucas returns to help, Mika figures out what's wrong and runs to grab supplies so they can save Dorian. Of course, that's when Miranda walks in and Lucas takes credit for the diagnosis and gowns up, not sticking up for Mika when Miranda comments about how they interrupted her break. 

Mika confronts him, pointing out she was trying to be his friend after his breakup and he stabbed her in the back after leaving her to watch the patient the entire time. She says she's done and doesn't want to be his friend anymore. Before the episode ends, Simone (Alexis Floyd) goes to Lucas' room to talk, only to discover he's taken all of his stuff and moved out of the house. 

It's a secret 

Amelia and Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) are working on securing funding for their research, which means Meredith will be at the hospital for a few hours until her flight back to Boston. She runs into Teddy (Kim Raver), who is there to do physical therapy, and decides to join her to hide from Catherine (Debbie Allen). While the two are talking, Teddy has a nasty fall on the treadmill and gets a sprain. Catherine walks in and begins to question Meredith on why she’s here, but thankfully, Teddy covers for her. The catch is Catherine wants to know why Meredith is actually at Grey Sloan and just like that, someone else is let in on the secret research.

It's the right decision because Teddy offers Grey Sloan's discretionary fund. It would not be enough to cover everything, but they could publish the initial report and that would open more doors for them and their research. It's a risk she doesn't hesitate to take, believing in Meredith.

Love is not in the air

Kevin McKidd and Anthony Hill in Grey's Anatomy

Kevin McKidd and Anthony Hill in Grey's Anatomy (Image credit: Disney/Anne Marie Fox)

Winston (Anthony Hill) is planning to visit Maggie, however, a trauma patient comes in and takes priority for the time being, leading him to team up with Owen (Kevin McKidd), Link (Chris Carmack), Simone and Jules (Adelaide Kane). Unfortunately, the patient bleeds out and he ends up dying. 

Afterward, we find out that Maggie canceled on Winston before and he blames himself for the patient's death, thinking he took his frustrations out on him. Owen assures him they did everything they could and Winston admits he and Maggie were supposed to talk about what was next for them, but it just keeps getting pushed off. So at what point does he stop trying? Owen tells him there's only one thing that can lead to his answer: why is he trying? After considering the question, he eventually takes off his wedding ring. 

Levi sees Nico talking to Jo (Camilla Luddington) and we later find out that he's here with his partner and their surrogate. They're going to have a baby and it's all clearly a shock to Levi's system. He is upset Nico never told Jason about their relationship, but Jo calls him out, explaining it's not about Nico at all and telling him if he wants to win he needs to get in the game. Nico apologizes for the encounter and then uses the opportunity to explain how the thought of losing Jason felt much scarier than having a family. 

Grey's Anatomy airs Thursday at 9 pm ET/PT on ABC and streaming the next day on Hulu. 

Sophia Soto

Sophia Soto has a passion for all things entertainment and currently writes for The Nerds of Color. You can see her work on What To Watch, Remezcla, Looper, Den of Geek, Young Hollywood and more. Some of her favorite shows include Grey's Anatomy, The Goldbergs, Riverdale and Roswell, New Mexico. She is a complete Marvel nerd as well!