'Grey's Anatomy' Season 16: Amelia's paternity test slammed by fans as another 'cheap trick' by Shonda Rhimes
'Grey's Anatomy' is TV's longest-running medical show but its choppy writing seems to be pulling the ABC series to a full stop. Over time, the predictable love triangles and forced pregnancy plotlines seem to have taken a toll on the fan following.
In its latest episode titled 'A Hard Pill to Swallow,' Amelia Shepherd gathered the courage to tell Atticus 'Link' Lincoln about the impending paternity test to find out who is the real father of the baby. “It took me a few days to work up the nerve to tell you,” she told him. There's a chance that it could be Owen Hunt's baby and it seems to have ticked off viewers.
“We're talking about Owen, right? Does he know?” Link asked but Amelia assured him, “I'm talking to you first. Because I don't need a paternity test to know that I wanna be with you. I love what we have.” While there is love, compassion and trust between the pair, the rehashed plotlines only dampen interest in the show.
"To me, the Amelia is pregnant w/Owen’s baby, not Link’s is cheap ass writing," one fan wrote. "Karev is gone now, so Link & Jo will hook up, Teddy & Owen will stay together & where does that leave Amelia? Alone. Again. She deserves better. Amelia deserves love." Another viewer posted, "Really? Shonda be careful girl. Bailey's miscarriage, Amelia's unborn child questionable paternity, Maggie quitting?"
With Alex Karev already not in the show, fans don't seem to like how the showrunners are moving forward with the stories. Many viewers just want Amelia and Link to be happily together. "Amelia’s been through so much! I just want her to be happy goddamnit! Also, I don’t get why the paternity matters so much. You either love someone or you don’t. You either want to be a Dad or you don’t. What difference does the genetics make?" one tweet read.
Another fan defended Amelia saying she is "not at fault." "I mean you're not wrong in general, but in that situation, I don't think Amelia is actually on fault here (cuz tbh this entire baby paternity" doesn't even make sense)," the tweet said.
Many fans are impressed with Link's demeanor after the revelation. "He’s calm and collected about it but also clearly upset. So is Amelia. She asks what happens if he’s not the father? He says he wants to be cool about it and say it doesn’t matter but he’s not sure how he feels yet," one tweet read and another said, "Link seems to take this sentiment to heart although I’m not sure why. Amelia’s been open and honest with him and she’s better mentally than she’s ever been."
Another viewer expressed his love for the couple saying, "Y'all. Amelia and Link are one of the healthiest couples this show has ever seen and I'm here for it." With hopes that the baby's father turns out to be Link, fans hope 'Grey's Anatomy' won't disappoint them. The next episode airs Thursday, February 6 at 9 pm ET on ABC.