Major character returns were already announced in advance for Grey’s Anatomy season 21, but the return of one character teased by season 21’s new trailer hints at their role in Meredith’s research story. Grey’s Anatomy season 20’s ending left Grey Sloan Memorial in shambles due to the doctors’ mutiny against Catherine and her decision to fire all those who challenged her. In addition, season 20’s very ending saw the interns and Miranda Bailey threaten to quit if Lucas Adams was fired, adding major problems to Catherine’s plate if she were to call their bluff, effectively leaving the hospital in disarray.

While the hospital’s mass firings will undoubtedly impact Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital’s functioning and Catherine Fox directly, another major inconvenience is the fight over Meredith’s Alzheimer’s research. Grey’s Anatomy season 21’s first trailer showed Catherine and Meredith both on the warpath, especially following Meredith’s decision to make her initial findings public so that Catherine couldn’t hold them hostage. Their unwillingness to see the other’s perspective already let the fight progress far enough with major consequences, making the presence of an external character capable of swaying either or both necessary. Grey’s Anatomy season 21’s newest teaser trailer revealed such a return.

Jackson Avery Is Returning In Grey’s Anatomy Season 21 After Missing Season 20

Jackson Returned To Grey’s Anatomy In Seasons 18 and 19

The medical drama’s latest teaser trailer shared through Shondaland’s official channel revealed Jackson Avery’s surprise return to Grey’s Anatomy season 21, showing him as the recipient of Meredith’s “Welcome back” of the first Grey’s Anatomy season 21 trailer. After having his exit storyline in Grey’s Anatomy season 17 revolve around wanting to do more for the community than just being a doctor, Jackson’s appearances at Grey Sloan Memorial or Grey’s Anatomy in general were all motivated by the foundation’s official business.

Jesse Williams didn’t return as Jackson in Grey’s Anatomy season 20, with the shortened season focusing mainly on Meredith’s secret research and the aftermath of the interns’ rule-breaking surgery. However, both times Jackson returned to Grey’s Anatomy in seasons 18 and 19 were pivotal. Indeed, Jackson tried to convince the auditor not to shut down Grey Sloan’s residency program when he returned to Seattle in Grey’s Anatomy season 18. Jackson was also the answer to Meredith and Zola’s problems when he offered Meredith a position to study Alzheimer’s at the foundation, making his involvement in Catherine and Meredith’s fight reasonable.

[The] times Jackson returned to Grey’s Anatomy in seasons 18 and 19 were pivotal after his exit in season 17.

Jackson Avery May Help Solve Grey’s Anatomy Season 21’s Meredith & Catherine Story

Jackson’s Role With The Foundation Can Make Him A Mediator

Jackson’s need to lead the foundation so that he could make a difference in the world can have much to do with Grey’s Anatomy season 21’s fight between his mother Catherine and Meredith, who he also always considered family. Indeed, when after the plane crash the surgeons wanted to buy the hospital, it was Jackson who convinced Catherine to invest and create Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital, proving he could sway her. Jackson’s influence over her, being his son but also the head of the foundation, can help her go past the pettiness of wanting to put Meredith in her place.

Jackson’s drive to change the world that prompted him to lead the foundation can make him the perfect character to defend Meredith’s Alzheimer’s research while also making it easier for Meredith and Catherine to make peace.

Jackson’s role as leader of the foundation can do little to force Catherine to listen to him. However, having already found himself between doing what was best for the hospital and Meredith’s wishes, Jackson is the perfect mediator of Meredith and Catherine’s fight. Being family to both and having already convinced Meredith and Catherine to do what was best for the hospital can make them see the importance of Meredith’s research. Wanting what’s best for the future of medicine can make Jackson what Grey’s Anatomy season 21 needs to resolve Meredith and Catherine’s fight.

Grey’s Anatomy season 21 premieres on Thursday, September 26 at 10 p.m. ET on ABC.