Past Seasons Talk: From Seattle Grace to Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital

[RedbirdNelly]

On 9/25/2020 at 10:39 PM, madmax said:

 

I hated it when Jackson and April got together.  yes, I know, so many people loved Japril and all that, but I really liked them as friends.  And there was no lead up to it, either.  It was just "Ooh, I want to be bad and forget I love Jesus, c'mere, Jackson!" and he went like an obedient puppy.

 

Hated this too. At the end of Japril, when it was just a done deal (at a certain point, I give up), I rooted for them. But if I wrote the show, they would have never dated in the first place. They would have stayed solid friends. Remember when Alex as a jerk to her? Jackson reacted like a brother. It was nice. I hate shows that take solid friendships and mess them up. Real people do have solid friendships that don't become dating situations.

[Daisy]

I'm on season ten and honestly, I don't know why they just didn't let Owen be with Emma Marling. 
(and honestly, i just feel that they dumped her because she wanted to be a stay at home mom. which is the stupidest thing ever, but God forbid anyone on this show decides to pause their career to have a family)

 

Season 10 Episode 21 - No one will ever win a Harper Avery from Grey Sloan. 
Season 14 Episode 7: Meredith wins Harper Avery. like. seriously. show. 

Edited October 15, 2020 by Daisy

[funnygirl]

7 hours ago, Daisy said:

Season 10 Episode 21 - No one will ever win a Harper Avery from Grey Sloan. 
Season 14 Episode 7: Meredith wins Harper Avery. like. seriously. show. 

Now now, Meredith didn't win the Harper Avery. She won the great, distinguished, first-of-its-kind (because retcon!) CATHERINE FOX award! /sarcasm

I know Meredith is the sun, but it's still the biggest load of bs that she won the award before Cristina Yang. That the rules suddenly changed and not only could someone from Grey Sloan win the CFA, it's totally okay that the candidate works side-by-side at the same hospital as Dr. Catherine Fox every day. Then again, I'm still salty at the ripped-from-the-headlines retcon turning Harper Avery into a sexual predator that also conveniently was in service of elevating Catherine's character and reputation. 🙄

Edited October 15, 2020 by funnygirl

[Daisy]

11 minutes ago, funnygirl said:

Now now, Meredith didn't win the Harper Avery. She won the great, distinguished, first-of-its-kind (because retcon!) CATHERINE FOX award! /sarcasm

I know Meredith is the sun, but it's still the biggest load of bs that she won the award before Cristina Yang. That the rules suddenly changed and not only could someone from Grey Sloan win the CFA, it's totally okay that the candidate works side-by-side at the same hospital as Dr. Catherine Fox every day. Then again, I'm still salty at the ripped-from-the-headlines retcon turning Harper Avery into a sexual predator that also conveniently was in service of elevating Catherine's character and reputation. 🙄

I don't remember when that happened but yeah. she won the Catherine Fox Award (whatever, show)

honestly though i do think that the show missed a good storyline here with the #MeToo thing - but they didn't have to retocon Harper Avery, they could have just introduced a sexual assaulter doctor (and a new doctor - i know i know). and it comes out that he had a history and what not. 

and I agree. Cristina totally should have won it first. (and what sucks is that everyone is telling Cristina that she had the votes.  like did you think that was gonna just be kept a secret?

[Daisy]

Just finished season 10 and 11. 
I forgot how much they wasted Sandra and Patrick's last seasons. like what a complete and total waste of time. and this is basically where i started just being mad at everyone and everything. so yeah. but i'm in it now to the verra end. I'm also reading some of the threads of these episodes. and i will say - I still personally don't have a problem with Maggie, and I still reallly hate Amelia. and I wish we had kept Herman on instead. 

What really ticks me off was Webber pushing Bailey for chief. honestly. she was a board member. why did she need to be chief? why not get someone else? and considering being a chief killed her character for me it was so so sad. (also the utter hypcrocisity from bailey in the last two seasons when she deals with meredith w/the insurance... oh yah...) 

[madmax]

I just started season 10.  Really hated to see Brooks go.  She was my favorite of the new batch of interns.

I also remember how much I hated this season, how they pitted Cristina and Meredith against each other for wanting different things.  

[Guest]

Youtube decided that I should rewatch the scene where Meredith confronts the doctor who killed Derek at the hearing about whether she could keep her medical license.

I can't believe that she screeched at him until he just keeled over.  Is this show written by fan fiction writers now? 

[Avabelle]

Only watching season 16 now and finally caught up with Alex's departure episode.

Ugh.

I mean I get that the writers were cornered and didn't want to kill him off. But ugh. None of it rang true. I know people have strong opinions against Jo and Alex but they were too solid a couple for six seasons for me to believe that not only would he up and leave her but also that he actively sought out Izzie before even knowing about the kids.

I was a massive Izzie/Alex fan when the show first aired but I hated it on rewatch - no, just no. Izzie was a massive pain in the ass and her treatment of Alex by the time she left was awful. She never had any regard for his feelings and there was always an overwhelming vibe that she felt she was too good for him. Worse was that he believed her too. I felt the entire relationship post Denny/Gizzie he was always trying to prove how worthy he was of her. I was glad when they finally ended in season six and he told her he deserved better. Even though Jo was written as the generic love interest in season 9, 10 and had basically no writing in season 11 and 12 I still enjoyed them more as a couple and felt they were more equal. Or at the very least she respected him and didn't think she was better. 

I could have bought his exit had he said he had to make it work for his kids and he could see it eventually working with Izzie as part of him still loved her. But no, it sounded like he'd checked out of the marriage by the time of Meredith's trial and had been happily playing house with Izzie for weeks while Jo was worried sick about him. Such a shitty and disappointing ending to a great character.

[Daisy]

Onto Season 13 Now. (season 12. - so many things i said at the time is still valid). no one ever listens to people talking (mostly because they are throwing monologues at them). but i am still surprised that Bailey, Warren and so many others have jobs. 

Something I wished that had happen. DeLuca DID lose his eye - because Maggie was all "Why call for the Opthomologist, you can do it Jackson!" like stop acting that this hospital only had 10 surgeons period. 

[Guest]

On 10/29/2020 at 9:11 PM, ParadoxLost said:

Is this show written by fan fiction writers now? 

I think fan fiction writers could do a better job at this point.

[pieinmyeye]

Since when does Bailey have two children?

[Acceleration]

4 hours ago, pieinmyeye said:

Since when does Bailey have two children?

I believe she decided to foster one of her patients late last season (Joey is his name, right?)

[readster]

6 hours ago, Acceleration said:

I believe she decided to foster one of her patients late last season (Joey is his name, right?)

Yes and Ben made the comment on Station 19, about he has two kids around the same age. Which was actually extremely nice that he sees Tuck and Joey as his boys. 

[madmax]

Just hit Cristina's "Sliding Doors" episode.  I really liked this one, with her imaginings of what her life would be like if she gave Owen what she wanted or if she did not.

I just don't understand how Shane ended up winning the Harper Avery in the version where Cristina had Owen's babies.  The work was Cristina's, right?  She just told him to finish one part.  So how didn't she get any accolades?

[readster]

2 hours ago, madmax said:

Just hit Cristina's "Sliding Doors" episode.  I really liked this one, with her imaginings of what her life would be like if she gave Owen what she wanted or if she did not.

I just don't understand how Shane ended up winning the Harper Avery in the version where Cristina had Owen's babies.  The work was Cristina's, right?  She just told him to finish one part.  So how didn't she get any accolades?

Lot of those scenerios and alternate futures made no sense. Though interesting with one fallopian tube and two previous abortions (one by choice and one surgical) they showed her able to have TWO kids. 

[Daisy]

Okay we talked about it:

Season 10: Cristina gets nominated, loses and the hospital is told that no one from GSMH can win Harper Avery's because the hospital is owned by the Avery Foundation

Season 14: Meredith wins one. - and it never even gets brought up that Cristina gets screwed or there were changes put in place when Cristina was robbed.  - this all happened before the HA was changed to CF. so Krista was like meh whatever. (colour me surprised)

also i'm at the me too episodes with Jackson's grandfather and i just don't get how everyone is all "let's do everything in Catherine's name!"the woman helped cover up sexual harassment. like honestly now.

Edited November 25, 2020 by Daisy

[Avabelle]

Yeah I still think it’s hilarious that was never called out - changing the name of the foundation from the man who sexually harassed multiple over to the woman who helped him cover it up. 

Edited November 25, 2020 by Avabelle

[madmax]

50 minutes ago, Daisy said:

also i'm at the me too episodes with Jackson's grandfather and i just don't get how everyone is all "let's do everything in Catherine's name!"the woman helped cover up sexual harassment. like honestly now.

 

47 minutes ago, Avabelle said:

Yeah I still think it’s hilarious that was never called out - changing the name of the foundation from the man who sexually harassed multiple over to the woman who helped him cover it up. 

But..but...she's Catherine Avery, who can do no wrong!  Sometimes I think she's the main character.

[FnkyChkn34]

I started rewatching from the beginning on Netflix, and I forgot how good this show actually was.  Season 2 with the Derek and Meredith will-they-or-won't-they was really good.  There's definitely a bunch of stuff that I remember, but tons of stuff that I forgot, too.  Like, I basically forgot all about Burke as a character...

[Avabelle]

Isaiah Washington being an asshole aside I loved Burke. He and Cristina were my favourite couple originally. I loved the back and forth. The actors had amazing chemistry. They were hilarious too. Try as they did Owen and her just weren’t as good. 

[Daisy]

I will have to say, and this show does it a lot - but it's so noticeable in the later seasons (and even now) it really needs to be brought up. I get that this is a show run by predominately women, and it's for women and they wanna be all "the future is female" etc - but i find the later the seasons go, the more unrealistic it is. I've been reading older threads (just to see how i felt them vs. now - some perspective). some things has changed (Like i like how Amelia changed after she had her tumour removed though i still wanna smack her a lot of times). little things like that.  - but what gets tiresome is how they pretty much push down men - to make the women rise up and to me that's really irksome. You don't need to do that, Show. and if you feel you have to, then honestly you are missing the whole point. 

Questions that Season 14 Brought up

1: Why was Meredith allowed to win the Harper Avery? Even "The Sun" jokes aside. this was so major in season 10. like. come on Krista.

2: Why didn't Catherine get any flack from what she did? (she can sugar coat it six ways till sunday. the fact that no one brought up the fact that she hid the fact that Harper Avery was a sexual predator and basically allowed him to get away with it is mindboggling. but it was really all "Poor Catherine she is just a victim too of old white guy. let's name the foundation after her instead!" (also. it really missed an opportunity to bring back Robert Avery). 

 --- i still think they did a serious injustice to Harper Avery making him sexual predator of the show (for the big reason - was that he was dead). so yeah you are attacking the legacy but talk about a total missed opportunity to have a bigger powerful story with him (or someone in his position) alive?. (also the fact that this was crammed into 2 episodes. whatever Krista)

 

3: Why can't these people ever have serious incidents and have something serious happen to them outside of Arizona's leg? I grew to love April, and i really miss her for the most part - but i mean. you didn't have to kill her but it would have been interesting to have her lose deficits in her thinking. like what's the point of having "OMG WE HAVE TO SAVE OUR OWN!" when you know they'll be 100 percent okay (maybe 1 episode with a shrink, but still) she could have developmentally hindered. something. (but i am glad she did go off into the sunset. but still)

4: If Callie was single by the end of season 14. Why did Arizona have to leave Seattle with Sofia? Sofia missed Callie. if Callie moved back and found another job, Arizona could have still created the Robbins/Herman centre for fetal medicine. (because Herman Robbins sounds like a dude). 

 

5: Krista: Arizona and Callie hurt each other. woulda been nice for Arizona to acknowledge that. just saying. 

it's really hard to see Alex in season 14, knowing that Krista literally trashed his character in Season 16. (all because she thought it would be boring to have Alex "off screen" for Jo). 

[Anela]

Neve Campbell was the one of the few special guest stars, that I really liked. She seemed to be the most human of Derek's sisters (outside of Amelia, who doesn't bug me the way she did most people). She was so nice to Meredith. It would have been nice to have seen more of her - although if she had been a regular, I hate to think of what they would have done to her character.

[FnkyChkn34]

I'm on season 5 now.  When does Lexie become bearable???  She's awful so far!

[madmax]

I just finished season 10 and I think I'm going to quit there.  It got so much more unbelievable and irritating after Cristina left.

That's not to say I won't continue to watch this season.  I'm a glutton for punishment, just not six old seasons worth.

Edited December 2, 2020 by madmax

[FnkyChkn34]

11 hours ago, madmax said:

I just finished season 10 and I think I'm going to quit there.  It got so much more unbelievable and irritating after Cristina left.

That's not to say I won't continue to watch this season.  I'm a glutton for punishment, just not six old seasons worth.

I don't remember what happens in season 10 (I'm only on season 6 in my rewatch), but I remember that the show basically jumped the shark with the plane crash.  I still watch the current season as well, but sometimes I have no idea why. 🤣😉

That said - season 6 is a mess, but they did as good of a job as they could with it I guess.  Ellen's pregnancy and Katherine Heigl's diva tantrum... There are some angles where Ellen's baby bump is not hidden, but who cares - Meredith giving Thatcher a liver is the more unbelievable part. 🤣

[Avabelle]

Season ten was when April left Mathew at the alter. As awful as Jackson was to Stephanie and despite how he humiliated her - it was probably his kindest break up. With Maggie and April he virtually hated them by the end and could barely hide it. Overall I don’t think he’s treated any of the women in his life that well (bar his mommy).

 

[Daisy]

Season 15: Where they tend to remember when HIPPA was a thing (and honestly with all the anvils about insurance fraud etc, we should have seen the season finale coming sooner). anyhoo.  my favourite part was Webber lecturing Alex about stabbing someone and how he would face an ethics committee (because the patient didn't want to have surgery because insurance would never cover it). and the whole time i was like, Richard just this season you offered a patient alcohol because you thought he was a drunk, to the point that you went after him in the ER. I would have paid good money if Alex said "I would wonder what an Ethics committee would have thought about you ignoring someone's DNR?"

[anna0852]

1 hour ago, Avabelle said:

Season ten was when April left Mathew at the alter. As awful as Jackson was to Stephanie and despite how he humiliated her - it was probably his kindest break up. With Maggie and April he virtually hated them by the end and could barely hide it. Overall I don’t think he’s treated any of the women in his life that well (bar his mommy).

 

 The only women Jackson has ever consistently treated kindly are his daughter, his mother and his coworkers. He has issues.

[madmax]

2 hours ago, anna0852 said:

 The only women Jackson has ever consistently treated kindly are his daughter, his mother and his coworkers. He has issues.

Except when they were his exes....

[Daisy]

and his patients. Jackson is a Jackass

[FnkyChkn34]

Season 6 is when Jackson was introduced (he was working at Mercy West and came over with the merger), and he's not that bad so far.  He doesn't really have a main role and mostly just makes wisecracks in the background, helps in a few surgeries.  I did just watch the episode where Harper Avery is admitted for surgery, and Jackson finally played a bigger role.  Him hitting on Cristina was funny, but otherwise, I don't think he's had interactions with women yet.  So I'm looking forward to his character assassination in future seasons... 🤣

[Anela]

21 hours ago, Avabelle said:

Season ten was when April left Mathew at the alter. As awful as Jackson was to Stephanie and despite how he humiliated her - it was probably his kindest break up. With Maggie and April he virtually hated them by the end and could barely hide it. Overall I don’t think he’s treated any of the women in his life that well (bar his mommy).

 

He didn't really have a chance to do that with Lexie, because she died. 

I didn't think he liked his mother, either. 

Cristina got the best exit from the show. She found out what happened to the man who left her at the altar, and not only that, he handed over his own hospital/research centre to her to run. 

[taanja]

On 11/29/2020 at 8:10 PM, FnkyChkn34 said:

I'm on season 5 now.  When does Lexie become bearable???  She's awful so far!

Never. 

[Mirabelle]

I am equally horrified and amused by the last bit of information we ever get about Lexie - wolves ate her. It seems so mean spirited to do that to the character. George and Derek both literally got hit by large moving vehicles but at least they died saving other people's lives. Lexie's death was the dressing for the plane crash trauma salad. Her sister and co-workers don't even get to think about Lexie without the soundtrack of wolves eating her.

I've been jumping around from season to season the past few weeks and on rewatch I hate Izzie, I hate Denny (not the actor's fault but I hold a grudge from The Walking Dead)

Spoiler

I KNOW WHAT YOU DID TO GLEN!!!

and Maggie gets annoying when she's having sex or thinking about having sex. The moment she started sleeping with DeLuca was when I started mentally yelling SHUT THE FUCK UP MAGGIE. 

Edited December 5, 2020 by Mirabelle

[readster]

4 hours ago, Mirabelle said:

IMaggie gets annoying when she's having sex or thinking about having sex. The moment she started sleeping with DeLuca was when I started mentally yelling SHUT THE FUCK UP MAGGIE. 

Until this season, Maggie finally sounds like a normal person. Honestly, Maggie has had the most WTF attitude when it comes to either sex or a relationship. She either makes up some lame excuse (Like how she lost her ex before she came to the series). The fact she got involved with two men who were married. The entire Deluca and Jackson situation. Or how she ALWAYS ALWAYS had to talk about others making her feel like a baby. Shut up! 

[Spritti12]

Thanks to all of you who brought up the Harper Avery Award situation. 

I got the feeling that the writers wanted Meredith to win the award because she is the shows main character so of course she needed to be the one coming up with a great surgery that would secure her the award. 

Cristina was robbed.

On 11/25/2020 at 8:40 PM, Daisy said:

I will have to say, and this show does it a lot - but it's so noticeable in the later seasons (and even now) it really needs to be brought up. I get that this is a show run by predominately women, and it's for women and they wanna be all "the future is female" etc - but i find the later the seasons go, the more unrealistic it is. I've been reading older threads (just to see how i felt them vs. now - some perspective). some things has changed (Like i like how Amelia changed after she had her tumour removed though i still wanna smack her a lot of times). little things like that.  - but what gets tiresome is how they pretty much push down men - to make the women rise up and to me that's really irksome. You don't need to do that, Show. and if you feel you have to, then honestly you are missing the whole point. 

Amen to that!😎

[Daisy]

7 minutes ago, Spritti12 said:

I got the feeling that the writers wanted Meredith to win the award because she is the shows main character so of course she needed to be the one coming up with a great surgery that would secure her the award. 

Honestly it doesn't bother me that Meredith won. It won't bother me (if the show continues) if she wins again. She's established (even before "you are the Sun!" that she is really, incredibly smart/brilliant blah blah blah and i am really am fine with that. But this is why this dumb award bugs me:

 

It's based on innovation and research (mostly) so why are all these surgeons researchers/innovating? etc etc. Isn't that more.... research doctors jobs? I dunno the actual term but i doubt most regular surgeons don't really have time to be all "innovate and research!"

 

and mostly. it takes one line hell even use the Cristina storyline fall out to have he rules change. We know there are at least 75+ Avery/Fox hospitals. why wasn't there some sort of uprising that they should ALL be considered. (or hell why wasn't it known up front that Fox/avery people weren't included for the Avery/Fox award). and because Cristina's thing was so revolutionary- they HAD to make a Change. so she did miss out on this thing - but because of that Cristina opened the door for everyone to be included regardless of where you worked. 

(and it's Cristina. in my head she'll win tonnes anyway from her hospital in Switzerland). but just... acknowledge it. 

[Spritti12]

23 minutes ago, Daisy said:

Honestly it doesn't bother me that Meredith won. It won't bother me (if the show continues) if she wins again. She's established (even before "you are the Sun!" that she is really, incredibly smart/brilliant blah blah blah and i am really am fine with that. But this is why this dumb award bugs me:

 

It's based on innovation and research (mostly) so why are all these surgeons researchers/innovating? etc etc. Isn't that more.... research doctors jobs? I dunno the actual term but i doubt most regular surgeons don't really have time to be all "innovate and research!"

 

and mostly. it takes one line hell even use the Cristina storyline fall out to have he rules change. We know there are at least 75+ Avery/Fox hospitals. why wasn't there some sort of uprising that they should ALL be considered. (or hell why wasn't it known up front that Fox/avery people weren't included for the Avery/Fox award). and because Cristina's thing was so revolutionary- they HAD to make a Change. so she did miss out on this thing - but because of that Cristina opened the door for everyone to be included regardless of where you worked. 

(and it's Cristina. in my head she'll win tonnes anyway from her hospital in Switzerland). but just... acknowledge it. 

Oh yeah. You totally read my mind. 😄 It buggles me that Cristinas situation was shoved aside so easily. 😞

And to be totally honest? I do have a problem with Meredith winning the award, because in my pov there were surgeons on the show who were known for being the best in their fields and  doing research for years but Meredith, sitting at home staring at her broken wall,suddenly comes up with some revolutionary surgery and gets an award for it. To me,Meredith never stood out as a surgeon. She was always naturally talented,yes,but her love life and personal issues were always put first.

Edited December 5, 2020 by Spritti12

[Spritti12]

Cristina was the driven one, the one who was ahead during her intern year/residency. If I picture someone coming up with some great surgery it would be her.

Edited December 5, 2020 by Spritti12

[FnkyChkn34]

How did Lexie get away with stealing everyone's personal (personnel? those should be in HR but who knows with this hospital) file from Richard's office and reading them all???  She was horrible.  I think the show tried to redeem her by having her work with Derek in her last season, and it worked on me the first time I watched the show way back when, but not this time.  Ugh. 

[Beckabby]

Grey's is the show I put on when I'm having trouble sleeping because I know it by heart and don't have to watch to know what's going on. I don't get too far past the plane crash before I restart at the beginning again.

Does anyone else think that S1E2 reads more than a pilot than the pilot did?

[FnkyChkn34]

I'm halfway through season 11 and I don't know if I want to go much further.  Derek and Meredith are being jerks to each other, which I forgot about, and knowing how it ends... ugh. 

[madmax]

5 hours ago, FnkyChkn34 said:

I'm halfway through season 11 and I don't know if I want to go much further.  Derek and Meredith are being jerks to each other, which I forgot about, and knowing how it ends... ugh. 

That's why I quit my rewatch after season 10.  Cristina was gone and it was just Der & Mer being jerky and another surprise sister and more interns that I didn't care about.

[taanja]

1 hour ago, madmax said:

That's why I quit my rewatch after season 10.  Cristina was gone and it was just Der & Mer being jerky and another surprise sister and more interns that I didn't care about.

yup. I stopped watching right about that time too. and then one night (some time later - a year or more) I was flipping channels and it was the ep where Derek dies. I didn't know that when I stopped. I was like --Oh I haven't watched Grey's in a while and then BAM! Derek dead! I was like Whaaaaaattt???

 

[FnkyChkn34]

1 hour ago, madmax said:

That's why I quit my rewatch after season 10.  Cristina was gone and it was just Der & Mer being jerky and another surprise sister and more interns that I didn't care about.

I don't mind Stephanie and Jo, but yes, Maggie is a bit much.  I don't entirely miss Cristina, but I do wish the writer hadn't made Mer & Der such jerks to each other.  

2 minutes ago, taanja said:

yup. I stopped watching right about that time too. and then one night (some time later - a year or more) I was flipping channels and it was the ep where Derek dies. I didn't know that when I stopped. I was like --Oh I haven't watched Grey's in a while and then BAM! Derek dead! I was like Whaaaaaattt???

 

Yeah... I know that he dies near the end of season 11, and I'm just not sure that I want to relive it.  He's my favorite character... and so hot... 😞 In real time, I remember not loving Grey's much anymore after this.  It had quite a few down seasons before it picked back up again, IMO.  It's definitely not what it once was.

[madmax]

7 hours ago, FnkyChkn34 said:

Yeah... I know that he dies near the end of season 11, and I'm just not sure that I want to relive it.  He's my favorite character... and so hot... 😞 In real time, I remember not loving Grey's much anymore after this.  It had quite a few down seasons before it picked back up again, IMO.  It's definitely not what it once was.

He was most definitely NOT my favorite character, so I was tempted to watch until he died, but I didn't want to put myself thru the crappy relationship until then. 😁

[FnkyChkn34]

So I'm on Season 12, and just finished Ep 7.  In it, Maggie does a PSA on racism and microaggressions - like the current season.  In Ep 8, they are turning the cafeteria into a burn unit for 40 firefighters burned in a brush fire - also like the current season.

It's interesting to see how the show actually plays well on its own history, which is stuff most of us have probably long forgotten.  

[shantown]

7 minutes ago, FnkyChkn34 said:

It's interesting to see how the show actually plays well on its own history, which is stuff most of us have probably long forgotten.  

You give the writers more credit than I do - I'd argue that the show repeats history because they've also forgotten it!

[FnkyChkn34]

4 hours ago, shantown said:

You give the writers more credit than I do - I'd argue that the show repeats history because they've also forgotten it!

Ha, I guess I do.  On a show as big as this, I'm guessing that they have outlines and storyboards to help them remember.  I know that a few characters' histories and pasts have changed, but I think that's usually done knowingly and purposefully.  It's pretty common for characters that were only planned for a short episode arc to end up testing well with audiences and be brought back as regulars, so history has to be fudged a little for them to fit in and be more interesting.  I'm ok with that.  

[FnkyChkn34]

I have a new pet peeve, and I didn't see a pet peeve thread, so I'll post this here.  It originates with Season 12...

Harriet was born in the season finale of Season 12.  In 2016.  The girl that Jackson was holding in the episode earlier this season (fall of 2020) should be 4 and a half years old.  She looked 2, at the most.  They seem to have properly aged the other kids, but forgotten about Harriet.