Code Black means there is a bomb in the hospital. It is the state of emergency declared in the Seattle Grace Hospital after it was discovered that a patient had an unexploded bomb inside his cavity. The events occurred in the 16th episode of season 2 titled, “It’s the End of the World” on Grey’s Anatomy.
The episode, written by Shonda Rhimes, the creator of the series, and directed by Peter Horton, the co-executive producer, is the first part of a two-part storyline that ends with "As We Know It." With 38.1 million viewers on its initial broadcast, it was the most watched and highest-rated episode in the series' history. It was received well by the critics. Rhimes was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for the episode and its sequel.
Grey's Anatomy is an American medical drama that centers on the personal and professional lives of attendings, residents, and surgical interns at the fictional Seattle Grace Hospital.
What happened during Code Black in Grey’s Anatomy?
Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) delivers voice-over narration for the first part of the episode, emphasizing the value of achieving goals before it's too late and the certainty of death.
During a dream situation, George O'Malley (T. R. Knight) sees Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh), and Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl) in the bathtub with him. When George wakes up from the dream, Meredith refuses to get out of bed for work because she believes she will die that day. Cristina stepped up to help get Meredith out of bed and to the hospital, even though George and Izzie tried to persuade her otherwise.
Meredith's ominous intuition begins to gather legitimacy at the hospital. While her husband is driving, Dr. Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson) returns to the hospital to give birth to her child alone. Paramedics arrive at the same time with a male trauma patient who has suffered significant injuries and his anxiously yelling wife. To stop the bleeding, one of the paramedics, Hannah Davies (Christina Ricci), has her hand in the man's chest cavity. Alex Karev (Justin Chambers) is assigned to comfort the hysterical wife when Dr. Preston Burke (Isaiah Washington) quickly takes charge of the case. Alex soon calms down the screaming wife when he shouts at her.
When it turns out that Hannah's hand is not the only object within the patient's chest, things take a risky turn. The patient mistakenly fired a handmade bazooka, and now has a piece of unexploded ammunition stuck in him. The majority of the surgical wing is closed when the hospital undergoes Code Black due to a bomb threat.
The hospital enters Code Black in response to a bomb threat. The majority of the surgical wing is closed while Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey) and Cristina operate on the brain of a man who, initially unknown to them, is Tucker Jones (Cress Williams), Bailey's husband, who got into a car accident while rushing to the hospital to be with her.
Dylan Young (Kyle Chandler) leads the bomb squad as they arrive and try to manage the situation. Despite their desire to remove all non-essential staff from the ORs, Derek, Cristina, and Meredith refuse to leave.
Despite an increasing threat, Richard Webber (James Pickens Jr.), who struggles to keep the hospital running, tries his best to keep things in order. The anesthesiologist suddenly shows Hannah how to give the patient air circulation in the surgical wing before slipping away, leaving Hannah alone with the patient and the bomb.
Meredith sees Hannah is about to have a breakdown and pulls out her hand, which would set off the bomb and kill everyone present. Meredith tries to calm Hannah down, but she panics and takes her hand out, running away from the scene. Meredith intervenes and puts her hand on the bomb to protect the patient and everyone else.
Meanwhile, Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson) is in labor, but she won't push because her husband Tucker Jones (Cress Williams), isn't with her. To convince Bailey to have the child, George O'Malley (T. R. Knight) teams up with Addison Montgomery (Kate Walsh). Ultimately, George provides Bailey with the motivation she needs holding her while she gives birth.
On the other hand, Richard Webber (James Pickens Jr.) passes out due to the immense pressure of witnessing the multiple turn of events in the hospital. Tucker suffers a heart attack during the surgery but is soon revived.
Dylan (Kyle Chandler), the bomb squad leader, removes the explosive after Meredith has finally taken it out from the patient. Meredith watches Dylan take the bomb down the corridor as she leaves the surgery room. The device explodes abruptly, killing Dylan and another member of the bomb team while rendering Meredith comatose.
A fully dressed Izzie and Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh) clean the blood off a surprised Meredith while George watches in a reprise of the "shower scene" from the first half of the episode but with a more serious tone. Both Tucker and the man who had the explosion embedded in his body live despite the catastrophic events.
By the end of the episode, Derek and Preston Burke (Isaiah Washington) have put aside their previous competition and become friends, using their first names to address one another. Cristina whispers to a sleeping Burke, "I love you, too." When Derek subsequently visits Meredith, he remarks, "You nearly died today." Derek tells Meredith that she "smelled like some kind of flower" when she confesses that she can't remember their last kiss. After the emotional conversation, Derek leaves the room after Meredith identifies the aroma as lavender.
Related: When does Callie leave Grey's Anatomy?
What do the codes mean in Grey’s Anatomy?
"Coding" is a phrase used in the medical field to classify by color to identify a patient's diagnosis, a crisis, equipment, and more. Similarly, there are the same codes used in the show with the “code blue” being the most frequently used as the patient undergoes cardiac or respiratory arrest.
Here is a list of other codes mentioned in the show:
Code Black - bomb threat
Code Pink - child or infant missing
Code Yellow - disaster
Code Orange - staff member in a dangerous situation
Code Violet - violent patient
FAQs about codes in Grey’s Anatomy
Code Black means there is a bomb in the hospital. It is the state of emergency declared in the Seattle Grace Hospital after it is discovered that a patient had an unexploded bomb inside his cavity.
The most commonly used code in Grey’s Anatomy is ‘Code Blue’ which means a patient is crashing. Other codes that have been mentioned in the show are Code Black, Code Pink, Code Yellow, Code Orange and Code Violet.
Code Black was declared in the 16th episode of season 2 titled, “It’s the End of the World” on Grey’s Anatomy.
