Grey’s Anatomy just dropped a huge surprise at the end of its two-hour season 17 premiere, and you won’t believe it ’til you see it.
Ellen Pompeo Wanted to Quit “Grey’s Anatomy” Many Times
Welcome to the most deranged Grey’s Anatomy recap you’ll probably read all night/year.
We were sitting here all prepared to write about how our favorite medical show handled COVID-19 and made us cry multiple times and then BAM, they go and throw literally the last thing we ever expected at us, and we’re literally having trouble functioning. (We’ve been through a lot this year, okay?)
Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) might be dying (or at least she’s currently passed out in a parking lot), and in her near-death dream world, she’s now hanging out on a beach with none other than her dead husband, Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey). Meanwhile we may have also passed out and we’re also on the beach, just kinda wondering if this is really happening.
Like oh no, Meredith might be dying, but Patrick Dempsey is here!
Showrunner Krista Vernoff confirmed that it really is happening in a statement.
“The most important task we had this season was to honor the reality of this global pandemic and the impact it’s having—particularly on healthcare workers,” she said. “Along with that we had to come up with creative ways to allow our show to still be fun and romantic and provide some escapism. Enter Patrick Dempsey. The beach motif—which will continue beyond the premiere – provided a way for us to live outside the pandemic even for a little while here and there. And Derek’s return provided pure joy for us, for Meredith, and for the fans. Season 17 has been a Herculean effort by our cast, our crew, our writers, and our partners at Disney and ABC – and we are proud of it. But our effort is nothing compared to the work of our Frontline healthcare workers to whom this season is dedicated. We hope our show inspires you to wear your masks to protect them and each other. As Derek Shepherd would say, ‘It’s a beautiful day to save lives.'”
While we continue to freak out about this (and try to re-gather our thoughts on the rest of the episode), check out the promo for next week’s episode, which is wildly concerning. If Meredith Grey dies, we might genuinely need (more) therapy.
Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. on ABC.
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