McDreamy is back: Patrick Dempsey makes surprise return to ‘Grey’s Anatomy’

It has been a long 16-season (and counting!) run for Grey's Anatomy. And the last five seasons have felt even longer since we couldn’t see our favourite McDreamy - aka Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey) on the show anymore. Shepherd’s death in season 11 came as a shock to fans, with many losing interest in what was once a great show.

But troubles for his widow Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) didn't end with the death of the love of her life. Five seasons later, she is still struggling - quite literally. The premiere of season 17 sees the protagonist dying (or at least, passed out in a parking lot) and in her near-death dream world, she is hanging out on a beach with none other than Shepherd. This came as a very pleasant surprise for fans, may we add. Not for Meredith maybe. She is still battling for her life. But if we see more MerDer scenes in the show, we'll take it!

According to E! Online, showrunner Krista Vernoff confirmed that we might just be seeing more of Shepherd this new season. "The most important task we had this year was to honour 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 if for a little while here and there. And Derek's return provided pure joy for us, for Meredith and for the fans."

Vernoff’s statement further read, "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 you continue to freak out, check out the promo for next week's episode on YouTube, which is wildly concerning and proves this isn't just a case of Meredith being really, really tired. If she dies, we might genuinely need (more) therapy.
Since the MerDer scene happened in the last 30 seconds of the premiere, that means we still have two hours of Grey's Anatomy that may or may not elaborate into that.

Nonetheless, Twitter rejoiced over the reunion and fans have been longing for more information. With new characters and a few (too many!) confusing plot lines and romances for the newly-introduced characters, Shepherd’s return just might be what fans needed.

Have something to add to the story? Share it in the comments below.