MerDer shippers, this is your time — Patrick Dempsey will be making at least two more appearances on this season of Grey’s Anatomy as the deceased (but never forgotten) neurosurgeon Derek Shepherd.
In the current season of the ABC medical drama, Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) is fighting for her life in the intensive care unit of Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. She’s one of the millions of Americans battling COVID-19, and the painful symptoms of the respiratory virus have her drifting in and out of consciousness. While she sleeps, her dead ex-husband materializes in a hallucination, seemingly beckoning Meredith to join him in the afterlife.
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After his first season 17 cameo, Dempsey teased that Derek had a few more scenes left in him. In conversation with Variety, showrunner Krista Vernoff confirmed that the fallen Grey’s Anatomy hero would in fact be making several more appearances on the show.
“You will see McDreamy again in the back half of the season,” she promised.
When asked about the possibility of more Grey’s alum coming back this season — one Mark Sloan in particular — Vernoff played coy, insisting that she couldn’t give more information about who else could haunt Meredith from beyond the grave. (Not to put the cart before the horse, but I definitely sense a McSteamy appearance.)
With more cameos stretching into the latter half of this season, what exactly does that mean for Meredith? Our lead is currently still battling the coronavirus, and we know surviving the disease is only part of the fight; living with its residual, long-lasting physical effects is a whole other uphill climb. If Meredith is still seeing Derek by the time the 16-episode season is about to come to an end, does that mean that she won't beat COVID?
We've only got 10 episodes left to go before the season finale — I sincerely hope we're not watching the beginning of end.