The premiere for Season 17 of the much-loved Grey’s Anatomy proved to be an emotional rollercoaster ride for the show’s fans. Packed with a mixed bag of emotions, it witnessed the shocking return of Patrick Dempsey’s Derek Shepherd, whose sudden passing in Season 11 left everyone heartbroken. The late McDreamy appeared in a dream sequence, joining Ellen Pompeo’s Meredith Grey on a beach, soon after her character collapsed in the parking lot of Grey Sloan Memorial. Their reunion was a breath of fresh air following a touching two-hour-long season premiere dedicated to Covid-19 health workers. “It all came together quite beautifully,” Grey’s Anatomy showrunner Krista Vernoff told Deadline.
According to E! Online, Vernoff confirmed the possibility of viewers getting to see more of Shepherd in Season 17. “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.” Grey’s Anatomy fans on Twitter have been posting mixed reactions. Here is what they think:
Next Thursday’s ratings for Grey’s Anatomy should be through the roof. How many people who stopped watching when Patrick left are going to watch season 17 episode 3
— Miss Courtney (@93Court) November 14, 2020
Oh Grey’s Anatomy ? I wish I’d seen it before the spoilers but ??? anyway #McDreamy
— Becky (@becksyluvslfc) November 14, 2020
Most emotional episode ever this is definitely #1 in my top 5 episodes from Grey's Anatomy awesome job @KristaVernoff @EllenPompeo @PatrickDempsey
— Aphrodite_Goddess (@goddess524) November 14, 2020
I cried for a solid half in hour after watching greys anatomy last night because I couldn’t get over that Derek came back on the show for the first time since he’s left ???????
— Allison Grass (@allisongrass95) November 14, 2020
I <3 grey’s anatomy! I cried so much! pic.twitter.com/YmpQOK8HAA
— loveyomaira (@loveyomaira15) November 14, 2020
I know every episode of Grey’s Anatomy hasn’t been brilliant. But many of them have been, and it’s grown over the years
And there simply are stories you can tell after 16 years (+ 6 of Private Practice & 3 of Station 19) that you just can’t tell without that kind of history.
— Mary E. Lowd (@Ryffnah) November 14, 2020
i’m still SHOOK after grey’s anatomy last night lads
— siofra? (@limax_) November 14, 2020
Oh wait, it’s legit two episodes of just Grey’s Anatomy?! I thought one hour was the Station 19 overlap. Well, guess I’m watching both hours ?
— Opeyemi (@RuthDuhh) November 14, 2020
Grey's Anatomy. 17 seasons in. Still pure magical GOLD.
— Victoria Denault (@BooksbyVictoria) November 14, 2020
So apparently, I influenced my friend to watch Grey’s Anatomy so that I have someone to talk about it. It actually went well. ?? #GreysAnatomy @EllenPompeo
— GreysAnatomy_05 (@jmoira07) November 14, 2020
I miss greys anatomy. I’m thinking of continuing but I don’t remember where I stoped or what was happening and it’s too long to start it all over again
— Tired Eyeshadow (@namelessjess2) November 14, 2020
Just watched second episode of Grey's anatomy and my heart is crying. Meredith Grey and Derek shepherd are the love of my life ??? #GreysAnatomy pic.twitter.com/AxRqEoc8XM
— . (@ppevchess) November 14, 2020
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Speaking to Deadline about how the idea of bringing Patrick’s character back came about, Vernoff said, “From a writer’s perspective, it happened because it was my job to find a way to also bring joy, and escape, and fan candy, and all the things that at Grey’s Anatomy we give people. We give them romance, and we give them humor, and we give them joy, and a lot of that is lacking for the medical community in this pandemic. And so, I was walking on the beach one day, and I was like, what if there’s a Meredith dream motif?” She continued, “I had this imagining of a beach motif throughout the season, and I called Ellen, and I said, what if we bring back, I don’t know, some dead character that you could dream of on the beach, that would be so fun for the fans. And she said, let’s get Patrick.”