Grey’s Anatomy’s Derek ‘McDreamy’ Shepherd, played by Patrick Dempsey, made a surprise return during the premiere episode of Season 17. As fans would know, Derek died in a car accident during Season 11, and his departure has always been a point of contention for fans of the series. For the first 11 seasons of the show, Patrick’s Derek Shepherd was a pivotal character. His “It’s a beautiful day to save lives” has since become a part of pop-culture.
However, troubles for his window Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), didn’t end with the death of her life’s love. Five seasons later, we still see her struggling. In his return, in the 17th season, we see Derek and Meredith at a beach. This happens after Meredith collapses in the parking lot of the Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital, which appears that this kind-of-a-near-death experience for her. This came as a delightful surprise for fans. However, we can’t say the same for Meredith, as she is still battling for her life.
Grey’s Anatomy showrunner Krista Vernoff spoke about the big shocker to Deadline and discussed how Ellen Pompeo came with the idea. She said, “I had this imaging 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.” Patrick added, “I know that they (the fans) have been wanting us to get back together, and I think this will satisfy a lot of people, and surprise a lot of people, hopefully.”
Patrick Dempsey’s return is not limited to this one scene. Krista and Patrick both assured that he will return in further episodes, but the details have been kept under the wraps.
