a cult character makes an incredible comeback

In the United States, season 17 of Grey's Anatomy premiered Thursday, November 12, 2020 on ABC. And the first episode left no one indifferent, on the contrary. It was an opportunity to see the return of one of the cult characters of the series who, however, had been gone for a long time. The fans were in shock at this nice surprise! The all-time favorite Derek, played by Patrick Dempsey, made his comeback in Grey's Anatomy. Yes, you read correctly.

But how did the writers manage to make the return of a deceased character believable? As a reminder, this two-hour episode was an opportunity to pay tribute to the work of caregivers during the health crisis. Obviously, Gray’s Sloan Hospital has been impacted by the pandemic and the intensive care unit is under pressure. In this poignant episode, Meredith is exhausted by her overtime during this complicated period. The young woman passes out in the hospital parking lot and hallucinates: she is seen on a beach facing the love of her life, Derek Sheperd.

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Ellen Pompeo and Patrick Dempsey had not been reunited since 2015. Derek's character left the show in Season 11 and fans have been sorely missed by fans ever since. It seems that it was Ellen Pompeo who had the idea of ​​this big comeback for an episode. She confided in Deadline on the subject : “I know Patrick has a foundation in Maine where he helps cancer patients and survivors and I know it's important for him to give people hope, joy and we wanted to make a difference. There is so much darkness and we knew that coming together would be like a little ray of light. " For Patrick Dempsey, this reunion was a real pleasure: “The atmosphere had changed and working on the beach, seeing everyone again, it was like a very rewarding healing process and I had a lot of fun. (…) I know they wanted to see us together again, and this episode will satisfy a lot of people, surprise a lot too I hope ", he explains.