Over its whopping 22 seasons, and over 460 episodes, Grey's Anatomy has been known for taking risks. From shocking deaths, sudden character exits, catastrophic accidents, and storylines that depict real life so vividly that viewers might have a hard time watching, the long-running ABC show is no stranger to rolling the dice and surprising its longtime viewers. And, in the season finale of Season 22, titled "Bridge Over Troubled Water," the series delivered yet again.
In a moment longtime viewers weren't exactly expecting, title character Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) proposed to her longtime partner, Nick Marsh (Scott Speedman). Like most Grey's Anatomy finales, the sweet moment followed a life-or-death situation, but that wasn't exactly the biggest takeaway fans took from the episode. After all, while Meredith's engagement to Nick was heartfelt and emotional, it officially puts her relationship with Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey) behind her.
The 'Grey's Anatomy' Finale Marks a New Era for Meredith
Since the very inception of Grey's Anatomy, Meredith's relationship with Derek has been the backbone of the series. In the pilot, they have a one-night stand before finding out they're coworkers and begin casually dating. Shortly after that, and in the following seasons, the two break things off and get back together over and over again, especially when Derek's estranged wife Addison (Kate Walsh) comes knocking. By Season 5, however, the two finally make things work, and tie the knot, unofficially at first, in an iconic post-it. Six seasons later, in Season 11, Episode 21, their love story came to an end when Derek suffered a car accident, causing damage to his brain, and Meredith eventually decided off life support.
In each of those steps, longtime viewers of the show lived Meredith's relationship with her. From their sweetest moments, like when Derek outlined their future house in candles, to their toughest ones, like Derek's rocky time living in D.C., the show established that they were each other's soulmates, each other's "person," even if their journey was rocky along the way. So, as Meredith proposes to Nick in Season 22, the show is officially turning a chapter. Instead of continuing to establish Derek as the defining love of her future, he's simply become an important part of her past, and she's officially moving past it.
A 'Grey's Anatomy' Showrunner Has Defended the Decision
Ellen Pompeo in Grey's Anatomy.
Following the season finale, which also bid adieu to Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd) and Teddy Altman (Kim Raver), showrunner Meg Marinis explained the decision in an interview with Variety. As it turns out, Pompeo, who has played a smaller role in the show since Season 19 when her character moved to Boston, was hesitant about the proposal, but eventually agreed considering Meredith and Nick's progressing relationship throughout the recent season, and the finale's heart-racing crisis. "Marry me," she says to Nick. "How badly was I hurt?" he jokes back. "Bad enough to think about all the people I've lost, and I really don't want to lose you," she replies. "And it turns out not being married to you isn't protecting me from anything."
For Marinis, the proposal felt right specifically because it kept Derek in mind. "After losing her husband in such a horrific way, she was like, “No way am I going to go through [marriage] again,'" the showrunner said. "And when it almost happens again, she realizes, 'Oh, it doesn’t matter if we’re married or not. It still hurts. So why not do this thing that I know that he wants?'" In other words, while Meredith and Nick's engagement does mark a whole new defining love for her, the decision was made not only with Derek in mind, but because of how gut-wrenching his loss was.
So, while the decision to have Meredith engaged to someone else that's not Derek in Grey's Anatomy can be seen as controversial, it's a decision that certainly aligns with her storyline in the past few seasons. Not only is she in love with Nick, but they've been in a healthy relationship for a while now, and a proposal is not only what Nick wanted, but a potential happy ending to the series' main character who's been through so much. Plus, by making sure loss and the fear of losing someone was a part of that decision, the series proved that Meredith's love for Derek lives on, seasons after his sudden death.
20 Years Later, 'Grey's Anatomy' Needs To Stop Expanding
Once upon a time, the newest addition to the Grey's Anatomy roster felt like a special occasion, and there were various reasons for this, particularly the fact that someone could potentially die in increasingly ridiculous ways. But one of the biggest reasons was how well the show conveyed who the main characters were as individuals compared to virtually all other shows on network television.
Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh), Alex Karev (Justin Chambers), Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl), and George O'Malley (T.R. Knight) built a strong connection with audiences throughout the first several seasons of the show. While all the medical calamities were very entertaining, they were ultimately worth watching only because they affected the lives of the central characters. As a result, when looking forward to ABC's Grey's Anatomy spin-off, it doesn't feel as exciting as it probably should.
The untitled series, co-created by Shonda Rhimes and current Grey’s showrunner Meg Marinis, will move the franchise to rural West Texas for the first time. Instead of centering on an established Grey’s character like Private Practice did with Addison Montgomery (Kate Walsh) or Station 19 did with Ben Warren (Jason George), this series will reportedly focus on an entirely new group of doctors.
‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Already Feels Like a Different Show Than the One Fans Fell in Love With
Katherine Heigl, TR Knight, and Sandra Oh in an episode of Grey's Anatomy
Grey’s Anatomy has survived longer than almost anyone expected. It can be quite hard for a network drama to last upwards of 20 seasons, especially when it’s based on a rotating cast. Nonetheless, the amount of time a show has been on air and its continuing imaginative flow differ vastly. The original magic of the show stemmed from the comedic representation of dysfunctional, yet loving relationships and genuine emotional stories. Longtime fans of the show think that, as a whole, it has changed since it first began airing. The medical cases mattered more, but they also played a part in these characters' lives. The show struck a balance between that and never losing sight of the interns trying to survive impossible hours while ruining each other’s lives in on-call rooms.
Nowadays, it just seems like Grey's is trying to redo all of that. The show still knows how to manufacture cliffhangers, complete with explosions, hostage situations, near-death experiences, and surprise pregnancies, but there’s a growing sense that the series is repeating emotional beats instead of building toward anything meaningful. That’s part of why so many fans point to earlier seasons as the show’s natural endpoint. Some argue that Season 10 would have been the right place to stop after Cristina’s departure, while others think the COVID-focused Season 17 could have worked as a surprisingly poignant conclusion. There are even viewers who believe Season 14’s wedding-centered finale, “All of Me,” gave several core characters the closest thing the series has ever had to a satisfying ending. Instead, Grey’s kept going. And now, years after Pompeo stepped back from being the show’s full-time lead, ABC is preparing to expand the universe even further.
‘Private Practice’ Worked Because It Had a Reason To Exist
The cast of Private Practice in a promotional image.
Private Practice made sense because Addison was one of the franchise’s most beloved characters. The show also had a clear identity separate from Grey’s Anatomy. It traded Seattle’s chaotic surgical energy for a more intimate, slower-paced character drama in Los Angeles. Whether viewers loved it or not, it justified its existence almost immediately. On the other hand, Station 19 had a harder time carving out its own personality, but at least it still felt connected to the larger Grey’s world through familiar characters and frequent crossovers.
This new series doesn’t have either of those components just yet — news did just break, but where will the connections come from? Right now, the pitch mostly sounds like “Grey’s, but make it Texas.” That may change once casting details and storylines emerge, but it was the first impression fans got. A franchise can only expand so many times before audiences start noticing the machinery behind it.
ABC is turning nearly all of its biggest scripted dramas into franchises. 9-1-1 now has Nashville, The Rookie is getting The Rookie: North. One of the only ones missing is Grey's. Network television has become obsessed with expandable universes because recognizable IP is safer than launching something original from scratch. Viewers and advertisers know the name, and the network already knows there’s a built-in audience, but television history is full of franchises that kept growing long after the creative spark faded.
The Bigger Problem Is What the Spinoff Says About ‘Grey’s Anatomy’
Dylan Young (Kyle Chandler) carefully guiding Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) through removing a bomb in Grey's Anatomy.
What makes the timing of this announcement especially strange is that Grey’s Anatomy itself is reportedly receiving reduced episode orders for budget reasons, so while the flagship series gets smaller, the franchise keeps getting bigger. ABC clearly still sees enormous value in Grey’s Anatomy as a brand. The ratings remain solid, and the streaming numbers are strong because viewers have been tuning in to the show for numerous reasons over the course of 20 years, including as a habit, out of loyalty or nostalgia, or through an emotional connection with the show's veteran characters.
However, a show can continue to survive, sometimes for a very long time, but not necessarily have a chance to evolve. The medical drama genre has taken on a whole new approach since Grey's Anatomy began airing in 2005. The success of HBO Max's The Pitt, among others, relies heavily on the relatable realism and the emotional exhaustion that many viewers experience after watching Grey's, as well as Grey's original "glossy" style appearing more and more like an extreme version of reality TV, while maintaining some of its original elements (which was a huge part of the show's original appeal).
Yet it is hard to ignore that we, as viewers, currently see Grey's generating momentum towards a franchise rather than creative urgency. This does not indicate that the new spin-off will undoubtedly be a failure; after 20 years, Grey's has proven its critics wrong. Texas could bring a refreshing change of pace to the series. Perhaps a new group of doctors will strike a similar chord with viewers, just as they once did with Meredith and Cristina or George and Izzie.
It would just be nice if Grey's Anatomy just ended as we know it and aired reruns of Seasons 1-10. So many people would be here for that.
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