Patrick Dempsey’s Dr. Derek Shepherd’s death in Grey’s Anatomy was a huge event for the show and pop culture, marking a turning point in the story for Ellen Pompeo’s Dr. Meredith Grey. Grey’s Anatomy has always been a balance between a love story and one of individual empowerment and career achievements. And for the first 11 seasons, it was about the love story between Derek and Meredith, alongside Meredith dedicating herself to becoming a game-changing surgeon, as she begins the series as an intern while he is already one of the best neurosurgeons in the world.
There were some iconic Grey’s Anatomy moments along this road, from the romance-focused ones like the post-it note wedding to those that reminded Meredith she sometimes needed to put herself first, like Cristina’s (Sandra Oh) statement of “You are the sun.” Of course, after his tragic death, Meredith’s story continued without Derek — but the way he changed her life is never forgotten. 10 years later, Meredith’s arc has gone through more impressive evolution through her decisions as a surgeon and mother, leading up to her eventually falling in love again.
2025 Marks The 10th Anniversary Of Derek’s Death In Grey’s Anatomy
Derek’s Last (Official) Episode Aired In 2015
Grey’s Anatomy season 11, episode 23, “How to Save a Life” aired April 23, 2015, meaning this year marks the 10th anniversary of the event in the cultural zeitgeist that was Derek’s death. This episode is followed by a few more in the season, which allows the outing to end on a more hopeful note. After leaving Seattle to spend some time alone with her children and go through her second pregnancy (third child), Meredith returns, still heartbroken, but at the beginning of a new phase in her life. This is when the storyline of the “sisters” becomes more important.
Grey’s Anatomy season 21 has been picked up by ABC, but with the show having gotten picked up for multi-season orders before, I’m curious if this is a sign. While I don’t think Grey’s will end until the show chooses to, I can’t imagine it staying on the air for much longer. Perhaps a one-season pickup is a signal that the show is finally coming to a slow stop.
The season ends with Meredith dancing with Amelia (Caterina Scorsone) and Maggie (Kelly McCreary) at Richard (James Pickens Jr.) and Catherine’s (Debbie Allen) wedding, her having confirmed that she plans to sell the house she and Derek built for their family. Meredith moves back into her mother’s old house with her kids and sisters, later saying that’s all she really sees in her future, and thinks she doesn’t need to fall in love again. While Meredith is content with her family this way, she starts to think differently, thus the beginning of her long journey after Derek.
Meredith Moving On From Derek Was Difficult But Necessary
Meredith Has Another Powerful Storyline After Derek
Derek and Meredith were always, to a certain extent, an obvious endgame goal for the show. Many could have guessed that they would always work it out or get back together when the show had placed them on a pedestal as the ultimate love story. Because of Derek’s passing, Meredith got pulled into the more frequent romance-to-break-up cycle of Grey’s Anatomy. However, all her short-lived relationships serve her necessary personal evolution, taking small steps towards moving on. She has a first night with another man, a first new flirtationship, a first “I love you,” until she is really there.
The show didn’t fail Meredith, as it showed the hard work it took for her to move on, never discounting that she is always missing Derek.
No matter how you feel about the later seasons of Grey’s Anatomy, the show didn’t fail Meredith, as it showed the hard work it took for her to move on, never discounting that she is always missing Derek. Her relationships with Riggs (Martin Henderson), DeLuca (Giacomo Gianniotti), and Hayes (Richard Flood), rather than her just waiting a few years and then finding the next love of her life, show much more realistic progress. Along the way, she has a chance meeting with Dr. Nick Marsh (Scott Speedman), and sparks fly, but she still isn’t quite ready at the time.
How Nick Marsh Is A Healthier Partner For Meredith Than Derek
We All Love Derek, But Nick Is A Less Dramatic
Nick first appears in Grey’s Anatomy season 14, episode 17, “One Day Like This,” having come to Grey Sloan to pick up a transplant for a patient when a complication with his own recent kidney transplant leads to Meredith conducting surgery on him, and saving the new organ. Before that, they flirt and get to know each other, and he tells her about his niece that he is raising. Later, Meredith tells Alex (Justin Chambers): “I really like the way my life is right now. I just… He made me feel something that I haven’t felt since Derek.”
James Pickens Jr. as Richard Webber, Adelaide Kane as Jules Millin and Anthony Hill as Winston Ndugu in Grey’s Anatomy season 21
Which was all the foreshadowing that we needed that Nick would be the next “the one,” even if it would take a few more years to get there. However, when Meredith and Nick do meet again and start dating, it’s a different, more mature relationship than the one she had with Derek. As undeniably passionate as that romance was, the baggage of them starting out as an extramarital affair and other things that were nearly dealbreakers throughout the storyline also made it sometimes strenuous. It did admittedly work out in the end because they were committed to working through these things.
Meredith tells Alex: “I really like the way my life is right now. I just… He made me feel something that I haven’t felt since Derek.”
However, Meredith is now in her best romance, which is in some ways healthier. She and Nick manage a long-distance relationship when he is in Minnesota, and she is still just visiting occasionally. Some natural tensions arise from her hesitating to finally leave Seattle, but they support each other along the way. They are also both parents and offer each other different advice and support when it comes to the struggles their children are facing. In many ways, it is a patient dynamic she couldn’t have had with Derek, but just as loving.
Meredith’s Healthier Relationship Cannot Be Possible Without Derek
Meredith Is Who She Is With Nick Because She Went Through The Relationship With Derek First
Meredith is only able to have this relationship with Nick because of Derek. By the time she meets Nick, she is a different person than the intern who had a one-night stand with the man who (unfortunately — or not) turned out to be her boss. She herself is more patient, as well as established in her field, rather than ranking below her successful would-be partner. She is also looking for something different in a partner when they aren’t going to be learning to parent together, as she is already well on her way down that road.
Alexis Floyd as Simone Griffith and Adelaide Kane as Jules Millin in Grey’s Anatomy season 21, episode 14
It is fitting that the strange, season-long storyline of Meredith visiting an afterlife beach while in a coma where she sees Derek happens just before she meets Nick again. After all the character growth she goes through, she reflects, and has a kind of final goodbye with Derek, before going on to the rest of her life. Meredith and Derek will always be a staple of pop culture because of what they are in the first half of Grey’s Anatomy, but the show has tells a heartfelt, real, and compelling story about Meredith on a journey to find her next love.
