Meredith Grey is leaving Seattle after escaping many dangerous scenarios, including a bombing, a shooting at a hospital, and a plane accident, among other near-death experiences.
Fans are going to discover what “Grey’s Anatomy” will be like moving forward without Ellen Pompeo starring as the show’s lead character, and the episode airing on February 23 is the final time she will appear in the role.
Since the show’s premiere in 2005, Pompeo has played the lead role and has appeared in more than 400 episodes. James Pickens Jr., who plays the role of Dr. Richard Webber, and Chandra Wilson, who portrays the role of Dr. Miranda Bailey, are the only two original cast members who are still employed by the program.
After 19 seasons, Meredith is leaving Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital, the place where she met her husband, who passed away in Season 11, where she reunited with her sister(s!), one of whom the hospital is named after in memoriam, and where she met her best friend, Cristina Yang, responsible for the iconic quote from which the episode, entitled “I’ll Follow the Sun,” likely gets its name.
When Cristina, played by Sandra Oh, exited the show in Season 10, she reminded Grey not to let her husband, Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey) eclipse her.
“He’s very dreamy, but he is not the sun,” Cristina said. “You are.”
Meredith revealed her intention to move her family to Boston during the midseason finale, which aired on November 10th. Meredith made the decision to accept a job offer from her old coworker Jackson Avery (Jesse Williams), who is working on a treatment for Alzheimer’s disease. This decision was made after Meredith’s daughter, Zola (Aniela Gumbs), fell in love with a school in Massachusetts.
Meredith sent out an email to the entire medical staff of the hospital in which she made the unexpected announcement that she was resigning from her position as head of surgery. In the email, she also included Nick Marsh, who is the guy she is now seeing (Scott Speedman).
What kind of farewell did Meredith Grey give?
At the beginning of the episode, Nick and Meredith’s relationship is strained because Nick is dealing with the aftermath of Meredith’s move, and Meredith is still angry with Nick since he did not tell her “I love you” earlier in the season as she had hoped he would.
Meredith does her last procedure at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital on Tessa, a writer who suffers from a pseudoaneurysm and passes away while she is under anesthesia.
After the operation, Nick tells Meredith, “I hate this day,” which sparks a new argument between them on their future together. “Everything about today is driving me crazy,” she said.
Meredith says to him, “I want you in my life if you want to be in my life,” and she means it. “But if I have to choose, I’ll go with myself. I choose who will raise my children, I decide what’s best for us, and I’m not going to ask you to love me.”
As it turns out, Tessa, who was concerned about passing away before completing her last work, stored the most recent manuscript of the book on a thumb drive. Meredith will go to her new location with one item of unfinished business for a Grey Sloan patient given that her publication is situated in Boston.
Towards the conclusion of the show, there is a surprise farewell party for Meredith, which includes a heartfelt toast from both Bailey and Richard.
In her toast, Bailey adds, “Once upon a time, you were the thing that made my life unbearable.” “But no, you turned out to be one of the biggest reasons for my pride as I got older.”
Richard warns that “without you, things won’t be the same around here.”
Nick was conspicuously lacking in attendance at her celebration. After coming to the conclusion that he had made a mistake, he began to pursue her in a traditional race to the airport. But when he realizes he won’t be able to be there in time, he gives Meredith a call and tells her he loves her. Even though she claims that she can’t hear him, she assures me that she will give me a call once she has everything set up in Boston.
In the very final scene, Meredith gives Zola the book that Tessa wrote and says, “My tale does not have a happy ending in the traditional sense since I am still here to tell it. I am still alive, and each day brings a new sunrise to my existence.”
According to D.e.a.d.l.i.n.e., it seems like Pompeo will not make another appearance in Season 19 until the finale.
The hunt for a new chief of surgery has begun in preparation for the future. And in a scene that brings everything full circle, three of the new interns are planning to move into Grey’s home as roommates, just as Izzie, George, and Meredith did in the first season.
“Grey’s Anatomy” has decided to keep Pompeo on board as an executive producer, and he will also continue to give voice-overs for the remaining episodes of the current season.
According to the website IMDB, she has also agreed to participate in a forthcoming production about a couple from the Midwest who are involved in a high-profile adoption case.
Fans were not surprised by Pompeo’s decision to leave the program after all. After making the statement for the first time in 2021 that she believed it was time for the show to stop, D.e.a.d.l.i.n.e. revealed in August that Pompeo was slated to play in a reduced capacity and that she would only appear in eight episodes of Season 19.
In a post that he made in November on Instagram, Pompeo expressed gratitude to followers for their support over the previous twenty years.
She said in the caption, “I am forever thankful and humbled by the love and support you have all given me, Meredith GREY, and the show for 19 seasons!” “During it all…none of it would have been possible without the greatest fans in the world,” the band said in a statement. You are all RIDERS, and you have all contributed to making this journey so enjoyable and ICONIC!!
She went on to say, “I appreciate you to the utmost and love you with all my heart.” You are not riding a rollercoaster for the first time, are you? You are well aware that the show must go on, and be assured that I will be there again soon.