When Meredith Grey first slid into a coma and straight onto a beach with her dead husband, it became quite clear that the show was going to be playing with fans' hearts this season. And up until the Season 17 winter finale, it seemed sort of impossible that Meredith Grey would actually die on Grey's Anatomy. But now, things have taken a turn and Meredith's condition is so very, very similar to one of the most iconic Grey's deaths of all time, that it would be hard to ignore the possibility.
The episode opened with both Koracick's and Meredith's conditions improving, which was the first ominous sign that something really horrible would happen. With Tom scooting around the hospital in a wheelchair and personalized Grey Sloan bathrobe to chat up Meredith, things had an eerily cheerful vibe until Meredith collapsed and every doc put on their most serious face. Before we knew it, Meredith was on a ventilator, which as anyone who reads the news knows, is not the best sign for COVID-19 patients.
Then, she was right back on the beach, this time by herself, with her voiceover narrating platitudes about being in the eye of the storm. When translated into Grey's lingo, that means something even worse than anyone thought could happen is going to happen. The situation is not only familiar, it also backs up a very popular fan theory at the moment. Let's explore.
Come On, Guys! That's What Happened To Mark Sloan
After the plane crash in Season 8, Mark Sloan was seemingly improving until his vitals slipped and he was put on life support. Richard Webber eventually took him off it, but not before every character remembered their time with McSteamy in tear-jerking and nostalgic flashbacks throughout the episode.
If the writers are killing off Meredith, they're sort of doing a similar retrospective with these beach flashbacks. Fans were treated to seeing her talk to Derek Shepherd and George O'Malley, both being BFDs in the Grey's universe. Her joking and smiling with Tom in the hospital before things took a turn, admitting she actually loves being a mom (which closes the loop on the longstanding fan debate about whether she's a good parent or not), and saving someone's life right before she collapses into another coma in the winter finale? That all reads like a start to the character's send off if you're looking for it.
To add fuel to the fan theory fire, Eric Dane, who plays Mark, tweeted to Ellen Pompeo last spring that he wanted to "take a walk" with her and that he would "find her." That could mean that they both live in the same subdivision in Los Angeles, of course. But it could also mean he had signed on to film a cameo this fall, which means she would be talking to him on her Dead People Beach before she decides to finally let go and die. And then the sand will become real, and her and all the ghosts of Grey's Anatomy past will all walk into the sunset and no one will ever watch the show again.
Which Is Why Meredith Won't Die Anytime Soon
While there is no confirmed news that Pompeo is leaving the show anytime soon, actors tend to get killed or written off all the time, with no warning, so Grey's Anatomy fans aren't spiraling out like a fresh intern before their first appy for no reason. It's TV PTSD. Sure, it's possible that all all signs point to Meredith dying, but the evidence could also be a way to fake fans out and keep everyone on the edge of their seats when the show returns in March.
Main characters have left shows before, but really, what was ER without George Clooney or Beverly Hills 90210 without Shannen Doherty? They were fine, but they were never great again. (Maybe these are bad examples, because both of those shows went on and Pompeo has hinted at getting out while the getting is good, but... no, nope, Meredith is coming back from COVID-19.)
No one is against a good catch up session with McSteamy on the beach, but let's hope Tom Koracick meets them on a jetty, because if anyone has to go, it simply has to be him.
Images: ABC