Grey’s Anatomy is now in its 12th season, which is way beyond when things can get stale for a television show. Shonda Rhimes, as always, is keeping it interesting, though, with new cast members, crazy storylines, and plenty of d-r-a-m-a. Previews for the winter premiere of Season 12 show Meredith being viciously assaulted by a patient at Grey Sloan, far worse than anything we’ve ever seen happen to Meredith on the show before. But, will Meredith die on Grey’s Anatomy ? While I have no crystal ball (and who could ever predict what Shonda has planned, anyway?), I say that Grey’s Anatomy should totally kill off Meredith.
Meredith has technically already died before on the show. Remember when she drowned, didn’t fight to live, was brought back, and then had to like, battle to get Derek back? Like, dude, she died. Literally died. Give her a break. Meredith has also survived a plane crash, a mass shooting, a hurricane, a bomb inside a body cavity, a ferry disaster, a bus accident, and her then-boyfriend’s wife coming back into the picture. She also dealt with a brilliant surgeon mother’s constant pressure and haranguing, family secrets, and eventual disintegration and death from Alzheimer’s. Oh, and her husband was killed in a freak car accident in which he was a Good Samaritan. Honestly, Meredith’s biggest break on the show would be to die. She would finally have some freaking peace.
Meredith’s endless suffering aside, Ellen Pompeo’s contract only extends to the end of this season, so just from a business standpoint, Meredith could be heading off to pasture if Pompeo is tired of playing her. Patrick Dempsey’s character, Derek, got killed off and because Dempsey wanted to move on to other things, so it's possible Pompeo might want that too.
So, where does Grey’s Anatomy go without the Grey? Doesn’t Karev’s Anatomy have a nice ring to it? (Just kidding, I’m not actually advocating changing the name of the show.) Still, Meredith’s death would blow the doors off of Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital, and it would be wonderful if Alex Karev came in and acted as the new anchor for the show. Karev, Bailey, and Webber are the three OG characters left, and Karev’s character development has been the strongest and most fulfilling throughout the years.
Let Alex and Bailey take over the hospital. Meredith’s kids? Their Aunt Amelia Shepherd gets custody, developing an arc in which she is absolutely forced to stay clean and live her life not for her dead brother but for his children. That wipes away all of her bitterness over his death because now she has to live for his kids. Owen would, of course, help her, because he always has to help people and has always wanted kids, and that’s how their love story could stay the course. Also worth mentioning is the fact that Jessica Capshaw, who plays Arizona Robbins, has a contract through 2018. Could Arizona be the one to whip the rest of Grey Sloan in shape after Meredith’s death? She’s probably the best of all the doctors in a crisis, particularly if it’s not her own.
If Meredith does die in Season 12, I will mourn her death like any of my favorite television characters, but I’ll also be glad for a whole new world of potential on one of TV’s longest-running dramas.
Images: Mitchell Haaseth/ABC; Giphy (3); celebconnoissare
