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I don't really have any doubt at all that Ellen is singing back on, especially since the Oprah interview where Shonda basically said that Ellen wanted to continue and Patrick didn't. I think it's safe to say that all of the originals will be signing back on. Sara Ramirez and Jesse Williams are wildcards for me. I think they could go either way. I think Sarah Drew will continue as well, but of course there have always been surprises.

I never said anything about "pesky" fans. Alex is my favourite character, as he has been since S1, and I've always been vocal about his lack of stories and screentime the past few years. All I'm saying was that if the episode is written as an all-Meredith hour, it makes no logical sense for the writers to just add in a random scene to make a minority of fans happy. There's a (too) huge cast, so it's impossible for everyone to be happy. April and Jackson fans recently had the same complaint about suddenly seeing them in bed together with no direct lead-up or aftermath. And I agree, I wish there was more time taken to focus on each story, particularly the characters I like. But this is only episode 9 out of 24. I want all of the Alex scenes they'll give us, I just won't be surprised or upset if it's not in the premiere. I could see how fans who don't like Meredith wouldn't be excited I guess. But right now we really don't know anything, it could play out any number of ways. I do believe Shonda is commited to telling more Alex / Jo stories, and the fall finale was a good first step.

I'm a fan of several other characters, some more than Meredith (including Alex), all I'm saying is that no one should be surprised when they do episodes that use her as the lead. I'm not saying you should like it, but you shouldn't be surprised or hold it against the writers. And it seems like the episode is pretty specific and built around whatever event affects Meredith. I don't think it would make any sense to just shoe-horn in an Alex / Jo scene so that a few fans don't complain. It would make even less sense to just swap the episode order, especially considering how many things are going on. That creates huge continuity issues in most cases.

I would prepare to be annoyed if I were you. Ellen said she was in every scene of the episode, which means it's unlikely we'll see a scene of Alex and Jo alone during the first ep back. Not that it means much, but the writers don't pick the break lengths. When they were shooting they had Jan 28th as the premiere date, and ABC ended up pushing TGIT's return back by 2 weeks. Either way, at the end of the day it's Meredith's show. The ensemble may take the spotlight a lot of the time, and certainly many fans prefer other characters, but she is the Grey in Grey's Anatomy. It shouldn't be too much of a stretch to have the lead be the lead for one episode.

I'm totally confused about this episode. Last we saw Meredith she was at the center of a lot of contention: between Alex and Jo, with Amelia, the Owen situation, not to mention still grieving her husband's death with 3 kids (who we'll apparently finally see, yay!) and with Penny around. Anyway I think there must be some larger story here. I thought before that it might have been a nervous breakdown but it doesn't look like that. If it's a shooting, I'm not really sure what to think. I'd like to think it's something totally different, because this would be the third shooting at the hospital. I am excited to see it play out though, I don't think it will just be some disaster for disasters sake. With Ellen in every scene, it must serve some importance.

Ding, ding, ding! Certainly not everyone can always get along or be happy (this is a job just like any other job), but some fans of this show live in a la la land where Shonda is some evil dictator and the cast lives (spitefully) under her iron fist. It really makes me wonder how bored and paranoid people are in real life that they project this stuff onto the actors. Chyler never gave any semblance of ill will, and as many people have said - this is a job, people move on.

This is a bit random but kind of awesome - Grey's Anatomy was just trending on Twitter in the US. I thought maybe a promo for the next episode came out, but it seems to be random. Lots of young people catching up on Netflix over their breaks, and they all happen to be Tweeting about it. Pretty cool. It really shows the power of this show & the continued word-of-mouth and buzz.

This, exactly. Patrick seems happier and Grey's is not only doing incredible in the ratings, but it certainly has improved quality-wise and with (some) fans this season. I think it was a much-needed shakeup, and clearly Patrick didn't really want to be there anymore.

Even for Grey's, that's insane lol

That's an interesting perspective. Certainly Annalise is a much darker, harder to love character (though I always find myself rooting for her.) People have always said the same about Meredith, though. She's always been standoffish, dark, pushing people away - she pushed Derek away for years. But I do agree that it has perhaps intensified over the past little while... I guess I just haven't had trouble seeing the justification. I look at where she started: over the course of a decade she's lost her mother, her husband, her step-sister, several friends, and the list goes on (often in horrific ways.) She let people in despite her best efforts and got hurt over and over and over. This show is over-the-top, for sure, but if we're trying to apply realistic traits to these characters, I can't fathom someone going through the repeated trauma and loss that Meredith has and remaining open and jolly. I definitely see how the way she acts could be a turn off for some viewers, but I don't mind. My hope is that when the series ends, she finds some happiness and peace and isn't as cold and detached as Ellis was. But part of that will always be part of her character.

Goddamn, it still blows my mind that this went from being seemingly the most ill-advised show on television (a TV remake of a Coen Brothers movie?? Get outta here..) and it now has two perfect seasons under its belt... Kirsten Dunst was just incredible. I gotta say, I haven't seen her in much for a long time, but this totally changed my perception of her abilities. Even as Peggy was totally oblivious to all of the unnecessary death and destruction that she caused, I couldn't help but feel bad for her. That scene in the car with Lou was brilliant. I can't get over the dialogue on this show. It manages to be so charged and often profound without ever even boarding on cheesy. Another great example was Betsy talking to Noreen - a really beautiful conversation that with lesser writers or actors could have been totally cringe-inducing. I've got so many random thoughts floating around: Hanzees and Mike's endings certainly weren't what I was expecting. I think Mike's wrap-up is among the best, because as much as it made sense you know it's gotta be so damn unsatisfying for him. I absolutely loved Lou, Betsy, and Hank's final scene. And the flashforward to Molly and Gus was unexpected and great. While I hated to see Ed die, I loved that he dumped Peggy right before. All he wanted was his simple life... Overall, again, I'm just blown away by Noah Hawley's storytelling ability. If anyone is interested, I recently finished a fantastic novel of his called "The Good Father", and while story-wise it's not similar to Fargo, the storytelling and themes are. I can't wait for season 3, and I hope they take their time again to make it as unique, deep, and beautiful as S1 and S2. For my money, the series has surpassed the greatness of the movie, which I thought was basically impossible. Kudos to everyone involved. This is what great TV is all about.

Any show would be making a big deal of hazing Denzel direct. We know that Ellen, in particular, is a big fan. I don't think it shows any disrespect to other directors at all. Every actor works with several directors and getting the chance to work with someone new, who they are fans of, who is a huge Hollywood name, is fine to celebrate. I think it's great to see Ellen & everyone else so excited about working on this show in S12. Other actors have gushed about it too - check their Instagram's and Twitter accounts. Joe Adler even mentioned how crazy and exciting it was in an interview, and he's just a guest star. Of course you're a fan of nobody, but many people look up to Denzel. He's an Acadamy Award Winner with some incredible movies under his belt. They'd be silly not to be excited and talking about it.

I guess I still just attribute it to the cast bloat and lazy writing. They were giving Meredith a "funny" story for the episode, so they kept her stuff light. I don't really see why she'd ask Bailey why she was in the chapel... some people just pray. It's weird that she'd walk in and interrupt at all, but again that's the writing (which in season 11 was particularly lazy, cheesy, and just bad.) But I agree that Meredith doesn't always show compassion. I think a huge part of her character is that aside from her inner circle, she pushes people away and tries not to get too attached, which I think makes sense given her history. I'm not a big fan of Jo, but I'm glad that they've addressed how Meredith has been treating her. I've always liked that they don't try to portray Meredith as perfect just because she's the lead.

I forgot about them showing all of the characters lighting candles. Did we see every other regular in the chapel? I get what you mean I guess, but I don't think that equals Meredith being some uncaring monster. I think it falls more on the fact that there are so many characters on the show, we can't possibly see them all interact. Jackson acted like nothing happened after Lexie died. I don't think he didn't care, I think the writers were lazy and just didn't bother to connect all of the dots. They dated off an on for so long, and I don't even remember him acknowledging her death (I may be wrong.) Certainly there are other examples where I see Meredith as being particularly cold or rude, but to an extent that's always been like her. I do hope we see more sides of Meredith, especially as a friend and as a mom.

Is that really something people hold against Meredith? I don't think I've heard that before. I get that she certainly has an attitude especially towards certain characters, but I feel like saying that she didn't acknowledge what happened to their baby (and by insinuation that she didn't care) seems like a bit of a stretch. We certainly don't see every interaction that happens between these characters, and we never get scenes with Meredith / Jackson or Meredith / April, so I wouldn't really expect her to talk to them about it. She was never part of that storyline at all.

That's a pretty interesting idea that I've never thought of. I'm not necessarily expecting an INSANE episode, but definitely a somewhat special one.

I'm really excited for the episode, to be honest. I haven't had a problem with Meredith this season like so many people seem to, and I'm eager to see more things from her perspective and to get more focus on her journey. As for the resolution to Jackson / April and Alex / Jo, I get what you mean about not getting the instant reactions but I guess I just don't really care in these instances. I'm sort of used to it with this show (they've certainly glossed over a lot of other stuff before.) Plus, we still have around 15 episodes to go, so there's plenty of time for those stories to unfold. And the one thing getting Denzel to direct means is that it's a big episode. They wouldn't have reached out to him for just any old episode, at least not to start. So I'm excited to see what it is about episode 9 that they thought was special enough to ask Denzel. I have to say I'm actually sort of happy there's a lack of spoilers lately. Maybe it's part of what has been keeping S12 fresh for me, although I would love some hint at what's coming in the back-half of the season. I think one great thing about this mid-season finale is that (for better or worse) it set up a lot.

Not much in terms of actual new info here, but it's from EW's SpoilerRoom Desperate to know what’s coming up for Meredith on Grey’s Anatomy! — Danai Because it’s the holidays, I went straight to the top to get this for you. “It’s been really fun getting to explore Meredith and where she’s going and who she’s becoming,” executive producer Shonda Rhimes says. “That evolution continues. We’ve been having a blast. The first episode that comes back is extraordinary and very, very powerful, and directed by Denzel Washington. It certainly puts us on a path for the beginning of the second half of the season.”

That episode seriously took my breath away last night. It's a fast reaction on only one viewing, but I'm tempted to say that was one of the best hours of TV I've ever seen. It was certainly an incredible live viewing. It feels like I've been watching these characters for a lot longer than 9 episodes, which is a huge testament to the writing. When Lou mentioned Sunday dinner and I remembered that Betsy had died, I was so crushed. I loved the odd twist on the episode, with Martin Freeman (?) narrating no less. I can't imagine how the hell they'll end it next week, but I have faith it'll be great.

Congrats to Capshaw. I wish Arizona had been given a bit more to do in the early half of the season seeing as she'll likely be MIA for a while in the back half. I really don't know where Shonda is heading with her character this year.

I loved that they didn't draw out the reveal, and while I think Wes Bentley is the weak link in the cast I quite liked this episode. The flashbacks worked well, and despite being obvious I thought they pulled the reveal off well. I love that the loose ends are tying together, and I hope they're able to tie Ramona and Donovan into everything more next week. After a good episode for her acting, I thought Gaga was sort of stiff here. Even, and I hate to say this, Iris was a bit stiff in her last scene. I hope she gets some meaty story and a good payoff. Evan Peters was easily the standout, and he's certainly my favourite part of the season. I also loved Evers line about not being sure how to launder the countesses glittery outfit. Overall, I'm just glad that there's at least one central story that sort of ties everyone together. It's loose, sure, but it's there. And now we have very clear directives for (almost) every character going forward: The Countess to marry Drake and get his money, Donovan / Ramona to get revenge on The Countess, March to complete his killings, and John to carry those killings out. Still up in the air: - Valentino and Natasha - All the infected kids - John and Alex's daughter (lol)

Not the strongest of the season, but I did really enjoy it. I was wondering how Meg would fit into everything. I didn't really have a big problem believing that she had accumulated a group who wanted action outside of what the GR sanctions. I imagine if you're part of that group, you're already quite damaged and not totally in the right frame of mind. Add onto that the fact that they're really doing nothing so Meg was able to tap into a section of the GR that want action. We knew they were radical from the rape scene several weeks back, if not last season's finale. I wish that we had seen more of Kevin's journey this season overall. I think this show handles fragmented storytelling much better than most other shows that attempt it, but the one thing I felt like I missed this year was a central storyline or character. In season 1, that was Kevin. During the first half of this season, the story seemed to focus more on Nora, and the detours have been sort of all over the place. Still, I think it's been a great season and the story has been a really great slow burn for the most part. I'm eager to see how the hell it'll all come together in an hour next week.

Especially in long-running TV, many, many, many writers work that way. Certainly the most successful ones do. It doesn't mean they're not developing characters, but sometimes you just don't know what you have until the actors bring it to life. So, based on chemistry and audience reaction things evolve and grow. I can think of several other shows off the stop of my head where the creators have spoken about wildly changed scripts and stories based on on-screen chemistry or how an actor worked (Breaking Bad, Buffy, Veronica Mars, etc.) With Grey's, there are so many characters and actors so things change all the time. There's no way to really execute a specific endgame (ie, Derek dying, Burke leaving Cristina, Cristina leaving Owen, Izzie leaving Alex, etc.) A year in Shondaland from EW. Some interesting bits:

So, on the speculation end of things: What the heck do you guys think is going to happen in the Denzel episode? So far we know that: 1) Meredith is in every scene. 2) They did some type of prosthetic work involving a mold of Ellen's face. 3) There's BTS footage of Denzel directing a scene where Ellen is in a wheelchair, and it sounds like her speech may be impaired. Is it an accident? A breakdown? An AU episode? I thought the winter finale would direct us into something, but it seems like maybe it'll be a bottle episode. I think if they asked Denzel, it has to be something big.

There's is sort of a difference though. Rose was introduced specifically, as you said, to be a foil for Meredith / Derek. But Penny came in because of Meredith's storyline, not Callie and Arizona's. They've rarely even interacted, so I wouldn't say she's coming between them. I really thought they'd work their way together by the end of last season, but given their lack of material together I'm starting to think they may not end up together. Maybe I just hope they won't, because I'd rather see them both happy with other people.