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But everyone there is 'friends' on some level, they all work together. At least the point that the couples aren't seated together makes sense... of course some of it is to force tension and drama, it's TV. But at least I can write off the complete oddity of it thanks to that apparent dinner etiquette.

You'd think they'd want to air a few more episodes before Christmas - it'll be nice to have so many new episodes in the back half, but viewership is always down huge in the spring for all shows.

Title came from SpoilerTV.

This. Not by the longest stretch of the imagination would ABC have ever thought of cancelling Grey's. It will be in Shonda and Ellen's hands. Grey's has been so insanely stable in a landscape of constant declines on broadcast. The fact that in its 12th season its still top 10 is crazy, let alone top 5 for all broadcast dramas. Around the end of S8 there was a lot of buzz that the show might end, but that was only because of contract speculation for Ellen / Patrick.

That whole table setup looks so strange. Jackson next to Stephanie? What is Cross doing there, and between Jo (who he has a crush on) and Bailey? The only thing that makes sense is Arizona and April next to each other. I guess we'll see.. I'm pretty sure they're filming Denzel's episode right now, which would be the episode that Ellen got the face casting for. Really makes me wonder... Shonda, please don't disfigure Meredith.

They were actually beating Scandal in total viewers at the end of last season, starting with the episode where Derek died. Greys Vs. Scandal: 9.55 / 7.79 8.74 / -- 7.74 / 7.44 8.33 / 8.08

Grey's adjusted up in the finals to a 2.3, meaning it grew in the demo from last week. 8.25 million total viewers. Scandal adjusted to a 2.4, with 8.06 million viewers. So in actual viewership, Grey's topped the night. Edited to add: That number means Grey's is down less than 5% from it's demo at this time last year. Most other shows are declining between 15 - 30%. It's also one of the only shows to grow from week-to-week. http://www.spoilertv.com/2015/10/final-adjusted-tv-ratings-for-thursday_16.html

From EW:

Just throwing this out there; Grey's is currently the 4th highest rated drama on broadcast in the demo. Currently it's behind only; Empire, Blindspot, and Scandal. At the rate of Scandal's declines, Grey's very well may become ABC's most-watched drama again. Even if that doesn't happen, these numbers are beyond impressive.

Joined by a mysterious new intern who turns out to be Alex's baby with Izzie that she secretly made with her fertilized eggs.

Grey's went up in viewers and stayed steady in the demo this week. Another 2.2 demo with 8.18 million viewers (pending adjustments). Scandal is down to a 2.3, and HTGAWM a 2.0. Grey's is incredibly steady, ABC and the cast should be thrilled. http://www.spoilertv.com/2015/10/ratings-news-16th-october-2015.html

Another really, really solid episode. I loved all of Meredith's stuff, especially her talks with Maggie and her speech to the interns. She's come so far, and Ellen Pompeo is doing great with the material. I saw that ending coming because I read spoilers, but otherwise I would have been shocked - I think it was well built into the episode. It's going to be crushing not just for Meredith, but for Callie. I really can't wait to see how they handle it next week. The Stef story made her interesting to me for the first time in a long time, even though her and Amelia are easily my least favourite thing about the series. I think the dynamic with her and Jo is realistic and it reminds me of the earlier seasons when the doctors were always competing with each other to get ahead. I also actually really like the new interns - or, at least Cross (?, the blonde one) and DeLuca. DeLuca and Maggie are the kind of sexy that we haven't had for a while on the show, so even while Maggie's rants get a bit tedious, I don't mind the story. It's fun, just like the tone of the episode overall. I got a major season 2 / 3 feeling from this episode. Even with the bloated cast, it flowed well (I still wish the cast was a bit smaller so that people didn't come in and out every week -no Owen last week, no Bailey this week.) April and Arizona were fun, and the sad stuff balanced out well. I think the writing so far - while still choppy in parts - is a whole lot stronger. I just have to ask... where the heck are Meredith's kids during the dinner party? Someone else drove them all to work in the morning, they work all day and then when they go home and have people over there are no kids in sight...

Yea I thought some people were insinuating that it was her 'spirit' or 'ghost' - i.e., using her own thoughts, words, etc. But I believe that we're just seeing Kevin's projection of her.

So is the consensus here that Kevin is actually seeing Patti's ghost, or just that he's losing it? I was sort of going with her being his twisted imagination, but I guess anything is really possible here.

Maybe Meredith gets her head cut off by flying debris while Amelia is demolishing the house, but then Amelia stands like a superhero while an acoustic cover of "Who Let The Dogs Out" plays. When someone tries to help she screams 'SHUT UP I NEED SILENCE' and then she discovers a way to reattach Meredith's head and revive her. Then she has sex with Owen. Just a guess..

It doesn't necessarily need to be a big disaster, but I think it'll definitely be a big story. It could be something like the paramedic crash in S4 or "Dark Was the Night" / "Suddenly" which were also the winter finale and first episode back for season 8. I'm not sure how Meredith's head figures into it though lol... I do have a feeling that if they lined up Denzel to direct, they must be confident in the script. I'm sure Shonda, Stacey and co. know that this will be a highly scrutinized episode. Plus, with the lighter tone of every episode so far, I wouldn't mind a big shakeup or two along the way. But yea... no tornados or zombies, please.

Ellen having a mold made of her face for the series. Wonder what it's for?

Hmm. It'd be odd for them not to, unless maybe Grey's is a 2-hour mid-season finale and Scandal will be on at 10? They could end HTGAWM a week early, saving an extra episode for the spring. Grey's has 25 episodes this year, I believe. Which is a lot. I think Scandal remains at 22 and HTGAWM at 15, so once HTGAWM ends they'll put on The Catch.

Do we have any confirmation of when the fall finale will be this year?

I really dug the hell out of this episode. Last season took a while for me to get into (I remember it was the episode centred on Matt that really hooked me) but I'm all in now. There's just nothing at all like this on TV - it's frustrating, beautiful, depressing, funny, confusing... everything (I think) a great story should be. I don't mind Patti showing up like some people here do; I was worried that after Kevin confessed what he had done that they were just going to move past his crazy and focus on the new town. But crazy doesn't just go away (what the hell is up with his dad??) I'm really eager to see how all of this comes together and plays out. I thought Nora was ridiculous to go all-in with the $3 Million for the house - and the moment Jill said "she feels safe here" I felt why she did it. And I get Kevin's frustration, too. It's a huge move, to a very, very shitty house and a strange town.

This makes me really happy for the cast. These guys have put in crazy hours and worked their assess off for our entertainment for years. I'm glad Ellen has stuck around, and I'm glad Grey's is continuing to get the recognition it deserves (even more so lately as TGIT has become a thing.) Having Denzel Washington direct an episode - his first ever for television - is pretty damn cool. I'm guessing it's going to be a special episode.

Denzel Washington is going to be directing episode 12x09. http://www.spoilertv.com/2015/10/greys-anatomy-episode-1209-denzel.html

Ding, ding, ding!

Preview from SpoilerTV

THIS. I'm all on board for not having to show the kids in every episode.. or even every other episode, or every few episodes... but it feels like they're going out of their way to make the absence obvious. Mornings, nights, rides to work.. and now we see Maggie bringing a guy to the house? Don't get me wrong, I've actually really really enjoyed this season so far, but this just feels like such a glaring slip-up, especially considering Derek just passed at the end of last season. All Meredith has is her kids, and we've yet to see them once. It reminds me of last season when Callie was drinking at (then) Alex's house, and Arizona showed up asking for a place to stay. Okay, writers... you nailed an awkward moment. But where the hell was their daughter?