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I believe that's supposed to be the loft Jo bought in the finale. They must have hired one hell of a fix-it team. I get the complaint, but I'm glad they didn't have Derek loom hard over this episode. Meredith wore his scrub cap, his photos were on the fridge... he won't be easily forgotten, but it's TV. They needed a lighter tone with this episode, and it all took place over one work day. There were some nice other nods to the past, but it was a very forward-moving episode. Derek is gone, the show needs to move on. I hope we see more of Meredith dealing with her grief in the future, and I think we will from what Ellen has said, but I'm glad it wasn't in the premiere. There were a lot of characters to service (too many.)

For the most part, I really enjoyed this episode. It kept stuff moving along nicely, it set up some promising stories for the season, and it was light-hearted without getting TOO cheesy. I liked that the drama was saved for the patient stories, aside from Jackson and April. I wanted to see Bailey become chief, so I liked how that played out. Predictable, but well worth it after all these years. It's nice payoff for fans who've been watching forever. I'm excited to see how she takes on the role of chief. I also think the dynamic of Arizona and that intern living together could be fun. The Meredith / Amelia thing was sort of ridiculous, and I kind of wish Meredith had more to do tonight (where were the kids?!) but it was a premiere and I understand that they had to fit a lot in. It's TV land, so we just have to assume that the kids are safe and being cared for when they're not visible. I like seeing Meredith smile, and love watching her be a great surgeon. I'm excited about her teaching the anatomy class to the new doctors. Again, my biggest issue is the huge cast. Too little time for everyone, so when there's focus on patients (which is good), each character appears for only a few minutes, and it's sporadic. Tonight it didn't feel too bloated, but Jo had basically nothing to do, April was away, and there wasn't anything too big going on. I'd liked to have seen more Alex, but his last scene with Jo was sort of sweet. Did anyone else find the covers to get a bit distracting? Rihanna, Miley, Iggy, Pinky... felt a bit forced. Grey's has such great music, and it works best when it's not gimmicky or 'themed'. I mean covers of top 40 songs can't really work forever, I hope it was a one-time thing.

To play devils advocate, she was probably talking about series regulars. So that's just George, Lexie, Mark, Derek. Perhaps she meant before Derek... as in, "we had only killed 3 doctors."

from SpoilerTV

Shonda: So it's not like we have killed a million doctors. Three doctors have died. Really. Lol, really Shonda? I'm not one to complain about deaths, because as she also says it comes with the territory of the show. But who is she leaving out? 4 regulars have been killed (George, Lexie, Mark, Derek) not to mention Reed & Charles in the shooting.

First set of promotional photos of Ellen Pompeo for season 12 http://www.spoilertv.com/2015/09/greys-anatomy-season-12-cast.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Agree to disagree. As far as "knowing" her, Amelia only ever made very sporadic appearances until the very end of season 10. It's been stated several times how distant Meredith has been from Derek's sisters. So yes they "knew" each other, but it's not like they were friends or sat around having life chats. And besides, if Amelia HAD known all of that, it's even worse. It doesn't matter if she was referring to a spouse specifically; she basically told Meredith that her opinion didn't count because she had never felt a real loss. I don't have to repeat everything Meredith has been through. It's just an arrogant and rude thing to say in any circumstance, even coming from an arrogant and rude character.

Cristina didn't die, she's not condemned to a life alone. And no one made her take that job, she took it despite leaving several people behind, not just Owen. She had an amazing career opportunity, and everything we'd ever seen about Cristina up to that point pointed at her taking that job and going. She wants to do amazing things. She wants a Harper Avery. She took Shane with her, so he could be her sex buddy, and she's off-screen, so for all we know she could be madly in love with him or anyone else. Owen was never her be-all-end-all. During the last few seasons of her run, their scenes were consistently her least interesting. But her leaving and being "alone" can't be blamed on Owen... Sandra Oh left, she had to be written off. At least she left in a way that left her future open, career wise and romantically. Owen's often selfish, rash, and stubborn. But selfish, rash and stubborn people fall in love too. Maybe he was too dependant on her, and maybe he showed his love in the wrong ways, he certainly treated her badly at times. Cristina should have left that relationship after they broke up (the first 5 times); she knew she could never give him what he wanted, and she went and slept with him when he had Emma because she got jealous. Yes, he made the decision to cheat, but Cristina was just as much in the wrong there. They both made terrible choices often, I think, because they loved each other. Now that Cristina is gone, though, everything about Owen that was appealing is gone. He's just shouty and over-dramatic and currently in love with my least favourite Grey's character of all time. I wish that at the end of season 11 they had cut some more dead weight, I think it would have improved the show a lot going forward.

No matter who Meredith had lost, Amelia saying that to someone just proves how vile she is. I don't care if the writers put it in as foreshadowing; it was a scene, it happened. She barely knows Meredith, and yet she went on that tirade against her out of nowhere. Her sister died in a freak plane accident along with her husband's best friend. One of her own best friends was hit by a freakin bus, and she was involved in a mass shooting. Amelia doesn't know what Meredith went through (she also watched her mom attempt suicide, lets not forget.) The whole scene was just weird and arrogant and unnatural. I already disliked Amelia a great deal before that, but that was just ridiculous.

Like I said, they both hurt each other and made mistakes. I mean I can't convince you otherwise, these are fictional characters so something like 'love' is very subjective. But from my perspective, they love each other very much and they hurt each other a lot. I love Cristina as a character; Owen, not so much. I can't defend his actions, I can just state my opinion. But I do see where you're coming from. Their relationship was incredibly toxic, which I think was sort of the point.

It's all a matter of opinion. Like I said, I don't believe there's such thing as love where people don't hurt each other. I've hurt plenty of people I love, and been hurt by plenty of people I love that I continue to love. Shonda goes overboard a lot, but I appreciate that her characters are all complex; Arizona cheated on Callie and I still believe she loved / loves her immensely. I don't agree with cheating, but I don't believe that because you cheat you don't love your partner. They certainly had a very toxic relationship at times which is why I think they need to be apart. He brought up the abortion because he was hurt. I'm not saying that's a good thing, but I think it's realistic. When you're really hurt, you act out. He was incredibly frustrated that she didn't see his side of things, and he felt he was losing something he always wanted. They hurt each other often, but I believe both characters love each other very much.

I get the complaints about Owen / Cristina, and I certainly was annoyed by their relationship often post season 5. I also agree that Owen's character is dreadfully boring now, and sort of all over the place. BUT... I'll say that I never, ever once doubted how much he loved Cristina. Just like it is her right to not want kids, it's his right to feel he needs them. There are PLENTY of men in the world who want children. It's so rare to see on TV (and even in films), and so I do like and appreciate that Shonda explored that dynamic of their relationship. Often people are madly in love but they simply aren't a perfect fit; that was the case with Cristina and Owen to me. They both hurt each other, but I dare you to show me two people in love who have never hurt each other.... it ain't gonna happen. Should he have have followed her to Switzerland? Absolutely not. They'd never work out. Part of him loving her is realizing that she needed to be on her own, doing what she loved. His relationship with Amelia feels totally out of place, because it happened so inorganically and seemingly out of nowhere. Still, that's sort of what happens on Grey's; take into account that S1 - S3 took place over just one year, and Izzie started out with a boyfriend, then got with Alex, then fell in love with Denny, and after he died she fell in love with George. IN ONE YEAR! George also fell madly in love with Meredith, dated Olivia and then married Callie during that time. Meredith met and fell in love with Derek, had several one night stands, then met and fell in love with Finn, then got back with Derek. In this case, at least Owen and Cristina had been off and on for some time. I don't fault him for sleeping with or falling for someone else, but I do think the way the writers put the story with Amelia together was clumsy as hell.

I'm not at all a fan of her character, but I have a huge respect for Debbie Allen. She's a pioneer in the industry, and she's done amazing work. She IS one of the brains behind Grey's, as a frequent director and now producer. I get what you mean (the wording could come off as weird in that post) but I get the feeling from her interviews that she really loves the show and the cast, and she takes her work there seriously (she was working on the BIGGEST shows on TV, including Empire and HTGAWM, and stepped away to work exclusively with Grey's this season.) The cast videos on instagram with her the past few days have been hilarious: https://instagram.com/greysabc/ As for Scorsone... again, totally not a fan of the character and I think the actress is subpar, but I don't think she's gunning for Ellen lol. The cast at this point all seem to get along incredibly well. Any backstage animosity / drama seems to all be fan creation at this point.

New EW interview with Ellen Pompeo. No new info really, but it's a nice little interview. http://www.ew.com/article/2015/09/17/greys-anatomy-ellen-pompeo-season-12-spoilers

"She's got Derek's sister, who she can't get rid of because it's Derek's sister," Rhimes says with a laugh. That made me laugh. She makes it sound like Meredith can't stand Amelia. Hey Mer... the feeling's mutual ;)

According to SpoilerTV, episode 12x02 is called "Walking Tall"

I wouldn't be surprised if they cut back to the hospital occasionally and have the interns doing work, like they did while the doctors were at the fundraiser in the 200th episode. But I would sort of like the idea of a full episode with the core cast in one spot. Could be interesting. Side note - I wonder how much they're going to show Richard / Catharine this season. As far we know she still lives and works in Boston, right? So are they long-distance?

Kind of early to be complaining about stuff that hasn't happened yet, isn't it? It has never been suggested that these doctors are the only attendings in the hospital (Like you said, it's a big hospital, we're just getting a small glimpse.) Of all the things this show gets away with, I'd say having our characters together outside of the hospital now & then isn't too much of a stretch.. not compared to the shootings, bombs, car crashes, etc. And having couples date other people is normal when they're broken up, it's not exactly a "copied" storyline. Neither is drunken sex... that also happened with George and Izzie. It happens to people in real life all the time, too.

We sort of saw Callie get bullied by Izzie early on. She was always outwardly rude to her, so much so that is broke Callie down a few times. I believe she gave some sort of speech to George about the way she was treated, and it seems possible that she's certainly felt that way before. I think SR is hot as hell, but I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility that as girl with curves, Callie may have been picked on and left out as a kid.

Shonda mentioned that we'll get to know some of Stephanie's backstory this season, so maybe that comes in the form of her talking about her being bullied. Also, as Windsprints posted in the Media thread, we now know who Bailey is up against for Chief... and she's only slated for one episode. Looks like Bailey will indeed be the new Chief of Surgery.

Press Release for 12x01 "Sledgehammer” – Seattle Grace Hospital springs into action to save the lives of two young girls whose powerful story will force some of the doctors to revisit the effects of bullying on their own pasts. Meanwhile, Meredith must adjust to changes at home with her new roommates while Bailey continues to fight for the Chief of Surgery position and Jackson prepares for April’s return to Seattle, on the Season 12 premiere of “Grey’s Anatomy,” THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24 (8:00--9:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network. “Sledgehammer” was written by Stacy McKee and directed by Kevin McKidd. http://www.spoilertv.com/2015/09/greys-anatomy-episode-1201-sledgehammer.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

Like I said, my issue with her was never a comparison to Derek because I never really cared for Derek anyway. This is a huge ensemble show with a very large audience, so people will always gravitate to different characters. For me, Amelia just doesn't work, and she took a lot away from my enjoyment of the show in season 11.

My issue with Amelia is how she treats others. Here's something that I think stretches beyond her character (mostly in the last several seasons): With such a large cast, the writers get lazy and bend characters to fit other stories - when they're doing something with Callie, for example, they may bend the character of Alex or April or Bailey to fit a beat in her story, to prop her up or push her along. So sometimes we have moments that feel very out of character - often that's doctors yelling in hallways, or making rude remarks. With Amelia, that's her entire character. Since she joined the show she's been obnoxious, demeaning, rude, and has caused scenes in the halls of the hospital countless times. She has a God complex that isn't interesting, it's crude and annoying. Derek certainly came off as an ass at times, but that usually felt like development to me (everyone IS an ass, sometimes.) Meredith certainly isn't perfect. Same goes for Callie, Alex, etc. etc. But we've watched them develop, and so when they have a beat that's odd, it usually can be justified. With Amelia, it's non-stop awfulness all the time. The way she treated everyone around her was ridiculous. She up and moved to Seattle and then acted like she owned the hospital. I loved Cristina for her no-nonsen, take-no-shit, unapologetic attitude - but it doesn't translate the same with Amelia. Like I said before, she literally went on a tirade at nearly every character that she interacted with, from Meredith and Derek, to Callie (talking down to her about being in ortho vs. cardio), Owen, Herman, Stephanie, etc. And her "dead Derek" jokes were ridiculous. She's just an awfully written character portrayed by a very sub-par actress, in my opinion.

I agree. But I think if the writers put the work in, a Jackson / Alex friendship could make sense. They don't know how to write scenes between males, and in 11 years they've never really developed a male friendship well outside of a doctor / mentor role (Burke & George, Mark & Jackson, etc.) These guys work together, most of them have for years, and they all interact with many of the same people... but Alex is for some reason always stuck in a group of women.

Okay, this will be my last rant on the subject in this thread lol... I've finished my season 9 - 11 rewatch. Amelia is a sociopath. She's horribly written, obnoxious, cruel, unprofessional, annoying, and should have been punched out at least 5 times. A year after Derek dies, and after already having several conversations with Meredith, it's insane how she comes at Meredith first in the ambulance / outside the hospital and then again cornering her in the supply closet. There literally isn't a single episode in the back half of the season aside from 11x21 here Amelia doesn't scream at, condescend or talk down to someone. She's made these episodes unbearable to rewatch in parts. There writing is all over sort of sloppy, clunky, and heavy-handed during the past few seasons, but Amelia is without-a-doubt the worst character in Grey's history. I seriously don't understand what the writers are thinking having her yell at people all the time. How is there fans for her and Owen as a couple? Another stray observation.. somewhere along the way, Grey's lost its ability to tell small stories. Everything is so overblown and urgent all the time. I miss the examination of their day to day lives, with interesting patient interactions and genuine character moments. Now the medical cases seem to focus all on miracle saves and doing some NEVERBEFOREHEARDOFPROCEDURE!!!! The stories are a lot more memorable when they focus on the patients themselves rather than some miracle cure (suspended animation in 11x24).