Tuleh2

I've argued in the Spoilers & Speculation thread that I think Shonda always intended to kill Derek (I won't rehash my reasons here) before EP left the show. In her statement about PD leaving, Shonda said: "I absolutely never imagined saying goodbye to our ‘McDreamy.’" COME. ON. Never? I think Shonda knew she wanted to do that from the beginning of The Year of Meredith. I don't think PD bothered to argue about his storylines much at this point (compared to say, SO). After all, he was happy to have time off to race. But I think he would have had a BIG problem with Derek dying. And he had a contract (which was probably renewed almost automatically with ABC - the renewals were announced alot earlier than they had been previously). So I think Shonda made scheduling his races more difficult than in the past. He mentioned in the EW article that his exit was decided around February/March. He missed both Sebring and the Le Mans Prologue which must have made him livid (that hurts his relationships with his racing sponsors). And those scheduling problems could have been engineered/exacerbated by Shonda to cause trouble with the cast/crew and sour everything so badly that he would want to leave. It wouldn't take much. Giving an actor time off for racing is an unusual perk (and I doubt many of PD's colleagues in Hollywood can relate to his passion for it). ETA: Being pissed off about Derek being killed could explain why PD said that he would be leaving soon back in November. An FU to Shonda.

The "he was being a diva on set" story is too vague for me. He's an ACTOR. Any mouthbreather in search of clicks could make that up. And it's hardly cause for breaking a contract. The lack of particulars makes me suspicious. And I understand Shonda says she has a "no assholes" policy, but from a legal standpoint, I would think if Charlie Sheen, Alec Baldwin and Terrence Howard can work in TV, the threshold for what constitutes asshole behavior should be pretty damn high.

But the impression it left to some followers was that it didn't matter to her that fans were/were going to be upset. Look, I loathe twitter and wish it didn't exist. (I felt a lot more hopeful about the human race before it was invented.) But when celebrities use it, they're sending out 140-character press releases, whether they intend to or not. They used to leave that shit to publicists, and they looked better for it.

I expect when EP leaves SO will make an appearance. Shonda would much rather have Cristina share Meredith's big exit than Derek.

I agree... so why couldn't Shonda have made Derek a house-husband? Fire the Magical Invisible Nanny and let Derek take her place? Because for Shonda, the show isn't about Derek, or Merder. It's about Meredith. She is THE SUN. Merder was just a monster that the onscreen chemistry between EP and PD created. How many times has Shonda had to insist that the real love story of the show was Meredith and Cristina? Shonda was never going to have Meredith and Derek ride off into the sunset together.

Very few critics follow this show anymore, but the consensus seems to be that Shonda blew it with this episode: http://www.avclub.com/article/shonda-rhimes-showrunner-who-cried-wolf-218512?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=ShareTools&utm_campaign=default

Whether they are under orders or not... by not tweeting they are sending the message that PD doesn't deserve a proper sendoff, and that makes them look bad, IMO. (For crying out loud, they tweet about craft services!) Even JCap - who always seemed to be good buddies with PD - tweeted an RIP to the character, and didn't mention PD at all.

They're going to want to get past this as soon as possible. Meredith will grieve bravely (so bravely that hopefully we forget who she's grieving for.) I'll bet nobody mentions his name...

I think their closeness was an act (it was smart of them both to act that way; it fed the Merder dream). But they have nothing in common as people. EP has always struck me as 1) very assertive, and 2) keen to be recognized as THE LEAD of the show. (I remember years ago, she was said to be very pissed off because ABC/Shonda hadn't told her in advance that KW had been offered her own spinoff).

Derek has been missing in action for years. I can't count the number of episodes where he appeared only in a "Merder bookend" scene. We don't really know why PD wasn't in several episodes this season (and may never know), but I still feel like Shonda got the season, and the ending she wanted all along: Derek's time away in DC leading directly to a big smoochy reconciliation before he dies.

No matter what happened, I would always expect Shonda to be more interested in what she thinks EP deserves. And now EP gets to play the brave widow, in what I'm sure will be her final season.

I can imagine being a lower cast member and getting a pink slip because the show is tanking in the ratings. There's a reason PD and EP are paid so much, and it's not because they work long hours... it's because they bring eyeballs to the screen. And they've been accommodating him for years now - it's written into his contract. What changed?

I'm sure the racing will be blamed for it... that will sell well in Hollywood, and with the fangirls. The only question that won't be answered is whether that was used as an excuse (i.e., they became more restrictive of PD's time off this season) to generate a "cause" for letting PD go. Both sides (Shonda and PD) are going to want to deflect blame for "killing Merder," never mind that I'm sure Shonda has been itching to do just that.

Creatively (believe me, I use that term loosely where Shonda's concerned), I've always thought Derek would die. I was surprised to hear that both EP and PD were signed to two more years. I could never see Shonda having Meredith share her exit with anyone (except maybe Cristina, with a brief return by SO.) And EP has to leave eventally. So I think that was an easy decision for her. And I think Shonda "owns" ABC at this point. They have too much invested in her. They have to give her whatever she wants.

That's the way it works, though. Shonda will have given interviews ahead of the episode airing with the request not to spoil the story (upon pain of never having access again). As long as the "secret" is kept, all of those outlets have juicy clickbait once it airs, so they're not going to cross her. Although I'd hardly say there have been no "spoilers." Whether they came from Shondaland or not (and I definitely think they've leaked to get people used to the idea), we've been talking about this since that "blind" item weeks ago.

That's why I take deep breaths and remember: karma. PD has been working in Hollywood for 30 years now; a lot of people know him and have worked with him and will have their own opinions about him and they won't be influenced by whatever PR comes out of this. Shonda is bulletproof right now (meaning no one will dare to stand up to her/publicly take PD's side if they feel it is warranted), but that in itself breeds resentment, and that will catch up with her eventually.

This show is their livelihood. If they're told to tweet, they'll tweet. Regardless of how they feel about what's happening behind the scenes or whether they feel it's in good taste or not.

I saw that, and they were both very good in it. That pilot was very well done and popular with critics but the subject was too "inside baseball" for it to be picked up. (It would probably make it to series today, though. Or be on cable.) Glad you reminded me of it: it gives me hope that there are better things in store for both PD and IW, and for their fans. (Yes, I think IW has been punished enough at this point.)

Shonda is writing a book: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/scandal-creator-shonda-rhimes-inks-658313

I think she just turns the tables, JayCeeJ. I think she objectifies men the way male writers so often objectify women. That's why so many of her male characters (all, I think, except for IW) have left the show in a box. They're only accessories for the female characters. I suppose she's just thinking "turnabout is fair play," but GA skirts close enough to "relatable" drama (compared to the cartoon-like Scandal and HTGAWM) to make it disturbing to me to see it presented as "feminist." The women may be the more fleshed-out characters, but they still seem to spend most of their time "talking about boys." Just because they're doing it with scalpels in their hands doesn't make it progressive, and I often cringe at the thought of young girls seeing these women as feminist role models.

You make some good points, and my evidence is only anecdotal too, Eolivet. It's tweens/teenagers. I follow some of the actors' Twitter feeds and there are lots of kids watching the show who were only toddlers when it started. (They squee over EP and PD and wish they were THEIR PARENTS... Ha! that's gotta make the actors feel good, huh?) They do bingewatch and if they get hooked (as we did), then they tune in. Love this. But this time, if she takes away my PD football, I will NEVER play with her again.

IIRC, the original comment that started this discussion about "rewriting" because of BTS stuff mentioned that this happens "all the time." What if the real reason that this season has been so lame is just that 1) the show is old and every plot device has been used at least three times, 2) the writers are completely out of juice and they need new ones (but Shonda "likes" her existing writers); and 3) Shonda seems to be able to get away with putting ANYTHING on the air at this point, so why worry about it? I don't think we should be looking to blame this season on ANY of the actors. They're miracle workers*, as far as I'm concerned. * Except CS. She needs to GO AWAY. NOW.

I think GA - perhaps more than any other network show - has benefited from the introduction of Netflix, Hulu, etc. which allows it to keep attracting new viewers after the old ones drop away.

I think one of those things was ABC requesting 2 additional episodes. It sounds as though PD was contracted through what would have been the end of filming for S11, but then ABC added 2 episodes. In the sides, they're now bringing in a new batch of interns (facepalm) in 11.23. It's like they're rebooting at the end of the season. (Not sure how you create a season-ending "cliffhanger" out of that.) Also, don't they have new boots-on-the-ground showrunners/producers this year? (They've previously been able to wrap 24 episodes earlier than they will be this year.) I wouldn't be surprised if the sloppiness of S11 is an symptom of Shonda being spread so thin (yet retaining so much control) over so many shows.

Shonda writing it is one of the big reasons I think Derek is dying: so she can do all the interviews and explain why "she" wrote it the way she did. (I hope someone asks her why she couldn't just leave Derek in DC.) It may be a small - very small - mark of respect to Derek/PD. That said, I don't expect a good story. Killing him in a car crash is trite (and in poor taste, given PD's love of racing?), even for Shonda.