S11.E21: How To Save A Life

[Starscream]

So, was Derek supposed to be driving from Seattle to the airport?  Because there are no winding untraveled forest roads between Seattle and the airport. Maybe I missed something and he was someplace else?  Also, if he was on the way to the Seattle airport, he was within miles of many major hospitals, including a Trauma One level hospital (Grey's Anatomy in the show!).  Not in some mountain county with a rural hospital. 

 

Even a shortcut to the airport would be on urban streets.  I live here, I know. 

Apparently this "shortcut" took him someplace east of Enumclaw.  But then, this is a show where half the surgeons live on a piece of property that requires them to rely on the ferry system to get to work.  Good luck getting to the hospital in 20 minutes!

[jjj]

So many annoying issues.  They had just cleared the road of two crashed vehicles and had multiple ambulances and at least one fire truck.  Yet no one waited for him to get back on the road.  And a truck was barreling down the road that would have just been re-opened.  How far back was the road closure that the truck had enough space to get up to speed? 

Not just a fire truck -- there was also a flatbed truck hauling away the burned-out Porsche.  In the Seattle area, when there is a car incident, roads are just shut down for however long it takes for the police to do measurements and figure out who was likely at fault. And this was an incident where fault-finding would be critical.  No way would the cars be driven away at the same time as the patients. 

[Treebeard]

Also, if this is about power and money, even Donald Trump has money and power. Doesn't mean that that person is all that great or creative. Good for Shonda for hitting the lucky strike and milking it to what it is, but she's not GRRM & Co.

GoT doesn't kill characters this indiscriminately.

Dead serious.

Whatevs though....I would of cared about this 5 years ago. Haven't watch a full season of this dreck since like s4.

Edited April 24, 2015 by Treebeard

[pennben]

 

Also, if this is about power and money, even Donald Trump has money and power. Doesn't mean that that person is all that great or creative. Good for Shonda for hitting the lucky strike and milking it to what it is, but she's not GRRM & Co.

 

The thing I hate is that lots of folks just love to say Shonda is a hack.  But she has revolutionized television in this era beginning with the early days of Grey's.  And now she owns a night in primetime, because her company and her people are that strong.  She has more shows in the works from her company, and quite frankly is one of the most successful producers in primetime in this era....and yet here we are, and someone compares her to freaking Donald Trump.

 

There is Empire because there was Shonda, Viola fucking Davis is on tv because of Shonda, Kerry Washington, Shonda.....all because of this woman who wrote characters you fell in love with (and have talked about for a decade and are crying about tonight) and she fucking built an empire where she took charge and ownership of her work.. 

 

So, sure, compare her to Trump, I assume you mean to dismiss her by this comparison, but I know she'll come out of this comparison on top every day. And the notion that she got "lucky", please, be better.

Edited April 24, 2015 by pennben

[jjj]

So, about the episode -- when the emergency vehicles were dispatched to Derek, wouldn't someone have made the connection that there had just been a horrendous accident at that exact location?  And connected him to all that?  What was the point of losing his wallet and being anonymous for his arrival at the dreck hospital?  And wasn't it night when he arrived at the hospital?  What was the timeline for this episode?  Did they sit all day on a road within miles of Seattle with no cars going by? 

 

And chocolatine, you are absolutely right that there is dense cellphone connectivity all the way from Seattle to the airport twelve miles away. 

Edited April 24, 2015 by jjj

[CleoCaesar]

The thing I hate is that lots of folks just love to say Shonda is a hack. But she has revolutionized television in this era beginning with the early days of Grey's.

She is a hack, just one who writes popular nighttime soap operas. She's not a brilliant auteur by any means. What exactly was the TV revolution she sparked?

[Kromm]

If someone cut open one of my veins this past hour, do you know what they would find running through it? Ice water. I don’t care that McDouchey is dead. Patrick Dempsey is and was always very, very pretty. But his character was a smug, condescending jerk to pretty much everyone, including and especially Meredith. No mopey cover of “Chasing Cars” is going to make me sad about this.

Maybe the character progression here is logical.  From McDreamy to McDouchey, and now maybe we should refer to him as McCorpsey.

Edited April 24, 2015 by Kromm

[Daisy]

Derek died because he did a Uturn in the middle of the road and stopped. Well it makes sense in a world where, a woman would die of hiccups, a man would join the army and get dragged under a bus, where a woman would have ghost sex because she has brain cancer, where two surgeons would die in a plane accident and another one would be  be electrocuted and drown in the basement of the hospital.  

 

What gets me angry - is that the way that Derek died was cheap.And it was wrong, and it was disrespectful to an audience who has liked or rooted for this couple (heck, even if you don't like or don't root, for the couple or the character - I was never a real fan of McDreamy), that is how he leaves the show? That is how he dies? He saves everyone, does a half U turn, and get's smoked by a truck. 

 

Shonda didn't have the decency to write Derek a proper goodbye, or a proper death, or something more engaging, or riveting, or something that you would know it, know it in the base of your belly. and you'd think, after all the cheap, are you kidding me deaths and/or ways people have left this show, Shonda would have at least given Derek a good send off. I would have been more satisfied had that crazy gunman shot Derek dead a few seasons back. Because it would have been senseless, but it would have been good  television. it would have been a great watercooler moment. It would have been if you were re-watching, could feel yourself getting, sadder and sadder, because you know that a place that brought Meredith and Derek together, would be the place where Meredith lost her husband. 

 

It would been interesting to have Derek go dark after not being able to perform surgery and have him struggle with addiction. (esp. with his sister going through the same thing). maybe die from an overdose, so you can tie in how Derek took out that woman's brain and that killed him a bit, how the shooting killed him abit, how the plane accident killed him so by dying from an overdose, it was like it finally took Derek out of his misery because Meredith felt he had died ages ago. 

I don't even like Derek, (so i don't really care), but as a story telling perspective, this was dumb, stupid, and insulting, but no more so than Burke just walking out on Christina, George being dragged underneath a bus, Izzie having Ghost Sex, and just vanishing, Lexie and Mark dying from a plane crash ....and now, Derek dying from basically failing to U turn properly. 

 

Note to self: anything Shonda Rhimes writes, just save myself the aggravation and don't bother. 

[Slayergirl]

Well that is it for me. I've stuck with it through ghost Denny, Mercy West, the plane crash, Sandra Oh's departure and everything else. But even if McDreamy has been less than dreamy the last few seasons, he and Meredith made the show for me. One less show to dvr.

Edited April 24, 2015 by Slayergirl

[Anela]

I. Hate. Them.

 

I wouldn't have tuned in if I'd thought they were actually going to kill him. I haven't always been a fan of the character, but he's been at his McDreamy best lately. I should have bloody known. I have no desire to see Meredith suffering again. I can't believe I cry this much over fictional characters. 

 

I know the injured girl was in shock, but I've seen too much Scandal to tolerate any more speeches. Sshhh. 

 

The flashbacks were the best part. I'm going to watch the first seasons on netflix. 

[WalrusGirl]

I can't figure out why they'd show the funeral (vs some short time jumps) if they aren't going to get a significant number of the obvious mourners there - Derek's other three (?) sisters, his mother, Cristina, and Addison. Mer's father should probably show up in the back too, since "world-renowned local neurosurgeon dies of undetected brain trauma" will be in the news.

So, they've pretty much dropped the "board" issue (which is good, since I'm still bitter about Alex not getting the seat for which he has shares), but does Mer now get two votes, since she inherited Derek's shares? Apparently it doesn't work that way. Maybe she gets double the ownership shares but only her one vote, and gets Alex the seat Cristina tried to leave him.

This doesn't ruin the old episodes for me - HIMYM's finale only somewhat soured reruns for me, because the early seasons were so much better than the tail end of the series that it was like a different show. (But that HIMYM was planned from the start, and not re-evaluated when the show lasted years longer than they expected, did turn me off from watching the planned spinoff. At least Dawson's Creek recognized when their show had changed enough to warrant changing the planned endgame.)

For all the better ways they could have written Derek off, only having him decide to stay in DC (and continuing to never show him or have them split on- or off-screen) fit the probable backstage criteria too. I guess they could have killed him suddenly due to an aneurysm or something, but most natural causes/storylines would have involved giving him (or having him for) screen time for multiple episodes. Whatever went down, they either didn't want to give him an exit arc or, with the end of the season coming up, they wanted it done before the finale and then didn't have the episodes to give an arc by the time it was decided.

There were backstage "issues," and I don't think there is any love lost between PD and SR.

Ha, I kept thinking that she featured a speeding car causing a crash (which indirectly led to his death), killed the actor who raced for Porche in a Porche, and killed the neurosurgeon via a brain bleed/death. Clearly her long-standing crush on PD was entirely over.

Chasing Cars made think of McKidd's crappy singing, during Callie's near death.

Thankfully, the end of the season two finale was so memorable that I've blocked out its use in the musical episode that I never re-watched. I thought Chasing Cars was perfect - emotionally flashed me back to Alex scooping Izzie up in her prom dress off of Denny's body - and didn't tear up until it started.

Mer takes the kids with her and doesn't call Amelia?

Meredith"s phone call killed him??

I'm also bewildered that his local sister wasn't even there by the time they verified brain death (and I'd expect the shock, but realistically at some point she'd have asked the police or the social worker to call Derek's sister at the very least because of the kids), but story-wise I was glad it was just Meredith. I like most of the newer cast members, so I forget how superfluous they really are to me until there's a show without them. So for that, and to keep our focus solely on Derek, I really liked that he wasn't at his own hospital with his own coworkers working on him (for once). Though pretty sure it was negligent of EMS to not take him (...and probably both of the kids thrown from their car) to a trauma hospital, or for the receiving hospital not to have immediately transferred them. Helicopters can meet ambulances at fire stations to get you to a trauma center (happened to a friend), even if they can't land where you are.

Was glad they didn't show who called his cell (could have been DC or Meredith), but the call didn't kill him. Stopping in the middle of an empty road to prioritize his phone instead of driving killed him. Albeit a road that hadn't seen any traffic in awhile after initially having three cars in close proximity. He got himself killed (well, with an assist from the hospital's negligence); it wasn't the caller's fault. (Though I kind of call foul on that Porche not being Bluetooth-enabled - he should have been able to try 911, see who was calling, and answer the call from the steering wheel and/or dash, with his phone in the damn trunk or side of the road.)

Sucks for a neurosurgeon to lose one of the best in the field on his table. I guess he'll be shut out of all the good conferences for the rest of his career.

Eh, it's his own fault - if he had arrived in the required on-call timeframe, he'd be blameless since he had nothing to do with not getting a CT. Omni-Derek knew the initial 20 minute ETA would be too late.

I do not understand this timeline. Derek left in the morning for the airport. When did the White House call Meredith to tell her that Derek missed his meeting? Was it the same day Derek left, or the next day?

The time line is completely messed up. He definitely left the house in the morning. His car's clock read 7:45 PM throughout, so clearly no one thought of that clock and I'm ignoring it. But the initial crash was sometime-AM, and then he wasn't taken to the hospital himself until at least close to dinner time.

The other four patients were still there when Meredith arrived - the two thrown from their car would have been admitted, and the mom may have too, so all that makes sense to me (in terms of Meredith getting the call about his missing his meeting at the END of the day he left, then being notified sometime after 5 pm the next day?) is that they didn't figure out his last name, and thus next of kin, until the next night. But then the standard amount of time passed (how long is that?) when Mer was already there. So unless that amount of time is ~24 hours and he was hospitalized for about a full day before she was notified, I'm confused.

Also, and I'm not a mother, so I may be way off-base, but shouldn't she have given some thought about letting the children see their father one last time?

ITA re his sisters and mother, but I think the kids are young enough (especially Zola; Bailey may still be too young to have it matter either way. How old is he now, ~18 months?) that it was probably the right call. (Also not a mother, but work in the medical field.) Some probably would, and there was a social worker present to bring it up either way, but at Zola's age I'd have erred on the side of keeping her outside, too. It's not like he was conscious to have had it benefit him, in which case I'd feel differently.

Because I'm predicting right now: it's going to lead to her sleeping with Alex. He's her "person" this season. It's a pretty stupid move, so I think that's where it has to go....

(Secretly, I might like it. I love Alex. He needs a storyline. Even a stupid one).

I love them but would find it icky (too incestuous, and don't see them as a couple so would hate it ruining their friendship), but if he ever develops feelings for or a triangle with Maggie, I do see her being jealous. Especially given her issues when he started sleeping with Lexie, but now with a little more jealousy factoring in. I'm all for any storyline for Alex too!

In the Seattle area, when there is a car incident, roads are just shut down for however long it takes for the police to do measurements and figure out who was likely at fault. And this was an incident where fault-finding would be critical. No way would the cars be driven away at the same time as the patients.

Shit, I hope Derek had already given his statement about the first accident, and that they had photo evidence at the scene to confirm the cause of the first accident. When I was in an accident, witnesses gave statements at the scene, so hopefully there's that.

Is there anyone out there who liked this episode?

I did. It felt like an old Grey's ep, not the shell-of-itself version written by newer writers for the past however many years. Though I'm also a sucker for the old-school music - that made Cristina's final scene for me too. I can see it being different for newer viewers who came to the show with a different writing team, but for better or worse it's the eps that Shonda is heavily involved in writing that are Grey's to me. I only still watch regular episodes out of habit, and I generally like the newer characters, but the writing and tone aren't the same show to me.

Even a shortcut to the airport would be on urban streets. I live here, I know.

This is my frustration watching Scandal. It isn't hard to look at a map and be plausible, writers, since you're set in major metropolitan areas and not a fictitious city. Edited April 24, 2015 by WalrusGirl

[RealityCreator]

Well, for all reasons stated so well above, that was a load of crap.  I haven't been much interested in the show this year anyway, usually forgetting that it's even on and watching it on DVR - fast forwarding through long sections.  It won't be hard at all to give up on it all together now.

[Muffyn]

To be fair, Derek's 100 mile plus "shortcut" takes him north and east to Mt. Baker.  There he cuts through the forest of no reception before he reaches the transporter that demolecularizes him to zap him to the receiving transporter inside the pancake house about a half mile from SEA-TAC.  He's then just a quick jog from being at airport security.  

[chocolatine]

ITA re his sisters and mother, but I think the kids are young enough (especially Zola; Bailey may still be too young to have it matter either way. How old is he now, ~18 months?) that it was probably the right call. (Also not a mother, but work in the medical field.) Some probably would, and there was a social worker present to bring it up either way, but at Zola's age I'd have erred on the side of keeping her outside, too. It's not like he was conscious to have had it benefit him, in which case I'd feel differently.

 

I was thinking mainly about Zola, and the terrible time that's ahead for her. Would seeing her father unconscious and hooked up to a ventilator have traumatized her forever (like Ellis's suicide attempt did to Mere), or would she have been glad as she grew up that she got to see him one last time? It's obviously a moot point now, but it's hard to believe that question didn't even cross Mere's mind.

Edited April 24, 2015 by chocolatine

[Diana Berry]

Wonder how many viewers that say they won't watch anymore will really stop?

I'll still watch Grey's just to see where it goes. I did completely stop Scandal this season and never looked back. Never even bothered with law school show.

[asopho]

i don't understand why we didn't see Amelia more in this episode in which her brother died and we saw plenty of her in previous like 11x20 in which she was so necessary.

[Merneith]

I am so glad I bailed on this show before the plane crash. Everything that's happened since has confirmed that choice. I've been toying with Scandal but my TV is now officially a No Shonda Zone.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

HA loved the promo about how “nothing has rocked these doctors like losing one of their own”. Uh, anyone remember George? Anyone? Bueller? OR MARK AND LEXIE?

 

I didn’t realize JUST how irritating and superfluous I find the usual, bloated cast until there’s an episode without it.

Ha, yes to both of these things! I guess George, Mark, and Lexie dying didn't rock anyone at SG. As annoying as the second half of the episode was at the hospital, it was nice not having to deal with the neverending cast of SG and their quirks for a whole episode.

 

Are we supposed to hold the Sloan-Grey doctors in higher regard now, since the other hospital was so inept they didn't even do a CT after a head trauma?

 

I love how "we're not a trauma hospital" was supposed to be a realistic excuse. Hon, it may not be a trauma hospital, but it's also not a KFC. You're doctors. Do basic medical things.

I was rolling my eyes at Shonda painting this non-SG as obviously subpar and totally incompetent because OF COURSE SG is the only hospital with smart doctors who know how to take care of patients. All that stuff you heard about cutting LVAD wires and clinical trials gone awry is just rumor! But hey, maybe the KFC hospital gives you a bucket of fried chicken when they discharge you.

 

You know what Doug and Carol got? LOVELY EXITS! Why can't she ever rip that off?

No kidding! At least rip off the good stuff, damn it! I still remember Carol's exit because it was so lovely and perfect. I will always remember Derek's exit as terrible. As soon as I saw last week's preview and it showed some kind of car accident, I thought damn it, this is going to be a rip off of the Flowers in the Attic book where the doctor character saw a car accident, went to help the other people, was hit by a car and then DIED.

 

Interesting that the more well known guest stars this week were the two younger female victims in the car accident but they got total scrubs for the hospital staff. Sydney was a brat on Parenthood, but I loved when Derek told her to go keep the high school kids company and she said, "Hang out with the people who hit our car? No thanks."

 

I hated that one of the doctors didn't give a crap until he was told that their John Doe was a fellow doctor. I get solidarity and all that, but your job is to try your best to save EVERY life, not to only care if it's another doctor.

Edited April 24, 2015 by ElectricBoogaloo

[ItsJustATVShow]

Don't worry McDreamy fans, he'll be back for the ghost sex.

[RealityCowgirl]

As soon as she introduced herself as Dr. Meredith Grey, I was hoping that she would throw a line that she was the daughter of Ellis Grey. As soon as they knew that he was a doctor and his name was Derek, they should have immediately known who he was. I'm guessing the hospital is somewhere near Seattle and with the plane crash, shootings, etc., he would have been in the news and other media multiple times. Considering where the accident happened, wouldn't the police officers who were at the scene of the original accident have known who he was and what happened? Someone should have known who he was instead of him being a John Doe.

A big distraction that kept taking me out of a (still questionable to me) story:

He left his house to go to the airport? Right? The house still is on the mountain top where he, Meredith, and virtually every other major character lived (trailer) - or shacked up with someone who did - at some point and NEVER had trouble getting to their own hospital, right? Even with the ferry ride.

Suddenly, on this day, he takes a "short cut" to a major international airport that puts him on a seldom-traveled road, in an accident where the only hospital anywhere is basic-services, almost rural, with no apparent access to life flight services (even after the ambulance decided to take THAT short cut).

My Seattle-area geography is admittedly fuzzy, and this may reflect a larger logistical detail "WTF" about the show as a whole (how the hell can on-demand surgeons spend so much time living in that mountain top and always be accessible?). But that was a plot point that simply didn't work for me.

Still not sure about this character's death. Still feels emotionally manipulative. But whatever.

 

ETA - Early morning ranting above; have since read others' better summaries of the same issues. I'm not invested enough in characters to not watch future episodes, but it definitely reminded me why this show never was a highest Thursday night live-view priority over the years.

Edited April 24, 2015 by RealityCowgirl

[millahnna]

I thought the episode itself was good but killing the other core relationship of the show is probably not going to do it any favors. I'll still watch but I'm certain many are done.

[Greysaddict]

Last night I was trying to calm and rational but now that I slept on it I am even more pissed off. I will miss PD immensely but even more I will miss Dr. Derek Shepherd. I won't stop watching because I am interested to see where the show goes from here by man, this show will never be the same. Ugh, I still can't believe that was PD's send off. What a load of crap.

[jschoolgirl]

My understanding is that the Dream House and the trailer are on Bainbridge Island.

[Jess]

What's there to say that hasn't already been said? What a disappointment. Clearly, there was no love lost between Shonda and PD, but her ego really got the best of her in this case. Why would anyone watch GA in syndication now?

 

While I agree that Shonda has revolutionized television (in the sense that we have more women and PoC in leading roles, because she paved the way with colorblind casting, etc.), it doesn't change what Grey's has disintegrated into: a poorly written show that has been on the air for WAY too many years and outlived its usefulness.

 

In real life, people don't die every time they leave their jobs. They just move on. ER did this a lot too, and it was frustrating then, just like it's frustrating now. I'm tired of seeing death played for the shock value. At this point, what would be more shocking is a character leaving a show with a HEA. 

 

I'm going to be very angry if Addison and Cristina don't show up next week. 

Edited April 24, 2015 by Jess

[anony mouse]

I am so glad I bailed on this show before the plane crash. Everything that's happened since has confirmed that choice. I've been toying with Scandal but my TV is now officially a No Shonda Zone.

 

Yeah, I bailed all the way back at Denny, and every time I hear about some crazy, horrible thing Shonda has written, I know I made the right choice. For everyone who gloated about how Grey's was so much better than ER, I'm pretty sure Shonda has pulled even at this point with things like the chopper crash taking out Dr. Romano (twice!).

 

Needless to say, I didn't even bother tuning in to Scandal or How to Get Away with Murder. I know Shonda's shows start out great, but they go off the rails too quick to get invested.

[choclatechip45]

I wasn't too shocked since I expected Derek

Would be killed off after Patricks comments in November even though someone in the media thread said he didn't know until February/March I haven't seen that quote anywhere not in the online interview. The VoiceOver did make me sad. As much as it bugged me that Meredith didn't call Derek's family I thought it was in character she's always been selfish. I am shocked they did go through with killing him off.

I agree it was a crappy sendoff. I think it would have been more shocking if Derek wasn't killed. This is pretty unpopular but if they were going to kill off Derek I wish they had done it earlier in the series. besides Meredith, Amelia, webber, Bailey and April (only because Derek did hire her back). I really don't care how any of these characters react not because I don't like them, but because they weren't close with Derek. I always felt the friendships with Owen and Callie were forced even though I love the wine scene in the season 10 premiere. Plus let's be real they will make Derek's death about themselves. Even though I love Alex, him and Derek never really liked each other. I would be much more interested in seeing Addison, Mark, Lexi, Cristina and Burkes reaction. I would even prefer George and Izzie to Alex because at least They both had some funny roommate scenes.

I completely understand calling Shonda a shitty writer. I'm over her killing people off. I think it's ignorant to ignore the effect she has had on television. Let's face it before Greys there was no color blind casting. I think it's pretty cool 10 years later you have shows being more open to diverse casting.

I'll still watch without Derek. Even though MerDer was the main couple of the show. I think the show will do alright in the ratings without him. I haven't seen Greys mentioned so much on my newsfeed since the season 5 finale. Maybe it's because Derek has annoyed me a lot over the years.

[RealityCowgirl]

 

In real life, people don't die every time they leave their jobs. They just move on. ER did this a lot too, and it was frustrating then, just like it's frustrating now. I'm tired of seeing death played for the shock value. At this point, what would be more shocking is a character leaving a show with a HEA. 

 

This. That's the part that feels cheap and unimaginative in this setting. That's the manipulation I resent as a viewer  - and what, at the same time, bored me. Been there. Done that. Next.

[Tooch]

The thing I hate is that lots of folks just love to say Shonda is a hack.  But she has revolutionized television in this era beginning with the early days of Grey's. 

 

 

I respect what Shonda has done. She's a black woman in Hollywood and she's managed to become an entertainment powerhouse. That IS really cool. But frankly I think she's more invested in the brand of Shondaland now than in creating good stories.

 

Look at the first five seasons of Greys. The show was about relationships. Up until George's death, Shonda never relied on killing people off. Sure there were big "shocking" traumas and catastrophes all the time, Denny's death was rough (but earned and expected, not used as a sucker punch), but the biggest emotional moments didn't rely on cheap unrealistic over the top deaths. First season finale? Addison returns and throws MerDer for a loop. Second? Denny dies--but the real focus and drama for me was Meredith having to choose between Derek and Finn. Third? Cristina and Burke's aborted wedding (that was the pinnacle of the show imho, Meredith hugging Cristina in Burke's apartment). Fourth? House of candles.

 

The "big" events used to be about emotions and relationships. Since then it's just been death, death, death. It's NOT good writing. The bigger shocker would have been Derek living, because all Shonda ever does anymore is kill characters off.

 

If PD wanted off the show, the show should have ended. It's been 11 seasons, just end it with them happy. Maybe have a final season where he doesn't appear but have him come back at the very end for a cameo, like Clooney did with ER.

 

There was no reason to kill him, it's cheap and, yes, totally hacky. Shonda is not what she once was.

[Deanie87]

If PD wanted off the show, the show should have ended. It's been 11 seasons, just end it with them happy. Maybe have a final season where he doesn't appear but have him come back at the very end for a cameo, like Clooney did with ER.

But hundreds of people who work on the show DON'T want to leave, why should they be out of a job? Some of the actors signed contracts through next season (I don't know about all and I don't know if the crew sign contracts). Why should every other single person's livelihood be affected because one person wants to leave?

I have never been a Derek fan, and I understand why he was killed as opposed to just being in some vague other place for a season, but I agree that the way they did it was awful. He could have at least been surrounded by people who care about him. It was cheap and not befitting his importance to the show.

I am interested to see where they go from here. I'm sure that the ratings will go down some, but not enough to cancel the show before they are ready. I think that they should end the show when Ellen leaves and I'm hoping that is after next season. It's been 11 seasons and the ratings have stayed steady so if they fall extremely low (which I don't think they will at least not anytime soon), then at least Shonda can prepare an endin (for whatever that is worth). It's not like it will get canceled out of nowhere while things are left hanging.

[Biggie B]

In real life, people don't die every time they leave their jobs. They just move on. ER did this a lot too, and it was frustrating then, just like it's frustrating now. I'm tired of seeing death played for the shock value.

 

 

Agree, but this show is a soap opera, nothing more and nothing less, so there has to be drama and shock and all of that crap that most of us, if we are lucky, barely experience in our day to day lives. 

 

I just finished watching via DVR and fast forwarded through about 95% of it. I knew Derek was going to die. I wasn't specifically spoiled but inadvertently saw a blurb on Facebook that said "a major character is going to die," and thus naturally assumed it would be Derek, as per the "I'll be back before you know it...wait for me" lines spoken by Derek at the end of the prior episode (those, plus the flashing police lights showing up at the house). So when I fired up the DVR, I was ready for Derek to meet his end, and just wanted to see how it happened. And go figure, I accidentally fast forwarded too fast and missed the actual moment when he got hit by the truck. I only know that from reading the posts here! But it didn't matter - he's dead and that's that. I myself will miss him because I find Patrick Dempsey extremely attractive, and also because as douchey as his character could be, that was what I expected from that particular character. That was his personality - love or leave it. I truly had no issues with his arrogance or whatever you may call it - hubris, superiority complex, take your pick. That's how he was and it just didn't phase me.

 

So, oh well. This show's got one foot in the grave and another on a banana peel; it won't likely last much longer. I've watched it from Day One and am fine with it ending. It had a good run with some stellar moments but all good things come to an end. I won't really miss it, whereas I still pine for ER and The West Wing and The X Files and various other shows that truly resonated deeply with me. This one did not. It was a frothy nighttime soap that kept me entertained, for the most part, but was basically forgettable on many levels. I wish Patrick Dempsey well and do hope to see him in other endeavors.

[DrLar]

Yeah another fan they are going to lose right here! I finally got over George, Sloan and Lexi's death but this one crosses the line! 

 

Maybe because Derek's death was so pathetic, over a lousy stuck cell phone that wasn't supposed to ring because it was no signal in an empty road nobody travels?

 

They had to take him to the worst hospital around, not choppered of to Seattle at least.

[Tooch]

 

Why should every other single person's livelihood be affected because one person wants to leave?

 

That argument would make sense if it weren't season 11. And come on, he and EP are the stars of the show--yes it would suck for the crew and other actors, but that's Hollywood. Shows end all the time because the stars don't want to commit to more seasons. Seinfeld, for one--that show was hugely popular but Jerry didn't want to do it anymore. I'm sure the crew have survived in the years since.

[Primetimer]

St. Derek saved four people's lives after a car accident. AND THEN SOME SPOILERS HAPPENED.

Read the story

[sadie]

Did they really have no other story ideas than to kill off a major character by the worlds most incompetent, uncaring and negligent medical team ever????? This was the most frustrating part of this dumb storyline (minus what everyone else has said about the geography problems, mysterious lack of Bluetooth in a $100k car, and no trauma help unit in a metropolitan area) was that this team of people who attended medical school in the 1920's (CT scan anyone) and was so callous about human life I wanted to strangle them (two hour later Doctor with his "whateva people I was having dinner and well, what the hell I'm only a freaking neurosurgeon on Tuesdays". I'm just exhausted. I've read five better storyline options on this thread alone that would have worked. Sigh.

[Greysaddict]

Look at the first five seasons of Greys. The show was about relationships. Up until George's death, Shonda never relied on killing people off. Sure there were big "shocking" traumas and catastrophes all the time, Denny's death was rough (but earned and expected, not used as a sucker punch), but the biggest emotional moments didn't rely on cheap unrealistic over the top deaths. First season finale? Addison returns and throws MerDer for a loop. Second? Denny dies--but the real focus and drama for me was Meredith having to choose between Derek and Finn. Third? Cristina and Burke's aborted wedding (that was the pinnacle of the show imho, Meredith hugging Cristina in Burke's apartment). Fourth? House of candles.

 

The "big" events used to be about emotions and relationships. Since then it's just been death, death, death. It's NOT good writing. The bigger shocker would have been Derek living, because all Shonda ever does anymore is kill characters off.

Agree with this so much. The early seasons of this show are so fantastic exactly because of what you said above. I miss the relationships (both friendship and romantic) and emotion that made this show what it is. These past 10 or so,episodes of 11b are not it. I'll say it again but even though I am deeply saddened by Derek's death, I hope the show can move forward well.

[proserpina65]

Love, how there where enough cars on that road to get in an accident but at the same time not enough to drive by and get help.

Not buying the lack of trauma ones in the area. Or the ability to get a helicopter to get him to trauma one.

 

.I know there was no cell service, but did no one have the ability to call Yolanda at Northstar?

 

And yeah, if Derek was that bad off at the scene (Come one, he was hit broadside by a speeding tractor-trailer for dog's sake!!!), the first responders would've had dispatch send a medivac chopper to fly him to a trauma center, not just take him to the closest hospital by ambulance.

 

BTW, why the hell would anyone stop in the middle of a fucking road to answer their stupid cell phone?  (Which, as someone upthread pointed out, suddenly had service in this cell service wasteland.")

Edited April 24, 2015 by proserpina65

[runforcover]

Dear Lord.  This show is written so terribly, I actually feel for the actors. 

 

Okay, I know C grade dramaz are always hack-y in their co-opting of more expert critical trends but  that shit was weak. Fine, so maybe some music and low-lighting but maybe Do Not take on American health care, its staff, its buildings, its bureacracy.  This isn't David Simon for fucks sake.

 

You know when this show was good? YEAH, I JUST "ASKED" THAT.  It was good when it wasn't desperately trying to convince me it was ten other shows in lieu of following through on the merit of its own characters and rules - however shlocky and clearly stupid.  This show is Not Good.  And I'm okay with that. It's why I signed up.  So, come one, show, just play on your terms.

 

And, I wanted to bite Ellen Pompeo's tiny 2003 face. Cutest.

[Deanie87]

That argument would make sense if it weren't season 11. And come on, he and EP are the stars of the show--yes it would suck for the crew and other actors, but that's Hollywood. Shows end all the time because the stars don't want to commit to more seasons. Seinfeld, for one--that show was hugely popular but Jerry didn't want to do it anymore. I'm sure the crew have survived in the years since.

Because people signed on for 12 seasons, including the star. PD may have been the male lead, but Ellen is the show's namesake and she didn't want to leave. When she does, it makes more sense to end the show. If this were season 12 and PD didn't want to renew, ok, but it isn't and other people signed on for 12 and they deserve to have their stories played out.

[proserpina65]

Someone should have known who he was instead of him being a John Doe

 

Wouldn't Derek have had a wallet or some other identifying documents in the car?  Or, you know, if that was his car, couldn't they have run the plates and seen to whom it was registered?

[windsprints]

I understand why he was killed as opposed to just being in some vague other place for a season, but I agree that the way they did it was awful. He could have at least been surrounded by people who care about him. It was cheap and not befitting his importance to the show.

Agreed. I can understand why they would choose to kill Derek instead of leaving him off screen in DC. But, the story and episode should have been powerful and not this badly done. The rescue portion of the episode was decent but second half was dreadful. 99% of the audience likely could have come up with a more powerful and emotional storyline. Any character that is on a show for 10+ years certainly deserves a great exit, even if its not happy, and Derek certainly did not get that.

Whatever went down, they either didn't want to give him an exit arc or, with the end of the season coming up, they wanted it done before the finale and then didn't have the episodes to give an arc by the time it was decided.

I think there has to be more to the story but we'll probably never know. It all felt sudden and likely why the season was so choppy.

In real life, people don't die every time they leave their jobs. They just move on. ER did this a lot too, and it was frustrating then, just like it's frustrating now. I'm tired of seeing death played for the shock value.

I think Grey's has surpassed ER in number of deaths of cast and its 4 years behind ER in seasons on air. The main difference for me is that (main exception: Romano via chopper) most of the deaths were powerful and emotional even if shocking. Of the orignal main characters of the first few seasons only one exited via death, Mark, and he had the longest death arc I can ever remember on television. ER also had couples get happy endings, something we don't see on Grey's.

Seinfeld, for one--that show was hugely popular but Jerry didn't want to do it anymore.

 

But apparently EP does and as often pointed out, she's the Grey in the title. That would be the closest to Seinfeld wanting to call it quits.

Edited April 24, 2015 by windsprints

[gonewiththeschwinn]

I'm not thrilled that they killed Derek off but if they had to do it, I wish they had done it in a less flashy way. Maybe a heart attack, after all his heart had been damaged in the shooting. Or a blood clot traveling to his lungs or brain, maybe from all that flying across the country. Death doesn't have to be flashy to be dramatic. The best parts of the episode were the quiet ones with him and Meredith in the hospital. I would have preferred an entire episode of that over the spectacle we got

[brightside]

 

I'm not thrilled that they killed Derek off but if they had to do it, I wish they had done it in a less flashy way.

 

Agreed. Hell, I wouldn't have minded the flash so much if Derek's last episode wasn't him with a bunch of guest stars. At least with George he was with people we cared about the whole time, even if we didn't know if was George. Like, sorry that I don't care that this mathlete we've never met before got asked to go for a drive by the popular guy. The show's male lead is dying...give some meat to that.

[betsyboo]

I can't even read everyone's comments through the tears (still this morning!) but wanted to pop in to say that regardless of the rest of the episode - writing/death/ham-handed-stick-it-to-patrick-dempsey-for-deigning-to-leave-shonda, Ellen Pompeo was masterful. I hope she finally gets an Emmy nom.

[Meow25]

I don't think Shonda ever intended on Mer/Der 4-eva, and was pressured by the network. Now that she has clout, I picture her as Cartman.

"I do what I want!"

She must have dark & twisty mer, and dark & twisty we shall have.

I call a Meredith pregnancy reveal in the season finale..... :::puke:::

[proserpina65]

In the Seattle area, when there is a car incident, roads are just shut down for however long it takes for the police to do measurements and figure out who was likely at fault.

 

Not just in Seattle.  I-95 near my house in a dinky county in MD was closed for hours earlier this week due to a car accident.

The thing I hate is that lots of folks just love to say Shonda is a hack.  But she has revolutionized television in this era beginning with the early days of Grey's.  And now she owns a night in primetime, because her company and her people are that strong.  She has more shows in the works from her company, and quite frankly is one of the most successful producers in primetime in this era....and yet here we are, and someone compares her to freaking Donald Trump.

 

There is Empire because there was Shonda, Viola fucking Davis is on tv because of Shonda, Kerry Washington, Shonda.....all because of this woman who wrote characters you fell in love with (and have talked about for a decade and are crying about tonight) and she fucking built an empire where she took charge and ownership of her work.. 

 

So, sure, compare her to Trump, I assume you mean to dismiss her by this comparison, but I know she'll come out of this comparison on top every day. And the notion that she got "lucky", please, be better.

None of this makes her a particularly good writer, though.  At least, not anymore.  Some of the episodes she wrote early one were good, but this one was extremely poorly written.

[runforcover]

Not just in Seattle.  I-95 near my house in a dinky county in MD was closed for hours earlier this week due to a car accident.

None of this makes her a particularly good writer, though.  At least, not anymore.  Some of the episodes she wrote early one were good, but this one was extremely poorly written.

 

I assumed she didn't really write anymore.   Isn't she just a brand at this point? Whatever, I agree.  She wasn't good because she was Good.  And if she even succeeds beyond the scope of primetime network, it's usually not by much.

 

I will say this:  The only point in the script, which was no doubt accidental, that had my attention was Mer redirecting the crying intern to use  A Very Special Dark Moment in Bullshit Neorealism to just buck up and be better.  By this point, the episode was so meta for me - it was my only way to cope - I had to imagine TV genres talking back and forth.

 

Is there more to this season because I think it's time for me to let it die. 

Edited April 24, 2015 by runforcover

[Anela]

I'm still pissed, this morning. I know that someone was praising Shonda for what she's done, and having a night all to herself, but I doubt Grey's would have done so well without Ellen and Patrick. Her cast brought to life her work, and they do deserve more respect.

 

I don't understand Shonda talking about how this season would focus on Meredith standing on her own/being able to. She was on her own when she met Derek, she didn't want roommates, didn't want to be best friends with anyone, "and share the moments of our lives". Someone else mentioned that she was cold, but I rarely saw her that way - she was compassionate and warm enough with her patients. And I laughed when she said she would kevorkian that girl Katie, when she was just being an annoying teenager.

 

Another favourite show of mine, killed the husband off in the finale, and people were just as angry about that. I was, and was kicking myself for having invested so much time and emotional energy into it. That show was

Medium. The family anchored the show in something other than the darkness that was also heavily featured. People loved that family, and couldn't believe that they ruined it at the end, that way.

[ChicksDigScars]

And are you telling me the Porsche Cayenne doesn't have bluetooth?

 

I know, right? My 2009 PONTIAC has Bluetooth! As he was searching for his ringing phone, all I could think of was, "Why isn't it ringing through the car speakers? All he has to do is press the button!" For a six figure rich doctor mobile, it had better have fucking Bluetooth.

 

In real life, people don't die every time they leave their jobs. They just move on. ER did this a lot too, and it was frustrating then, just like it's frustrating now. I'm tired of seeing death played for the shock value. At this point, what would be more shocking is a character leaving a show with a HEA.

 

THIS. I was also an ER watcher, and toward the end, it began to unravel (about the time Abby ate the entire show) and my interest and viewership waned. It was no longer a "must see" on Thursdays. Too much death. Too many stunts (RIP Dr. Romano) Why did Mark have to die, for example? Can't doctors move on to better positions elsewhere? Speaking of St. Elsewhere, maybe for her next trick, Shonda can steal from that series finale and simply blow up Seattle Grace Mercy Death.

 

If PD wanted to leave, there were ways around it without doing THIS steaming pile of horseshit. Have him go to Washington. Have Meredith stay in Seattle. DO the long distance thing for a year, until the show is basically put out to pasture. EP and PD's contracts were for another year. End the show then and bring back Dempsey to finalize the series finale and tie it up in a neat package, Doug and Carol style. THAT was closure. ER got that one 100% RIGHT.

 

I'm still pissed, this morning.

 

Yeah, me too. I watched HOCKEY instead of Scandal last night to try to calm down. Hockey made me less angry. And my team LOST last night. 

[runforcover]

Don't worry McDreamy fans, he'll be back for the ghost sex.

HAHAHAHAHA!  

I know, right? My 2009 PONTIAC has Bluetooth! As he was searching for his ringing phone, all I could think of was, "Why isn't it ringing through the car speakers? All he has to do is press the button!" For a six figure rich doctor mobile, it had better have fucking Bluetooth.

 

 

 

 

 

Especially annoying as they kept the camera on the dashboard digitals. 

[kingshearte]

Maybe because Derek's death was so pathetic, over a lousy stuck cell phone that wasn't supposed to ring because it was no signal in an empty road nobody travels?

I didn't even think about that extra element of stupid. I did roll my eyes pretty hard when the first accident got all cleared up and then the semi of contrivance showed up.

 

I call a Meredith pregnancy reveal in the season finale..... :::puke:::

I thought that too when she threw up in the bushes. Not that I think throwing up is an unreasonable reaction to what she just experienced, but it still seemed like a possible foreshadowing.

 

I actually kinda liked Derek's commentary. I can only imagine how horrifying it would be to know how you should be treated, and not be able to do anything while people did the wrong thing, which you knew would lead to your death. I even liked how calm and analytical he was about it, like he was sort of detached, and kind of viewing himself as a patient, rather than as his own dying self. A little melodramatic, sure. I liked it anyway.

 

But I agree that his death sucked, both the way it happened and the fact that it happened at all. I agree that it sucked that so one in his life was around for his death. I agree that it is bound to suck next week when a lot of really key people are missing — specifically, Derek's family and Cristina. Derek's family, obviously, but Cristina, because, although she may not be able to take on the day-to-day responsibilities of being Meredith's Person, I don't buy for one second that that woman would not be on the first flight to Seattle the second she heard about this. As lame as an offscreen funeral and whatnot would be, the only way they can make the absence of all these people even remotely legit is if they skip forward by a few weeks.

 

Anyway, as I've said before, I'll keep watching, but I have no intentions of buying or rewatching this season.