S11.E21: How To Save A Life

[jschoolgirl]

Was it even a "rural" hospital? It was on the way to the airport in freaking Seattle. It's not like they were in the deep wilderness in the middle of nowhere.

It was depicted as small, and HHS has a scale, so to speak, of size for rural hospitals. Where they were did look somewhat remote. And for all SR knows, you could drive through, oh, Mount Vernon or *Chelan* on the way to the airport from McDreamy, er, Bainbridge Island.

Or Blaine!

Edited April 25, 2015 by jschoolgirl

[sonyab]

I'm going to amuse myself with Derek's imaginary reunion with George in heaven:

 

"Hey, what's up, O'Malley? Hey, you know how you died saving someone's life? Well, I saved four people, so suck it!"

 

 

ROFL! Well you just amused me! Thank you!

[jjj]

It was depicted as small, and HHS has a scale, so to speak, of size for rural hospitals. Where they were did look somewhat remote. And for all SR knows, you could drive through, oh, Mount Vernon or *Chelan* on the way to the airport from McDreamy, er, Bainbridge Island.

Or Blaine!

Yes, the geography is beyond ludicrous.  I thought at one point that maybe he was driving north to the Vancouver BC airport by way of the Olympic Peninsula (for those of you not here, the Seattle airport is about twelve miles south of downtown; Vancouver is three hours north and the Olympic peninsula is waaay over by the ocean, good two hours away).  Rural doctors have nothing to be insulted about -- but Seattle doctors sure do!  There are many big hospitals in Seattle, none that seem to have a four-bed ER / Laundromat combo.  And if this was supposed to be out in the woods, why was on-call neuro-doctor out at a fancy restaurant?  I mean, maybe over to a diner for some cherry pie, but they were trying to give us the impression Derek was in the middle of nowhere.  In urban Seattle.  Sheesh. 

[JayCeeJ]

Don't even get me started on the geography. So ludicrous! Derek's land is a ferry ride from downtown, so most likely somewhere on Bainbridge Island. There's no way the drive from the ferry terminal to the airport takes him out into the sticks and away from cell coverage. He's lived here for years now; he couldn't get that far lost. :-) Do they really think there are no GA viewers in this part of the country?

[brandyelf]

There were definitely many holes in this story large enough to drive a semi through.

(Too soon?)

[sonyab]

The other doc had NFTG until learning Derek was a Surgeon.

 

What is NFTG?

[AnitaM86]

What is NFTG?

In this context, I assume it's "not a fuck to give".

 

Don't even get me started on the geography.

What I don't get is how the hell Amelia was there in surgery before Derek even got to the airport. I mean, she clearly left later than he did. How the hell lis that even possible. 

 

I'm going to amuse myself with Derek's imaginary reunion with George in heaven:

"Hey, what's up, O'Malley? Hey, you know how you died saving someone's life? Well, I saved four people, so suck it!"

HA! 

[Tuleh2]

 

And if this was supposed to be out in the woods, why was on-call neuro-doctor out at a fancy restaurant?  I mean, maybe over to a diner for some cherry pie, but they were trying to give us the impression Derek was in the middle of nowhere.  In urban Seattle.  Sheesh.

I think you've nailed it with the cherry pie reference. He went through North Bend, "Twin Peaks" territory. That explains everything.

 

Hell, he'll probably be alive next week.

Edited April 26, 2015 by Tuleh2

[jjj]

I think you've nailed it with the cherry pie reference. He went through North Bend, "Twin Peaks" territory. That explains everything.

Heh, that was exactly the reference I was making!  (For those not following on Google Maps, "Twin Peaks" territory is the opposite direction from the airport.  Way North.)

 

Watching the White House Correspondents Dinner -- many television stars are there -- if SR is there, I'm sure she has some explaining to do! 

[ChicksDigScars]

I'm going to amuse myself with Derek's imaginary reunion with George in heaven:

"Hey, what's up, O'Malley? Hey, you know how you died saving someone's life? Well, I saved four people, so suck it!"

 

Followed by Mark, walking up and saying, "Well. This is awkward."

[AnitaM86]

Followed by Mark, walking up and saying, "Well. This is awkward."

Then Denny arrives going: "You guys have no clue what you're missing with ghost imaginary sex." Bomb guy just gives him the Chloe side eye. 

[jschoolgirl]

four-bed ER / Laundromat combo.

----------------------------------------

Hilarious!

I bet you Greys Anatomy heaven is more fun and awesome than actual Greys. A lot of awesome is up there. Including but not limited to,  Doc the cute dog and Coach Taylor is up there!

Also Susan Grey, so I am sure it is congenial!

[sonyab]

Oh, I miss Friends and Ross...carrying the couch up the stairs....PIVOT....PIVOT....

 

 

WE WERE ON A BREAK!!! I love friends!

[Treebeard]

I bet you Greys Anatomy heaven is more fun and awesome than actual Greys. A lot of awesome is up there. Including but not limited to, Doc the cute dog and Coach Taylor is up there!

Yes! When I read they killed off Derek, I was like.... Hmmm maybe they can bring back hot bombsquad guy from a billion seasons ago for Mer. I thought they had mad chemistry in that one epi...but then I remember he got blowed up. Figures.

[mojito]

I wish Derek had just died from pancreatic or liver cancer. He could have gotten the diagnosis in DC and come home to die a couple episodes later. Imagine that. A character dying from illness. A unique way to go and a quick way to go with there still being time for people to say goodbye.

 

The crash was beyond trite. I did like Derek's thoughts while he was in the hospital. M*A*S*H* had an excellent episode where everyone talked at a patient unable to speak and Cynthia Nixon did a good episode on ER in which she could think but could not express herself. Having Derek root for the right decisions and declare that actions being taken were too late to help was an interesting way to narrate his death.  Besides being in shock herself, I don't blame Meredith for taking care of arrangements for Derek's imminent death. Family members might have prolonged his death and Amanda would probably try some grandstanding medical procedure to cure him. Some decisions are better  made quickly before getting others' input. It was Meredith's decision.

 

I'm losing some interest in the show but like it enough to see the interactions between the characters. When I have given up, I won't stick around to hate watch; life is too short to waste time on things I don't like. 

[Anela]

I've registered from long time lurking just to say thank you to all the posters who can put into words what I'm feeling after watching this episode. You guys are amazing :)

MerDer deserved better, this show deserved better and Patrick deserved better. There were better ways to solve this situation if Patrick wanted out. Killing off a character is just a terrible solution for the fans that sticked with this show for 11 years. I mean - they did such a wonderful job with Sandra Oh leaving.

 

About the episode iteself - I hated how they kept showing that everything was fine - he survived the car crash! The cops came, but he's ok! (Meredith's hallucination). It was so, so manipulative of the viewer. Actually, the last few episodes were one huge not-so-subtle foreshadowing.

And let's not even start on the inconsistencies you guys mentioned in the storyline and regarding the accident...

The only part that I liked were the scenes at the hospital where Derek died - his voiceovers were heartbreaking, And of course Ellen was excellent.

 

I know that the people involved in the show don't owe us anything, but after this episode I feel cheated as a viewer. Grey's has been running for so long, that it became something of a safe haven for me - like a comfort blanket. It is the show that I watch the longest. And now they killed one of the core characters and it wasn't driven by the story but by behind the scenes drama. I know it happens, but I didn't expect it from Grey's. I'm grateful for the 11 seasons, but it is the first time that I wish they ended the series earlier - maybe it wouldn't have to come to this.

 

I kinda dread the next episodes even though I love the characters :( I just don't know how they can finish the show after next season (or whenever it wil be) and give the fans the payoff we deserve. And I don't think I will ever be able to watch reruns knowing how it all ends.

 

Lately, I was thinking about starting Scandal, but no way am I gonna give Shonda another chance to break my heart :)

Scandal is awful now, and the speeches! 

 

Actually, I shouldn't speak for everyone - I have a few friends who love the show, so I don't discuss it with them, anymore. 

[AnitaM86]

I wish Derek had just died from pancreatic or liver cancer. He could have gotten the diagnosis in DC and come home to die a couple episodes later. Imagine that. A character dying from illness. A unique way to go and a quick way to go with there still being time for people to say goodbye.

THIS. If Derek had to be killed, at least this would have ben...gentler, sort to speak. To get a diagnosis of a terminal disease with no cure and just go home with time enough to have his good byes and die at home with his wife and kids, instead of that shitty hospital with strangers. 

 

This episode was lazy writing. SR should be ashamed of herself for this. 

[KnitsWithRaceCars]

I wish Derek had just died from pancreatic or liver cancer. He could have gotten the diagnosis in DC and come home to die a couple episodes later. Imagine that. A character dying from illness. A unique way to go and a quick way to go with there still being time for people to say goodbye.

 

 

THIS. If Derek had to be killed, at least this would have ben...gentler, sort to speak. To get a diagnosis of a terminal disease with no cure and just go home with time enough to have his good byes and die at home with his wife and kids, instead of that shitty hospital with strangers. 

 

This episode was lazy writing. SR should be ashamed of herself for this. 

 

It also would've been far more realistic based on past stories.  Back in whatever season (8 or 9, maybe?) that Mere had her genetic workup done to see if she has the Alzheimer's gene, Derek had his done too.  Derek had the gene for some sort of cancer, I want to say prostate or testicular, as well as the gene for male pattern baldness.  Of course, doing something realistic would require the continuity fairy to stop smoking her crack pipe for awhile, which will never happen in Shondaland.  I have to wonder, though, if a lot of fans still would see that as a slap in the face to Patrick, given that his mother died from cancer and cancer research/treatment is his big cause that he supports.  I think I would've seen it as a slap in the face to him, but still far more dignified than dying due to contrived circumstances and medical incompetence.

[RedheadZombie]

I keep seeing Amelia called Amanda, and it's throwing me. Am I missing an inside joke?

[Lnmop]

Then Denny arrives going: "You guys have no clue what you're missing with ghost imaginary sex." Bomb guy just gives him the Chloe side eye.

Followed by Ellis telling them they're all ordinary and Adele not recognizing any of them.

[jschoolgirl]

On Facebook it's been said that this way he died a hero for saving those people.

I don't care. He could have saved lives and then been treated *competently* yet to no avail.

[LeGrandElephant]

I know I said this already but I just really didn't think he would die. When he said "I'm going to die because these people aren't properly trained," I thought it was leading up to him just barely recovering and then throwing himself into *training* all those people properly. I really didn't think he was actually going to die till the very end, though I did think they'd leave it as a cliffhanger for the next episode.

I found this episode certainly held my attention better than most of the recent ones. But it also left me with a feeling of why bother watching after this? They are all already traumatized by so much death and destruction and now they're all going to be a mess again, it's not fun to watch. And after ten years spent building up Meredith and Derek and her finally having some emotional security and someone to take care of her when she gets Alzheimer's, now we get to think about her being alone and Zola being neglected and eventfully having to take care of an ailing Meredith herself? This is just not entertaining TV.

Maybe I'll skip the aftermath of this and jump back in next season to see how the tone is. I think I also skipped a bunch of the depressing aftermath of the plane crash and lawsuit, because I remember losing interest then and I still see plots mentioned that I don't remember, so I guess there are episodes I never saw.

[sonyab]

Yes, the ending of "How I Met Your Mother" made me unable to ever watch any earlier episode again,

 

 

Yeah I can't watch earlier episodes ever again also!! The ending of the show was so awful!

[AnitaM86]

I have to wonder, though, if a lot of fans still would see that as a slap in the face to Patrick, given that his mother died from cancer and cancer research/treatment is his big cause that he supports.  I think I would've seen it as a slap in the face to him, but still far more dignified than dying due to contrived circumstances and medical incompetence.

This is the one reason I'm glad they never went with the cancer SL. There are many other terminal illnesses they can address without adding the personal element that cancer has with PD. 

 

But yes, ITA. 

 

I keep seeing Amelia called Amanda, and it's throwing me. Am I missing an inside joke?

I saw that too but I just thought it was an honest mistake. It wasn't?

[Tuleh2]

 

I keep seeing Amelia called Amanda, and it's throwing me. Am I missing an inside joke?

The joke is that she is Dr. Shepherd. Hearing her called that on GA has been irritating me since CS arrived. Now it will make me absolutely livid; so I won't be watching.

[Muffyn]

It also would've been far more realistic based on past stories.  Back in whatever season (8 or 9, maybe?) that Mere had her genetic workup done to see if she has the Alzheimer's gene, Derek had his done too.  Derek had the gene for some sort of cancer, I want to say prostate or testicular, as well as the gene for male pattern baldness.  Of course, doing something realistic would require the continuity fairy to stop smoking her crack pipe for awhile, which will never happen in Shondaland.  I have to wonder, though, if a lot of fans still would see that as a slap in the face to Patrick, given that his mother died from cancer and cancer research/treatment is his big cause that he supports.  I think I would've seen it as a slap in the face to him, but still far more dignified than dying due to contrived circumstances and medical incompetence.

If they had him die of cancer it could have been written in such a way as to raise awareness of the cancers that have very poor recovery rates.  Certain cancers get much more coverage than others.  And great strides have been made in treatment reducing the mortality rates for many types.  However things such as pancreatic cancer have horrifically high mortality rates.  This could have been a showcase for a high mortality cancer and been used to promote the need for more research into better treatments.  Alright.  I stop pretending that GA does anything in a subtle and poignant way that could have been meaningful.  

[tennisgurl]

I really do feel awful for the hard core Grey`s fans. It reminds me of when How I met your Mother ended. I watched for 10 years, and then in the finale, they threw away everything they has built up. This must be awful, you have my sympathies. We`ve all been burned by a show we loved before, it really really sucks. 

 

I am still watching Scandal, and while I am still entertained by it occasionally, its no where near the enjoyably, crazy show it once was. Too much of SR trying to be cheap knock off of Alias, instead of focusing on Scandals and fun characters. Plus, I cant bring myself to really care about the characters anymore. They are all so awful now, with no signs of development, without being very interesting. They basically made my favorite character into a serial killer. Its just a shadow of its former glory.

 

I do like How to Get Away With Murder quite a lot, but now I`m worried. I dont want to get emotionally attacthed, and then something like this happens!

[Chicken Wing]

On Facebook it's been said that this way he died a hero for saving those people.

I don't care. He could have saved lives and then been treated *competently* yet to no avail.

 

Indeed. He didn't really die a hero for saving those people. He heroically saved those people and then died because of a separate series of stupid actions.

[FuriousStyles]

Well, I can't imagine I can say anything that hasn't already been said, I mean where do I start?

 

I have never liked MerDer and really only tolerate Derek because he's so pretty, but even *I* NEVER thought they would actually kill off the character.  It just seems soo unnecessary.  And yes, I can't echo it enough, it was done terribly.  The actual death didn't bother me so much, I guess because it was soo ridiculous that the neurosurgeon would just stroll in a hour and a half later that it didn't even really hold my attention.  What bothered me more is that they turned Derek dying into some kind of teaching moment where Meredith (who I don't even like) basically had to comfort the doctor who was sobbing like an idiot.  That entire scene outside the hospital with those two had me shaking me head in disbelief.  It actually made Meredith seem cold which isn't hard to do but still, I don't think that was the feeling they were going for.  And I mean "cold" in the sense that she was too calm and collected.  If the love of my life just died, I would be freaking out.  I would have wanted to tear that doctor limb from limb, not teach her about using this "moment" as motivation to be better.  No, fuck that!  

 

I've really only been watching this show to see when they will bring Callie and Arizona back together.  I haven't had much interest in any other character/storyline, so I can't even say that *this* will make me stop watching.  I'll be here til the bitter end I guess.  But the writers are really making it difficult.  I mean, damn, now I have to sit through the rest of this season and most of the next season watching Meredith be all dark and twisty?  Gah...what a drain.

[WatchrTina]

 

Not terribly bright of Derek to pull his car out into the road and then just sit there while looking for his phone. I knew as soon as he stopped there that he was going to get nailed.

I'm waiting for someone to turn this into a gif for use in anti-texting-while-in-the-car campaigns.  Just ignore the effing phone!

[KnitsWithRaceCars]

The joke is that she is Dr. Shepherd. Hearing her called that on GA has been irritating me since CS arrived. Now it will make me absolutely livid; so I won't be watching.

 

Same here.  She is, at best, the other Dr. Shepherd.  Derek always has and always will be THE Dr. Shepherd.

[RealityCowgirl]

So. My Facebook feed tonight includes a Google map marker for an event a friend is at on Bainbridge Island (Thanks for that detail. Never knew where the dream house wa supposed to be). Naturally, I zoomed out for a sense of perspective on where it is in comparison to Seattle proper, Sea-Tac, etc.

I just can't...

[Fallacy]

We haven't seen them together in awhile but today I remembered Derek and Zola's relationship. The show spit in the face of that too. Poor Zola and Bailey. Why kill off their father? Shonda Rhimes has no soul.

[jjj]

So. My Facebook feed tonight includes a Google map marker for an event a friend is at on Bainbridge Island (Thanks for that detail. Never knew where the dream house wa supposed to be). Naturally, I zoomed out for a sense of perspective on where it is in comparison to Seattle proper, Sea-Tac, etc.

I just can't...

Hilarious!  (Too bad you could not  go!) 

 

There is a petition to bring back Derek at change.org -- but I can't bring myself to post the link. There is no such thing as bad publicity (said P.T. Barnum, supposedly), and the best thing I can do to honor the character is to stop watching again -- as I did several years ago.  But I'll read this thread!   

[Musical]

This was just such a clumsy response by Shonda to exit Patrick.  Not only do I feel like deleting this unwatched episode from my DVR, I am quite inclined to delete the series as well.  And, I agree with the criticism of Scandal as well.  It seems like the plot development has been focused on global espionage matters instead of domestic difficulties.  I enjoyed the fine acting of the fellow who plays the Chief of Staff...and the power plays in the oval office.  I don't tune in to spy thriller shows.  I guess I am still in withdrawal from The West Wing. Thank goodness for Masterpiece Theater to satisfy my appetite for well crafted drama.

Edited April 27, 2015 by Musical

[jjj]

Very unintentionally funny observation over on this evening's "Good Wife" thread, where there was a reference to "Derek dying".  Someone complained about the "spoiler", and said "even news outlets are extremely careful not to spill things like this".  That person has not been near the news outlets over the past few days! 

[Kromm]

Very unintentionally funny observation over on this evening's "Good Wife" thread, where there was a reference to "Derek dying".  Someone complained about the "spoiler", and said "even news outlets are extremely careful not to spill things like this".  That person has not been near the news outlets over the past few days! 

I suppose there's a debate over there about Derek dying vs. Will dying?

 

There's really no need for a debate.  Will dying maybe was also a jerk-ass shock tactic, but it's not like Will Garner was lying on top of a huge pile of other corpses, like Derek's rotting corpse is.    A show can pull this kind of move once, MAYBE in extraordinary cases, twice in it's existence.  But when you go to the well too often, it runs dry.  There's no more gravitas to the deaths, just fans rolling eyes.

[walnutqueen]

I really do feel awful for the hard core Grey`s fans. It reminds me of when How I met your Mother ended. I watched for 10 years, and then in the finale, they threw away everything they has built up. This must be awful, you have my sympathies. We`ve all been burned by a show we loved before, it really really sucks. 

 

I am still watching Scandal, and while I am still entertained by it occasionally, its no where near the enjoyably, crazy show it once was. Too much of SR trying to be cheap knock off of Alias, instead of focusing on Scandals and fun characters. Plus, I cant bring myself to really care about the characters anymore. They are all so awful now, with no signs of development, without being very interesting. They basically made my favorite character into a serial killer. Its just a shadow of its former glory.

 

I do like How to Get Away With Murder quite a lot, but now I`m worried. I dont want to get emotionally attacthed, and then something like this happens!

 

I think getting invested in a Shonda Rhimes show is like being in a relationship with an abusive boyfriend who has Narcissistic Personality Disorder.

[AnitaM86]

There's really no need for a debate.  Will dying maybe was also a jerk-ass shock tactic, but it's not like Will Garner was lying on top of a huge pile of other corpses, like Derek's rotting corpse is.    A show can pull this kind of move once, MAYBE in extraordinary cases, twice in it's existence.  But when you go to the well too often, it runs dry.  There's no more gravitas to the deaths, just fans rolling eyes.

This is one issue. The other one is that the aftermath of Will's death is still dealt with. It wasn't forgotten or pushed behind, like you say, on a pile of corpses. It was given proper treatment that Will deserved. I can guarantee you that after next week's episode, Derek will barely be a memory. He won't get the respect of the weight his character brought to the show. 

[readster]

This is one issue. The other one is that the aftermath of Will's death is still dealt with. It wasn't forgotten or pushed behind, like you say, on a pile of corpses. It was given proper treatment that Will deserved. I can guarantee you that after next week's episode, Derek will barely be a memory. He won't get the respect of the weight his character brought to the show. 

 

 That's the problem even with the death of this big of a character. Derek will be forgotten before you know it. I agree with Will, his death is still felt on GW even though the show has really downward spiral horribly. Rarely shows really show that the death of a character is long reaching like in real life. An example would be my wife's uncle who died ten years ago. While not thought of and talked about a lot, his death does still come up on things regularly from family events to holidays. I mean for the first time in forever Lexi and Greg were brought up. Last time we heard about George was that What If dream Meredith thought of or how about Meredeth's other sister who hasn't been heard of since season 2 and was only brought up in season 5 once. Private Practice loved to bring up Dell's death many times because it affected the characters greatly and his daughter was still a fixture to a lot of the story lines. Yet, when they killed off Pete everyone could have cared less. Its like with Reed's death during the shooting. For someone that apparently was a best friend and so highly talked about with the original Mercy West interns, you never hear anything on her. 

[Elle8]

shonda uses death as a shock factor and as a punishment for her actors. but she used this expedient so many times that if she would have wanted to respect the characters and deal with their loss, the show would be a psychiatric wing. she abused and abused death, so many times that for her the mourning is nothing. total indifference. i guess she had the luck of never experience that in her life. i guess she really doesn't get it.

[jjj]

It is quite dramatic to keep reading about the deaths of characters on shows I abandoned years ago -- some names are familiar (George, no, really?!), others not; but the overall impact to learning all this at once is a sense of carnage.  A pupil of Shondaversity would learn that one should never hope to leave a job, because the primary way out of a job is via death. 

[kingshearte]

Very unintentionally funny observation over on this evening's "Good Wife" thread, where there was a reference to "Derek dying".  Someone complained about the "spoiler", and said "even news outlets are extremely careful not to spill things like this".  That person has not been near the news outlets over the past few days! 

I actually had that thought the first time I saw mention of Will's death here, but I checked myself before whining about it because, if I'm not caught up, that's on me (Actually, I'm more surprised that I hadn't heard before now, given that it seems to have happened... what, last season?). Once something has aired, you can't expect the world to police itself just because you haven't gotten around to watching yet.

[Chicken Wing]

It's funny, Derek's death was already a front-page article on Yahoo minutes after the episode aired on the East Coast, though the headline was "Did key Grey's character die?" so they weren't outright giving it away right up front. By Friday night, though, another front-page article gave away that the departed character was Derek.

 

If you don't want to be spoiled on something, stay the hell away from the internet altogether.

[izabella]

shonda uses death as a shock factor and as a punishment for her actors. but she used this expedient so many times that if she would have wanted to respect the characters and deal with their loss, the show would be a psychiatric wing. she abused and abused death, so many times that for her the mourning is nothing. total indifference. i guess she had the luck of never experience that in her life. i guess she really doesn't get it.

 

I am indifferent to the death on Grey's.  Shonda made me that way by killing everybody off all the time.

 

I am totally indifferent to Derek's death.  I don't know if that's because everybody dies here, or because PD chose to barely show up for work in the last year or two that I pretty much forgot he was still on the show except for the moments he appeared.  I really thought he would die when that distraught husband shot up the hospital, and had he died then, it would have been impactful.  But now?  Derek has been a non-entity for a long time.

[Elle8]

I am totally indifferent to Derek's death.  I don't know if that's because everybody dies here, or because PD chose to barely show up for work in the last year or two that I pretty much forgot he was still on the show except for the moments he appeared.  I really thought he would die when that distraught husband shot up the hospital, and had he died then, it would have been impactful.  But now?  Derek has been a non-entity for a long time.

 

 

I respectfully disagree. The originals are the only things that keeps this show decent. i have a total disinterest for all the new interns, and jo (that without alex is barely a character), stephanie, the umpteenth secret half sister, april and jackson etc etc. this show was build on a few very good characters that are dying like flies and in the most absurd ways. So I care when one of them dies just to boost ratings or to placate shonda. plus, after 10 years of shooting 15 hours a day, it's nothing but fair that longtime actors reduce hours. i just wished it was quality time.

Edited April 27, 2015 by Elle8

[jjj]

It's funny, Derek's death was already a front-page article on Yahoo minutes after the episode aired on the East Coast, though the headline was "Did key Grey's character die?" so they weren't outright giving it away right up front. By Friday night, though, another front-page article gave away that the departed character was Derek.

 

If you don't want to be spoiled on something, stay the hell away from the internet altogether.

What cracked me up that night and the next day were the number of articles that started:  "*SPOILER ALERT*  So, Dr. McDreamy  is dead"  -- you could not even get to the end of the word "ALERT" before seeing the spoiler -- plus, the headlines gave it all away the next day!  The "Good Wife" comments were not even about Will, but I did not want to say what they referred to, as it was only an hour after it aired.  I will just say it was nothing like poor Derek's fate! 

[windsprints]

I don't think I've found any death on Grey's shocking really. There's always some kind of tease/hint (major media sites, not things like sides) that make it obvious its coming. George's was very sad but I knew immediately it was him because it played out very close to how ER did it years before.

 

Of all the deaths I Mark's was the one that struck the emotional cord for me. I think his death was the best written of all of them. It had a mix of flashbacks and real time and the people closest to Mark were with him when he died. We also saw how all the characters had built up some hope for his survival and how they dealt with him not making it.

 

I think the next episode will be more emotional than Derek's actual death was in this episode because we will see the reactions.

[taanja]

So. They killed McDreamy. Wow.

 

I haven't watched an entire episode of this show in 2 or more years---everyone--- even my beloved Meredith has become annoying to some degree. But I was flipping channels and saw Derek at some accident scene so I stopped and watched. I actually thought the episode was decent mainly because the all the annoying people were not in it. And then wham! Truck! McDreamy dead!

 

There is no way I will watch the very special funeral episode next week. No way.

[WendyCR72]

George's was very sad but I knew immediately it was him because it played out very close to how ER did it years before.

 

Yes! Which is why I was sad for George and the character's fans, but all I thought when it aired was, from El Train to bus, Gant to George. It was almost a play by play and made me wonder if Shonda found an ER script and just changed transportation and names.

 

And the reveal was anticlimactic, having seen it before. (Although I'll never forget people paging Gant for the John Doe patient as a beeper kept going off near him.)