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'Grey's Anatomy' Season 17 Episode 3: Why are Derek and Meredith so far apart? Fans wonder if she's closer to death

'Stay unconscious the whole episode, meredith, don't care,' a fan wrote

'Grey's Anatomy' Season 17 began with a bang. In the second episode itself, as part of the premiere, Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) was diagnosed with Covid-19 (no surprises there!) and she was found unconscious in the parking lot of Grey-Sloane memorial. But that's not all. In her limbo state, she saw her dead husband, Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey). It was a shock to fans because they were not expecting Dempsey to ever return to the show, due to rumored riffs with the creator Shonda Rhymes.

In the episode, Meredith and Derek see each other on the beach, but they're far away from each other. Is there a chance of a hug and kiss? Maybe not, because fans think that the closer Meredith gets to Derek, the closer she gets to death. So, we might not get a kiss anytime soon. Moreover, she only sees Derek when she's unconscious, so fans keep hoping she stays unconscious. "Are they showing Derek being so far away from her on purpose? Like the closer she gets, the closer to death she is? #GreysAnatomy," a fan tweeted.

"Mer’s smile has never been so big since Derek died#GreysAnatomy," a fan tweeted. "Ughhh the chemistry between Meredith and Derek will never be matched #GreysAnatomy," a fan wrote. "not me waiting for her to pass out again so I can see Derek #GreysAnatomy," a fan wrote. "is Meredith ever gonna reach Derek? #greysanatomy," a fan tweeted. "make Meredith stay unconscious this entire episode i literally do not care #greysanatomy," a fan tweeted.

In an interview with Deadline, Dempsey mentioned his experience of returning to the show. ""It was really enjoyable. It was really exciting and fun, and it was great to see everybody. Kevin (McKidd, who directs Episode 3) was there as well, so there were a lot of familiar faces, a lot of new faces. The dynamic behind the camera had changed. There's much more diversity within the crew. There was a nice balance, too, of equality that I was seeing. So, culturally, there were a lot of things that were different, that I thought were very positive and very inspiring, actually."

'Grey's Anatomy' airs on ABC, Thursdays at 9 pm.