'Grey's Anatomy' Season 17 Episode 3 Preview: How long will Derek be present in this segment? Here's the answer
The premiere of 'Grey's Anatomy' left fans sobbing. The doctors of Grey-Sloane memorial are struggling to save lives during the Covid-19 pandemic that crippled the world. People are dying, and there is chaos as most of them don't have access to healthcare. Everyone's trying to keep their temper under control, relationships are frayed, and the doctors are panicking Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) and Andrew DeLuca (Giacomo Gianniotti) are trying to get back to where they were, while Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd) and Teddy Altman (Kim Raver) broke up, hopefully for good.
However, the ending left everyone in shock, as Meredith collapsed. In her limbo-like state, she saw her dead husband Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey). Derek died in Season 11 in a heart-stopping car crash. While there was a chance of him being saved at a clinic, the doctors fumbled and wasted time...leading to Derek's death. The truth is that there were rumours of Dempsey leaving the show on a bad note, so fans were not sure if they would ever see him again.
It turns out, he's going to be there for most of Season 17, and that is good news for fans. On the Ellen DeGenres show, he teased about how many episodes he could be seen in. "I'm not sure how many. I know I'm throughout this season. He comes back to visit," he said.
In an interview to Deadline, Dempsey said, "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 was 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 was a lot of things that were different, that I thought were very positive and very inspiring, actually."
The synopsis for Episode 3 reads: "The doctors continue to face their new COVID-19 reality and deal with a familiar and stubborn patient; Koracick is put in charge of the interns; Link operates on a sex therapist; Maggie finds comfort in Winston's virtual presence."
'Grey's Anatomy' airs on Thursdays at 9 pm on ABC.