Grey’s Anatomy Round Table: Was the Meredith Farewell Disappointing?

Meredith Grey has left Seattle.

The highly anticipated event transpired on Grey’s Anatomy Season 19 Episode 7, and to say that it was underwhelming would be an understatement.

Join super fans Meaghan Frey and Joshua Johnson and Senior Staff Writer Jasmine Blu as they discuss what the hell happened.

Did the heavily promoted “Farewell Meredith” episode live up to the hype? Discuss.

Meaghan: I couldn’t have been more disappointed in this episode. I was annoyed that they were promoting this like it was Mer’s final episode when it was confirmed that she would return for the finale; I still expected more.

When Jackson left the show, Jesse Williams had always intended on returning from time to time, just like Ellen Pompeo, so why did he get a better goodbye than their main character? No montage, no emotional goodbyes between Mer and any character, and no classic Grey’s Anatomy songs?

I don’t know who Ellen pissed off, but she and Meredith deserved way better than a single lackluster toast.

Joshua: The “Farewell Meredith” was DOA; there was zero emotional payoff for saying goodbye to Meredith.

I think of all the characters that got big, grand goodbyes (George, Izzie, Cristina, Karev, Derek, April, Jackson, even freakin’ Riggs), and it just makes me madder that I didn’t even tear up that Meredith left.

As Meaghan said, I get that she’ll be back for the finale, and we’ll still get Meredith voiceovers, but come on, Krista Vernoff. This was not the business.

Jasmine: What was that? There was nothing “Farewell” about it. They put more thought into sending Alex away after Justin Chambers left with those stupid letters than they did this.

I get that Mer is returning for the finale and could periodically make appearances throughout the remainder of the series, but we knew Jackson would be returning too.

This was the final episode for the lead of damn near 20 years as a series regular, and they didn’t even bother with a montage.

I felt more things watching the overhyped promotion for the episode than the actual episode.

Were you content with how things ended between Mer and Nick? What are your thoughts on her frustration that he didn’t say ” I love you” back and her cold shoulder departure?

Meaghan: Not at all. It left me feeling like what was the point in their relationship? Mer, being frustrated that he didn’t say I love you back, felt like Grey’s Anatomy Season 2 Meredith.

She has come so far from that. Sometimes actions speak louder than words, and Nick moving to Seattle and leaving the position he loved spoke volumes about his feelings.

Then to berate him about it, forcing him to come to terms with his feelings and make him confess them before he was ready, to pull that cold move she did at the end? That was infuriating.

She could’ve just said, “I love you too, but I need time to figure things out.”

Honestly, Nick deserves better and should move on, but I’m sure they will reconcile in the finale, and he will move to Boston.

Joshua: Can I gloss over this question? Can I please not answer it? That’s how content I was about how things ended between the two of them that I don’t even want to talk about it.

My boyfriend and I have been rewatching the whole series (the first time for him, God knows what number rewatch for me), and we just finished Grey’s Anatomy Season 4, with Meredith’s therapy journey.

It’s a plotline that means a lot to me (I even have “Be Extraordinary” tattooed on my forearm in the Grey’s Anatomy title card font) because of what Meredith learned: that she could be a talented, gifted, extraordinary surgeon and have a relationship, as long as she remembered not to value a man more than herself and her career.

I bring this up because I initially cheered when Meredith told Nick that she has a great life, a career, and three kids who all come first.

But looking back on the episode–particularly the scene where she gave Nick the cold shoulder on the phone when he said “I love you”–Meredith was anything but extraordinary.

Essentially, she did to Nick what Richard did to Ellis and, in doing so, undid all of the work she’s done in the past 15 seasons to be extraordinary. I’ve never been more disappointed in a character I loved so much. (Maybe I need to make more IRL friends…)

Jasmine: I’m going to cosign everything you two said. It was childish and regressive of Meredith to behave the way she did. She 100% pulled an Ellis.

Nick’s love language is Acts of Service because the man did more than any average Joe would for her, and she got caught up in the words like everything he’s done since forever hasn’t been love.

Ironically, they kept trying to make it seem like she had grown from when she was an intern and her behavior then, but other than them going out of the way to correct her Pick-Me line to show her growth, which didn’t, she was acting like old Meredith.

They’ll probably figure things out by the finale, but at this point, Nick deserves better. I said what I said.

How do you feel about the interns taking over the Grey House?

Meaghan: That was one of the only parts of the episode I liked. It was predictable, but I’m all for getting the Intern House 2.0. Side note: Mer’s house being mostly fine makes that whole fire feel pointless.

Joshua: I agree with Meaghan that Mer’s house being fine makes the fire seem pointless. I love that the interns are moving back into it; it’s a way of keeping the nostalgia and feeling of the show alive while keeping it fresh.

Jasmine: It was literally my favorite part of the episode, and I’m excited about the legacy of the house living on and this new back of interns, whom I love, getting to live their glory days in it.

I agree about the fire being pointless, though. I rolled my eyes at how it was literally engulfed in flames but somehow managed to only have a hole in the roof. Sure, okay.

Do you think Maggie and Winston’s relationship is salvageable? Are you surprised by how the seemingly perfect couple has become this fraught?

Meaghan: I would like to say yes, but it’s reminding me way too much of the downfall of Amelink: completely out of nowhere, completely out of character for the relationship, and all could be solved with some real solid communication. I hope they can pass this, but I’m not too optimistic.

Joshua: The relationship is salvageable if Maggie steps outside her ego for a second.

I don’t understand how someone can hear, “I want to switch specialties because I love you and our relationship more than cardiothoracic surgery,” and be mad about it.

I wish they’d developed Maggie’s point of view on this more so we could better understand her. Right now, I’m fully Team Winston.

Jasmine: I have spent years defending Maggie because this fandom comes at her so hard for no reason. But this is one instance where I cannot. I’m Team Winston, too.

I understand that they went too fast with them, and they’re due for a rough patch as the honeymoon phase is over, but this feels like a contrived drama, and I don’t like it at all.

Do you think there will be sparks between Helm and Mika?

Meaghan: I kind of hope so. Helm was starting to become more likable last season, and then they relegated her to being Joe 2.0 behind the bar. Her speech to Nick was a highlight in this otherwise bland episode, so if Mika gets Helm more screen time, let’s do it.

Joshua: Look, anything that gets Helm back on the show. I love Jaicy Elliot, and I don’t think she ever got the flowers she deserved when she was on the show.

I don’t mind her being Joe 2.0 (I’ve missed Joe’s bar, the interactions there, and Joe himself). If Mika helping out at Joe’s kindles a romance between them, I’m all for it (especially since we’ve gotten almost zero character development for Mika).

Jasmine: I am rooting for this. Helm is long overdue for a storyline with teeth that gets a significant amount of screen time, and it could help develop both her and Mika since I agree that Mika is the current intern with the least going on at the moment.

Should Teddy take over Mer’s position?

Meaghan: Should she? Probably not. Will she? Most likely.

The problem with the Chief position is that they always give it to all-star surgeons, but why? The position is administrative, so surgical skill doesn’t matter.

They should find an outsider to bring in that has been in the position for a while elsewhere and who isn’t going to spend their time longing to be back in surgery.

Joshua: Ditto, Meaghan, as usual. Besides the fact that Teddy is a better surgeon than she is a leader, what happens when the board vets her and sees that she just ran from the law? It would be absolutely ridiculous to give someone like that the chief position, but this is Grey’s Anatomy.

Jasmine: Teddy is a rockstar surgeon, so it would be a step down for her. I also agree that her little issue with the law should be an issue, but Meredith was Chief after all her trouble. I don’t know. I can go either way on this because I see benefits to her being Chief as well.

What was your favorite scene, storyline, moment, etc., from the hour?

Meaghan: Probably the Helm and Nick scene. There were very few bright spots in this episode, and that one at least gave me a few chuckles.

Joshua: The storyline that got me the most involved was the baby who got the partial heart transplant, not for the surgery, but for Amelia.

For her to sit down with total strangers and talk about Christopher calmly, without crying, shows how much she’s grown as a person, parent, and addict… it was beautiful.

Seeing her walk away fighting tears after the baby survived–because their baby was saved and nothing could save Christopher–was the icing on a really well-acted cake.

Her scene with Lucas was also a highlight when he asked how not to care what other people think/say and how to fight for his patients, not only for the valuable lesson but for “Aunt Amy” and “Shep” as well.

Jasmine: Simone has my heart. I loved the scene with her and Mer because it felt like a passing of the torch moment. I love her honesty with Lucas and how cute they are. And, of course, I’m thrilled about Intern House 2.0.

What, if anything, disappointed you most about the hour?

Meaghan: Everything involving Mer, specifically the lack of anything.

They should’ve shown Mer leaving the hospital for the last time, cut to a montage of all her best moments, and ended it with a parallel of the scene of MAGIC leaving together with Mer staring at the hospital with present-day Mer doing the same.

They could’ve included flashbacks to old scenes in each room in Mer’s house as the interns explored it. They should’ve done a montage of elevator scenes as Mer rides the elevator one last time. There were just so many missed opportunities.

I haven’t invested almost 19 years into Meredith Grey for that to be her send-off.

Joshua: As much as I hate to say it at this particular moment, I agree with Meaghan. Not because Meaghan doesn’t have wonderful opinions, but because I love Meredith Grey as a character so much, so for her to be written this way in her finale episode is one of the biggest disappointments this show has ever given me.

Part of me wonders if they’re banking on this being the last season, so all of the emotion will come during the finale, but even if that’s the case, it’s a massive disservice to the fans who deserve a better goodbye to the main character of the show.

Maybe it’s a Grey thing because if you blinked, you missed Lexie dying; then again, Thatcher got a bigger goodbye than either of his daughters did.

Jasmine: Mer’s exit. Just… no attempt at anything special.

Do you agree with our round table? Do you disagree? Sound off below!

Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursdays on ABC.

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Jasmine Blu is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.

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