It’s that time of year again. Exams are beginning, Facebook feeds are flooding with senior pictures, shows are ending and The State Press staff gets to discuss the hard issues.
My time at The State Press has been everything and more, and as a senior set to graduate and depart from the life of a student, allow me to impart you with these words of wisdom: It is not your past that defines you as a person, but how you handle the road ahead of you.
For some though, that road has ended, and so we take a look back on their life and we remember them for their triumphs and their struggles. I’m talking, of course, about world-renowned neurosurgeon Dr. Derek “McDreamy” Shepherd.
For those of you who live under a rock and are not aware of the recent death of the beloved character from "Grey’s Anatomy," well, then I’ve just ruined it for you (sorry I’m not sorry). However, if you keep up with the show then you know of — what some are calling — his untimely death. But if you actually paid attention to the show, then you would have seen the signs coming from the very beginning of this season.
I have taken the time to compile a list of 7 reasons why it was actually smart to kill off McDreamy. So without further ado:
1. His career was going nowhere.
With him leaving the hospital to go pursue the research grant in D.C., his sister stepped in and took over his job at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital as Chief of Neurosurgery, and she made it very clear that she had no intentions of giving that position up. When McDreamy came back from D.C. to talk with Meredith about his “indiscretion,” he promised her he would quit the research and return back to Seattle. Well, with him no longer being top dog at GSMH and quitting the D.C. research, what was his character supposed to do? Dr. Derek Shepherd is (was) top dog, best doctor in his field, and his character wasn’t the type to sit idle and allow someone else to shine.
2. The “will they, won’t they” appeal of the Mer-Der relationship was wearing off
For most, if not all, of the series, the big relationship has always been Meredith and Derek. From the time she was just a girl in a bar and he was just a guy in a bar, the audience was glued to their television sets every Thursday to see what more those two could throw at each other and how thick they could lay on the sexual tension in the elevators. But as the show progressed into the later seasons and their relationship began to become more defined — on-call hookups, tumor drawings on walls, post-it note marriages and finally a real eloping at city hall — the appeal of the “will they, won’t they” began to wear off. How many times can you break up and have make-up sex?
3. Do it for the girl.
Let’s be very clear, the show’s title is "Grey’s Anatomy," not Shepherd’s, or Hunt’s or even Avery’s (although I can imagine if these characters were real, Catherine would try very hard to get her name represented) Anatomy. This show is ultimately about Meredith and her mother issues. She’s dark and twisty! Although she makes every attempt to avoid ending up like her mother, if you’re paying attention, she’s exactly like her mother. Sure, she doesn’t have Alzheimer’s (yet), but she’s certainly neglecting her kids like her mother used to do. How often do we see Zola or Bailey? Not very! It’s only natural to her character’s progression to see her cry over the body of her husband. After all, we’ve already watched her cry over her father, her mother, her stepmother (who died of hiccups — come on!), her estranged half-sister from her father’s bloodline, and countless friends. It’s not right for Meredith to be happy, so do it for the girl!
4. Stupidity
I’m not gonna even go into detail on this one. The dude stopped, perpendicular, in the middle of a windy road to try to find his cell phone. Although, I am questioning the sudden appearance of a large semi-truck after all the talk about how no one is ever on that road. Also, Meredith was worrying all last episode about the whereabouts of her husband, and Amelia (his sister) didn’t think to say, “Oh yeah, I spoke with him last, he was on some windy mountainous road with zero cell service claiming he was gonna make it to the airport in time, even though I was telling him otherwise!” Stupidity.
5. Shock value.
If you paid attention to the show, you saw this coming, but for many, they didn’t. So, for ratings it was smart to kill off Dr. Shepherd. After the huge campaign about the 10 years the show has been airing for and how only five original cast members remain, it was downright shocking to watch them get rid of yet another OG. There’s rumors going around saying Patrick Dempsey made Shonda Rhimes (show creator and writer) mad, but — albeit, according to him — Dempsey says he left on his own accord following another OG member’s exit at the end of last season. My only hope as a devout fan is that none of the remaining original cast members follow suit. At least Cristina Yang can return as something other than a ghost/figment of imagination.
6. Making room
If the show continues to progress, they’re going to have to introduce new characters, or even bring back old ones (fingers crossed). Killing off Dr. Derek “McDreamy” Shepherd allows the writing staff the opportunity to fill a vacancy — Cristina left, they brought in Maggie (Meredith’s other estranged sister from her mother’s bloodline). My hope? They bring back Dr. Addison Montgomery. She left around season 4 to go do her own thing in California, leading to the creation of the spin-off series "Private Practice" — which only lasted for a measly six seasons. They’ve already made the crossover by bringing Amelia over from "Private Practice," it’s completely feasible they could bring the comeback of Addison as well!
7. His time had come.
After surviving being shot straight through the heart, a plane crash and the rehabilitation of his hand in order to perform surgery, as well as many other incidents, how much more can one person take? Assuming of course, that person isn’t the show’s namesake. It had all started to become a little ridiculous and it was about time they killed off a main character — which they hadn’t done since the plane crash (if you don’t count Heather).
And with that, we see the ending of an era, the closing of a chapter in the show’s life. To all the people who are signing the change.org petition to bring Derek back: Get real. He’s dead; accept it. To all the people who say they’ll never watch the show again: I doubt it. My hope is this show never ends. Let's see it progress all the way to Meredith becoming Chief and the one in charge of the hospital’s teaching practices, not just owning it. Correct me if I’m wrong, but with Derek dead, she now absorbs his shares of the hospital which could potentially put her as a bigger managing partner than the Avery foundation… Did I just give the writers ideas for season 12? I expect the credit!
Reach the columnist at derrik.rochwalik@asu.edu or follow @drochwalik on Twitter.
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Editor’s note: The opinions presented in this column are the author’s and do not imply any endorsement from The State Press or its editors.
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