This Grey's Finale, "Unaccompanied Minor" had a big ole' meaning that none of the fans were aware of until a day after the episode ended. When Shonda Sunshine revealed the secret, many of the fans were still in shock - a little like those relatives of the plane crash victims. While fans still reeled from the emotional trauma, Sunshine dropped the big one. This epi was written to begin the end for the original cast. Most of the Grey's originals' contracts have only 1 season to go. Some of them, like Ellen Pompeo - Meredith - have indicated that they don't plan to renew.
Sunshine says that's why this epi set next season's focus to be on the original cast members. This is how the end begins for Grey's Greatest. If imagining Shonda's version of riding off into the sunset doesn't get your creative juices flowing then call the coroner -- you're most likely dead.
So, lets dust off the swami turban and recall where this epi left everyone and imagine how Sunshine may be setting up their exits. Before we begin individual prognostications, it's important to check out the writer's blog, Grey Matter, done by Debora Cahn, who did an ab fab job of writing this tearjerking episode. Debora says that the heartache flu that swept Seattle Grace's favorite couples was caused by something fans have adored about Cristina and Meredith from day one: their independence. If the cause is who they are, then is there a cure? Perhaps Sunshine envisions Mer and Cristina growing into old crusty ladies who can never give enough to a partner to stay in a relationship.
Are Mer and Cristina destined to spend forever alone together, growing ever older and crustier?
Mer/Der:
This epi left Mer at home alone with baby Zola and Der lying alone on the ground in the dream house that must seem more like a nightmare. Der didn't even know that the Social Services folks unexpectedly granted the couple custody of the wee one they'd been working so hard to adopt. What should have been a happy family homecoming ended up with both characters reeling in the aftermath of Alex's disclosure about Mer's hanky panky with the Alzheimer's study.
The hanky panky would have cost Mer her job if the Chief hadn't figured out that she'd meddled so that his wife, Adele, would get the real study drug rather than a placebo. That Mer meddled for a good purpose didn't make it any easier for cop's son Der to take. He who sees no grey areas in life has a gift for spotting his wife's most vulnerable area. (Perhaps it's a warrior's sense because lots of guys seem to share it). And Der aimed right for that tender spot - saying that Mer might have been right when she said the epi before that she thought she'd been parented so badly that she didn't know if she could raise a child. Der said he didn't know if he wanted to raise a child with someone who could do such a dastardly deed. And then he skulked away and refused to answer any of Mer's calls. So she took baby Zola home alone.
It's no secret that I'm a Mer/Der fan. I got hooked on the show on its very first episode. The series began with the new Seattle Grace intern's hot-arsed one-night stand getting kicked out of bed so she could go to work and meet him as her boss. And despite all the drama and trauma of the intervening years, that dynamic of their relationship has never really changed. She still aims for the end regardless of the means and plans to get there the way she chooses. He still wants a wild lover in the bedroom and an obedient little by-the-book-sir soldier at the hospital.
Mer's a public rebel and a private nester. Der's a public nester and a private rebel. And yet, there's no doubt about it - the two are fated soul mates. They'll have to learn to meet in the middle before they can agree on where they'll end up when they ride off into the sunset. It sounds like marriage counseling time again. You'll recall, Der went through counseling with Addison, but it was a weak effort at best. He never really wanted to save that marriage. This one is different.
Before they're really ready for counseling though, Mer will have to learn to ask Der's opinion about something before she does it, and be willing to listen if his answer is "don't." And Der will have to learn to accept Mer as a real equal in the hospital before she can accept him as a real partner at home. I'm think that Mer's gonna learn more respect for the rules by mothering Zola. I'm a little afraid that Der may not realize what he's got until he nearly loses it. Der may be home with Mer and Zola by the time the new season starts, but I'm not a'tall sure that would be such a good thing.
If Der goes home too soon, I think he'll resent Mer and it'll build up until he does something really stupid - like have an affair. If Cristina and Owen don't reconcile, then the season will start with Cristina living with Mer and Der. I still worry that Shonda built up the chemistry between Der and Cristina for a reason. Yeah, that affair would be a full circle moment. It would send Mer running off into the sunset alone, and would make Der follow her, hoping for a better reception than he gave Addison.
But likely, I'm being - as usual - over the top. (Hey, this leopard ain't ever gonna lose those spots.) Shonda's vision is likely saner. Through counseling, I suspect that the couple will realize that Seattle will always be Mer's place more than Der's. People like the Chief will always step in and fix her well-intentioned world-fixing efforts. No matter how well-intentioned the Seattle folk may be, they get in the couple's way. It means they'll never learn to deal with each other, to lean on each other until they do it somewhere else.
I can imagine Mer/Der and little Zola picking a nice quiet spot where they can build a house in some scenic wilderness. They'll raise Zola to fish and appreciate nature more than interior decorating. I expect they'll do it near a little town where they can have a surgical practice together and build new relationships with people who don't know one of them better than the other. Montana perhaps?
Cristina/Owen
I'm only gonna touch on this one. And I'm only doing that because Cristina is one of my most beloved "originals." This epi left Cristina pregnant and announcing it to Owen along with her intention to get an abortion. She doesn't want to be a Mommy but Owen does want to be a Daddy. So he asked her to reconsider but at the end of the epi she told him that she'd scheduled an appointment for the abortion. So he threw her out.
And off Cristina boogled to Mer's house, where - as I said earlier - I hope her fragile emotional state doesn't make her the perfect partner in stupidity for Derek.
How will this one turn out? I really don't think that Cristina wants to have a child. Being around Mer and Zola could change her mind, and that would be nice, sure enuff. But it's hard for me to see that happening. Even if Cristina and Owen get back together and plan to have the baby, I don't see it working out and I can't really imagine Shonda giving them a baby to rear. Oh, I could be wrong. Sunshine may find it fun to end the series with Mer and Cristina both as contented Mommies, rearing their little ones. But to me, that would seem like a betrayal of who Cristina really is sort of like when Cristina went off the rails for so long, refusing to go back into surgery - that upset fans. Because much more than Mer, Cristina is a surgeon.
If Ellis Grey had a clone, it wouldn't be Meredith - it'd be Cristina.
You know how I imagine Cristina's forever? Not with Owen. I think they're fun together but I don't think they're fated soul mates. And yeah, I think Cristina had one. I think it was Burke. I imagine Cristina leaving Seattle Grace because she's gotten a surgical position at Burke's hospital. I can imagine her walking off to the parking lot, talking on her cell phone to Burke, making a dinner date. And that would leave a lot of fans with a warm fuzzy feeling - knowing that the dream heart team would be back together, in and out of the OR.
All the others:
Yeah, Sunshine mentioned that all the originals will be in play. So some of them could come back and others could bow out. I could see the Chief leaving to take care of Adele full time. I could imagine Bailey and her man/hunk Nurse marrying and heading somewhere they could raise a family and still have time for each other. But in a lot of ways, it seems to me that Bailey and the Chief are really the soul of the hospital. If Mer/Der/Cristina/Bailey and the Chief all checked out it'd be tough for me to imagine the series continuing.
I've never been as attached to Alex, but I'm not sure why. It's not just that he was a true turd in turning on Mer, it's more that the something broken deep inside him really needs to be mended. I can see him thinking back to George and possibly even joining the military.
As for Mark and Lexie, I'm not sure if I hope they get back together or not. Mark's gonna be kicked to the curb somewhat by his new family because he can't meddle in their marriage forever, baby or not. Mark on the prowl again could set up a bunch of trouble. I want him to stay away from Meredith so maybe he should get back together with Lexie. They could always have him comforting Cristina. Now wouldn't that be a psychologically interesting pairing?
I've been trying to ignore the bombshell Shonda snuck in the TVLine piece about another possible Mer/Der future. She said she saw them together "unless one of them dies or something." Ouch. Ellen Pompeo seems set on going. What if she goes and Dempsey and Sandra Oh stay? That would set up a possible future match up for Derek and Cristina sure enough, but I hope it doesn't happen. It's one soul mate to a customer and I hope that Ellen and Patrick either go or stay at the same time. If Shonda kills one of 'em off, then she better be willing to pay for counseling for a bunch of folks. Or if not counseling then some really - and I mean really - good drugs.
Buckle your seatbelts America. I'm betting next season Grey's is gonna be a bumpy ride!