‘Grey’s Anatomy’ season 11 winter finale reaction: Patrick Dempsey on Derek’s departure

After the “Grey’s Anatomy” winter finale Thursday night, it is fair to be spending some time asking one important question: Is Derek gone from the show? The answer to that is “no,” but you may face the reality of him being gone from the Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital for awhile.

After tonight’s episode of the show aired, both Ellen Pompeo and Patrick Dempsey discussed the subject of Derek’s decision to get away to Washington DC, and for Ellen, she made it clear that unless Derek is gone for a while, this story will mean nothing. Just be sure to see her comments per The Hollywood Reporter:

“I don’t know how long they’ll keep it up, but in TV time, a few episodes is a long time. I have no idea what they’re going to do, but I’m advocating for him to stay away longer because I think if he comes back too soon it’s not realistic … If you’re going to make that big move then — if he’s committing to the president then he’s committed. You can’t just back out. So that sounds like a serious commitment to me. I hope that he doesn’t rush back to Seattle because that will undermine the importance of that job. It will feel less important if it’s just over.”

Dempsey, on the other hand, stated that he would be intrigued about staying away from the hospital for a while while, and exploring what some of the politics could be like for a doctor over in Washington, working closely with the President.

Personally, we want to see Derek gone for at least four episodes or so; it wouldn’t make sense to have him gone forever, but distance could help his marriage, and also get rid of some that recent resentment.

Is there anything that you want to see from “Grey’s Anatomy” now that Derek is gone from the hospital? Share with a comment.