‘Grey’s Anatomy’ season 11, episode 22 preview: Following Patrick Dempsey – Ellen Pompeo shocker

We’ve made it through now one of the most devastating episodes of “Grey’s Anatomy” ever. Saying goodbye to Cristina Yang was tough, but you also knew that she was going to have a chance to go off and be happy. You really couldn’t do that with Derek Shepherd, and turn a doting father into a jerk who never wanted to see his kids. The only way to write out this character was to kill him.

Of course, the show does have to go on, and it will have a chance to do that next week with a two-hour episode entitled “She’s Leaving Home.” Tonight’s episode was a showcase for Patrick Dempsey during his last episode, and we anticipate Ellen Pompeo will have the bulk of the work moving into what lies ahead.

The promo below offers up a few more teases, including that we are going to see Derek’s funeral, and that we are going to start to see how some of the other doctors react to the loss of their own. Derek was a close friend at times to Owen, a brother to Amelia, and a mentor to many. Almost everyone had some sort of connection to him, which makes this easily the most significant death in the show’s history. He had been there from the very beginning, and it was a surprising way to remove him given those circumstances.

For Meredith, ultimately the rest of this season will be seeing if she can figure out how to move forward.

Where do you think “Grey’s Anatomy” will go from here, and how should they move forward? Let us know what you think in the comments, and head over here to see our take on tonight’s shocking hour. Also, you can sign up to get some other TV news sent to you via our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: ABC.)