‘Grey’s Anatomy’ season 11, episode 9 preview: Is Patrick Dempsey leaving? Also, 2015 return date

Tonight, “Grey’s Anatomy” season 11 aired a heck of an episode, and one that probably made a few people out there get a little bit emotional. What happened? Well, read on if you are okay with SPOILERS.

At the end of the episode, it was revealed that Derek, tired of the frustration that came with staying in Seattle, decided that he was going to take the job in Washington. In doing so, he potentially was walking away not just from the Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital, but also his wife. Isn’t that sad? We definitely feel like it is.

Well, we can at least tell you that the odds of this being Patrick Dempsey’s last episode on the show seem to be slim. The man is under contract for another season, and if this was to be the end of Derek as we know it, the character would probably be killed off. Our guess is that we’ll see a few scenes from him here and there in Washington, much as we did when Cristina decided that she was going to leave the hospital the first time years ago.

As for just when this particular episode will air, here is the date to know: Thursday, January 29. ABC is taking their sweet time to return, and we’re fine with that, at least provided of course that we get many consecutive episodes in a row.

While there is no title for this episode yet, we can at least tell you that the legendary Debbie Allen is directing. That is at least something worth celebrating for now.

Want to get some other big “Grey’s Anatomy” news now, including a review for tonight’s episode? Then head over to the link here right now! Also, sign up if you want to get a further dosage of TV news now courtesy of our CarterMatt Newsletter. (Photo: ABC.)