‘Grey’s Anatomy’ star puts Derek’s funeral mystery to rest

When Meredith Grey was mourning the loss of her husband Derek, was Cristina Yang at the memorial service? This is a question that many fans of “Grey’s Anatomy” have been asking for quite some time now, and it strangely has taken this long for someone to give us a clear answer.

Luckily, Kevin McKidd is here to be that person. Speaking to TVLine, the actor made it clear that the woman that you saw alongside Meredith at the service (or really, you saw the back of her head), was meant to be Meredith’s person and Owen’s ex, who came back from her post in Europe to be there for her:

“Cristina was there … I presume Sandra was busy and unavailable for that episode, which was the only reason why [a body double was used]. That funeral sequence was meant to imply that Cristina was obviously there for Meredith. Her presence was felt.”

We don’t think that Sandra Oh’s absence there is meant to be some sort of indication that the show is going to have a hard time getting her back in the future. It may have more to do with the notion that the death of Derek in general was planned during a very short period of time, and with that there was only so much that could be done in order to ensure that they had the right people together. If there is time to work everything out schedule-wise, we’re sure that we will get a chance to see Cristina played by the right person before the series comes to a conclusion.

For those who point out that Cristina was mentioned back during the episode, you are correct; however, much of the confusion lied in being able to pinpoint her.

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