‘Grey’s Anatomy’ season 12: A powerful take on life without Derek

It is still very early in “Grey’s Anatomy” season 12 to be sharing much when it comes to cohesive scoop on some of the characters, especially when it comes to Meredith Grey. Right now, much of what we can say is in broad strokes. For example, this is a story about her. It’s not so much about how she finds someone and lives happily ever after with them. The perception may have been that evolved into that somewhat with Derek over the last decade, but go back and watch how the character started out on the show.

A great reminder of how this story is not purely a romance comes via executive producer Shonda Rhimes, who explains in the new Entertainment Weekly cover story that there is much more at the heart of season 12:

“In an effort not to become her mother, she had tried too hard to become something less. What I loved about season 11 was her saying,That’s not who I am. It was so interesting for me to discover that audiences, especially women, are so conditioned to believe that there’s a singular fairy tale that nobody stops to think that that might not be the definition of happiness. Meredith knew that already.  We got to the point in the season when Meredith said, ‘I can live without you, but I don’t want to,’ which for any woman is a very powerful statement. It means: You compliment me, but you don’t complete me.”

Ultimately, Meredith is the only one who can determine her completeness. Maybe it’ll come as a result of her career, her children, or the friendships that she has. Maybe it will be a combination of all of these things.

What we can say right now is that in the early going, romance is not a priority for her. Maybe it will happen, but it’s not something the writers are emphasizing in the slightest.

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