‘Grey’s Anatomy’: The End of Meredith and Riggs’ Love Story Was the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Her
Fans have their list of Grey’s Anatomy romances that they’ll always hold deeply or regret watching fall apart, but there are a select few out of the many that turn out for the best. This doesn’t often happen since Grey’s is known for matching the perfect couples only to pull them apart via death, cheating, ex-lovers, etc.
However, fans are seeing Meredith and Riggs ending romance in a brighter light. Instead of moping about ‘what could’ve been,’ fans consider it to be the best thing that ever happened to the show’s leading lady. In fact, they have a couple of reasons for thinking this.
Meredith and Riggs relationship in ‘Grey’s Anatomy’
Riggs first made his debut at Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital halfway through season 12 of the series and was at odds with the infamous Meredith Grey. Due to her loyalties to Owen, Grey inherently didn’t like Riggs initially and didn’t go out of her way to hide it.
However, that all changed when Riggs followed Meredith to the parking lot to see what her problem was after a long, hard day at the hospital. While this lead to a blown-out argument, it ended with the two of them having sex in her car several times after.
Meredith expected this to be it, sex and friends, but it was obvious in the look of his face at Owen’s wedding that he wanted more from her than just sex and friendship. On several occasions, Meredith pretended she didn’t feel the same, but it only ever led to more sex and them getting closer.
Eventually, Meredith walked out of the hospital hand-in-hand with Riggs, confirming she finally gave into him and made their relationship official.
How their relationship ended
Comparable to a similar situation that happened with Meredith’s first love story with Derek — although her relationship with Riggs is not itself comparable to MerDer — Meredith was stopped short in moving forward romantically with her partner because of the arrival of a long-lost spouse.
However, instead of an adulterous wife moving into the picture, Owen’s little sister Megan Hunt arrived at the hospital in need of medical care after going missing.
Meredith told Nathan about the arrival of his long-lost fiancé despite what that meant for their relationship, and he tried to propose to Megan again to fix things between them. Megan refused, thinking he was still in love with Meredith, but Meredith convinced him to go above and beyond to prove otherwise.
This led to a grand gesture by Riggs, resulting in his exit from the hospital and Meredith’s love life.
Why fans think their relationship ending was the best thing that happened to her
When Meredith went the extra mile and convinced Riggs to make a grand gesture for Megan to get her back, viewers couldn’t help be proud of her growth despite her own feelings.
Taking to Reddit to discuss this incredible moment for Grey’s leading lady, one user wrote, “I love the bond that Mer had with Megan. During the whole Riggs situation, they were both selfless and wanted to do what they thought was best for Riggs.”
“Mer’s arc with Riggs showed such growth and maturity from her,” one respondent agreed. “She didn’t mope, she didn’t angst. She was always open and upfront about things with Riggs and Megan.”
Likewise, fans also praised the growth of the writers behind these great characters, saying that “writers realizing that women don’t fight over men like they did in past media is one of the greatest evolutions in accurate representation today.”
It’s not often that fans find peace with great romantic relationships ending, but that wasn’t the case with Meredith and Riggs. Yeah, they were great together, but it was clear that this romance was meant to help her grow as a character.
