‘Grey’s Anatomy’: Meredith’s Biggest Mistake Was the 1 Time Fans Were On Amelia’s Side

It’s not uncommon for main characters to die on a show, especially on Grey’s Anatomy. When Derek Shepherd died, fans were both shocked and dismayed.

The drama that ensued between his family only seemed to escalate the matter. After the monumental episode was over, fans took to Reddit to express their feelings about how Meredith failed to notify Derek’s family he was dying, and most viewers weren’t very sympathetic towards Meredith.

How did Derek Shepherd die?

While Patrick Dempsey was the leading man of Grey’s Anatomy, it didn’t stop writers from killing his character Derek Shepherd. Many fans will forever remember the episode “How to Save a Life” long after they stop watching the show. It forever changed the direction Grey’s Anatomy was headed, and many felt that it wasn’t for the best.

In that fateful episode, Derek was on his way to Washington D.C. He intended to quit the President’s brain mapping project, in an effort to make things right with Meredith.

On the way there, he witnessed a car accident, and stopped to help. Derek managed to save four people who were involved in the crash, and was walking back to his vehicle when he was struck by a semi-truck.

Derek was then rushed to the nearest ER, and if they had done a simple CT scan, he could have been saved. Instead, the attending physician felt that wasn’t necessary, and took Derek into surgery. Derek was later pronounced brain-dead.

Rumor has it that drama on set resulted in McDreamy’s death rather than a bid for viewer ratings. Still, many fans were heartbroken when Derek died, as was the family he left behind.

Why was Amelia angry with Meredith?

Meredith came to the hospital, and even got to spend time with Derek even though he was brain-dead. Rather than calling his family to tell them, Meredith seemed consumed by grief, and never let them know a thing until after she chose to take Derek off of life support.

Amelia later confronts Meredith, to ask her why she never called. Meredith tried to play it off as if it didn’t matter because there was nothing Amelia could do anyways, and she didn’t have time.

Not buying this argument, a heartbroken Amelia asked when Meredith was informed of the accident, how long she sat in the waiting room, and how she could just unplug Derek without calling.

Amelia also said she could have saved Derek because she worked miracles for a living. She felt that if she had been the doctor attending her brother, then Derek would still be alive.

Meredith remained stoic throughout the entire encounter, which earned her no brownie points with fans. It wasn’t until after Amelia left that Meredith finally broke down, revealing that she was still grieving as well, no matter what face she tried to show the world. It wasn’t enough to sway over fans, however.

‘Grey’s Anatomy’ fans are on Amelia’s side

While Meredith is always a fan favorite, in this instance, they couldn’t stand by her. While it’s understandable that Meredith was in a hard place and was grieving, she should have called Amelia. If the roles had been reversed, Meredith would have been livid.

One Grey’s Anatomy fan on Reddit stated, “I’m pretty pro-Meredith in most ways but this was one of the worst things she has done in my mind. I appreciate she was grieving but that doesn’t make it okay.”

Another fan summed it up well when they said, “”Amelia can be dramatic and over the top, but she absolutely has good cause to hold this against Meredith forever.”

Other fans weren’t quite so decisive about how they felt. While they understood exactly where Amelia was coming from, they couldn’t discount that Meredith had just lost the love of her life, and was facing have to tell her kids that their dad was dead. 

It was definitely a hard episode that rocked the Grey’s Anatomy world. Both women still seem to be grieving the loss of Derek in their own way, and how this may impact the future remains to be seen. 

McDreamy recently made an appearance on Grey’s Anatomy in a dream sequence, and fans were delighted to see him back. What this means is unclear, but fans were thrilled to see Shepherd again, even if it weren’t some plot twist that revealed he never died, as some may have hoped.