"Grey's Anatomy" Just Said Goodbye To Ellen Pompeo As A Main Cast Member, So Here's What Happened

Grey’s Anatomy is currently airing Season 19 (yes, NINETEEN), and there have been some big changes this season. For starters, we welcomed another new class of interns, Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) became chief of Grey Sloan, and much more.

But the biggest change overall is that Ellen Pompeo has departed the show as a series regular after 407 episodes. In 2022, she revealed that she would appear in only eight episodes over the course of Season 19.

So, the most recent episode, titled “I’ll Follow the Sun,” which was directed by Debbie Allen and written by showrunner Krista Vernoff, featured Meredith leaving Grey Sloan and preparing for her new journey.

In case you need a refresher, Meredith decided to leave Seattle and move to Boston in the midseason finale. After Zola (Aniela Gumbs) was experiencing panic attacks and anxiety, particularly at school, Meredith made the decision to move her family so Zola can attend a more advanced STEM school program.

As for Meredith, she’ll be working with Jackson (Jesse Williams), who is now running the Catherine Fox Foundation in Boston, where she can work on researching a cure for Alzheimer’s.

That’s all to say that Meredith’s big farewell to Seattle kind of took place in a pretty standard (and honestly, underwhelming) Grey’s Anatomy episode, with her main storyline centering on her and Nick’s (Scott Speedman) relationship, namely how he didn’t say “I love you” back and how she didn’t consult him before deciding to move.

After sadly losing a patient — I can’t believe they had Meredith’s final patient as a doctor at Grey Sloan die — Meredith confronted Nick about how she wasn’t going to wait around for him. She loved him and thought he felt the same way.

The moment gave us a brilliant little nod to Meredith’s iconic “Pick me. Choose me. Love me” speech, except this time Meredith decided she wasn’t going to “beg” for Nick’s love. I love the growth.

Eventually, the other doctors at Grey Sloan surprised Meredith with a little going away party. Bailey (Chandra Wilson) and Richard (James Pickens Jr.) said some parting words, but I wish there was more emphasis on this trio saying goodbye. And then Meredith left.

Then, Nick tried to call and finally say that he loved Meredith, but she (claimed) she couldn’t hear him and HUNG. UP.

And I will just add that one of my favorite parts of this goodbye episode was Meredith, Amelia (Caterina Scorsone), and Maggie (Kelly McCreary) letting the new group of interns stay at Meredith’s house after they all moved out. It’s back to being an intern house, just like when Meredith, George (T.R Knight), Cristina (Sandra Oh), Alex (Justin Chambers), and Izzie (Katherine Heigl) lived there.

So, Grey’s Anatomy really leaves the door open on Meredith’s “final” episode for more story. It’s important to note that this is Ellen’s final episode as a SERIES REGULAR. She is scheduled to be in two more episodes this season and will continue to provide the voiceover for the series.

James Pickens Jr. shared an adorable slideshow of memories with Ellen over the years, with this heartfelt caption:

And Justin Chambers left this sweet comment: