Grey's Anatomy: Patrick Dempsey Says We'll See Derek 'Throughout Season'

Grey’s Anatomy‘s Meredith may have trouble giving up the ghost — of her late husband, that is — now that they have been reunited in what returning cast member Patrick Dempsey describes as a “COVID dream.”

TV’s No. 2-rated drama sent jaws plummeting to the floor at the close of its two-hour Nov. 12 season premiere, when, after being found collapsed in the hospital parking lot, a clad-in-white Mer appeared at an idyllic beach and spotted her dead husband down shore, waving to her.

In the wake of the surprising encore, Grey’s showrunner Krista Vernoff told the Los Angeles Times, “We will see more of [Derek] this season. This was not just a cameo. He will appear three more times.”

And now, on Wednesday’s episode of The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Dempsey himself suggested that those multiple appearances won’t come all at once/back-to-back, but instead be sprinkled around Season 17.

Asked about the length of Derek’s “resurrection,” Dempsey told DeGeneres, “That’s a good question, I’m not sure how many [episodes],” before claiming: “I know I’m throughout this season. He comes back to visit.”

Dempsey also echoed his previous characterization of the mysterious nature of the Mer-Der reunion, saying that McDreamy is visiting his widow “in her COVID dream.”

Watch Dempsey’s Ellen hit below:

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