Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey) and Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) met one fateful night 10 years ago on the series premiere of Grey's Anatomy.
And it really was destiny, because even when Meredith imagines her life going differently, she still ends up with Derek.
And it didn't matter that Derek was the famous brain surgeon and Meredith was the intern, because they loved each other.
And their love could conquer all.
Meredith put her personal life before her career, unlike her mother, Ellis (Kate Burton), who always did the opposite.
And because of that, Meredith did resent her mother a little bit.
And unlike Ellis, Meredith wanted the happy ending with the stable home and the adorable kids and the great marriage.
Until Season 10.
Because when it comes to the Grey women, Meredith and her mother are ultimately cut from the same cloth.
Eventually, Meredith started to admire her mother in a different way, almost idolizing her.
She couldn't stop thinking about Ellis. And the life she lived. And the choices she made.
And Meredith fought so hard for her career, that her personal life began to fall apart.
It was déjà vu. Because Meredith and Derek were having the same argument that her mother and Dr. Webber (James Pickens Jr.) had 30 years prior: Whose career comes first?
And after a decade of coming second, Meredith channeled her inner Ellis in the Season 11 winter finale.
And found herself alone, with two children, on the other side of the country from her husband.
Just like her mother...
That fucking carousel.
