Suffice to say, Season 17 is one of the most harrowing seasons of Grey's Anatomy, which made the creative decision to honestly portray the COVID-19 crisis from the Grey Sloan frontlines.
As long-time fans may already know, the show has never been one to shy away from heart-wrenching emotional moments. And there are LOTS of them in Season 17.
As per usual, the show puts Meredith Grey through the wringer. After catching the coronavirus, Meredith spends most of the season in a dream state where she meets the ghosts of her past.
So many people have died on this show.
To pay homage to Season 17, let's revisit its finest, most emotionally brutal moments.
1. When Meredith reunites with Derek at the beach:
Obviously, Meredith seeing the love of her life after five seasons is a highlight! We have to automatically make this one of the best moments, of course. Even when they're just looking at each other on the fantasy beach, you can tell that sizzle between Ellen Pompeo and Patrick Dempsey is still there after all these years. (Never mind the fact that the rest of the world has no way to communicate with Meredith...)
When it happens: Season 17, Episode 3
2. When George tells Meredith that people don't just move on:
Meredith theorizes that if she dies, the people in her life will just go on. But George tells her that his mother still carries grief with her after all these years.
When it happens: Season 17, Episode 4
3. When the doctors make the tough call to put Meredith on the ventilator:
This moment just goes to show how up-in-the-air Meredith's fate is and how much senseless and tragic suffering has come from this terrible pandemic.
When it happens: Season 17, Episode 6
4. When DeLuca enters Meredith's dreamscape and leaves with his mother:
The amount of death on this show is gratuitous, suffice to say. At least DeLuca gets a beautiful sendoff, despite dying out of the blue from a stabbing.
When it happens: Season 17, Episode 7
5. When Derek talks about how Ellis reminds him of Mer:
This moment is bittersweet, given that Meredith and Derek didn't know that she was pregnant with Ellis when he died. So now, she knows that he knows what their daughter is like.
When it happens: Season 17, Episode 8
6. When Hayes begs for Meredith to come back:
Hayes joins Meredith on the beach, telling her that her kids want her back. The writers certainly play around with the idea of Hayes and Meredith dating this season, and this moment certainly gives him brownie points.
When it happens: Season 17, Episode 8
7. When Meredith tells Lexie about her favorite thing:
When her late sister asks her about her favorite thing, Meredith recalls a memory of Bailey planting his face in a cake to make everyone laugh. Honestly, we've needed more Lexie and Meredith moments like these!
When it happens: Season 17, Episode 10
8. When Winston surprises Maggie with a proposal just when she thinks he's about to leave Seattle:
This is no Derek Shepherd elevator proposal, but Winston's understated approach is actually quite romantic and effortless — he really had her thinking that she was going to listen to a song when he got down on one knee!
When it happens: Season 17, Episode 10
9. When Owen extends an olive branch to Teddy after realizing that he cares about their friendship:
Weirdly enough, with all the love and forgiveness between them, Owen and Teddy, formerly one of the most toxic relationships on the show, ends up being one of the healthiest this season. Honestly, this moment's even more swoon-worthy than Owen's fake snow proposal.
When it happens: Season 17, Episode 11
10. When Winston and Maggie reunite after Winston gets pulled over:
As the protests over the tragic death of George Floyd fill Grey Sloan, Maggie becomes livid after hearing Winston get pulled over while on the road. After a scary and dehumanizing encounter with the police, Winston returns to Maggie.
When it happens: Season 17, Episode 12
11. When Derek and Meredith finally get married:
Barring their Post-It note vows, Meredith and Derek never had a fancy ceremony, giving their wedding, instead, to Alex and Izzie way back in Season 5. Derek just wants Meredith to promise him one thing: to torture herself less. And he doesn't want her to leave the kids, either.
When it happens: Season 17, Episode 13
12. When Meredith wakes up:
It happens right when Zola's briefing Meredith about life at home...and we know that there's nothing Mer loves more than her kids. I'm not crying, you're crying.
When it happens: Season 17, Episode 13
13. When Jackson asks April to move with him to Boston:
Shockingly, Jackson decides to move to Boston and asks April and Harriet to come with him. Even more shockingly, April reveals that she and Matthew formally split. Finally, Jackson and April have their shot at a happily ever after! Was that so hard, Grey's Anatomy?
When it happens: Season 17, Episode 14
14. When Jackson says goodbye to Meredith:
Jackson, despite officially leaving this season, miraculously makes it out alive. His farewell with Meredith is bittersweet. Meredith shares with him that her first impression of him was that he had a big name to live up to — something Mer, the daughter of Ellis Grey, knows a thing or two about. They then also get to share a sweet moment escaping the clap-out as Jackson sneaks her home.
When it happens: Season 17, Episode 15
15. When Schmitt asks Helm to move in with him and Jo:
His roomie, Jo, obviously HATES this, but it's very sweet of Schmitt to extend a hand to his friend, who's clearly having a hard time with burnout during the pandemic.
When it happens: Season 17, Episode 15
16. When Bailey offers Meredith a job as the residency program director:
Aware that she may not have the strength to perform many surgeries in the near future, Meredith happily agrees.
When it happens: Season 17, Episode 16
17. When Schmitt chooses Nico:
Despite a flirty encounter with the cute doctor who administered his trial vaccine, Schmitt eventually goes home to Nico, who confesses that Schmitt changed him for the better.
When it happens: Season 17, Episode 16.
18. When Jo adopts Luna and moves into Jackson's old apartment:
After a fierce fight for Luna, Jo wins custody despite initially failing her background check. All it took was selling her shares of the hospital to Koracick and annoying the hell out of Bailey.
When it happens: Season 17, Episode 17
19. When Meredith gets her clap-out:
Yes, she and Jackson technically sneak out during the first clap-out when she was finally discharged from the hospital after surviving COVID. But Bailey makes sure that Mer would get a proper hospital clap-out for successfully operating on Gerlie, a nurse and fellow COVID survivor.
When it happens: Season 17, Episode 17