Summary
- Meredith Grey’s potential fate in Grey’s Anatomy is surrounded by a fan theory about her developing early dementia and Alzheimer’s Disease.
- The theory suggests Meredith imagines alternate outcomes for friends and co-workers, potentially due to her deteriorating mental state.
- The fan theory also connects Meredith’s alleged dementia to her past and husband Derek, proposing a heartbreaking alternate reality for the character.
Season 20 of ABC’s long-running medical drama Grey’s Anatomy premiered on March 14, 2024. After months of speculation about the potential departure of series star Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), the beloved protagonist has officially returned for another dutiful tour of Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. However, a 2016 fan theory has picked up a lot of steam online regarding Meredith’s potential fate on the show. The theory suggests that Meredith Grey has developed early dementia and possibly Alzheimer’s Disease, an illness that was established in her family in the 2005 pilot episode.
More heartbreaking yet, the theory also suggests that in her compromised mental state, Meredith imagines several alternate outcomes relating to her friends and co-workers, especially Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey). Right when it seemed as if the outlandish theory held no water due to Meredith’s rumored departure, the character’s rousing return in Season 20 continues to fan the flames of the theory online. As such, it’s time to break down the fan theory and analyze how much weight it holds now that the hit medical drama has returned to ABC.
The Alzheimer’s Fan Theory
According to the fan theory, many fans of the hit medical drama Grey’s Anatomy have suspected that the series could end with Meredith Grey being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. This theory comes from Meredith’s genetic makeup, introduced in the pilot episode. In the opening chapter, Meredith’s voice-over narration turns out to be a memory that she was telling her mother, Ellis Grey (Kate Burton), who was in an assisted living facility due to her Alzheimer’s diagnosis.
In Season 3, Ellis Grey passes away due to complications relating to her dementia. As Meredith continues her career following her mother’s death, she slowly begins to develop signs and symptoms that indicate that she may have inherited the disease from her mother. In Season 9, the markers become so apparent that Meredith officially tests positive for genetic signs of Alzheimer’s. However, that’s just the tip of the theory.
According to the speculation, Meredith’s dementia may be causing her to lose her mind and replace her memories with fantastic creations that end much happier than they do in reality. The theory asks the central question:
“Alzheimer’s disease first found its way to Grey’s Anatomy in the pilot. In that episode, Meredith’s voiceover narration was revealed to be a story she was telling her mother at an assisted living facility. Could Meredith’s subsequent voiceovers be stories she now tells her three children sometime in the future? And if Meredith suffers from dementia, perhaps her memories of the hospital glory days are altered, and her tale twines fact and fiction.”
More Evidence Supporting the Theory
The most compelling evidence supporting the theory relates to Season 8, Episode 13, “If/Then.” The episode is a dream scenario where Meredith imagines what her life could have been under better circumstances. As such, she imagines an alternate reality where her mother, Ellis Grey, was never diagnosed with dementia and the domino effect this development has throughout the hospital and the people in Meredith’s orbit.
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For example, in “If/Then,” Dr. George O’Malley (T.R. Knight) doesn’t die from injuries sustained in a bus accident. Instead, he fails his medical exam and leaves the hospital for good. Meanwhile, Izzie’s fate is also altered for the better. Rather than being fired for a fatal medical error, Izzie is shown as a gallant cancer survivor who leaves after stealing a heart from the hospital for her patient Denny Duquette (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). Instead of death, dishonor, and disgrace, Meredith remembers her friends and colleagues as heroes and survivors in an alternate reality.
Does the Fan Theory Hold Up?
The fan theory takes a wild leap to connect the alternate reality to Meredith’s fantastic projections resulting from her potential dementia. Per the theory:
“Much like in the “If/Then” episode — in which Meredith’s mother was never diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, changing many of the dynamics throughout the hospital — perhaps Future Meredith is supplying (somewhat) happier endings for her fellow interns than what actually happened.”
If the theory holds weight, it also possibly connects to her husband, Dr. Derek Shepherd (Dempsey). Derek notoriously passed away following a fatal car accident in Season 11 of the entertaining medical drama, leaving Meredith in emotional ruins. But if Meredith is conjuring fantastic alternate realities of her loved ones as a result of her genetically inherited Alzheimer’s, then it’s possible that Derek never died as well. Instead, the postulation suggests that Derek left Meredith and abandoned their marriage, but Meredith is unable to remember that version of events due to her eroding memory. The fan posts:
“If the theory about Meredith’s future is true, perhaps Derek (Patrick Dempsey) didn’t die tragically in season 11 when they were happily married; maybe, in reality, Derek left Meredith, but Meredith doesn’t remember it that way.”
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If true, this would be a heartbreaking way for Meredith to remember her intimate past. Yet, given the unthinkable amount of tragedy Meredith has witnessed at work, she may have created an alternate universe in her mind as a defense mechanism. As the fan theory notes, Meredith has seen multiple workplace shootings, earthquakes, floods, fatal car accidents, electrocutions, plane crashes, and a lot more death and destruction.
The fan theory claims that Meredith’s dementia allows her to cope with these harsh realities by imagining happier endings for all involved. While there is no way of substantiating the fan theory at this time, Season 20 of Grey’s Anatomy may validate or debunk it once Meredith fulfills her entire character arc. Stay close to discover how well the theory holds up once Season 20 concludes in the spring of 2024.
