Greys Anatomy wouldnt be in its 17th season if it didnt have a strong opening, and while the show remains a massive hit nearly two decades into its run, it still owes a lot to its earliest days.

While the show is, at its core, an ensemble piece about theworkers at Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital, its really about the titular Meredith Grey. While fans still love the series, many miss a character who hasnt been on the series in years.

Dozens of characters have come and gone throughout the series run, but Ellen PompeosMeredith Grey remains headstrong17 years into her run on the series. Throughout that time, fans have watched Grey fall in and out of love, watched as her loved ones pass away, cope with the tragedies that come with her job, and manage several difficult personalities both through her doctors and her patients.

In many ways, it is Greys private life that shapes everything else. The show has gotten bigger in scale and made stars out of more than one cast member, but had Grey not been there as the hospitals backbone, things might have gone much differently.

As a hard-working doctor with little time to waste on love, several men have tried throughout the series run, but her original relationship with Derek is still the highlight of her love life.

Meredith met Derek through their job. As her married boss, the twotried to keep their relationship professionaluntil a spur-of-the-moment one-night-stand complicated things. However, rather than hiding her feelings, Meredith and Derek eventually come clean after he agrees to leave his wife and start a relationship with Grey.

The relationship had its ups and downs for eleven years, but when Dempsey left the show in season 11, a wrench was put into the whole thing.

From Chris ODonnells Finn, a rebound after Derek resisted her pleas to Nathan, Finn, and William Thorpe, Meredith has had her ups and downs when it comes to her relationships. Pompeo reflected on this shifting tone, acknowledging that she wanted Greys love life to be authentic.

I think that a show that runs for as long asGreys, the show has had to grow with the characters, Pompeo told Good Housekeeping. Im 15 years older now, so Im so much stronger a person than I was then. It just evolves, the actress said (per Good Housekeeping). The writers get to know you, they watch the dailies and they watch the show.Greysis so unique, because weve been on the air for so long, theyve all watched me grow up. Shonda and the writers, weve all grown up together.

Despite Dereks death and Dempseys departure, that initial relationship is still the best the show has had to offer.

Speaking about the men in Merediths life, manyfans on Reddit spoke about their desireto see her end up with someone like Derek. However, as u/HorseToothGary points out, recreating what once worked doesnt necessarily make for compelling television.

Meredith and Derek were too good together. They made the show the hit it was in the beginning. No other combo will ever come close. Patrick Dempsey was just too perfect. It would be like trying to replace Han Solo with Leia. Not possible.

Meredith has to grapple with loss like everyone else, and while the series has had its hits and misses over 17 years, this helps keep the show fresh. After all, Meredith is the driving force that has allowed Greys cast to flourish for as long as it has.With no signs of slowing down, either, perhaps true love still awaits its biggest star.

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'Grey's Anatomy' Keeps Trying to Replace Derek, But It Will Never Work - Showbiz Cheat Sheet