‘Gray’s Anatomy’ Counts Down Ellen Pompeo’s Season 19 Exit In Winter Premiere Promo: ‘Let Us Toast You’

Meredith Gray is saying goodbye — for now.

“Gray’s Anatomy” will probably be off for a three-month break, returning Thursday, Feb. 23 to kick begin the second half of season 19, and when it does, the medical doctors at Gray Sloan will probably be seeing off Meredith (and Ellen Pompeo) as she relocates to Boston for her new job on the Catherine Fox Basis and to enroll her daughter, Zola, at an academy for presented kids.

Within the new promo for the winter premiere, launched Thursday night after the autumn finale, a glowing Meredith walks the halls of Gray Sloan on her final day as she prepares to go away Seattle behind.

“It’s been lots,” Meredith says, because it flashes again to the devastating hearth that tore by the house she as soon as shared together with her late husband, Derek. “A fireplace. Transferring.”

After all, she will get a send-off worthy of her legacy, despite the fact that Meredith herself feedback that the shock send-off — whereas “very considerate” —  is “ridiculous.” However Owen (Kevin McKidd), Teddy (Kim Raver), Webber (James Pickens Jr.), Maggie (Kelly McCreary) and others need her to have her second to shine. She’s earned it, in spite of everything.

“For god’s sakes Gray, will you simply allow us to toast you?” Owen says, providing her a glass of champagne.

Although Meredith is shifting away from the Pacific Northwest and starting a brand new chapter on the East Coast, this received’t be the final time viewers will see the character.

Whereas Pompeo seems in eight episodes this season, the winter premiere marks her seventh look, that means the actress and government producer will return to “Gray”s a minimum of yet another time earlier than season 19 is over. As beforehand reported, she’ll proceed on as an government producer and supply narration for all remaining episodes this season, and the door stays open for her character to go to the docs at Gray Sloan in Seattle sooner or later. If season 20 is greenlit, nonetheless, it’s unclear in what capability Pompeo will probably be concerned, each off or on display.

Again in September, Pompeo opened as much as ET about her determination to step away from “Gray”s and tackle a brand new Hulu drama about orphans.

“It’s nonetheless ‘Gray”s, she’s nonetheless there in spirit and that’s the home that Gray constructed, so she’s all the time there,” Pompeo stated on the time. “She simply has to step away for a bit bit to do a Hulu present. It’s an incredible firm to work for and I’m actually, actually fortunate that they’ve given me the chance to do each, and so I needed to take it.”

Just a few months earlier, Pompeo hinted at a “Gray”s reinvention as she regarded forward to her future, presumably past the present.

“Making an attempt to reinvent the present and regularly attempting to reinvent the present is the problem at this level, and hear, the present speaks to lots of people, and the younger individuals love the present,” she instructed ET in Might. “It’s impressed so many generations of healthcare staff, so, I believe for the younger individuals, it’s a extremely good piece of content material and we’re going to attempt to preserve it going for the younger individuals, not essentially with me, however preserve it going past me.”

“Gray’s Anatomy” returns Feb. 23 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on ABC.

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