Spoiler Alert: If you have not seen Grey’s Anatomy Season 11, Episode 21, How to Save a Life, look away now!
Doctor Derek “McDreamy” Sheppard is dead.
It happened just like that.
One minute the world’s most preeminent fictional neurosurgeon is rescuing and saving four people following a horrific car accident, uttering his famous, “It’s a great day to save lives,” and the next, he’s taken out by a semi while driving away from the scene.
Though, he’s not killed instantly.
After an agonising wait his wife, and the show’s namesake, Meredith Grey, makes the heart wrenching decision to turn off Derek’s life support and he is gone.
His passing has caused the internet to go into a tail spin with Grey’s fans furious with the show’s creators for bringing McDreamy back after a lengthy hiatus only to take him away again, this time forever.
The episode was written by series creator Shonda Rhimes and the successful TV producer is copping the brunt of the online outrage.
On Twitter punter Josh Michael wrote: “Hide yo kids, hide yo wife and hide yo husband, cuz @shondarhimes killin’ everybody out there. #GreysAnatomy”
@Kianna wrote: “Explain to me why you develop a character and relationship for eleven seasons only to end it like that??????? #bye #GreysAnatomy”
@Swerve wrote: “Ten years of commitment to one of the best shows on television and they ruined it for me in 60 minutes. #GreysAnatomy”
Shondra, the people aren’t happy.
But Ms Rhimes not the first TV producer to kill off a pivotal character and be inundated with a barrage of criticism.
Remember the other Patrick? The Offspring Patrick? Or when Blue Heelers character Maggie Doyle was shot dead? Or the massive Homeland kill off? These are the fictional characters whose deaths we still can’t believe happened.
RIP Derek “McDreamy” Sheppard.
Possibly the hardest thing about watching solider/hostage/terrorist/patriot Nicholas Brody die in season 4 of Homeland was watching Claire Danes do her ugliest “I’m going to cry but I’m going to be strong” face ever.
Auspiciously, The Sopranos killed off Christopher Moltisanti just three episodes from the show’s conclusion.
Will Gardener (Josh Charles) was shot dead by his own client on The Good Wife, forever ending his torrid relationship with Julianna Margulies’s character, Alicia Florrick.
British actor Dan Stevens, who played Matthew Crawley in hit period drama Downton Abbey, is still apologising for allowing producers to kill his character more than two years after the event. Fans can’t get over the heart break endured by his betrothed, Lady Mary.
It was national tragedy when Lisa McCune’s Blue Heelers character, Maggie Doyle was shot dead and PJ was left to pick up the pieces.
Watching Rosanne never felt the same after lovable oaf Dan Connor died.
House of Cards sleuthing journalist Zoe Barnes was tragically killed after she was pushed by the show’s cunning main character whom she had an affair with, Senator Francis Joseph “Frank” Underwood.
Zoe Ventoura’s Packed to the Rafters character, Mel Bannon departed the show following a tradgic car accident.
Fans of Aussie drama Offspring bewailed when Nina Proudman’s (Asher Keddie) anaesthetist love interest and father of her unborn child, Patrick Reid, played by Matthew Le Nevez, was killed off in a car accident.
In TV’s Revenge Daniel Grayson (Josh Bowman) died when he took a bullet for his former love, and the woman who tenaciously ripped his life apart, Emily Thorne/Amanda Clarke. But with Revenge, who knows if he’s really dead.
In 1985 A Country Practice’s Molly Jones, played by Anne Tenney died after battling leukaemia.
