"She's Leaving Home" | |
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Grey's Anatomy episodes | |
Episode nos. | Season 11 Episodes 22/23 |
Directed by | Chris Hayden |
Written by | Stacy McKee |
Featured music | |
Original air date | April 30, 2015 |
Running time | 81 minutes |
Guest appearances | |
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"She's Leaving Home" is the 22nd and 23rd episode of the eleventh season of the American television medical drama Grey's Anatomy and the show's 242nd and 243rd episode overall. Written by Stacy McKee and directed by Chris Hayden, the two-hour episode aired on the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) in the United States on April 30, 2015.[1]
In the episode, the doctors at Grey-Sloan Memorial Hospital mourn the death of their colleague and friend Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey), who died in a car accident in the previous episode. Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), Derek's widow and the show's protagonist, struggles to cope with her loss. The episode follows Meredith as she disappears from Seattle, adjusting to life as a single mother and ultimately giving birth to her third child, Ellis Shepherd.
Although the episodes were fictionally set in Seattle, Washington, filming took place in Los Angeles, California. The episodes serve as a tribute to Derek Shepherd, marking the end of Dempsey's tenure as a series regular.
Upon its original broadcast, "She's Leaving Home" was watched by 8.74 million viewers in the United States, ranking #2 in its time-slot, and earned a 2.6 Nielsen rating in the 18–49 demographic. The episode received positive reviews from television critics, with Pompeo's performance receiving widespread praise; however, criticism was directed towards the writing for its lack of focus on Derek's death.