Shonda Rhimes Shares Her Thoughts On "Drowning On Dry Land"
No question about it, Grey's Anatomy creator and executive producer Shonda Rhimes - who wrote "Walk On Water," this week's "Drowning On Dry Land" and next week's "Some Kind of Miracle" - is taking some heat over recent developments.
How could she kill Meredith? Is she forcing a dramatic story line just for the sake of dramatic story line? And what happens next?
Rhimes' thoughts are articulated on her official blog, which you can read here.
But here's an excerpt from her take on "Drowning On Dry Land" and Meredith in particular. Even though she died, which was really sad, at the same time, it was kind of cool, wasn't it? Take it away, Shonda...
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So, yeah, that was Denny and Dylan.
I'm trying to be all casual about it.
Like I don't care.
Like, you know, Denny and Dylan, whatever. I'm cool, I'm good.
But I almost hugged Jeffrey Dean Morgan to death when he arrived on set. He was nice about it considering the restraining order he should have taken out against me during Season Two. I was glad to see him. And I was glad to see Kyle Chandler who was gracious enough to fly out here and film on one of his very few days off from the very well-written Friday Night Lights.
See, I miss Denny and Dylan. A lot. So it was nice to see them for a moment, wasn't it? Even if Meredith is dead?
You all have some pretty strong feelings about this. I've been reading your comments. Strong feelings. Which I respect. Grey's Anatomy is in its third season and we're doing something a little... different. It's about time we did.
Because, as I said when you shouted your horror about the Meredith-George sex, I remind you that we writers like to follow the characters here and we try very hard not to make story just to make story.
We like to have a point. Meredith being dead is about... well, you will see what it is about next week. She was in pain, this girl. And...
... okay, I don't want to talk about that. Meredith being dead at the end of this episode. I can't. Not yet.
February 16th, 2007 4:18 PM
I don't know if I want to hug her or choke her.
February 16th, 2007 5:08 PM
Shonda:
We don't care what you do!!
Next week's episode is called "Some sort of miracle", so we all know Meredith will come back from the coma she is in right now..
What WE desperately NEED is some GOOD BANG sex...
They haven't had sex for all season..like seirously..WTF????
February 16th, 2007 6:09 PM
I know it's just a t.v. show but when I have a bad day i come home and watch Grey's Anatomy, because it does give me some kind of hope, when i'm upset....so i really hope next week doesn't leave me with no hope at all. I can't imange GREY'S anatomy with out merideth Grey. And I dont want her to forget anybody either...i don't know why i keep rambling...all I can say is SERIOUSLY! SERIOUSLY! You guys cant kill merideth!
February 16th, 2007 8:39 PM
Look killing Merideth is unthinkable. It wouldn't be Grey's Anatomy then! Its like America without Apple pie! THATS JUST WRONG!!!!! BRING MERIDETH BACK!!!!!!! Thats all I gotta say.
February 16th, 2007 9:40 PM
If you kill off Meredith,then you have NO SHOW. all the loyal fans will leave and you will be gone. If you get rid of her,then I will not watch whatever is left. What is the point if the MAIN character is gone? Do you just not like her anymore? what is your motivation for doin this in the middle of the season?
I have never witnessed such infantile behavior by a writer!
February 16th, 2007 11:39 PM
Wow, has this been a thrilling two parts out of three of these episodes! This week's really shocked me. I really thought last week Meredith would be saved from the water, and everything would be okay. But it wasn't like that.
I am actually not mad at Shonda Rhimes for writing this. I mean, there has to be a thrill sometime during the season! Last year, the bomb episode? Anybody remember that?
But, my prediction for next week is that she will be revived (as everybody I keep talking to says it). I mean, she puts the GREY'S in Grey's Anatomy! (Unless, they could change it to something like Shepard's Anatomy...lol just kidding.) But I think Mere seeing Denny and Dylan was just one of those near-death experiences some people are lucky (I don't know if they're exactly LUCKY) enough to see. Well, we'll just have to see exactly how Shonda raps it all up.
February 17th, 2007 12:07 AM
The forums are inaccesible again. What is happening?
Anyway, what is it with Shonda that she HARDLY (almost never) mentions Cristina and Burke in her blogs and podcasts? She created these characters and now she's treating them like they're not part of the show. Sometimes I can't help but think that maybe all the Bang proposal and engagement aren't really written by Shonda, but by other writers who think that this wonderful, beautiful couple deserves that. Why, Shonda, why? Fine, this is Meredith and Derek's episode that's why the discussions mainly revolve around them. But in Shonda's blog, she said that she wants to talk about the interns (other than Meredith). She talked about Izzie, Alex, and George. But not Cristina. Correct me if I'm wrong, but she's one of the interns, and she's not Meredith, right? (Ok, that is just sheer sarcasm there, don't mind me, sorry) I mean, Cristina is Meredith's best friend. Meredith is Cristina's "person," how can she talk about this whole thing that happened to Meredith without mentioning how Cristina reacted to it? That's just crazy. Giving her the benefit of the doubt, maybe she forgot. Fine. Even if I'm upset with this, I'm still thankful to Shonda for creating Grey's Anatomy. That's all.
(Again, I'm sorry for all the rambling. I understand that it is Meredith that we should all be concerned of, but all I talked about is Burke and Cristina, so I'm sorry for that, too. I've got nothing against Meredith, I'm actually hoping that she get's through this.)
February 17th, 2007 3:52 AM
Success changes people and because they have power they start to manipulate and I hate that. Shonda is no exception like said before she must have a kick just reading all our comments. She must be dark and twisty to make most of us going out of our minds episode after episode. Personally I have watched the 2 last episodes only twice and before it would be almost daily till next would come out. I know she can't get rid of Meredith and from an interview Ellen Pompeo gave she mentioned that she worked late the day before on a scene with Patrick Dempsey and that she refuses to do other movies whilst doing GA. But still we are the ones who keep the show alive and if we decide to boycott it then what? I never imagine a show would have such an impact on me like writing comments, searching for spoiler, joining forums, downloading the latest episode, watching it again on our local television and taping them and last but not least buying the DVD's. What happened to me I retired 3 years ago and look at me now isn't this pathetic!!!! At 60 ....no one in my family knows this if they should they would probably have me see a shrink!!!!!
February 17th, 2007 5:15 AM
Still no luck accessing the threads. What is happening to us?
February 17th, 2007 8:46 AM
she knows what she's doing man!
February 17th, 2007 10:08 AM
Belgian Grey--I could relate to everything you said. I watched almost no tv at all before I somehow got into GA. Grey's Anatomy is a pop culture phenomenum. It has affected people as strongly as it has you, all over the world, myself included. I'm not even sure why, except that Grey's has characters that are so intensely real that they become a part of our lives. Don't feel guilty...your family will probably soon be fans along with you!
February 17th, 2007 10:12 AM
Zee--they have been having technical difficulties on this site. If you are still not able to access the forums, I'm sure others are having problems as well. I was wondering why there was hardly any discussion on the threads yesterday.
February 17th, 2007 11:44 AM
I can access and there are already 20 pages for the last episode!!
February 17th, 2007 12:44 PM
I agree Zee. I am disappointed that the Burke and Cristina story line has kind of stalled with the engagement. Now they are just back to bickering again. I really want the writers to give them some consideration and some decent dialogue that moves their characters and their relationship forward. As much as I like Meredith and Cristina's friendship. What hooked me was Cristina and Burke's relationship, not the girlfriends. This week, like you say, was Meredith's story and Meredith and Derek were the focus, but I also was unhappy that there was so much Izzie and very little Cristina. There seemed to be no real point to Izzie and the trapped guy. I don't really care to see George wandering the halls looking for the little boy. He could have had less screen time without it impacting the story line at all. Sometimes I can figure out the reasoning in the story itself, but not this time. I don't necessarily want the whole show to be about Burke and Cristina, but I sure don't want to see them fighting week after week. I wish the writers believed in them as much as their fans do and would write them some happy times again.
February 17th, 2007 1:22 PM
I HAVE ONE WORD : STUPID : if meredith dies,
thats it
February 17th, 2007 1:23 PM
if meredith dies, the show is going to go to peices.
its called "Greys" Anatomy... and i think it would be POINTLESS to kill her off, its not making anyone want to watch the show anymore? Even if it is in its last season, it can end happy instead of the ratings dropping to ZERO from people killing Meredith off..
February 17th, 2007 1:29 PM
Burke Backer, it's just frustrating, isn't it? Seriously, what are their plans for this beautiful couple? Someone wrote in one of the threads that it's always "one step forward, two steps backward" for Burke and Cristina, which is absolutely true. So far, they are able to survive with that, but I'm not sure if it would be healthy for their relationship if they keep it that way until the day they'd get married (IF, at alll). It was quite obvious that Burke is starting to lose his confidence in Cristina again, even if she already said yes to his marriage proposal. I hate it that Burke walked out on Cristina. It was absolutely a misunderstanding in that conversation they had. Cristina wasn't likening Burke, or her engagement with Burke to a corpse - that, I am sure of. Maybe she should have used a different, more positive-sounding metaphor when she pointed out how Meredith is her "person" because apparently, Burke did not quite get her point.
I, just like Izzie Stevens, also believe in the good. I believe that something wonderful is in store for my favorite couple next episode. Despite all these, I have faith in Shonda that she won't let Burke-Cristina fans down. She can't afford to do that, right? I believe that our one big wish of a Bang wedding will happen at the right time, and that Shonda is still working out on some things for it to be as perfect as it can be. The Bang wedding will actually happen, I believe. Who knows, Shonda's plans might even exceed our expectations. She's a woman of surprises, after all.
February 17th, 2007 2:08 PM
I threw things at my TV. You guys gotta stop making me cry every Thursday!
February 17th, 2007 2:25 PM
I certainly agree the writers are disappointing us with Burke and Cristina's engagement storyline. It seems they actually believe that fans prefer to see endless bickering over romance betwen them? I am starting to worry that its going to continue right up through their nuptuals because the writers think its funny or entertaining. I really think Burktina fans need to storm and threaten in the writer's blog, the way MerDer fans did after the early Season 3 episodes.
I thought Cristina's example of the murder was cute, because it demonstrated how distant she has kept herself from feelings like love and romance.
February 17th, 2007 2:28 PM
Ended before I got this in about Cristina--love, romance, or deep bonds of friendship.
February 17th, 2007 2:46 PM
I don't think Meredith is going to be killed off. But I just looked at the abc web site and did'nt realize that it's going to be 2 hrs. long did anyone else?
February 17th, 2007 3:16 PM
heeey ooommmgg i have read that meredith will be revived and her mother will die... i hope that its true, not because of ellis, but i do not want meredith to die!!
February 17th, 2007 3:22 PM
Definately, someone is going to die and is leaving the show for GOOD!!!!!!
February 17th, 2007 4:01 PM
Burke and Cristina NEED to have a happy moment, not mundane or rhetorically involved, but blissfull and happy....otherwise, realistically the WEDDING will be a no go...Hopefully Mer pulls through to this world and not the afterlife, which I believe is the reasoning for "Miracles", she will come through it..somehow, someway.I have to admit the writing for the show has been so absorbing, it literally keeps you guessing.. and sometimes drawing the latter conclusion. Can't wait for thursday to roll around, just to see what hairs I can pull out next ... and make me cry AGAIN!!!!
February 17th, 2007 4:10 PM
I've watched this episode three times already and I can't bring myself to delete it from my TiVo. I'm either completely pathetic or this show is genius. I'm always amazed how GA comes full circle on certain elements - in season one, Derek tells Meredith that she is like coming up for breath and this week it's Derek who brings her up for breath, literally and hopefully - figuratively. As much I as hate to think of a world without Meredith in it, I'm one of the few who think it would be an extroadinarily bold move of Shonda to kill off Meredith. I doubt it will happen, but her teetering between life and death will HAVE to mean something.
I don't have high hopes for Christina/Burke. I think her profound realization that Meredith is her person foreshadows that Burke will never be number one. Ultimately, this will effect that relationship, and possibly in a negative way. I'm a bit concerned for Burke actually - given that a second death was only recently added to the script. I hope it wasn't written after the Golden Globes debacle. A Burke death, albeit contrived would certainly blow the doors off for so many.
I know Izzie's speech has been debated to death, but I couldn't agree less with her regarding George's abrupt decision to marry Callie. I don't think it was a mistake. Wasn't it Izzie who agreed to marry Denny in an equally short amount of time? Not to mention her irresponsible and irratiional behavior in cutting LVAD wire? I just dont' think Izzie is in any position to be judging anyone's choices.
Derek broke my heart this week. His helplessness, fear and utter love for Meredith could not have been more obvious. That man can tell us everything we need to know with his eyes alone. You could also feel Christina's desperation when the gang assured her it was Meredith in the trauma room. She emotionally collapsed in front of our eyes without saying much at all.
What an episode! Thursday feels like years away.