If you're like us, then you may find yourself still in disbelief that Ellen Pompeo's Meredith Grey left Grey’s Anatomy after 19 seasons of the show. The character was the last remaining original intern and her story arc has led to some truly iconic moments in primetime.
Pompeo actually talks about one such moment in a recent one-on-one sitdown with Katherine Heigl for Variety, (yes, the former Izzie Stevens herself). In what is sure to make longtime Grey's fans gasp, Pompeo revealed that one of the most legendary scenes of the show's entire run is one that she was actually not interested in filming.
The scene in question occurred during Grey’s Anatomy season 2 episode 5. If you’ll recall, Meredith was knee-deep in a love triangle involving her, Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey) and Addison Montgomery (Kate Walsh). Addison had come to Seattle to repair her marriage to Derek, who was actually dating Meredith. Poor Meredith didn't know Derek was married when the two started their whirlwind romance in season 1, but was very much still in love with him after she learned the truth.
Derek then found himself in the midst of having to choose between his head telling him to fix things with Addison and his heart pulling him to make things work with Meredith. In a pitch to sway him to her side, Meredith made an impassioned plea uttering the famous phrase, "Pick me, choose me, love me." That dialogue has since gone down as one of the most memorable clips of the entire show's history.
Well as it turns out, Pompeo fought hard against doing that scene. Specifically, she told Heigl, "I don’t know if you remember, but I fought that speech so hard."
Pompeo later elaborated, "I was like why would I beg a man? I can't beg a man on TV, this is so embarrassing. And then it turns out to be one of the most successful scenes, one of the most famous scenes ever."
Heigl added in reference to the widely known line, "It was beautiful." Here's a clip of the full exchange on the topic:
Ellen Pompeo and Katherine Heigl talk about how Meredith Grey is the original pick me girl. #ActorsOnActors https://t.co/lemCD7wIOj pic.twitter.com/ExhL2SEjx1June 6, 2023
Now for those Grey's fans wondering if this sitdown between these original cast members of the show will lead to a reprisal of their characters in Grey’s Anatomy season 20, we can't say. Pompeo has gone on record numerous times expressing that she'd love to pop back into Grey Sloan Memorial every now and then, so perhaps there is some hope Heigl may do the same.
You can catch up with some of your favorite Grey’s Anatomy moments from the earlier years right now on Netflix.
