Grey’s Anatomy Season 11 to Be Especially “Challenging” For Meredith and Derek — Report

65Shondaland can be a hostile environment for couples — even ones as committed and long-lasting as Derek (Patrick Dempsey) and Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) on Grey’s Anatomy. And TVLine‘s latest roundup of spoilers has us nervous about the show’s longest romance.

Though the site does shoot down the rumor that Grey’s creator Shonda Rhimes is killing off Meredith and having Derek hook up with Callie (Sara Ramirez), it does cite “unconfirmed buzz” that Mer and Der are “about to face one of their more challenging seasons in recent memory, which makes the timing of Cristina’s exit horrible for Mer.”

When we last saw these surgical spouses, they had reached a critical impasse. Derek had long since promised to take a step back professionally to be at home with the kids while Mer advanced her career at the hospital.

But then came the call from the President, asking Derek to join a brain-mapping initiative. Even Mer conceded that you can’t say no when the Commander in Chief rings you up, but that doesn’t mean she wasn’t frustrated.

The last straw came when Der tried to relocate them to D.C. Meredith initially went along with the plan but eventually recognized that her friends were in Seattle, her research was in Seattle, her career was in Seattle, her life was in Seattle. And she declared that she wasn’t budging.

We’ve already explained why we think MerDer isn’t doomed, but we still recommend buckling your seat belts, Grey’s fans.