Fifteen seasons. I have given Shonda Lynn Rhimes and Grey’s Anatomy almost 15 whole seasons of my life. Fifteen seasons of plane crashes, tumour ghosts, death, heartbreak, more death and more heartbreak. FIFTEEN SEASONS and yet, Shonda and her staff seem to have no respect for my time and my emotions. Last season, Meredith Grey was happily single, fresh off her first post-Derek relationship and not looking for love – until Scott Speedman aka Dr. Nick Mars showed up. I was over here waiting patiently for Nick to come back when news broke yesterday that Josh Radnor will be playing Ellen Pompeo’s new love interest. 

Record scratch. Wait. So, Scott Speedman isn’t coming back? I thought this was an elaborate fake-out. It wasn’t. This is not a drill. We’re going to have to sit through Josh Radnor romancing Ellen Pompeo. If you’ve been watching, you know that Meredith has given into her matchmaker patient’s wishes and let her set up a blind date. Josh Radnor will be that date. I’ve forgiven Shonda Rhimes a lot. I forgave her for Denny, for Mark and Lexie and DEREK but I will never forgive her for dangling Ben Covington in front of us and then promptly snatching him away.  

This is where Duana might tell me that the writers know their shows better than I do and maybe this is a case of them giving us what we need and not what we want and to that I would say, BUT SCOTT SPEEDMAN. I know it’s unfair to judge Josh Radnor’s character before we’ve even met him but I have met transplant surgeon Dr. Nick Mars and he is Meredith Grey’s McDreamy 2.0. He is her second husband. I know this in my bones. You know why? Because the Grey’s Anatomy writers manipulated me into feeling this way. This was the teaser for Scott Speedman’s episode: 

I’m SORRY, did that promo not emblazon the words “THE RIGHT PERSON” across my screen? Meredith hasn’t flirted like that since she was just “a girl in a bar” with Derek. The Scott Speedman episode even had the AUDACITY to flashback to the very moment in season one when Meredith meets Derek. Listen, what we’re NOT going to do is evoke the image of the late Derek Shepherd just to cut the storyline cold after one episode. I refuse to call Time of Death on Meredith and Nick. I REFUSE. Am I being melodramatic? I’ve watched 15 seasons of Grey’s Anatomy, of course I’m being melodramatic. Shonda taught me. 

For tonight’s episode, we’re supposed to believe that Meredith Grey would move on from hot ass Ben Covington to the dude who played Ted Mosby, the lukewarm dishrag of television characters? We’re supposed to believe that Meredith “Dark and Twisty BADASS” Grey would be into the dude who couldn’t even make me like a high-school drama about musical theatre and football? THIS DUDE? For my Meredith? Seriously? Shonda, why are you punishing us? 

When Ellen Pompeo penned her epic op-ed in THR, she noted that she wasn’t interested in giving Meredith a substantial love interest. Her point was that she can carry the show on her own without a male lead. She’s right. She can. But as I wrote then, Meredith can still be a badass feminist and fall in love. Plus, Ellen Pompeo and Scott Speedman had CHEMISTRY. See below for proof of Ellen and Scott’s chemistry. I’M UPSET. 

Goddamn, he is handsome. I have this episode PVR’d to watch whenever I want, obviously, and I swoon every time Dr. Mars says, “You saved my whole damn life.” How that line is not the beginning of their love story is baffling to me. I’m still holding out hope for a Shonda-sanctioned Hail Mary for sweeps week. Meredith’s matchmaker patient does need a kidney (shout out to my friend Jen for this theory.) Fingers crossed it’s Dr. McGoddamn who delivers it. 

Here's Ellen at an event in LA on Sunday night.