Grey’s Anatomy
Grey ’s Anatomyhas its very own “ what if ” episode , creating an substitute timeline where its case had very different life . Created by Shonda Rhimes , Grey ’s Anatomydebuted on ABC in 2005 as a mid - season successor , but it was so well - receive by critics and viewers that it has live on for over 10 season , and record no signs of stopping soon , even if most of its original cast is now gone .
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This “ what if ” episode pass off inGrey ’s Anatomyseason 8 and is style “ If / Then ” , in consultation to the call of the same name by Rad Kass . In it , as Meredith put her girl Zola to bed , she began to enquire what her life would have been like had her female parent never puzzle sick and if she had had a good father , and so the episode begin to explore that alternate realism . A uncomplicated variety like Ellis ( Meredith ’s mother ) not have Alzheimer ’s changed everything , even the life of those around Meredith , although in most cases they ended up on the same path as in the main timeline / universe of discourse . Here ’s every major deviation inGrey ’s Anatomyalternate timeline :
Meredith Grey’s Happier Family Life
As mention above , in this timeline Meredith ’s female parent Ellis is alive and well , so much that she ’s the Chief of Staff at Seattle Grace Hospital and pay off together with Richar Webber , who became Meredith ’s father , so she took on the surname “ Webber ” . One affair that did n’t change , however , was Ellis ’ arrogance and coldness , and she continued crusade Meredith to be better , and she also pressured Derek Shepherd all the time as she wanted him to use his full potential . Still , Meredith had a much happy menage animation than in the main timeline , but that also brought some big change in other aspects of her personal lifespan .
In this timeline , Meredith and Derek were n’t together , and rather , she was in a relationship with Alex Karev , with whom she had just gotten engaged . Another big modification is that Cristina Yang wasn’tMeredith ’s “ individual ” , and that role give way to April Kepner instead . In fact , Meredith and Cristina could n’t stand up each other in this timeline , but one thing that did n’t interchange about Cristina is that she had an liaison with an attending – none other thanPreston Burke , which earned her the dislike of her colleagues . Although Meredith ’s life in this alternative universe was a lot happier and to an extent easier than the one in the chief timeline , it was n’t fully safe from dramatic event . Alex end up cheating on her with April , and they were caught by Cristina , who during an argument with Meredith let the “ secret ” out . Of course , Meredith ’s relationship with Alex and friendly relationship with April was over , but by the end of the episode , she was drinking tequila with Cristina and Joe ’s bar , hinting at the beginning of their friendly relationship as have it away in the independent timeline .
Lexie Grey’s Messy Life
While Meredith had a happier life story , Lexie Grey ’s was quite depressing and rugged . In this timeline , Lexie was n’t an intern , nor had she fail to med school , and was or else a drug addict whose mother died of a “ stomach matter ” and her father ( Meredith ’s father , Thatcher ) killed himself . She was rushed to Seattle Grace Hospital after overdosing on the street , and once there , Cristina inform her she needed a surgical implant on her tenderness as a result of all the cocaine she had been using . Once in the hospital , Lexie told Jackson she had a half - babe who worked there , but she did n’t screw her . Lexie escaped but was brought back to the ER by Mark Sloan , who find her lying on the street . Meredith saw Cristina and Jackson hear to save Lexie and stepped in , proposing they cracked her bureau . Although she reject at first , Cristina eventually concur and aid Meredith crack Lexie ’s chest , and together they saved her life .
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Derek Shepherd’s Family Problems
Derek Shepherd ’s lifein this timeline was very different too , but it take him to the same place as in the main universe . Here , Derek and Addison were still together and expecting their first shaver together . Professionally , he was n’t doing so well , as he was amaze , unwilling to teach , write , etc , earning him the nickname of “ McDreary ” instead of “ McDreamy ” , as well as “ speculative Shepherd ” – Addison , on the other hand , was still working at Seattle Grace Hospital as neonatal and OB / GYN - maternal - fetal head , and was jazz as “ Good Shepherd ” . Being together does n’t mean their relationship was hefty , as they always fight back and Derek could n’t even recount Addison he loved her without staring at the floor . Addison end up profess to him that the baby was n’t his , and then Mark Sloan came out of the lav , having just wash Lexie ’s blood off his clothes . By the end of the installment , Derek was at Joe ’s taproom where he came across Meredith , who told him that that night he was just a guy in a bar and she was just a young lady in the taproom .
Derek ’s best friend , Mark Sloan , did n’t work at Seattle Grace but end up there after nearly running Leslie over as she was lying on the street . The lovemaking Triangulum between Derek , Addison , and Mark did n’t commute , and Derek ended up at the bar , drinking with Meredith , just as they did the night beforeGrey ’s Anatomy ’s very first episode in the canon timeline .
Callie and Owen’s Marriage
Meredith and Alex , and Derek and Addison were surprising pairs , but they ca n’t liken to that of Owen Hunt andCallie Torres . In this alternative timeline , Owen and Callie got married before she met Arizona Robbins , and the glad couple even had three children . In increase to that , Callie was Head of Cardio rather of orthopedic operating theatre , while Owen was Head of Trauma , just like in the main timeline ( and was also struggling with PTSD ) . Just like in Meredith and Derek ’s cases , there are some hints at their life eventually going on the way of life of the canon universe of discourse : Cristina , although not with Owen , helped him and supported him on his route to retrieval , and while there was some tension between Callie and Arizona over a patient ’s grammatical case , by the last of the episode there was a spark between them .
George O’Malley Is Still Alive & Izzie Stevens Was Fired
Grey ’s Anatomy ’s “ what if ” episode mentioned a brace of characters that by time of year 8 were already go , but the most notable one wereGeorge O’Malleyand Izzie Stevens . In the main timeline , George of a sudden decide to link up the U.S. Army in Iraq , and Richard gave him the last day off so he could expend time with his family . unhappily , on his way home , he jumped in front of a coach to save a woman ’s life and was give severely disfigured . Because of this , no one recognized him when he arrive at the hospital , and it was n’t until he trace “ 007 ” ( one of his many nicknames ) on Meredith ’s handwriting that they knew who the “ John Doe ” patient was . The team could n’t save him , and as his mentality swelled during surgical process , he was declared brain dead . In the alternate timeline , however , it ’s mentioned that George run out after failing his medical intern exam , so it ’s bear that he was still alive .
On the other hand , Izzie Stevensdidn’t go , but she did allow for Seattle Grace Hospital and everyone else behind . In the master timeline , after recovering from cancer , she was fired after giving the wrong dosage of music to a affected role , and thinking Alex was partly to find fault , she write him a letter and left . She later returned for a final PET CAT scan and to ask Derek to compose her a recommendation letter so she could get a job in Tacoma , and years later on , Alex kick the bucket back to her . In the alternate universe , Izzie was sack for cutting Denny Duquette ’s LVAD conducting wire and Meredith told her female parent about it , and it was unsung what find to her after that . In most cases , the “ what if ” timeline take the characters ofGrey ’s Anatomyto the same track as in the canon timeline , but it was fun to take a look at how much their spirit would have changed had some decisiveness been different .
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