Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey)
Where Were We? Derek was particularly excited about the prospect of Meredith taking a job in Boston since he could work at Harvard. However, during the plane crash, he was sucked out of the side of the plane, with his hand severely mangled in the process.
What's Next? Derek will have to deal with the possibility that his hand will never fully recover. "We're going to watch what happens to a doctor who can temporarily no longer perform surgery," Shonda Rhimes says. When Burke injured his hand, it was very much about keeping it a secret. It's not about that. This is really, very clearly who you blame when your hand is injured like this. And what do you do and how do you overcome this? Derek is being pretty heroic about it, which is interesting." The good news is that Mer and Der are stronger than ever. "They're OK because they survived the plane crash, so they're happy to be alive," Ellen Pompeo says. "She'll do what you have to do as a partner; you have to support your partner."