As the daughter of world-renowned surgeon Ellis Grey (Kate Burton), Meredith struggles with balancing the challenges of being in a competitive profession, maintaining her relationship with her one-night stand and eventual husband, Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey), her role as a mother, and her friendships with her colleagues.

Her relationships with colleagues Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh), Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl), Alex Karev (Justin Chambers) and George O'Malley (T. R. Knight) form a central part of the show's early dynamics.

Meredith is assigned to work under resident Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson), and befriends her fellow interns, Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh), Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl), Alex Karev (Justin Chambers) and George O'Malley (T.R.

The plane crash kills Lexie and her boyfriend Mark Sloan (Eric Dane), and the survivors are trapped in the wooded wilderness for days waiting for help.

Each victim including Derek, Cristina, Arizona Robbins (Jessica Capshaw) and herself must receive $15 million of compensation, which leads the hospital to a near bankruptcy as the insurance company refuses to pay due to a loophole.

The doctors along with Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez) buy the hospital with the help of the Harper Avery Foundation to prevent it from closing and become new members of the directing board.

When Meredith's water breaks (not long before she suffers a near miscarriage by falling down the stairs), the baby has face presentation and is consequently delivered via emergency C-section.

Cristina moves to Switzerland, taking up a job offer from Preston Burke (Isaiah Washington), her former attending, mentor and fiancé, who was looking for a replacement at a research hospital he was running, thus leaving Alex in charge of being Meredith's "person" in her place, an honor he gladly accepts.

As Meredith adjusts to life without Cristina, she finds out she has a maternal half-sister named Maggie Pierce (Kelly McCreary), who was given away for adoption by her mother right after she gave birth and who is now working in Grey Sloan Memorial as the new Chief of Cardiothoracic Surgery.

Meredith then proceeds to lean on her friends for support as she begins living life as a single parent while simultaneously maintaining a streak of successful surgeries with no patient-losses.

At the end of Season 18, Meredith prepares herself and the kids for a move to Minnesota, but her plans are halted when Bailey resigns following the collapse of Grey Sloan's residency program.

[6]Pompeo was cast as the titular character, with Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times describing Meredith as "a prickly, independent sort whose ambition, and ambivalence, is fueled by the fact that her mother was a gifted surgeon and now suffers from Alzheimer's".

[8][9] When Pompeo’s initial contract expired, she successfully negotiated a new one, securing a salary of $200,000 per episode, making her and Patrick Dempsey the highest-paid cast members at the time.

[20] Ellen Pompeo has reflected on her character’s evolving personality, noting that Meredith's journey has moved from a state of depression to one of relative happiness and being "fixed".

In an interview with Good Morning America, Pompeo acknowledged their strong on-screen connection, stating, “I am so incredibly lucky to have Patrick [Dempsey], to have the chemistry that we do.

But we work it out, and we’ve found a way to do this for this long, still get along, and make it work.” Despite their undeniable chemistry, Pompeo admitted to Entertainment Weekly that there were some awkward moments while filming romantic scenes, given the brother-sister dynamic she felt with Dempsey.

This common struggle between Meredith and Lexie showcases their deep emotional complexity and adds another layer to their sibling relationship, as both characters attempt to navigate their personal and professional lives while dealing with family trauma and the legacy of their mother, Ellis Grey.

Pompeo has consistently advocated for a truthful and realistic storyline for her character, Meredith Grey, emphasizing that life’s complexities can’t always be wrapped up neatly.

[29] Despite the consequences, Shonda Rhimes remained confident that Grey and Shepherd were ultimately meant to be together, believing that they would find their way back to each other in the end.

She explained:I've heard a lot of talk about Meredith being whiny but the truth is, she's got a mom [who died of] Alzheimer's, no other family to speak of, and the man she loves is married.

[31]Rhimes also noted that by the show’s 100th episode, Meredith had undergone significant evolution, transforming from the "dark and twisty girl" she was in the earlier seasons to a "happy woman.

[33] With Pompeo's contract still active, Rhimes hinted that viewers would witness some of the most challenging times of Meredith's life yet, opening up opportunities for the character's continued growth and resilience.

Former television columnist for The Star-Ledger Alan Sepinwall expressed his boredom on the focus given on Grey's relationships storylines while reviewing the Season 2 finale: "On those occasions when Meredith's not involved in a plot about her love life, I do kind of like her, but those moments are so infrequent compared to her constant angsting over McDreamy – not to mention all those seemingly unrelated storylines that always turn into a metaphor for that relationship – that I really, really can't stand her.

"[39] Also during the third season, Robert Rorke of the New York Post noted the decline in Meredith's role in the show, expressing disappointment: "She used to be the queen of the romantic dilemmas, but lately, she's been a little dopey, what with the endless McDreamy soliloquies.

In her review of the episode "Tainted Obligation" she wrote "I felt for Meredith, but after Lexie's heartfelt begging and pleading, I was happy that Mere finally grows up and casts her selfishness aside.

"[45] Wit & Fancy praised the transformation of the character and stated, "Of course, Meredith will still make rash decisions like when she took off with Zola or tampered with the trial, but she does things out of love and the kindness of her heart now and not because she is dark and twisty.

[46] Maura O'Malley of Bustle also lauded the development of the character ahead of Season 12 saying, "When the series began, Meredith was just a girl sitting in a bar celebrating the exciting next phase of her life.

at the time of Sandra Oh's exit wrote, "In Grey's Anatomy's 10-year history, the doctor duo has been through a lot together: weddings, deaths, plane crashes, bomb threats, shooting, you name it, they've lived (and danced) through it. "

"[56] Marama Whyte of Hypable wrote, "Critically, the key relationship in Meredith's life was not her romance with Derek Shepherd, but her passionate, indestructible, absolutely enviable friendship with Cristina.

I have faith that the show's writers will do this storyline justice, because TV needs more strong single women — and Meredith seems like the perfect candidate."