Meredith and Alex on Grey's Anatomy: Some Fans Are Already Shipping Them and We Have Strong Feelings About It

Do these two BFFs belong together romantically? We weigh in!

By Lauren Piester, Sydney Bucksbaum May 01, 2015 9:00 PMTags
Grey's Anatomy, Ellen Pompeo, Justin ChambersABC

Over the past week, Grey's Anatomy has destroyed us in many, many ways. So many tears have been shed, and thanks to last night's episode, blood has been too...mostly because we found out that some people are already shipping Alex (Justin Chambers) and Meredith (Ellen Pompeo).

Some of us on E! Online's TV Scoop Team LOVE the idea of Meredith and Alex being end game on ABC's long-running medical drama...while some of us think it's the worst idea ever to have existed and can't stop screaming obscenities/flipping desks over at the thought. The gauntlet has been thrown, and this issue has pitted colleague against colleague, friend against friend. We're feeling some strong feelings, people!

Instead of taking it out on each other, we decided to be civilized and put our arguments to good use. Here's our point/counterpoint of why you should or shouldn't be shipping Alex and Meredith. Which side are you on, Internet? Help us settle this one and for all! Then maybe, just maybe, we can survive the day without murdering each other. We think we can all agree that there's been enough death already!

Alex and Meredith, BFFs for life (and nothing more!)
-Sydney Bucksbaum

It's official: the shippers have gone too far this time. Bear with me here.

After last week's emotionally devastating Grey's Anatomy, in which the show brutally (and totally unnecessarily) killed off Dr. Derek McDreamy Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey), the ABC medical drama jumped ahead a year in last night's episode to show how everyone moved on from their grief and sadness. While the other Grey Sloan Memorial doctors mourned and moved on in various ways, Meredith had her surprise baby somewhere that was not Grey Sloan Memorial (because clearly we still haven't learned to avoid any other hospitals after McDreamy's disaster) after living alone for the whole pregnancy.

It took all nine months for her new "person" Alex to finally get her to answer her phone after calling her nonstop the entire time she was gone, and since he was listed as her emergency contact, he got the call from the hospital when she finally went into labor, tipping him off to her location.

ABC/Kelsey McNeal

The moment when Meredith woke up in her hospital bed to see Alex by her side was the first time in a long time (read: a week) that Grey's fans were able to breathe a sigh of relief. Meredith has her person again! Things are going to be okay for her despite her losing the love of her life. She'll be able to raise her three kids, because she has the support of her friends and loved ones. It's not the future any of us envisioned for her, but it was bearable. She can do this!

I was happy...and then I went on Twitter. And saw that some people are already shipping Meredith and Alex. As in, they want them to hook up and get together romantically.

Seriously?! No! Just...no.

While I definitely want to see Meredith get a happy ending and living a fulfilled life, and yes, I know that involves moving on romantically, Alex and Meredith cannot, and will not, and should not happen. Ever.

This isn't a matter of it being "too soon" for Meredith to move on, because the show has already jumped a year into the future. Meredith is still in mourning, as she should be and will be for a long time, but I would understand if she found love again with someone else. She deserves at least that much. Even though it's only been one episode for fans, I would accept that because I want to see her happy after all the crap she's been through (and it's been a lot of crap).

But moving on...with Alex?! Nope!

He is her new "person," her shoulder to cry on, someone who will listen to all her problems without judgment, who she can vent to and gain an instant ally no matter if she's wrong or right. He's the person she can lay next to whenever she's feeling down...without any sexual tension to taint the moment of friendship. After all they've been through together, they're the only ones who truly understand each other...as friends.

ABC

Any true Grey's Anatomy fan, who has seen every single episode of every single season, knows that Alex and Meredith are just friends. The show has even touched on this very topic in recent seasons, when Meredith and Alex would lay in bed with each other, kicking out Alex's girlfriend Jo (Camilla Luddington) in the middle of the night during an emotional crisis. When Jo got jealous of Alex's close relationship with Meredith, thinking she had something to worry about, he had to explain to her how their friendship isn't like that. There's no romance or sexual tension between them, just years and years of friendship.

That kind of closeness and chemistry is often mistaken for attraction when it comes to TV, and that's completely understandable. You see two attractive people bond, and you can't help but root for them to get together. But not every male/female friendship needs to result in romance. Some people can be just friends without one or both characters wanting something more. That's true to life. In fact, TV needs more of these male/female friendships.

And speaking of Jo, while we don't necessarily know what happened between her and Alex over the past year since we didn't see any scenes between them during the time jump except that cute Thanksgiving scene, her and Alex are end game. That's been established over the past two seasons, because after all the crazy Alex has had to put up with in his past relationships, he finally found the right person to spend the rest of his life with. He was even ready to propose last season! Alex and Jo have gotten to the point where they don't have any drama, their relationship is as solid as a rock. They need each other, and can't imagine their lives without each other.

But as much as Alex and Meredith should never happen, after everything Shonda Rhimes just put us through with Derek's death, we now know we can't predict anything that happens on this show. That said: if Grey's Anatomy ever ruins the notion of someone's "person" by hooking up Meredith and Alex, we are out for good.

We stayed throughout the messy McDreamy death, we stayed through Meredith's surprise pregnancy (welcome, little baby Ellis Shepherd), but we are drawing the line here. That line is drawn in cement. We will not budge. Shonda, you've been warned.

ABC

Alex and Meredith, meant to be
-Lauren Piester

I have a confession to make. I've been shipping Alex and Meredith for years.

Of course, that ship has been dormant for a long time now. It was never a serious thing before Derek's death, or even before fast-forwarding to nearly a year after his death. I may have entertained the idea a few times when MerDer was on the outs, but for the most part, I respected the characters' assertions that nothing romantic would ever happen between them.

Then, the show completely switched gears.  

It's a new show now—a show that is no longer rooted in a central relationship between two people. Meredith lived and loved with McDreamy, but he's gone now, as is everything we thought we knew about the series, where it was going, and how it would someday end. It's nearly a year later, and it's a whole new ballgame.

Now, I really do have hopes that Meredith will end up with her best friend and current "person," Alex Karev. 

Those hopes have little to do with romance or sexual tension. She's been through so damn much in these past 10 years. She's loved harder than most people could ever dream, and she's lost more than anyone should. She had her epic love story, and now it's over, but that shouldn't mean her potential for happiness is also over, or that she's lost her ability to fall in love again.

Alex was the person who kept calling. He was the person the hospital called when she finally went into labor with that baby none of us wanted to happen, and he brought her back to Seattle and took charge of getting her kids settled back into their house. He's her best friend, and nothing brings me more joy than watching two best friends realize that they could have a pretty good life together.

ABC

While I completely understand the concept of your "person" being someone you're not romantically linked with, I also wonder why you can't be in a relationship with your person. Why shouldn't you be with the person who understands you the best, who never fails to make you happy, who's there for you in the worst times, the best times, and all the times in between?  

Alex has been there from the very beginning, knows and understands everything Meredith has been through, and has been through many of the same things himself. They're kindred spirits, and at this point, putting Meredith with anyone else would feel unsatisfying. (Not to mention the fact that any other dude would be like, "Wait, how many times have you almost died?!")

At this point, the show has gone far past what it used to claim to be. Whatever used to be true about any of the relationships is no longer true, not only in terms of storytelling but also in terms of the characters having to adapt to move past their latest tragedy. There's definitely room for a relationship between Meredith and Alex, and I honestly think it could be a pretty good one given their history.

I'm not saying this should happen now, by any means. It may be a year later for Meredith, but it's only a week later for us, and we still need the time to heal. But I would not say no to the series ending with Meredith and Alex agreeing to spend the rest of their lives trying to make each other as happy as possible.

I would also not say no finding a therapist who specializes in too many serious thoughts about fictional characters, if you know of anyone. 

So Internet: now it's your turn! Do you want to see Alex and Meredith together, or is that just the grossest and weirdest thing you've ever imagined? Hit the comments section below to weigh in!

Poll

Meredith and Alex: Friends or More?

Should Meredith and Alex get together on Grey's Anatomy?
Yes
45.4%
No
54.6%