McDreamy lives on.
During the season 19 premiere of Grey's Anatomy, fans found out that a lot has been shaken up at Grey Sloan: The Oct. 6 episode gave us our first glimpse of Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) in a reduced role, and also introduced us to a class of five new interns, who have taken on a whole lot of responsibility. But with all of these new dynamics, Grey's also managed to call back to one of our fan favorites in a surprising way.
That's right: One of the new interns, Lucas Adams (Niko Terho) is Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey)'s nephew.
This connection is revealed during surgery, when Lucas echos Derek's signature catchphrase, "It's a beautiful day to save lives." After the operation, Meredith and Amelia Shepherd (Caterina Scorsone), Derek's sister, discussed the unexpected relationship.
"Derek was a god to him," Amelia said. "And Lucas was Derek's favorite nephew—and I do love him, so I hate to keep saying this, but I don't think he has what it takes. I mean, he's a mess. He doesn't follow instructions. He has to do everything his own way."
And while Meredith revealed that she didn't hire him because he reminds her of Derek, she did note that she thinks he has a "stroke of the family genius."
While it was not revealed who Lucas' mother is, there's a number of possibilities—all the way back in season one, Derek told Meredith that he had four sisters, with a total of nine nieces and five nephews. Derek's other sisters, Nancy, Kathleen, and Lizzie—who have all made appearances over the years—are also doctors, so clearly, medicine runs in the family.
See if Lucas has what it takes to be a part of the family business when Grey's Anatomy premieres new episodes Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET on ABC.