The Dinner Party Episode of ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Actually Made People Feel Bad for Penny

Whenever a new season in Grey’s Anatomy begins, Meredith’s voice-over usually comes in, setting that season’s theme. As the show ends, there is almost always a guaranteed death of one of the characters or a huge calamity.

As Season 11 ended, fans had to say goodbye to Derek Shepherd, Meredith Grey’s love interest, and husband. The ending was a sad one, and people felt devastated, especially for Meredith. Meredith mainly blamed one doctor, Penny, for Derek’s death, and when Penny came for dinner, Meredith gave her the cold shoulder.

Read on to find out more about the awkward dinner and why fans felt terrible for Penny.

Meredith Grey is usually the focal point of ‘Grey’s Anatomy‘       

Although Grey’s Anatomy shows how the resident surgeons and nurses at the Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital interact, the show mainly focuses on Meredith Grey. When the show started, Meredith was an intern at Grace Seattle Hospital.

As the series progressed, fans got to see Meredith grow as an individual and as a doctor to become one of the hospital’s top surgeons. Meredith is the daughter of the highly recognized Ellis Grey, who was depicted as not having been mother-of-the-year.

Despite the challenges Meredith had growing up, she ended up pursuing her dream of becoming a doctor. The night before she began her internship, Meredith had a one-night stand with her would-be husband, Derek Shepherd, whom she met at a bar.

The next day, Meredith realized that Derek was a hired surgeon at the same hospital she was interning. Meredith also has a complicated relationship with the Chief of Surgery at the Grace Seattle hospital Richard Webber. It is worth noting that Richard shared a close bond with Meredith’s mother, Ellis.

Meredith and Derek end up getting married and starting a family. However, in season 11, Derek gets into a car accident and is taken to the Dillard ER, where he dies at the hands of Dr. Penelope Blake.

Who is Penelope Blake, and what is her connection to Meredith and Derek

Penelope Blake, alias Penny, was introduced to viewers in season 11 as a resident at the Dillard Medical Center. When Derek gets into a car accident, he is taken to Dillard ER and placed under Penny’s care.

When Derek’s condition began deteriorating, she asked for a head CT which Paul Castello declined and instead insisted on getting Derek to surgery to control his abdominal bleeding. Before they got to the OR, Penny once more asked for a head CT, but Paul declined.

While operating on Derek, he became unstable, and Paul immediately remembered that he had a head laceration. Paul asked the anesthesiologist to check Derek’s eyes, revealing a blown pupil. They decided to page Dr. Cohn, the head of neurosurgeon who at the time was at a dinner party.

He ended up arriving at the hospital one and a half-hour later. Penny called him out, but Cohn told her that they should’ve paged him sooner. When Penny and Cohn went to talk to Meredith about Derek’s passing, Meredith told them that they should’ve gotten the CT as it could’ve perhaps saved his life.

‘Grey’s Anatomy’: The awkward dinner party

In the episode Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, Callie, Penny’s significant other, invited her to Meredith’s dinner party. When they arrive, Meredith opens the door for them and is immediately shocked at seeing Penny. She nevertheless welcomes the couple.

Callie, oblivious to Penny and Meredith’s history, thinks that Penny is nervous because she is meeting Callie’s friends for the first time. However, seeing Penny at her house throws Meredith into a sad state as she believes Penny was responsible for Derek’s death.

Fans were sad for Penny after the show aired. In a Reddit thread, one fan noted how bad they felt for Penny.  The fan said that it was understandable that sometimes people die in Penny’s line of work.

The user noted that Penny was obviously uncomfortable and tried to figure out how Meredith was recovering. The episode aired on October 22, 2015.