Grey's Anatomy Fans Have Several Thoughts About Who Meredith Will Reunite With Next

Spoilers ahead for Grey's Anatomy Season 17. Now that fans have had a full week to recover from Meredith and Derek's Grey's Anatomy reunion, it's time for another person from Dr. Grey's past to step onto the beach. And that's exactly what will happen when the ABC drama returns from a brief Thanksgiving break on Dec. 3, according to a preview for the next episode. There haven't been any hints so far as to who will be on the beach to meet Meredith next, but there are plenty of Grey's vets to consider.

"If you really think about it... there's a lot of people it could be," Ellen Pompeo (Meredith) aptly tweeted after the Nov. 19 episode. That may be true, but fans have already narrowed in on one person in particular: Meredith's half-sister Lexie (Chyler Leigh). "I swear if we ever get a Lexie Grey appearance during one of Meredith’s episodes... page cardio... for me.." one Twitter user joked.

Some fans think there have already been some subtle clues that Meredith will be reunited with Lexie. After one viewer spotted two more people on the beach during the Season 17 premiere, another amateur sleuth noticed that Leigh recently followed the Grey's cast again on social media.

But with Meredith's health rapidly deteriorating due to COVID-19 respiratory complications, some viewers would much rather see someone reappear in the flesh, namely Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh). It's not that fans don't trust Teddy and DeLuca with Meredith's care, but one viewer tweeted that Cristina needs to "come back already" and "save Mer." Then, of course, there's also her other close friend Alex Karev (Justin Chambers), who made a sudden exit last season and is now raising his and Izzie's twins just a plane ride away in Kansas. Could he help cure Meredith? Some seem to think so, but since Meredith just replaced Karev with Webber as her power of attorney (without so much as a phone call, as far as we know), it's unlikely he's going to be involved.

For now, all we know is that Meredith can't physically reach Derek because she's not ready to die and leave their children just yet — though he'll be there when she's ready.