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‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Star Ellen Pompeo Defends Yet Another Attack on Meredith, But Admits She Questioned It Too

James Pickens Jr. and Ellen Pompeo
James Pickens Jr. and Ellen Pompeo in ‘Grey’s Anatomy.’

How much is too much? Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) endured yet another hardship during Grey’s Anatomy’s Thursday, February 11, episode, and the actress herself was skeptical as to whether the scene was going too far.

In Thursday’s midseason premiere, the surgical chief was brutally attacked by a Grey-Sloan patient, causing her to briefly lose her hearing and get her jaw wired shut. After the incident, Meredith’s children came to visit her but were too frightened to stay by her side.

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Pompeo, 46, told Entertainment Weekly’s Shondaland Revealed podcast on Friday, February 12, that given all her character has endured — including surviving numerous traumas and losing multiple loved ones to tragedy — she initially asked directing producer Debbie Allen whether the intense scenes in the episode would be too tough for fans to handle.

“The first thing when Debbie told me they were planning this episode, I said, ‘So Meredith is going to be attacked again? Do you think the audience is going to go for that? Are they going to be able to handle that? Hasn’t enough happened to Meredith?’ And she said, ‘It’s gonna be great. It’s gonna be great. It’s gonna be great,'” Pompeo said. “And, as always — listen, if Shonda [Rhimes] thinks something’s a good idea, it’s usually a good idea.”

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The actress’ concerns were further allayed when she learned that Denzel Washington would be directing the episode.

“Even though I had my reservations, I was still gung-ho to give it everything I have, not having read it,” she said. “Then, finding out Denzel was coming on to direct it, I was like, ‘Oh, yeah — let’s go. Yes, let’s do it.'”

Plus, Pompeo is aware that some people in the real world actually do have to endure a similar amount of setbacks.

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“You don’t think you’re going to have to come up with 12 years of devastating things happening to one character,” she said. “However, I look at the news every day and read newspapers online, and people have had some pretty unfortunate series of events happen to them in life. Things that you never think would happen. … So we can always suspend our disbelief enough to be able to tell some story and learn some lessons.”

Grey’s Anatomy airs on ABC on Thursdays at 8 p.m. EST.

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