Providing moral support! Grey’s Anatomy star Kevin McKidd (Owen) revealed in a TV Line interview that Cristina Yang was indeed by Meredith’s side at Derek’s funeral, which took place last season.
Actress Sandra Oh played the surgeon for the series’ first 10 seasons before exiting in May 2014. In the season 10 finale, Cristina took a job at a hospital in Switzerland, leaving behind her Seattle pals.
However, when McDreamy’s (Patrick Dempsey) funeral aired in April following his death from a car accident, viewers saw a dark-haired female character standing next to Meredith (Ellen Pompeo). According to McKidd, this was indeed Crisitina, even though she wasn’t played by Oh.
“Cristina was there,” McKidd told TV Line. “I presume Sandra was busy and unavailable for that episode, which was the only reason why [the body double was used].”
“That funeral sequence was meant to imply that Cristina was obviously there for Meredith,” he continued. “Her presence was felt.”
The two women were each other’s “person” throughout the first 10 seasons, following a season 2 episode in which Cristina told Meredith she used her as an emergency contact.
Dempsey addressed his departure in an interview with Entertainment Weekly last month, calling series creator Shonda Rhimes “provocative” for her November comments about the fact that she has killed off characters when she was clashing with the actor.
Grey’s Anatomy airs on ABC Thursdays at 8 p.m. EST. It returns from its winter hiatus on February 11.
