Grey's Anatomy Showrunner Explains The Brilliant Way Lucas Provides A New Perspective On Derek

Contains spoilers for "Grey's Anatomy" Season 19

Medical dramas always feature heart-pounding surgeries and ailments that require immediate attention and a keen mind, but also the shifting relationships of those that work in hospitals. When characters aren't saving lives, they are usually entangled with interpersonal drama that can see friendships made and broken, as well as burgeoning romantic involvements or messy breakups. In other words, there are always plenty of plots to pay attention to, which is probably why a show like "Grey's Anatomy" has managed to go on for 19 seasons and over 400 episodes, according to IMDb.

Now that Season 19 has premiered, "Grey's Anatomy" has seen a brand new crop of interns, who are left in the care of Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) at the end of Season 18. These new interns are played by Harry Shum Jr., Adelaide Kane, Niko Terho, Midori Francis, and Alexis Floyd. One of the interns, Lucas Adams (Terho), is revealed to be connected to Dr. Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey), and a recent interview with the "Grey's Anatomy" showrunner reveals how this connection actually casts a completely different light on Dr. Shepherd. But how?

Speaking with Variety, the current showrunner and former cast member Krista Vernoff was asked about the shocking twist involving Lucas being Derek's nephew, and she said, "That was an early idea of mine as I was looking at how to connect this class to the original fabric of the series without repeating those characters, or retreading story. Derek had all these sisters, who had all these kids — I remember writing about them in the early years of the show. With Addison, I remember writing a conversation where they were talking about Christmas gifts for all of the sisters."

She continued, "Lucas was born of the idea of he's a little bit of Derek, and he's a little bit of Amelia: But we didn't meet Derek and Amelia when they were surgical interns! And this gives us that connection, but brand-new territory." Considering these words, it seems like Vernoff thinks the character of Lucas actually highlights how his uncle Derek and aunt Amelia Shepherd (Caterina Scorsone) might have been when they were interns since viewers originally saw both of them as accomplished doctors at the start of the series. Now that "Grey's Anatomy" has shifted its focus back to first-year medical professionals, Lucas actually provides insight into how his aunt and uncle may have acted in their own experiences. Either way, it is always nice to have a new legacy character that will help to fill in some of the family historiy of the Shepherds.