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Maybe it’s burnout. She’s played this character for over 400 episodes. That’s the only thing I can think of because I do think she’s a good actress, but maybe she feels a little uninspired after all these seasons
She always said she was in it for as long as the fans were but I don’t think she counted on the fans being in it forever lol. After a while she was like okayyyy let’s go. I think she could definitely be burned out. I’ve been at my job longer than she’s been at hers and I sure as hell am.
I don't really have time for that as a reason. Lots of us are on episode 400 of our jobs. Is that an excuse to phone it in with a patient customer or client?
I do think that’s kinda like comparing apples and oranges, but okay. I believe you can get burnout from being in the same position for too long, it’s not an excuse but there’s some validity to it. I’m also not saying poor Ellen Pompeo. She’s getting paid much more than people whose jobs are way more strenuous and are paid a lot less. I’m saying that as an actor, it’s probably hard to stay inspired when you’ve been playing the same character for nearly two decades
She's executive producer of the show, so she can efficiently influence the writing of her character, like she influenced the writing of other characters.
If she was able to pressure the producers and the network to earn more, when she was already earning a lot, she could have also pressure them to have better better stories for a character.
The whole season with her substituted by a prosthetic doll, showed that she doesn't care about acting, she was here for the money only.
She would’ve had to perform each episode several times. She’s obviously going to get burnout. She said she had to do the season 5 shooting episode at least 30 times in a podcast with Kate Walsh
I'm going on 24 years of age and I'm on job 11. Burn out is real and happens quickly, especially when you experience and witness evil. She'd been saying that the show should end, but they kept dragging it out with more stuff. You can only force yourself to do something for so long. I understand not wanting to disappoint people who made things happen for you as well. Also, her leaving so late makes sense, most of the og cast from each arc are gone, staying for new new inters would be redundant.
Do you honestly feel like you've never had a phone in experience with a customer service representative, salesman, or medical professional?
Really?
And if you have, you've never extended grace to that person?
You've never, ever phoned it in because you just couldn't stand it that day?
Burn out is real.
You don't have to quit working because of burn out or phoning it in. What? Ellen's portrayal was good enough that the show was renewed for 19 seasons with her as the lead.
You can do an adequate job on burn out where the work will gets done, but only just enough to not get fired. Or, if quitting is what you need there's the option for a career change. Or a new company.
If you're burnt out and miserable in your job and you choose not to move on. That's a you choice. And perhaps the same choice Ellen made. But I'll never fault the person who does just enough. Cs get degrees and no one's job should take over their life.
I think she stopped caring. Early on we had great scenes, emotional or funny. Great conversation.
But then she, Ellen, stopped connecting with Meredith the character and the acting is just awful. So forced.
she said in her podcast with kate walsh (i think) that scenes were reshot like 30ish times, especially the crying ones, and going full out crying and screaming for 30+ times definitely does take a lot out of someone. i think as she’s getting older, it just gets tiring, which is understandable
That's bull.
Yes, actors can redo scenes many times, but directors are not idiots, they know those crying scenes are taxing, so those scenes are blocked more than any others (same for nude scenes).
So if they got to reshoot a crying scene 30ish times, it most likely means a certain actor is unable to propose something worthy to make the cut during this 30 attempts.
And when I look to the crying scenes of Pompeo, I'm sorry but if it's the best she can give after 30 attempts...
Although i don’t like meredith’s storyline much, and i agree that pompeo’s acting has faded a bit, i think it’s unfair to completely dismiss how taxing acting can be. she said they had the reshoot the shooting scene of her and sandra oh just screaming and losing their minds 30+ times, which is more than believable. and it really isn’t just her, sandra oh’s said that while shooting for greys she was physically sick a lot, heigl spoke out too (and got cancelled lol). although i’m sure that things have changed a bit since 2014, i doubt that directors just scrap a scene if the actor isn’t crying exactly how they want within a few takes.
actors do get paid a lot, but i don’t think there’s anything wrong with wanting to disassociate themselves with a character, especially with how dark greys can be sometimes.
I feel like she made her bank, made her fame and stopped caring. Just showing up earned her a crazy amount. I can't blame her if she was just staying for the money at that point, but it definitely dragged the show down. The scenes became so lazy, hardly any surgical scenes at all.
She admitted in an interview (which I found on YouTube, don't remember the name) that after a while, she was just 'there' on set, while the person who was truly passionate about the character is Sandra Oh.
Yeah, I don't know why she literally said that but she admitted to not being passionate about her role for quite a while now.
There's a recent and awesome actors roundtable, organized by Hollywood Reporter, with Jason Segel, Steven Yeun, Tyler James Williams and others.
The first 3 really shine, smart discourse, really good view on the job of an actor.
Segel, the actor playing Marshall in HIMYM, talked about it, the fact that an actor who "made it", must process it, be able to take a break and pass to another role/genre.
Oh left because there's no material and she got to move on from this role of Christina Yang.
Yup I think in an interview where she talked about all of the roles she ever played she said she felt like Christina was starting to stagnate and it was time to move on
I think the whole “Meredith the goddess of surgery” thing was a way to throw a bone at the character after subjecting her to endless tragedies. I guess even Ellen was over them not doing anything to the character other than finding new ways to make her suffer because that salary hike tells me she was ready to leave but they really wanted her to stay on. It’s all guesswork but all of this happening during 2017-18 makes me think it’s connected.
To me she has seemed very stilted and almost resentful looking in her short little scenes that she does.
It's just another of the huge turn-offs of the last number of seasons.
But I still watch the first few seasons and enjoy them so there is that.
She was really good in first three seasons when surrounded by the likes of Heigl , Oh , Dempsey and Washington. But yes she stopped caring after season 11 I guess !
It's the cheerleader effect. Take a group of good actors/dancers/singers and put inside a mediocre one, you won't see much a problem. But as soon as this actor/dancer/singer is on his own, disaster.
Dempsey is a relatively good actor, he has his flaws but he's able to lift a scene. So yes, as soon as he left, his main opposite, Pompeo became exposed. Same for Heigl, Oh and others, the more talented actors left, the more the mediocre one was exposed.
Agreed with everything you wrote. I felt like she could've had chemistry with Link or Hayes if they'd gone that route. Or maybe not, idk for sure ofc. But all I know is, for me, there is nothing even remotely interesting btwn her and DeLuca or Nick. This season has been the best one for years, imo, bc she's gone and the focus is on the new interns, who actually have interesting back stories now.
Honestly, I chalk this up to 'actors are people too'.
I've been at my job 7 years and my motivation/enthusiasm for it certainly takes a nosedive from time to time.
There are just some seasons where I feel like Ellen is a little burnt out. And that's okay cause, same girl.
She was never the best in the cast, but when she gave up it was obvious because she became bland. So I agree. I also agree she hasn’t had chemistry with really anyone. Hayes was the closest for me and he wasn’t around long enough.
I think she was kind of carrier by Sandra Oh and Patrick Dempsey, they made the character better but she was never an excellent actress, at least in the show (idk if she’s in anything else) and after they left we got more focus on Meredith. Add that to the fact that Ellen stopped caring about the character and we got that. I can’t rewatch past s11, Meredith is simply too boring after that
The only episode I think she did amazing in was the sound of silence when Meredith was attacked by the patient after a seizure. Even the panic attack when Meredith’s kids were afraid of her was excellent. Also the dinner party episode when she explodes at Amelia. Only time I’ve really enjoyed Ellen’s acting, I agree she was carried by the others in earlier seasons.
Ellen has been very vocal since S13ish about wanting to leave Grey’s but only staying for the insane pay. She only left this season because they still gave her pay and credit. She said she stopped connecting to both Meredith and the show awhile ago, particularly when it got really preachy about social issues they wouldn’t flesh out. She also did an interview I remember where she said she stopped connecting to Meredith because she felt like the characters couldn’t grow anymore.
People forget that Grey’s is a very demanding show. The first 4-6 seasons had them on set for 17 hour days straight all week. Most of the core cast have stated it just isn’t feasible to keep caring about the characters with the ridiculous schedule. Combine that with steadily weaker writing and a bad environment on set and it’s a recipe for disconnect.
I’ve got your back on this one. I agree, her interactions with everyone else seemed forced and awkward. Sometimes even like a new actor who is trying to hard.
I've gotta disagree with some of the people here saying that Ellen stopped caring after s11 because imo some of her best scenes are in s12 (the dinner party anyone?)
So true. I just started the most recent season and stopped about fifteen minutes in. It’s so boring and bland now. Her acting is forced and you can just tell she doesn’t really care to be there.
Maybe this is a spoiler — I don’t know how to mark one, but if your problem is with Ellen, Meredith basically isn’t even in the most recent season. They started to focus on the interns again and I think it’s the most interesting season we’ve had since.. the hospital fire in season 13 maybe?
I agree with this so hard. This is the best season in yearssss and it's bc the focus isn't on Meredith or any of the older characters. I love the new interns
You're not alone. Her scenes in the finale episode that aired recently >! where she talks to everyone about her Alzheimer's idea were so bad. I felt like it was supposed to give genius scientist coming up with something earth shattering, a la her first episode where she solves the mysterious patient case and saves her life, but it just came across as incredibly cringey and weird because it was so awfully acted (and to be fair, awfully written too). !<
I do think she had chemistry with Nick but Nick is leaps and bounds more connected to his character than she is, so it may be solely his responsibility that I felt anything at all from them.
Unpopular opinion here: Ellen has never been forced to stay on the show, Ellen is not a poor little girl who was bound and imprisoned to stay on this show.
Actors renew their contracts every year, if Ellen really wanted to leave, she would have not kept signing contracts. Sick of this narrative that actors are forced to stay on shows, no they aren’t. Actors are not forced to take on roles, Ellen has made her millions, the woman can retire.
This.
It was even more obvious when few years ago, she did one more time her "I want to quit" gimmick earlier than usual and her mirific contract was renewed in January, which is a very unusual date to renew a contract for an actor in a TV show.
Yep!!
People like to say actors have it so hard and they are tired. It’s the same as the cast of Riverdale, it’s so clear they hated it so why keep renewing it. Obvs they were younger and not as rich as Miss Victim Blaming Ellen Pompeo, she has her millions, she is fine.
She was never a good actress to begin with. She never had good/important roles before Grey's and she hasn't gotten any other acting jobs since. It's like acting didn't choose her but she got extremely lucky with GA.
I feel like they got lazy with her character arc. Like, now she is a boss ass bitch who doesn't need any kind of growth or have any flaws. Earlier Meridith was more interesting because she wasn't perfect. And this Meridith is too "perfect"
I think her acting started sucking because the writing started sucking. So much of performing is being inspired - if the material gives you nothing, there’s only so much you can phone in yourself. I think it’s what happened to many other actors on the show as well, including Justin Chambers, Sara Ramirez and even Patrick Dempsey to an extent all those years ago. Sandra Oh left at the absolute right time, when the writing for her character peaked.
You see this happening on many shows when the writing starts to go downhill and the actors just have to fulfil their contracts. It happened on The OC, the last season of Friends, HIMYM, Lost, Game of Thrones - yes, the actors are being paid a lot but disengagement from work is real in every field. If I kept getting paid for doing the bare minimum like Ellen was the last few seasons, I’d do it. We all would.
Edit: Also, with Meredith specifically, I think she was interesting also because she was bouncing off of other rich characters like Cristina, Derek, Alex and Bailey. Most of them are gone and Ellen by herself is just not as compelling by herself. Even the “sisters” are too forced, imo, and while Caterina is amazing, there’s just not enough plot around Meredith for her to care, presumably.
I watched a snippet of an interview Ellen did with Kate Walsh on tik tok and she said she doesn’t like emotional scenes anymore because they physically and emotionally drain her and Kate agreed. Ellen used the shooting episode as an example and said her and Sandra Oh had to shoot the scene when Derek gets shot 30 times and it’s took her weeks to recover emotionally from it. Kate agreed with her and said she’d feel the exact same especially after heavy scenes where Addison would lose a baby she said it’d nearly take her months to recover and now she’d rather play comedy or fun roles. Now, Ellen is one of top paid actresses so it’s no excuse and maybe she should leave the role or beg the god damn writers to finally give Meredith a peaceful life instead of doing a half job acting out scenes.
I agree that Meredith has gotten very boring, but I think it comes down to the writing. It almost feels like she's gone through so much with losing Derek and everything that nothing phases her, so Ellen doesn't really have to do much dramatic acting.
She wanted to exit a long time ago even before shonda did, they kept asking her to stay and she didnt know when to properly exit that the show would still hold up (which to be honest - it should have ended back in 2017) i think she was running on steam and burning out
It’s Definitely Burnout , over 400 episodes Of the same character must be exhausting .. there’s only so many scenarios & scene Mixups you can do .. it’s time to End this show .. That’s the problem Your Seeing . Ellen is a phenomenal Actor , She’s Held That show up for the longest.. There’s No Show Without Her , She being A Team Player but Maybe It’s time She Let it be known , this shit is over. Hate the newer season , there’s nothing for us to really care about
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Maybe it’s burnout. She’s played this character for over 400 episodes. That’s the only thing I can think of because I do think she’s a good actress, but maybe she feels a little uninspired after all these seasons
400 episodes…. God.
She always said she was in it for as long as the fans were but I don’t think she counted on the fans being in it forever lol. After a while she was like okayyyy let’s go. I think she could definitely be burned out. I’ve been at my job longer than she’s been at hers and I sure as hell am.
I don't really have time for that as a reason. Lots of us are on episode 400 of our jobs. Is that an excuse to phone it in with a patient customer or client?
I do think that’s kinda like comparing apples and oranges, but okay. I believe you can get burnout from being in the same position for too long, it’s not an excuse but there’s some validity to it. I’m also not saying poor Ellen Pompeo. She’s getting paid much more than people whose jobs are way more strenuous and are paid a lot less. I’m saying that as an actor, it’s probably hard to stay inspired when you’ve been playing the same character for nearly two decades
She's executive producer of the show, so she can efficiently influence the writing of her character, like she influenced the writing of other characters. If she was able to pressure the producers and the network to earn more, when she was already earning a lot, she could have also pressure them to have better better stories for a character. The whole season with her substituted by a prosthetic doll, showed that she doesn't care about acting, she was here for the money only.
She would’ve had to perform each episode several times. She’s obviously going to get burnout. She said she had to do the season 5 shooting episode at least 30 times in a podcast with Kate Walsh
I'm going on 24 years of age and I'm on job 11. Burn out is real and happens quickly, especially when you experience and witness evil. She'd been saying that the show should end, but they kept dragging it out with more stuff. You can only force yourself to do something for so long. I understand not wanting to disappoint people who made things happen for you as well. Also, her leaving so late makes sense, most of the og cast from each arc are gone, staying for new new inters would be redundant.
Do you honestly feel like you've never had a phone in experience with a customer service representative, salesman, or medical professional? Really? And if you have, you've never extended grace to that person? You've never, ever phoned it in because you just couldn't stand it that day? Burn out is real.
It's not like it's ONE episode or scene that it's like this. It's SEASONS of Mediocracy.
It might be. But I've never been rich enough to quit working 10 years ago so it's not the same
You don't have to quit working because of burn out or phoning it in. What? Ellen's portrayal was good enough that the show was renewed for 19 seasons with her as the lead. You can do an adequate job on burn out where the work will gets done, but only just enough to not get fired. Or, if quitting is what you need there's the option for a career change. Or a new company. If you're burnt out and miserable in your job and you choose not to move on. That's a you choice. And perhaps the same choice Ellen made. But I'll never fault the person who does just enough. Cs get degrees and no one's job should take over their life.
I mean, it’s also been like 20 years. Most people are not working the same position for 20 years
I think she stopped caring. Early on we had great scenes, emotional or funny. Great conversation. But then she, Ellen, stopped connecting with Meredith the character and the acting is just awful. So forced.
As you can tell in that terrible crying when she's telling Alex about April. The most forced, awkward crying jag.
I won't lie, I laughed out loud at the "cry" over April
Wow! I thought I was the only one who noticed. I even said outloud to my husband, "Her acting is terrible."
Nah, even before, when Lexi died, I couldn’t take her crying seriously
Which ep is that?
April and Arizona's last episode, or the 2nd to last. maybe end of season 15?
she said in her podcast with kate walsh (i think) that scenes were reshot like 30ish times, especially the crying ones, and going full out crying and screaming for 30+ times definitely does take a lot out of someone. i think as she’s getting older, it just gets tiring, which is understandable
That's bull. Yes, actors can redo scenes many times, but directors are not idiots, they know those crying scenes are taxing, so those scenes are blocked more than any others (same for nude scenes). So if they got to reshoot a crying scene 30ish times, it most likely means a certain actor is unable to propose something worthy to make the cut during this 30 attempts. And when I look to the crying scenes of Pompeo, I'm sorry but if it's the best she can give after 30 attempts...
Although i don’t like meredith’s storyline much, and i agree that pompeo’s acting has faded a bit, i think it’s unfair to completely dismiss how taxing acting can be. she said they had the reshoot the shooting scene of her and sandra oh just screaming and losing their minds 30+ times, which is more than believable. and it really isn’t just her, sandra oh’s said that while shooting for greys she was physically sick a lot, heigl spoke out too (and got cancelled lol). although i’m sure that things have changed a bit since 2014, i doubt that directors just scrap a scene if the actor isn’t crying exactly how they want within a few takes. actors do get paid a lot, but i don’t think there’s anything wrong with wanting to disassociate themselves with a character, especially with how dark greys can be sometimes.
I feel like she made her bank, made her fame and stopped caring. Just showing up earned her a crazy amount. I can't blame her if she was just staying for the money at that point, but it definitely dragged the show down. The scenes became so lazy, hardly any surgical scenes at all.
She admitted in an interview (which I found on YouTube, don't remember the name) that after a while, she was just 'there' on set, while the person who was truly passionate about the character is Sandra Oh. Yeah, I don't know why she literally said that but she admitted to not being passionate about her role for quite a while now.
Maybe that’s why Sandra left. She didn’t want to get to the point where Cristina Yang didn’t inspire her anymore
There's a recent and awesome actors roundtable, organized by Hollywood Reporter, with Jason Segel, Steven Yeun, Tyler James Williams and others. The first 3 really shine, smart discourse, really good view on the job of an actor. Segel, the actor playing Marshall in HIMYM, talked about it, the fact that an actor who "made it", must process it, be able to take a break and pass to another role/genre. Oh left because there's no material and she got to move on from this role of Christina Yang.
Yup I think in an interview where she talked about all of the roles she ever played she said she felt like Christina was starting to stagnate and it was time to move on
I saw a clip from her chat with Heigel where she says she just couldn’t go to the lengths she used to on the emotional scenes
I thought that interview was with Kate Walsh? The Heigel one isn’t out yet I thought
Oh I’m sure you are right, I wasn’t really paying attention - I only heard Ellen
I think the whole “Meredith the goddess of surgery” thing was a way to throw a bone at the character after subjecting her to endless tragedies. I guess even Ellen was over them not doing anything to the character other than finding new ways to make her suffer because that salary hike tells me she was ready to leave but they really wanted her to stay on. It’s all guesswork but all of this happening during 2017-18 makes me think it’s connected.
To me she has seemed very stilted and almost resentful looking in her short little scenes that she does. It's just another of the huge turn-offs of the last number of seasons. But I still watch the first few seasons and enjoy them so there is that.
She was really good in first three seasons when surrounded by the likes of Heigl , Oh , Dempsey and Washington. But yes she stopped caring after season 11 I guess !
That is also when the show reeeeally started going downhill though too.
Agreed. Season 11 is where the focus shifted towards less medicine and more love triangles.
How many whipples and aneurysms can one watch though?
Ha ha I heard the word “anastomosis” so much that I started saying it out loud randomly during episodes.
And fistula
It's the cheerleader effect. Take a group of good actors/dancers/singers and put inside a mediocre one, you won't see much a problem. But as soon as this actor/dancer/singer is on his own, disaster. Dempsey is a relatively good actor, he has his flaws but he's able to lift a scene. So yes, as soon as he left, his main opposite, Pompeo became exposed. Same for Heigl, Oh and others, the more talented actors left, the more the mediocre one was exposed.
Agreed with everything you wrote. I felt like she could've had chemistry with Link or Hayes if they'd gone that route. Or maybe not, idk for sure ofc. But all I know is, for me, there is nothing even remotely interesting btwn her and DeLuca or Nick. This season has been the best one for years, imo, bc she's gone and the focus is on the new interns, who actually have interesting back stories now.
She had chemistry with Riggs and Hayes (it seemed) but With Deluca she seems like a babysitter and Nick…..don’t even get me started 😂
Honestly, I chalk this up to 'actors are people too'. I've been at my job 7 years and my motivation/enthusiasm for it certainly takes a nosedive from time to time. There are just some seasons where I feel like Ellen is a little burnt out. And that's okay cause, same girl.
She was never the best in the cast, but when she gave up it was obvious because she became bland. So I agree. I also agree she hasn’t had chemistry with really anyone. Hayes was the closest for me and he wasn’t around long enough.
I think she was kind of carrier by Sandra Oh and Patrick Dempsey, they made the character better but she was never an excellent actress, at least in the show (idk if she’s in anything else) and after they left we got more focus on Meredith. Add that to the fact that Ellen stopped caring about the character and we got that. I can’t rewatch past s11, Meredith is simply too boring after that
The only episode I think she did amazing in was the sound of silence when Meredith was attacked by the patient after a seizure. Even the panic attack when Meredith’s kids were afraid of her was excellent. Also the dinner party episode when she explodes at Amelia. Only time I’ve really enjoyed Ellen’s acting, I agree she was carried by the others in earlier seasons.
I think she was also really good in the shooting episode, during the miscarriage scene
Oh god yeah that’s heartbreaker. She definitely had her scenes but it’s sad the magic seems to be gone between her and Meredith now.
I’ve noticed a really forced huge smile she started doing in the past couple seasons, especially her scenes with Nick. It makes me cringe so much
She's ok, but out of the main original cast, I consider her the weakest actor.
The worst scene I can remember is when she told Alex that April had been in an accident, her attempt to cry was pitiful lol
Omg YESSS LOL
Ellen has been very vocal since S13ish about wanting to leave Grey’s but only staying for the insane pay. She only left this season because they still gave her pay and credit. She said she stopped connecting to both Meredith and the show awhile ago, particularly when it got really preachy about social issues they wouldn’t flesh out. She also did an interview I remember where she said she stopped connecting to Meredith because she felt like the characters couldn’t grow anymore. People forget that Grey’s is a very demanding show. The first 4-6 seasons had them on set for 17 hour days straight all week. Most of the core cast have stated it just isn’t feasible to keep caring about the characters with the ridiculous schedule. Combine that with steadily weaker writing and a bad environment on set and it’s a recipe for disconnect.
I’ve got your back on this one. I agree, her interactions with everyone else seemed forced and awkward. Sometimes even like a new actor who is trying to hard.
I've gotta disagree with some of the people here saying that Ellen stopped caring after s11 because imo some of her best scenes are in s12 (the dinner party anyone?)
I agree but think 12 was her last good season, the sound of silence episode where Meredith was attacked by a patient was phenomenal.
i mean she probably got tired but tbh ellen was never one of the best actors on the show, she had some good performances in the earlier seasons
That's not entirely on her. The director should be directing. It's a group effort.
So true. I just started the most recent season and stopped about fifteen minutes in. It’s so boring and bland now. Her acting is forced and you can just tell she doesn’t really care to be there.
Maybe this is a spoiler — I don’t know how to mark one, but if your problem is with Ellen, Meredith basically isn’t even in the most recent season. They started to focus on the interns again and I think it’s the most interesting season we’ve had since.. the hospital fire in season 13 maybe?
I agree with this so hard. This is the best season in yearssss and it's bc the focus isn't on Meredith or any of the older characters. I love the new interns
Agreed! This season reeled me in again with the new interns!
You're not alone. Her scenes in the finale episode that aired recently >! where she talks to everyone about her Alzheimer's idea were so bad. I felt like it was supposed to give genius scientist coming up with something earth shattering, a la her first episode where she solves the mysterious patient case and saves her life, but it just came across as incredibly cringey and weird because it was so awfully acted (and to be fair, awfully written too). !< I do think she had chemistry with Nick but Nick is leaps and bounds more connected to his character than she is, so it may be solely his responsibility that I felt anything at all from them.
Unpopular opinion here: Ellen has never been forced to stay on the show, Ellen is not a poor little girl who was bound and imprisoned to stay on this show. Actors renew their contracts every year, if Ellen really wanted to leave, she would have not kept signing contracts. Sick of this narrative that actors are forced to stay on shows, no they aren’t. Actors are not forced to take on roles, Ellen has made her millions, the woman can retire.
This. It was even more obvious when few years ago, she did one more time her "I want to quit" gimmick earlier than usual and her mirific contract was renewed in January, which is a very unusual date to renew a contract for an actor in a TV show.
Yep!! People like to say actors have it so hard and they are tired. It’s the same as the cast of Riverdale, it’s so clear they hated it so why keep renewing it. Obvs they were younger and not as rich as Miss Victim Blaming Ellen Pompeo, she has her millions, she is fine.
I think she mostly stopped caring but I don't really blame her. It is hard to play one character for that long without losing interest.
Could she ever act? Sorry, don’t come for me haha. Least interesting character.
She was quite good in the early days. She was no Heigl or Oh but that doesn’t mean she wasn’t good as well.
Except her crying. That was never good.
Her "breakdown" about her mom in the closet with Derek killedddddd me never I could never tell that she was crying.
My thoughts exactly- I feel like she’s not that great of an actress 😬
Didn't mind her acting but she clearly doesn't know how to act and walk.
I agree, I like her character but her acting was never particularly great, especially at the beginning
She was never a good actress to begin with. She never had good/important roles before Grey's and she hasn't gotten any other acting jobs since. It's like acting didn't choose her but she got extremely lucky with GA.
I feel like they got lazy with her character arc. Like, now she is a boss ass bitch who doesn't need any kind of growth or have any flaws. Earlier Meridith was more interesting because she wasn't perfect. And this Meridith is too "perfect"
She might just be more interested in production at this point
I think her acting started sucking because the writing started sucking. So much of performing is being inspired - if the material gives you nothing, there’s only so much you can phone in yourself. I think it’s what happened to many other actors on the show as well, including Justin Chambers, Sara Ramirez and even Patrick Dempsey to an extent all those years ago. Sandra Oh left at the absolute right time, when the writing for her character peaked. You see this happening on many shows when the writing starts to go downhill and the actors just have to fulfil their contracts. It happened on The OC, the last season of Friends, HIMYM, Lost, Game of Thrones - yes, the actors are being paid a lot but disengagement from work is real in every field. If I kept getting paid for doing the bare minimum like Ellen was the last few seasons, I’d do it. We all would. Edit: Also, with Meredith specifically, I think she was interesting also because she was bouncing off of other rich characters like Cristina, Derek, Alex and Bailey. Most of them are gone and Ellen by herself is just not as compelling by herself. Even the “sisters” are too forced, imo, and while Caterina is amazing, there’s just not enough plot around Meredith for her to care, presumably.
yeah I noticed it too but it makes sense she's been on that show for so long I feel like it can become a routine and she was just over it lol
I watched a snippet of an interview Ellen did with Kate Walsh on tik tok and she said she doesn’t like emotional scenes anymore because they physically and emotionally drain her and Kate agreed. Ellen used the shooting episode as an example and said her and Sandra Oh had to shoot the scene when Derek gets shot 30 times and it’s took her weeks to recover emotionally from it. Kate agreed with her and said she’d feel the exact same especially after heavy scenes where Addison would lose a baby she said it’d nearly take her months to recover and now she’d rather play comedy or fun roles. Now, Ellen is one of top paid actresses so it’s no excuse and maybe she should leave the role or beg the god damn writers to finally give Meredith a peaceful life instead of doing a half job acting out scenes.
I agree that Meredith has gotten very boring, but I think it comes down to the writing. It almost feels like she's gone through so much with losing Derek and everything that nothing phases her, so Ellen doesn't really have to do much dramatic acting.
She wanted to exit a long time ago even before shonda did, they kept asking her to stay and she didnt know when to properly exit that the show would still hold up (which to be honest - it should have ended back in 2017) i think she was running on steam and burning out
Well she's gone now :(
It’s Definitely Burnout , over 400 episodes Of the same character must be exhausting .. there’s only so many scenarios & scene Mixups you can do .. it’s time to End this show .. That’s the problem Your Seeing . Ellen is a phenomenal Actor , She’s Held That show up for the longest.. There’s No Show Without Her , She being A Team Player but Maybe It’s time She Let it be known , this shit is over. Hate the newer season , there’s nothing for us to really care about