‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Halloween Drama Leads to Heartwarming Derek Shepherd Reveal

Grey’s Anatomy paid tribute to one of the show’s most beloved dead characters in its Halloween episode. The ABC medical drama saw as Meredith Grey’s family struggled with her time behind bars, including some animosity between her oldest daughter Zola and her boyfriend, Andrew DeLuca (Giacomo Gianniotti). After getting some advice, the young doctor has a heart-to-heart with the child, leading to a sweet reveal about her late father.

Spoilers ahead for Grey’s Anatomy Season 16, Episode 6: “Whistlin’ Past the Graveyard”

With Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) serving her time in jail, it was up to Maggie (Kelly McCreary) and DeLuca to keep Zola, Bailey and Ellis’ lives as normal as possible.

The spooky holiday came with some awkward moments for DeLuca after he arrived at Meredith’s house to take the kids to school but did not get a warm welcome from Zola. After Maggie told her he would be taking her to school, DeLuca tried to fix her costume and get her stuff and the little girl lashed out at him.

“You’re not my dad,” Zola said during the awkward encounter.

DeLuca then arrives at the hospital and works with Jackson (Jesse Williams) on the case of a young patient, who seems to be keeping a secret about the reasons behind her hospitalization. He opens up to Jackson about what happened, and he advises him to talk to Zola because kids usually have a reason when they start to lash out randomly at adults.

After the doctors save their patient, Maggie arrives with Zola revealing the other kids stayed at daycare but the girl is refusing to. DeLuca agrees to watch her while they finish their workday, despite the awkwardness that went on earlier.

The pair then sit in the OR gallery together and talk about what happened. Zola reveals that the wings she was wearing as part of her costume had broken once, and her father Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey) sewed them back together not long before his death. Since then she does not like when anyone touches them, and she also admits she is afraid she will forget her father someday.

DeLuca says he never met Derek, but had heard so many stories about him and how great of a surgeon he was. He tells Zola that those memories are what will keep his memory alive. They continue to bond when Andrew recalls a story about Derek saving Isaac from back in Season 6.

What did you think about the trip down memory lane? Grey’s Anatomy airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.