Tonight's episode of "Grey's Anatomy" is a big one: Meredith Grey, played by Ellen Pompeo since the show premiered 19 seasons ago in 2005, is saying goodbye.
While a show's titular star leaving might be a shock, series star Chandra Wilson (Miranda Bailey) said that wasn't the case here -- particularly because Pompeo is staying on as executive producer and will continue providing voiceovers for future episodes.
"It was like, 'Bye, but not really,'" Wilson told "Good Morning America" during a recent phone interview.
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Wilson -- who has been right by Pompeo's side since the beginning -- did, however, note that the move is a "momentous" one for one of TV's most beloved characters.
"It's definitely historic for the character, and for what that means to the show that carries her last name as the title," she said.
The episode, titled "I'll Follow the Sun," sees our favorite Grey Sloan docs come together to bid a fond farewell to Meredith in what Wilson called "a very, very spirited episode."
A teaser for the episode shows a blink-and-you-miss-it moment between Meredith and Bailey, one that's sure to tug at fans' heartstrings. Though Wilson remained tight-lipped on what happens in the scene between her and Pompeo, she teased, "It was certainly an interesting journey to find the right words."
Fans have seen these women grow both on their own and together over the years, evolving from mentor and mentee to being "each other's constants throughout" the show's run.
"That is probably the biggest part of the evolution, is that we don't have to say a lot, even in our scenes together, because they are so full of the weight of our past journeys," Wilson said. "And that continues to this day."
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Wilson added that this on-screen dynamic is "absolutely" reflective of her real-life friendship with Pompeo. "Like, we don't have to over-talk," she laughed.
The choice to have Meredith leave Seattle and move to Boston to prioritize her daughter Zola's needs to attend a school for exceptionally gifted students as well as allowing her to research Alzheimer's disease, something she is truly passionate about, is something Wilson said she supported.
"The way this story ended up unfolding for us all was something that we can all get behind," she said. "That's a great, happy scenario, right, that we all wish that we could find when we have to make large, personal decisions in our lives."
Another aspect of the episode teased in previews is a nostalgic trip down memory lane for fans of "Grey's Anatomy," seeing moments all the way from the 2005 pilot episode to now.
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"'Grey's' style is one that will always celebrate its past, and keep it at the forefront of the present," Wilson shared.
Wilson said Meredith's spirit will "definitely" still be felt moving forward -- and not just because of Pompeo's narration.
"When we have lost characters, whether it's because they passed or they move on, they still remain so present in our writing and in our weekly storytelling," she explained. "It brings us pleasure, absolute pleasure, to honor those that have been there before. We bring them up all the time -- alive, dead, whatever."
With Pompeo's departure, it leaves Wilson and James Pickens Jr., who plays Richard Webber, as the last two remaining stars who have been series regulars since the beginning of "Grey's Anatomy."
"We're very, very aware of our position as mentors, of our position as people that help everybody else navigate through what dramatic series television is and what it could be," Wilson said. "We get to continue and grow the tradition that was started 19 seasons ago."
