Cristina Sent Meredith A New "Person" On 'Grey's Anatomy' & Things Might Get Complicated

Following Grey's Anatomy's twisty Nov. 21 mid-season fall finale, fans probably have questions — lots of them, actually. So let's start with arguably the least heavy of the bunch: Who is the "McWidow' Cristina sent Meredith on Grey's? Officially, the hot new Irish surgeon is Dr. Cormac Hayes (played by actor Richard Flood), who's stepped in to fill Karev's role as Grey Sloan's new head of pediatric surgery. When Season 16 picks up again on Jan. 23, however, Dr. Hayes is more likely than not going to cause much Team DeLuca or Team McWidow debate, as far as Mer's love life is concerned.

But the best part of the whole thing is that Meredith's "person" Cristina is the one who sent her "McWidow" — and also gave him that nickname, like only she could. And leave it to Dr. Yang to shake things up for her long-distance BFF — even when she's nowhere near Grey Sloan. (But, really, where are you now, Cristina?) Her presence has certainly been felt several times already this year, too, with Christina frequently texting Meredith, and also writing a letter to the medical board on Meredith's behalf.

Needless to say, Cristina is still Meredith's ride or die, just as she always has been. To celebrate Meredith getting her job back, Cristina told her friend via text that she'd sent her a package. At the beginning of the episode, Meredith hadn't gotten it yet, though, so it just seemed like a sweet friendship gesture, at the time. Plus, Meredith brushed the text aside in favor of shading DeLuca, who had no idea Bailey had rehired her. "I was gonna tell you, but you were too busy dumping me," she said.

To be fair, DeLuca didn't explicitly dump her, but, rather, suggested in the previous episode that she take some time figure out what she wants, since he believes she'll never regard him as an equal. He also spent much of the episode defending that point, but he may want to work on actually defining whether theirs is a break or a break up stat though. Now that there seems to be a potential new love interest for Meredith on the horizon, probably the sooner, the better, too. (Uh, just ask Ross and Rachel from Friends.)

McWidow and Meredith didn't exactly hit it off from the start, though. Forced to collaborate on a peds case, the stubborn pair (each arrogant in their own way) were often at odds, trading plenty of barbs between them. When Grey Sloan's newest hire gave their 13-year-old female patient "boy advice," revealing himself to be a widowed father to two teen sons, however Meredith's face visibly softened. Afterward, while the pair was together in — what else — the elevator when Meredith got a follow-up text from Cristina asking, again, if she'd gotten her package.

Meredith, of course, still hadn't gotten it — except Cristina, then, informed her that the package isn't an "it," it's a him. After dubbing Dr. Hayes "McWidow," Cristina, naturally, added three shamrocks to honor the doc's Irish heritage (and accent), for good measure. Whatever this means for DeLuca, it can't be good, because if anyone truly knows Meredith, it's Cristina.

The episode had lots going on elsewhere, too, including: Bailey's tragic miscarriage, Amelia's realization that Owen — not Link — may actually be her unborn baby's father, Maggie quitting her job at Grey Sloan, Jo bringing home an abandoned baby, and a car plowing through a bar where both Grey's and Station 19 characters are drinking. (Yeah, not too much.) All those storylines will surely be marinating with fans until Grey's returns to ABC in Jan. 2020.