'Grey's Anatomy' Season 9 Spoilers: Ellen Pompeo's Meredith Returns As 'A Very Different Person' [PREVIEW OF PREMIERE]

Last we saw Meredith Grey, she had just experienced the death of her sister, her husband was severly injured and she was by her best friend Cristina's side awaiting rescue from a plane crash, along with her co-workers from Seattle Grace.

Traumatizing? 

Well, "Grey's Anatomy" executive producer, Shonda Rhimes, said not really. 

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"We're not coming back to a bunch of traumatized people, though flying is pretty much out of the question for any of them," she said to TV Guide. "I would say Meredith is an ultimate survivor. She's been through the shooting, and now she's been through the plane crash. Their attitudes are very different."

After experiencing the loss of her sister, Lexie, in last season's finale, Rhimes said that Meredith will be "a very different person" in season nine. She revealed the following:

"We really talked about it a lot and really worked to figure out what she would be like when we came back to her. As importantly, they've gone from being residents to being Attendings. Now they're in charge. They're absolutely in charge of their own destinies and in charge of their own people. They're now on a footing with all these doctors who they used to work under so you're watching what that means for them, all of them."

And what about the love of her life, Dr. Derek Shepard?

Patrick Dempsey's character on "Grey's Anatomy" faced a severe arm injury on last season's finale due to the place crash he experienced with his fellow Seattle Grace doctors. The cliff-hanger left viewers wondering what will become of the show's acclaimed surgeon and if he will ever be a fully-operational OR life-saver again. Rhimes answered that as well in her interview with TV Guide.

"Any of the people we saw injured are not going to be A-OK when we come back, that's not what we're doing. What's interesting for me is we really planned the idea that we're going to watch what happens to a doctor who can temporarily no longer perform surgery," Rhimes said. "And what do you do and how do you overcome this? Derek is being pretty heroic about it, which is interesting."

Watch the season premiere of "Grey's Anatomy" on Sept. 27 on ABC at 9/8c, and every Thursday at the same time.