full size Grey's Anatomy Season 8, Episode 23: Cristina
Credit: Randy Holmes/ ABC

Grey's Anatomy Season 8 ended on a literal cliffhanger, with a ton of the cast lost in the forest after a devastating plane crash. But there's another layer of uncertainty over that, because even if they all survive, most of the characters ended the season planning to move on to other hospitals. However, we suspect that most of the docs will decide to stay at Seattle Grace-Mercy West after all. We certainly hope so!

That leaves us with the question: why would they stay? As Cristina (Sandra Oh) said in Season 8, Episode 24, "Flight," Seattle Grace-Mercy "Death" hasn't exactly treated our fave docs well.

This summer, we'll be speculating about how Shonda and co. might maneuver the cast to stay in place during Season 9. We've already talked about MerDer, so now let's look at what might keep Cristina in Seattle.

Teddy's departure: With Teddy (Kim Raver) gone, the position of best cardio surgeon at the hospital is suddenly wide open. That's the kind of career opportunity that might sway Cristina, especially when combined with some of these other, more emotional, factors.

For Meredith: After losing her sister, Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) will need her BFF. Maybe Cristina will decide, at least in part, to stick around for her.

For Owen: Will Cristina's near-death experience make her reconsider whether or not she wants to start a family? Even if it doesn't make her want to have a kid, it's possible that the crash will remind Cristina that it's far too easy to lose the ones you love, so you need to hang on to them while you can. If that happens, she might try to make it work with Owen, despite everything they've been through.

Maybe she does go... As we said when we wrote about MerDer, it's possible Shonda will shake things up by sending the docs off for mini-arcs elsewhere before bringing them all home. We could easily see Cristina's abrasive attitude getting her into enough trouble at her new job that she decides it's easier to go back to Seattle Grace-Mercy West, where people accept her, flaws and all.

Miss Grey’s? Us too. Luckily the show will return to Thursdays at 9 p.m. with all-new episodes in the fall on ABC.

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