Penny (Samantha Sloyan) will be Meredith's (Ellen Pompeo) saving grace in the upcoming midseason premiere of the hit ABC series "Grey's Anatomy."

In "The Sound of Silence," the synopsis reveals that the doctor being blamed for Derek's (Patrick Dempsey) death will be the savior of his wife. When Meredith gets brutally attacked by her patient with no specific reason, it will reportedly be Penny who sees first and rushes to save her. As the entire hospital rally for Meredith, it is important to note that if Penny has not been so quick with her reactions, Meredith may be lying on the floor, waiting for help to arrive for a long time.

In the past, Meredith tended to treat Penny coldly. Although she did not want to blame her for Derek's death, she just wished the other doctor would keep her distance. For her part, Penny was eager to help Meredith in any way she could, especially after she was assigned to work under her wing. Penny's quick thinking during the crisis may have finally redeemed herself in Meredith's eyes. Will the viewers see both women strike a friendship with each other soon?

Meanwhile, despite her grave condition, Meredith will survive. An unofficial image circulating online shows her recovering from her wounds, albeit in a wheel chair. The attack has left her temporarily paralyzed. As the promo shows, she got tossed for quite a few times by the patient and at one time, even hit the medicine cabinet. Meredith's ordeal caused the fans of the show to react in social media, all complaining why the character has to experience a lot of trial so soon after her husband's passing.

Design & Trend compiled several of the fan's comments chiding executive producer Shonda Rhimes for ever mentioning that season 12 would be lighter in tone than the previous one. Some even suggested that Meredith be given plotline where she starts dating again and enjoying life after Derek.

"Enough already of putting Mer in danger it's bonkers. Please could we not just have her grapple with how dating works as a successful single woman bringing up her kids while recently widowed isn't fair enough? For some that could be a more interesting story something many people could relate to," one fan @Laura stated.

"Grey's Anatomy" season 12 will return on Thursday, Feb. 11, at 8 p.m. EST on ABC.