McDreams do come true! In last week’s episode of Grey’s Anatomy, fans of the show were treated to the return of Derek Shepherd, aka McDreamy, and actor Patrick Dempsey (Devils) dished about his experience on the set in a recent interview with Variety.

Although Dempsey’s character died in a car accident several seasons ago, last week’s episode of ABC’s long-running drama brought Dr. Shepherd back in Meredith Grey’s (Ellen Pompeo, Station 19) dream, where she envisioned her wedding to Derek on the beach, according to Variety.

“I thought it was a beautiful way to close it. The intention was to really give people some hope because they are such an iconic couple,” Dempsey said via Variety. “We’ve lost so many people this year, the thought that we’d have angels hovering around us taking care of us is a good message to send out in such a bleak world that we’re living in. So for all of us, it was a beautiful ending to this story. I’m so grateful that I did it and happy that the fans really loved it.”

Dempsey joins a slew of former Grey’s Anatomy characters returning to the show this season, including T.R Knight’s (The Flight Attendant) George O’Malley, Chyler Leigh’s (Supergirl) Lexie Grey and Eric Dane’s (Euphoria) Mark Sloan.

Dempsey began his career at an early age, starring in films like Can’t Buy Me Love and Loverboy in the 1980s. His best known for his role as Shepherd on Grey’s Anatomy. In 2007, he starred in Disney’s musical film Enchanted. That film’s sequel, Disenchanted, is currently in the works.