In an interview after the episode's airing, writer Jamie Denbo told Insider that even though she wrote the words of the scene and knew what was coming, watching the moment come to life was emotional for her.

"Even I cried when I saw it and I knew what the scene was," she said, "Watching it come to life was really, really really spectacular for me." 

The writer credits "Grey's Anatomy" showrunner Krista Vernoff with helping to craft the scene because Denbo said Vernoff "wanted to make sure that Kate ran the whole range of emotions" that would come with returning to Seattle for the first time after Derek's death