Grey’s Anatomy has been on TV for 12 years. 12 years and tonight was the 300th episode. Going in we were hearing a lot of oh it’s going to “honor the past” but I didn’t really want to believe it. But less than ten minutes in I was sold. They brought the OG opening credits back and everything and I knew this episode was going to be good. Like warm your soul, pick me, choose me, love me good. *Some Spoilers ahead*
Like most people my age I have binge-watched myself into oblivion but few shows have really kept me coming back for more like Grey’s. It’s the perfect go to show when you don’t feel like starting a new series or Black Mirror is starting to mess with your brain. Everything about this show from episode one drew me in. Little did I know that basically every character I loved would eventually die or disappear… but here I am, episode 300.
Every character brought something beautiful to the show (except Izzy. She was the worst don’t fight me on this.) The list is endless but I’m gonna just go through my favorites…
George showed that you can be fierce and gentle. Alex is summed up best as the guy who gets a little rowdy in his 20’s but settles down and has a cute little family and coaches little league in his 30’s (which is how he’s been described.) He deserves all the happiness that life has to offer him. Mark Sloan is the hottest human being to ever walk this planet and he and Lexie deserved their happy ending. Not what happened to them. Miranda Bailey is the short girl Goddess we all need in our lives and showed that being a woman doesn’t make you weak. Richard Webber is the grandad with perfect advice that we all desperately wished we had. Everyone and every story has brought such depth and beauty to this show.
Cristina Yang is the idol though she is the role model that no matter your age, sex, nationality or anything else you can respect. She is strong and beautiful and smart and sassy. She never let anyone get in the way of what she wanted and what she needed even when Mamma took her eyebrows. Cristina Yang is the woman I want to raise my daughters to aspire to. You don’t need a man to complete your life. You are the Sun. The show has not been the same without her and I don’t think it ever will be.
Meredith Grey though, at least to me is everything I aim to be in a wife, mother, and career woman. She (like myself) has some dark and twisty tendencies and a love for a certain alcohol when things are a little weird but man watching her grow over the last 12 years has been incredible. She watched her sister and friends die, had to decide to take her soulmate off of life support, almost lost Zola. She went from not knowing Derek’s name, to almost dying a handful of times, to post-it married, to real married, to hostile uterus, to three kids and that’s just her personal life. She lost so many people that she loved and she keeps going everyday striving to be better and make the ones she’s lost proud. When she won and looked into the gallery and Ellis was sitting there I sobbed for her. Her professional life has been one that I could only dream of. She devoted her life to learning how to be the best surgeon that she could be and refused to be like her own mother. It truly takes a village. But now here we are at the 300th episode and she’s up for her first Harper Avery award. Which she won. With the most beautiful tribute to Lexie, Derek and Ellis that they could’ve done. “She takes all of that loss and turns it into drive.”
Derek and Meredith’s relationship was less than perfect *See Addison Shepard, Rose, the shooting, DC, you get the point…* but they loved each other and that’s what mattered. They were soul mates. Their post it wedding was the simplest and most romantic thing that I have ever seen (or possibly the house of candles). The way Meredith reacts when Derek get’s shot will forever rip my heart out…but telling him it’s okay for him to go will break my heart every time. The best part about them was that they aren’t even close to perfect. But that’s real life it’s not going to be steamy make out sessions and laughing everyday for forever. That’s all any of us want is to find a person worth going through the shit with. We want someone to pick us, choose us, and love us unconditionally. And if he looks like McDreamy that’s just a bonus. We will literally wait on you for forever…
The twisted sisters though were and are the epitome of friendship goals and if you ever find the Cristina to your Meredith or vice versa you need to hold onto them for dear life. “Cristina Yang is the only one who gets just how badly I want that award.” Their love for each other is something that you truly can’t understand until you have it. Which I have had twice in my life. I let go the first time but I don’t plan on ever doing it again. Their relationship was such a major part of the series and I really think that’s one of the biggest reasons I love it so much. You just want that person that will be your person no matter if you’re having the dark and twisty’s or living across the world from each other.
This show is of course not real people, it’s not real life. But it has given so much to so many people. So many emotional crying sessions and laughs and hope. So many stories that related to people on levels I don’t think Shonda could’ve ever planned for. Even on the episodes I hated the most I couldn’t look away. 300 episodes worth of losing characters we loved, gaining new ones, having relationship goals and every other emotion you could imagine. 12 years of advice packaged and delivered straight to you. You are the sun. The carousel never stops turning. When in doubt dance it out. No body knows where they might end up.
So be the sun. Don’t be afraid of the carousel and always, ALWAYS dance it out.
Thank you Shonda. Even for the times you really pissed us off and broke our hearts. For every moment. We love you.
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