SPOILERS AHEAD!!
Let’s begin with one of the worst relationships on the entire show, Cristina Yang and Preston Burke. The entire situation where he was hiding that his hand wasn’t healed after surgery and he made Cristina do all his surgeries for him was entirely on Burke. He took advantage of Cristina because he knew that she would do anything to be able do more complicated surgeries all her own. He completely humiliated Cristina by backing out of their wedding just as she was about to walk down the aisle, and then he just packed up and left! I mean good riddance, but still he did not handle the situation well at all. Cristina deserved way better. Not only that but he was too full of himself to realize that he was never going to take over as the chief of surgery because Richard just didn’t like him. Sure, he took over for a bit while Richard was recovering from brain surgery but after the whole hand situation Richard told him chief was no longer in the cards for him. Overall I would say that Preston Burke has to be in my top five least favorite characters on this show. I hated the fact that he made a reappearance later in the show, they never should’ve brought him back.
Next, I would like to discuss the most inappropriate relationship on the show Maggie and Jackson. First and foremost they are step siblings!! Richard, who is Maggie’s biological father and Catherine, who is Jackson’s mom, got married. I don’t care if they are technically not related to each other, this is just so weird and complicated. I really don’t think that this relationship was necessary either, their parents were married to each other that’s how they are connected, romance did not need to be a piece of their storyline. I think it would have been much, much, better if the writers had them grow their sibling relationship. I could’ve supported and enjoyed that a lot more than the two of them being romantically involved.
Dr. Cristina Yang. I had to write about her separately as well. She is a legend, an icon, and a role model. She is by far one of my favorite characters. She always knew what she wanted and was willing to do anything to achieve her goals. She never changed who she was for anyone and she made it clear to everyone in her life that she wasn’t changing for them. Cristina made it clear from the start that she never wanted to have kids because she wanted to focus on being a doctor. So, when Burke got her pregnant she knew she didn’t want the baby. She never told him about the pregnancy because she wanted to terminate but she had complications and ended up losing the baby which is how Burke found out. He never understood that she didn’t want kids and he didn’t understand that she wasn’t going to change her mind, he expected her to change. Cristina Yang changes for no man! That is something that I personally really admire about her. I was beyond upset when she left the show, she was one of my favorite characters and the show was never the same without her.
This may be an unpopular opinion. I don’t know how people feel but I was so upset when George O’Malley died. First of all the way he died was just tragic! He was on his way to join the army when he pushed a woman out of the way of a bus that was about to crash into her. He saved her life! The accident was so bad that he was brought into the hospital as a John Doe because no one recognized him. It wasn’t until he spelled out 007 on Meredith’s hand that she realized that it was George. At the end of the episode where he dies Izzie and George flatline at the same time, Izzie from her cancer and George from all his injuries. Izzie lives, but George is declared brain dead. At this point I was sobbing because this was the first main character death on the show and I totally did not expect any of this. I feel like there was so much potential in George O’Malley and they could’ve done so much with his character. I understand why T.R Knight left the show but I wish he stayed.
I call this next paragraph all the reasons I hate Owen Hunt with a burning passion. Let’s start with how many times he’s been married, which is three times by the way. His first marriage to Cristina was a disaster and that’s putting it nicely. At first, they seemed like a good match but then things started to become really complicated. They got married as a result of surviving the shooting at the hospital, Cristina didn’t want to be alone so Owen thought the best solution was marriage. The entire time they were married he never respected Cristina’s friendship with Meredith, he’s the one that coined “twisted sisters” he just never understood why they were so close. The worst thing Owen Hunt did was not respect Cristina’s choice to not be a mother. When Cristina got pregnant he was so excited but she never wanted kids. Cristina’s focus was on becoming an amazing surgeon and she knew she couldn’t and wouldn’t be able to do that if she had kids. It wasn’t that she didn’t like kids, she just didn’t see herself as a mother. Owen’s response to this was to try and convince her to change her mind and that she would regret not having kids later in life. He consistently mentioned how Meredith had kids so why wouldn’t she want kids? He assumed that since they shared everything that they would want to share motherhood. While Cristina loved being an aunt to Meredith’s kids it doesn’t automatically mean that she wanted kids of her own. Cristina repeatedly told him that she didn’t want kids and that she wasn’t going to change her mind. She was adamant about what she wanted from the beginning and he wanted her to change for him and give him the life he wanted and he never understood why she couldn’t do this one thing for him. I don’t think Owen Hunt ever knew what he wanted. He claimed to love multiple women at once, two of his marriages ended in divorce and the woman he’s married to right now, Teddy, hates his guts almost as much as I do.
If there was anyone on this show that would get the award for the person who experienced the most trauma it was Meredith Grey. Her mom was an amazing surgeon but not a very good mother, Meredith didn’t have a childhood filled with love but rather one that included her parents fighting. They were not happy together and Ellis was so unhappy that she had an affair with Richard. When the affair ended in a break up Ellis was beside herself with sadness and tried to kill herself and then Meredith who was little at the time had to call 911. Later, Ellis was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Meredith took care of her by placing her in a nursing home and taking charge of her medical care whenever she was in the hospital. Shortly after being admitted to the hospital for the second time Ellis died of a heart attack. I was not a fan of Ellis Grey, she had super high and unreasonable expectations for Meredith and when she didn’t live up to them Ellis said “I raised you to be an extraordinary human being, so imagine my disappointment when I wake up after five years and discover that you’re no more than ordinary.” No matter how many times I’ve re-watched this show, that quote always hits me hard. Out of all the things that happened in Meredith’s life I think her mother had the biggest impact on how much she felt all the trauma in her life. Her other traumas include almost dying from drowning, watching Derek get shot in the hospital, and she was in a plane crash where her sister Lexie died. Meredith was assaulted by a patient, which left her in the hospital for a long time with bad injuries. She gave birth in the midst of a blackout and almost died because she needed an emergency c section. Her husband Derek died as the result of his car being crushed by an eighteen wheeler and really bad medical care. THEY DIDN’T DO A HEAD CT!! If you know, you know. On top of all this horrible stuff Meredith got covid-19 and almost died again. Honestly, there are so many more events that happened in Meredith’s life that were very traumatic but if I were to list every single one this paragraph would never come to an end.
“Alright everybody it’s a beautiful night to save lives let’s have some fun.” If you don’t know who said this then we can’t be friends. I’m kidding (not really). Derek Shepherd said this iconic line during the very first episode of Grey’s Anatomy. Have I cried every single time I’ve ever heard this maybe… is this literally one of my favorite moments during the entire show yes, it certainly is. This quote is my life’s motto and I am not even a doctor. There was something about how optimistic he was in the beginning, how he took on impossible cases and saved so many lives that just made the show so amazing. I love Derek Shepherd, always have, always will and I am fully aware that this is probably an unpopular opinion. Another unpopular opinion I am willing to look over the whole married to Addison situation and I am willing to look over when Meredith thought he was cheating on her. Think about the big picture here, they were so happy together, they had three kids together, one of which he didn’t meet because he died before she was born. I’m sorry but I cried my eyes out when he died, that episode was so sad! The way his thoughts were heard by the audience and how his doctors couldn’t hear him when he kept saying in his thoughts that he needed a head CT, it was just too much. What really broke my heart is when Meredith told everyone Derek died and when Meredith said goodbye and Derek was taken off the vent. Then, to make matters worse her kids had to come to the hospital with her and she had to tell them that their dad was not coming back. I mean COME ON how could you have not cried a single tear during this entire episode? I can’t even listen to the song “Chasing Cars” anymore because it just reminds me of every single bad thing that ever happened on this show.
Alex Karev is next on the chopping block. Let’s be honest we all thought he was a massive jerk, at least I thought he was in the beginning. He was arrogant, rude, sexist, and only cared about himself. But, as the show progressed and we learned more about his life and his family he began to grow on me. I loved watching him go from Alex who started fights with people to Dr. Alex, to the caring pediatric surgeon loved by all the kids on the peds floor. I really enjoyed seeing him fall in love with Jo, I absolutely loved their relationship, they are perfect for each other. Both of them had a difficult childhood. Alex grew up in the foster care system and Jo was homeless and lived in her car all through high school. When I say I was disappointed when Alex left the show I mean I was crying in front of the TV. He left without telling anyone and sent everyone a letter explaining everything instead of saying goodbye in person. He even left Jo a letter and he was married to her! I fully admit to crying that entire episode and then angrily screaming afterwards so Shonda Rhimes could feel my rage. Alex grew up so much, he changed, he learned from his past mistakes and he had a beautiful life with Jo. I could not justify why on earth he would just pack and leave Jo and all his friends for Izzie! I don’t care if she secretly had his children, all his character development just went right down the drain! I want justice for Alex and Jo! They both deserved so much better!
Let’s discuss Arizona and Callie next, besides Meredith and Derek I would say Callie and Arizona have been through a lot of trauma as a couple. Before they got married Arizona had the opportunity to go to Africa and help save sick children. Callie was all ready to go with her but it wasn’t what she really wanted for her life, she wasn’t excited or happy about the situation and that ended up putting a rift in the relationship. Sadly, they ended up breaking up at the airport before Arizona got on her flight. Arizona was supposed to return after three years in Africa but she came back early. While she was gone Callie returned to her casual relationship with Mark and she ended up getting pregnant with his child. At first Arizona was really upset about the situation but she loved Callie and wanted to be with her. Callie and Arizona got back together and then Callie, Mark, and Arizona came to an agreement that Arizona could be a part of the baby’s life because her and Callie were back in a relationship. Then, shortly after this Callie and Arizona got in a really bad car accident and Callie was still pregnant so there was risk to the baby. In order to save Callie and the baby they had to do an emergency c section and Callie was only twenty three weeks pregnant. This was an emotional episode, especially because it was also the musical episode. This is when I really started to warm up to Mark, he was a wreck the entire time. Mark was so excited when he found out he was going to be a dad and all he wanted to know was if Callie and his baby were going to be ok. Little baby Sofia survived and Callie also made a full recovery.
Although it has to do with Callie and Arizona’s relationship I do feel that the plane crash episode deserves its own paragraph. During the season eight finale Derek, Cristina, Arizona, Mark, Meredith, and Lexie were all in a plane crash on their way to do a surgery in Boise. Sadly, Lexie died from being crushed by a huge piece of the plane. This was just devastating because Mark was in love with Lexie and he finally admitted it to her as she was dying. Mark also kept trying to move the huge piece of the plane off of her but he couldn’t do it, he kept telling Lexie that she would be ok, that they would be together, even though they both knew she wasn’t going to make it. The worst part is that Cristina went to get Meredith so that she could say goodbye to her sister but by the time they returned Lexie was gone!! After Lexie died things only got worse, Meredith had to search the woods because she couldn’t find Derek, turns out his arm got crushed under part of the plane and he ended up crashing away from the group. He managed to get his hand free and stumbled through the woods until he found Meredith. Oh and don’t worry it gets worse after this too! Arizona’s leg was broken in the crash and the entire time they were stuck in the woods she was screaming in pain. Meanwhile, Mark was hanging on by a thread, and with limited supplies there was only so much they could do for him. After being stranded in the woods for four days Cristina, Meredith, Derek, Arizona, and Mark were finally rescued.
After the crash Cristina didn’t talk and she was violent towards everyone who tried to treat her. Arizona’s leg became too infected and it had to be amputated. She told Callie that she didn’t want to lose her leg and made her promise that she wouldn’t amputate but Arizona was dying and she had no choice but to tell Alex to take the leg. Mark woke up after being in a coma for a while but it was a temporary surge of good health and he ended up taking a turn for the worse. After thirty days of no improvement in his condition they took Mark off all the machines like he wanted and he died. As a result of this tragedy Derek, Arizona, Meredith, Callie, and Cristina sued Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital because they were the ones that sent them on the plane and it turns out the plane company had a bad track record. After realizing that the lawsuit would bankrupt the hospital Derek, Meredith, Callie, Arizona and Cristina pooled their money together to buy the hospital so that it wouldn’t be sold to a big name medical company. Sadly the five of them did not have enough money to cover the entire cost so, they went to a possible investor who said he didn’t want to give them any money. In a last ditch effort Richard went to Catherine Avery and asked her foundation, The Harper Avery Foundation, to invest the remaining money into the hospital and she said yes as long as her son Jackson got a seat on the board. After a rocky start for the new management Jackson proposed that the hospital be given a new name. After Derek, Meredith, Callie, Cristina, and Arizona all agreed the hospital was renamed Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital. I am not exaggerating when I say that I cried when they renamed the hospital. I think it was the perfect way to honor Mark and Lexie while also marking a new beginning for everyone who survived.
I couldn’t write an entire article on Grey’s Anatomy and not talk about Dr. Richard Webber. Let’s be honest here he’s probably the only reason the hospital is still standing. I’m serious though, he talked down the shooter running rampant through the hospital, he saved it from going bankrupt, he’s saved the hospital from multiple scandals as chief of surgery and he has always kept all the doctors in line. The place would have surely been shut down without him. Also I can’t forget his iconic speech that he gives to every new batch of interns. I mean come on, he is the heart of Grey Sloan Memorial and you can’t convince me otherwise. Despite all his struggles, like his alcoholism, his wife Adele dying from Alzheimer’s, and his current wife Catherine being diagnosed with cancer he has always been loyal to Grey Sloan. Every single time we thought that he would retire he would come back to work because he loves the hospital and the people who work there that much.
This show is an emotional rollercoaster to say the least, one minute you think everything is fine and the next people are injured or dying. So much has happened on this show, way too much to discuss in great detail so this is only a fraction of what I could write about all of this. I literally had no idea what I was getting into when my roommate introduced me to this show. She had already watched the entire show and I honestly don’t know how she kept quiet about all the events that went down. I am so happy I was introduced to this show. It’s amazing and anytime I’m stuck on what to watch I just go back to Grey’s Anatomy.