I’ve rewatched Grey’s Anatomy every year since I was in the seventh grade. Without fail, you can find me every twelve months around November and December watching Meredith Grey escaping death and falling in love over and over again. I’m going to be honest I only ever make it to the end of season ten.
Why you might ask? Well for starters I think it’s important to acknowledge that Shonda Rhimes- creator of Grey’s Anatomy – stopped being an active participant in the writing process in 2015 when the Season Eleven finale premiered, and it was at this point when the Grey’s Anatomy that I fell in love with died. Most importantly though, I feel like the catalyst for that, the true reason I cannot stand to watch past season ten is the departure of the titular character Christina Yang.
While Meredith Grey is the protagonist of Grey’s Anatomy, I’ve always found myself more drawn to her driven, messy, flawlessly intellectual other half. Christina was a groundbreaking character for her time, having broken the mold for her complex and layered portrayal of what a woman could be in a television series.
Christina sits as one of three characters to receive an abortion on Primetime Television and whose character arc never depended on the men in her life. She had her own set of ambitions and conceded them to no one. Despite having a seemingly impenetrable exterior, Christina Yang was also just as flawed as she was excellent. She was chaotic and made mistakes; she was human. The fact that she was fleshed out and multifaceted is what made her so compelling. Across film and television, I struggle to find another female character who is just as unapologetically sure of herself. Dr. Yang never let a bad choice or her circumstances define her. She always knew her worth. Christina is among a select group of characters for which I’ve coined the archetype of: The Force.
The Force leaves others dumbfoundedly impressed by how much they radiate brilliance and furiously strive for excellence. She leaves the eyes of the audience continuously impressed and thirsty for her character’s next move. And yes, I use she intentionally. There have been invincible men in media since the beginning of time. It’s ingrained into culture, and nobody questions it. Men have always been depicted as brave and intelligent.
The Force is different.
The Force is for the girls.
In a society that rewards women for compromising their dreams for the sake of others, and presents more challenges rather than solutions when it comes to “having it all” (successful career, a spouse, and a loving family), I think characters like Christina (forces) are integral in pop culture and mainstream media. Her character is a beautifully written polar opposite to that of the “traditional woman.”
Without representation of characters like her it’s so easy to believe there is one truth to what a woman should be when that simply just isn’t the case. There are so many other uniquely bold female characters you can explore, and I believe Dr. Christina Yang lays the groundwork to explore more forceful stories. A trailblazer for television with an intense ambition who taught me it’s okay to take up a lot of space, be all over the place, and to desire far more than what society expects me to be.
Dr. Christina Yang did and continues to pave the way for other masterfully powerful forces. Hopefully one day the archetype won’t be so few and far between, and maybe just maybe we’ll reach a point in time where it won’t need to be highlighted so closely; it will be the norm.