Grey’s Anatomy is one of the longest-running medical dramas in history, and the seasons have included storylines that almost ruined the show. For practically the entire show, Ellen Pompeo starred as Meredith Grey, a young surgical intern who rises through the ranks and becomes a decorated surgeon. Her relationship with Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey) is one of the most impactful aspects of the series’ plot, but the complex dynamic between their fellow doctors is equally important. It’s these interpersonal relationships that lead to some of the most unbelievable moments on Grey’s Anatomy.

One of the pitfalls of being such a successful show with so many seasons is that new plotlines are difficult to invent, and many actors enter and exit the show without warning. Though Grey’s Anatomy character exits are the saddest parts of every season, sometimes they’re justified. However, when a major character leaves, it alters the fabric and dynamic of the show permanently. Unfortunately, while these departures are often necessary, other poorly conceived plots are pointless. This comes in the form of romantic strife or melodrama that does nothing for the overarching storyline.

10

Izzie & George Getting Together

One of the worst major romantic couples on the show

Izzie (Katherine Heigl) and George (T.R. Knight) were best friends on the show and served as a positive example of a platonic dynamic between a male and female character. However, instead of letting Izzie be with Alex (Justin Chambers) or giving George a successful romantic relationship, the pair destroy each other’s lives by embarking on one of the worst affairs in TV history. They cheat on partners and throw away solid relationships to be together only for it to turn out that they’re not sexually or romantically compatible.

Both Izzie and George left the show not long after this storyline, but it still left a bad taste in the mouths of viewers considering how close they were before they got together. It was an awkward and pointless arc that only existed in the background of more important developments. When Meredith and George slept together earlier in the show it was equally as uncomfortable but was quickly resolved. Additionally, it didn’t do as much damage as Izzie and George’s short-lived fling, which was embarrassing for everyone.

9

Alex Leaving Jo With A Letter

As well as Meredith and the rest of the doctors

Alex Karev’s exit is one of the most controversial on Grey’s Anatomy because of how much it hurt his wife, Jo (Camilla Luddington), as well as his best friend, Meredith. In the later seasons, Alex became Meredith’s person and his development was an enormous show of growth. Though he started as the archetypal chauvinistic male character, he became a steadfast friend to Meredith and a champion for the other doctors at the hospital. It became clear that his issues stemmed from fear of being rejected and a difficult family life.

In season 16, all of this is undone as Alex leaves everyone out of the blue to be with Izzie. Izzie hadn’t been on the show for many seasons, and his relationship with Jo was much healthier than theirs ever was. However, when Chambers wanted to leave there were few ways to make the exit graceful, and the writers decided to attempt to give Alex and Izzie an overdue happy ending. Unfortunately, Alex was Jo’s happy ending, and his departure was a blow from which it took her a long time to recover.

8

Mark’s Daughter Appearing Out Of Nowhere

An obstacle for Mark and Lexie that made their relationship uncomfortable

Mark Sloan (Eric Dane) had a reputation for being a player before he and Lexie (Chyler Leigh) got together, and the results of this come back to bite him throughout the series. This comes in the form of Sloan Riley (Leven Rambin), his adult daughter who finds him out of the blue and informs him she’s pregnant. Sloan’s existence and demands on Mark drive a wedge between him and Lexie because it’s too much of a complication for the young Lexie, and Mark wants to do right by his daughter.

In the end, Sloan ends up having the baby but gives it up for adoption and is never heard from again. Introducing such a pivotal character and then having her storyline ultimately lead to nothing was a disappointment to audience members. If Sloan was always going to leave Mark’s life in the end, it begs the question of why she was added in the first place. Any time that was wasted when Mark and Lexie could’ve been together is a point of contention on Grey’s Anatomy.

7

Izzie Disappearing Without Warning

Katherine Heigl’s final episodes didn’t do Izzie justice

After battling cancer, marrying Alex, and fighting for her place as a doctor, all of this is forgotten when Izzie is abruptly fired and flees Seattle without so much as a proper goodbye. Izzie left Grey’s Anatomy in season 6 for many reasons, but Heigl’s offscreen creative differences with the writers and showrunner were a large part of why Izzie’s story ended like this. As a character, Izzie rarely gets the meaty storylines the other characters did. However, her ongoing commitment to family and interpersonal relationships makes her decision to leave everyone behind a clear violation of her characterization.

This abandonment also has a profound effect on Alex. He later cites his relationship with Izzie as the reason he makes the same decision she does, leaving without a trace. The way Heigl and Izzie were written off demonstrates one of Grey’s Anatomy‘s biggest issues. It doesn’t know how best to create a natural exit without ruining the character. Long-running shows run into this problem all the time, and while Izzie’s time on Grey’s needed to come to an end, it could have been handled better.

6

Alex & Ava’s Unresolved Romance

A needless complication to keep Alex and Izzie apart

Alex has some of the worst romantic luck on the show. Although he deserves this at the beginning of the series, his relationship with Ava/Rebecca (Elizabeth Reaser) is something he and the audience don’t deserve. The pair initially bond when she is a Jane Doe coming out of an accident where she’s disfigured and loses her memories. Their strange and tentative love story is cut short when Ava remembers her true identity as Rebecca and returns to her marriage. However, when she briefly reappears later on, it’s a confusing and unnecessary addition.

It was uncomfortable enough watching Alex cross the line with a patient, something he criticized Izzie for when she was with Denny, but the fuzzy line between what Ava remembered or didn’t make it even worse. The conclusion of the arc is less of a conclusion and more of a pathetic petering-off as Ava is admitted to psychiatric care after hallucinating a pregnancy. Had this storyline never occurred, the show would have been better for it, and Izzie and Alex might have stood a better chance as a couple.

5

Callie & Arizona’s Custody Battle

Each of their characters was changed in service of a plot that goes nowhere

Callie (Sara Ramirez) and Arizona (Jessica Capshaw) have a compassionate and healthy relationship for most of Grey’s Anatomy. However, when a show is on the air for as long as Grey’s​​​​​​, needless issues crop up between otherwise amazing couples. One of their early obstacles was when Callie got pregnant with Mark’s child, and Arizona decided that she wanted to be the child’s mother and for the two of them to start a life together. For a long time, the three of them had a great co-parenting dynamic and equally loved their daughter, Sofia.

However, following the plane crash Callie and Arizona began to drift apart, eventually deciding that their marriage wasn’t serving either one of them anymore. From there, they find a solid balance and even become friends until Callie wants to move to New York and take Sofia with her. The resulting custody battle is overblown and alters the loving and attentive parents that both women were known to be. It was a sour note to end their relationship on at the time, making it difficult to believe they would ever get back together.

4

Bailey’s OCD Diagnosis

Showcasing the ongoing mistreatment of discussions around mental health

Dr. Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson) is one of the few characters who started on the show in season 1 and is still a member of the main cast. Grey’s Anatomy needs Bailey to function almost more than needs Meredith at this point. She’s a strong woman who is frequently asked to be a team leader and a teacher to all the other doctors on the show. Her diagnosis of OCD does not undermine her strength and abilities by any means, but the way the show handled it was more than questionable.

Instead of making it a new and permanent facet of Bailey’s character and having empathetic conversations about how she moves forward and continues being an amazing surgeon, the plotline was dropped. This is a gross mishandling of a storyline that features OCD and disregards Bailey’s feelings and mental state for the sake of focusing on the series’ next drama. For a show that prides itself on representation and frank discussions of mental health issues, this was a shocking and disappointing turn of events.

3

The Musical Episode

An unnecessary and out-of-character addition to the show.

For some shows, a musical episode is a great idea and successfully breaks the tension of an intense season, showcasing the many talents of the cast. It’s true that the actor and featured member of the episode, Sara Ramirez, had previously starred in Broadway productions, but this in and of itself wasn’t enough to justify the tone change of the narrative. It takes place in the aftermath of Callie and Arizona’s car accident after Arizona proposes. Callie is in critical condition and a projected version of herself sings to Arizona and the doctors as they try to save her life.

Even by Grey’s Anatomy’s standards this is overly melodramatic and misses the point of a musical episode. This kind of event should give insight into the character’s thoughts and feelings but shouldn’t have an event with such high stakes be at the core of the plot. Callie’s potential death made it difficult to enjoy the dance numbers and musical asides. While it all ended up okay, the episode made it difficult for fans to continue taking the show seriously. The fact that it hasn’t been repeated makes it clear that it didn’t belong in the show’s canon.

2

Lexie & Mark’s Deaths

A fan-favorite couple whose time was cut tragically short

Mark Sloan and Lexie Grey were a couple introduced later in the series that went on to be even more popular than Meredith and Derek. Though Mark was older, Grey’s Anatomy did an excellent job balancing the power dynamic in their relationship and allowing Lexie to take the reins in deciding what she wanted out of their connection. However, all of their progress and fan hopes for a Slexie endgame were dashed when they became the two casualties of the plane crash episode, “Flight.”

Mark and Lexie’s Grey’s Anatomy deaths are tragic because of how much more each character could have done and experienced on the show inside and out of their relationship. Lexie’s death is especially hard on Meredith, as their sisterly dynamic took time to develop, but once Meredith let her in, they loved each other unconditionally. They were two of the biggest characters on the show and were deeply entwined in the other doctor’s lives, so when they were killed, it cast a shadow over the series that didn’t let up for a long time.

1

Cristina’s Move To Switzerland

Marking the end of Grey’s Anatomy’s Golden Era

Cristina (Sandra Oh) was one of the greatest characters on Grey’s Anatomy and in the season ten finale, “Fear (Of The Unknown),” when she left, nothing was ever the same. There had been major character exits before this, but Cristina was different. She and Meredith had a special and enduring bond that rivaled Meredith’s romance with Derek. Their friendship was the heart and soul of the show and a constant reminder to Meredith that she was her own person even in the midst of tragedy, loss, and unbelievable romantic drama.

As a character, Cristina went through just as much trauma as the other individuals and experienced significant development during her tenure on the show. Sandra Oh brought life and depth to the character, elevating her from a competitive intern in season 1 to a compassionate and world-renowned surgeon by the time she left. Cristina’s departure was one of the least violent and traumatic of all the characters, but it was equally painful. Once she was gone, a hole was created that still hasn’t been filled many seasons later.