‘Grey’s Anatomy’: 10 Most Nerve-Wracking Episodes
Throughout the series, multiple actors joined and exited whether it was killing off their character, making them pursue a life outside of Seattle, or joining Station 19, a spinoff show that recently was renewed for another season. Despite the changing cast, the series elaborated on each character’s background while tackling heavy topics. The surgeons’ stamina and emotional capacity were tested through the unexpected situations they endured. Viewer discretion is strongly advised.
1. ‘It’s the End of the World’ (Season 2, Episode 16)
In “It’s The End of the World“, Dr. Grey and Dr. Richard Webber (James Pickens Jr.) had the impression that today would not go as planned. An ambulance arrived with a man bleeding while a paramedic, Hannah Davis (Christina Ricci), had her hand inside the patient to stop the bleeding. Not only was Hannah stopping the man from bleeding, but she was also holding onto the bomb that was lodged inside him.
Everyone was required to evacuate the hospital, but there was still one ongoing surgery. Dr. Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson) returned to the hospital after her two-week maternity leave, and the moment she arrived she was also going into labor. She is not aware that her husband was a few doors down in surgery.
2. ‘Drowning on Dry Land’ (Season 3, Episode 16)
In the previous episode, “Walk on Water”, a team of surgeons arrived at the site of a large accident. As Dr. Grey was treating one of the individuals, she fell into a lake. In “Drowning on Dry Land”, Dr. Grey descended deeper into the lake. While there have been multiple deaths in Grey’s Anatomy, fans were happy Meredith wasn’t one of them in this episode. In another scene, Dr. Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl) was helping a man stuck under a car.
Dr. Stevens was put to the test to use makeshift materials available to her to fulfill a dangerous procedure to save a man. While surgeons and paramedics worked to save the lives of those at the scene, the situation at the hospital was just as chaotic. Back at the hospital, Dr. Alex Karev (Justin Chambers) scrambled to find the names of all the patients that arrived from the accident.
3. ‘Now or Never’ (Season 5, Episode 24)
Dr. George O’Malley (T.R. Knight) announced that it was his last day at the hospital and that he was joining the army the next day. Dr. Stevens had just woken up from surgery after her tumor removal. An unidentifiable man arrived at the hospital after jumping in front of a bus.
Dr. Steven’s surgery may have harmed her short-term memory. The rest of the doctors concerned with Dr. O’Malley’s decision plan out an intervention for him to reconsider. However, when the time came to talk to George, he was nowhere to be found, and the unidentifiable man was someone the doctors knew.
4. ‘Sanctuary’ (Season 6, Episode 23)
A man walked into the emergency room asking for the Chief of Surgery in “Sanctuary”. Each of the nurses and doctors busy with their paper work and other responsibilities, kept directing the man to go talk to someone else. As the man continued his search, he shot anyone that got in his way.
Dr. April Kepner (Sarah Drew) alerted Dr. Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey), Chief of Surgery, of the situation. Dr. Shepherd called a lockdown on the hospital, but not everyone seemed to understand the circumstances of the situation until they ran into the man. The aftermath of this episode continued in “Death and All His Friends”.
5. ‘Flight’ (Season 8, Episode 24)
In the previous episode, a group of surgeons was boarding a plane to travel to Boise, Idaho, but the plane never arrived there. The episode “Flight” started with a voiceover and scenes from Dr. Webber’s speech that he gave interns on their first day. The scenes would cut in and out to a plane crash in a forest.
Hours passed before anyone at Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital realized that the plane never made it to Boise Memorial Hospital. Everyone from the plane suffered some kind of injury, some worse than others. Dr. Arizona Robbins (Jessica Capshaw) noticed that her leg was broken. Dr. Lexie Grey (Chyler Leigh) was trapped under part of the plane.
6. ‘The Perfect Storm’ (Season 9, Episode 24)
A storm was moving towards Seattle in “The Perfect Storm”. During this storm, Dr. Grey was in labor; however, the conditions required her to have a C-Section. It was only a few minutes in when the power went out for the entire hospital without the backup generators immediately turning on.
On each unit of the hospital was a different challenge that the doctors faced. Dr. Grey’s surgery endured complications that forced the new interns to step in and help. On the pediatrics floor, the batteries in the ventilators were drained. In the emergency room, doctors witnessed a school bus crash. As Dr. Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd) and Dr. Jackson Avery (Jesse Williams) rushed to free the people from the bus.
7. ‘Sound of Silence’ (Season 12, Episode 9)
In “Sound of Silence“, Dr. Grey was treating a man in the emergency room. Once the man was in stable condition, all the doctors left her alone with the man. The man stood up from the bed and attacked Dr. Grey. He threw her across the room until she was lying on the floor unable to move.
Dr. Grey suffered multiple fractures including a broken jaw which forced her doctors to sew her jaw shut. The first part of the episode flipped from Dr.Grey’s perspective and back to the third-person perspective. During these perspective switches, the episode was silent hinting at the hearing loss that Dr. Grey suffered.
8. ‘True Colors’ (Season 13, Episode 23)
The episode, “True Colors“, started with Dr. Hunt opening the door to two uniformed military personnel with information about his sister. Dr. Karev attended a conference with hopes of finding a man named Dr. Paul Stadler (Matthew Morrison). Dr. Avery, Dr. Maggie Pierce (Kelly McCreary), and Dr. Stephanie Edwards (Jerrika Hinton) were tending to a man and a woman from an accident.
Dr. Karev calculated the consequences of facing Dr. Jo Wilson’s (Camilla Luddington) abusive husband, Dr. Stadler. Dr. Hunt wrestled with the possibility that his sister was alive, after all these years of thinking she was dead. Yet, the shocking twist was when the doctors realized that one of their patients was dangerous and threatened one of the doctors.
9. ‘Jump Into the Fog’ (Season 15, Episode 25)
A fog loomed over Seattle causing multiple car accidents on the highway just as Dr. Hunt and Dr. Levi Schmitt (Jake Borelli) were escorting a matching blood donor for a patient. Dr. Teddy Altman (Kim Raver) was en route to the hospital in the midst of going into labor. Dr. Andrew Deluca (Giacomo Gianniotti) admitted to a crime he didn’t commit.
A peaceful calm song played over the narration of the episode before jumping into the hectic situation each character was in. Time was of the essence as a boy was in critical condition and the only person with his matching blood type was stuck in traffic. Dr. Grey was looking to correct the situation that Dr. Deluca got himself into.
10. ‘My Shot’ (Season 16, Episode 8)
Earlier in the season, Dr. Grey was fired from Grey-Sloan Memorial Hospital after she committed insurance fraud. Her reason behind the crime was helping a patient who lost their insurance and required medical attention. In one of the most essential episodes of Grey’s Anatomy, “My Shot”, Dr. Grey was on trial to determine if she would lose her medical license.
Dr. Grey’s family and friends gathered evidence to support Dr. Grey’s case including testimonies. However, the medical board investigated every aspect of her life, including her previous termination that affected her chance of adopting. The situation escalated when Dr. Grey pointed out that one of the members on the medical board was the same doctor responsible for Dr. Shepherd’s death.