Grey’s Anatomy: 13 Most Outrageous Storylines in the Show
From character deaths to relationships with ghosts, Grey’s Anatomy isn’t lacking in outrageous storylines.
Grey’s Anatomy is one of the most beloved medical dramas to ever air. Between the fan favorite surgeons to tackling heavy topics like sexism, racism, and even abandonment, it’s easy to see why Grey’s Anatomy has become ABC’s longest-running scripted primetime show.
Unfortunately, with long-standing shows, not all the episodes, or seasons in some cases, can be without a few outrageous storylines. Over the last 18 years, Grey’s has certainly had its fair share of crazy plots. From ruining character arcs to cast’s farewell episodes, outrageous storylines have been frequent. These are some of the most popular outrageous storylines in the show.
13.All of the Medical Fraud
For a medical drama, you would think there would be some reality to the medical part. The amount of times the doctors commit medical fraud was incredible! Yes, this is a drama, but still — Meredith’s big one where she battled the insurance companies and then spent a majority of the season suspended was an unnecessary add to Grey’s Anatomy.
12.When Izzie Was a Vet
Yes, this was a one-episode storyline in the early days of Grey’s Anatomy, but why was it necessary to have Izzie treat a deer — isn’t that why we have vets? Izzie got the short end of the stick for many episodes, this one included.
11.Bailey’s OCD
Grey’s did a great job at talking about real-life issues in the episodes, but Bailey’s arc with OCD was not well handled. They made a huge deal out of it and made one of the strongest characters weak and then just forgot about it. Similarly to what they did with Arizona’s prosthetic leg.
10.Owen’s Sister
It’s not that the Grey’s Anatomy storyline of Owen’s sister was bad, it’s just that it ruined a lot for people. Owen has always been one of the least-loved characters, but his family issues, and issues with Riggs, was made worse when they wrote Megan into the show. She seemed to be more of a filler or spinoff option. These would have made the storyline better.
9.Meredith Drowning
These two episodes in Grey’s Anatomy Season 3 were some of the better episodes in the show’s history. The ferryboat incident was exciting, and it was one of the first times a main character was going through their own health dramas. However, the idea that Meredith would be okay with just letting herself drown was shocking. Yes, she fights death a lot after this, but this was her giving up, not her trying to save other people. Not only did it seem almost too dark and twisty, but to then be visited by ghosts, including Denny, was just unnecessary. To add to the outgrageousness, it’s great how she was just able to wake up after she decided it was okay to live.
8.When Alex Left Via Letter
Alex Karev’s last episode on Grey’s Anatomy, which only featured him in flashbacks and voiceovers, is one of the worst episodes in the series. We say this because the writers completely ruined his character arc. When we first met Karev, he was a jerk, but by his last season, he grew into a widely beloved character. To ruin this by leaving Jo, aka the best thing to happen to him, was an outrageous way to go. Jo deserved better and so did Karev’s arc.
7.Callie and Arizona’s Custody Battle
Callie and Arizona were easily the cutest couple on Grey’s Anatomy, but their character arcs were almost ruined when they went into a custody battle over their daughter Sofia. The pair had already been broken up for some time, but when Callie’s character was leaving the show, the writers took one last chance at drama and started a whole court case legal custody over who Sofia would stay with. This storyline pitted the hospital staff against each other and made for an annoying few episodes, which showcased Callie at her worst.
6.The Fact That Mark and Lexi Were Killed in a Plane Crash
The plane crash was a great addition to the series, but Grey’s fans can almost all agree that Lexi and Mark deserved better. Their relationship was arguably the best of the series. They were obviously meant to be, and for them to not have their shot together after everything was an awful way to say goodbye to them. Both actors did choose to leave the show, but we think we can say we all bawled our eyes out listening to Mark confess his love for Lexi as she died. Here’s to wishing this outrageous death could have been rewritten to let them run away together.
5.Ava/Rebecca Storyline
The whole Ava/Rebecca/Jane Doe plot with Alex Karev would have been good if they didn’t start a relationship and if it had been a one or two-episode subplot on Grey’s Anatomy. By dragging out their relationship for multiple episodes, it made the storyline outrageous. It was great to see the softer side of Karev, but that was ruined when it went on for too long, and he was becoming a homewrecker.
4.Izzie and Denny
It should be a no-brainer that the entire storyline between Izzie and Denny is included on a list of outrageous storylines. From the inappropriate relationship to the whole thing with Denny’s ghost, it seemed a bit forced. First off, it’s unethical for a patient and a doctor to date (even though they were so cute together), but then for that doctor to make the patient sicker to move him up the transplant list — outrageous! He gets the transplant, and she somehow doesn’t lose her medical license, but he ends up dying anyway to an unrelated issue. Let’s not get into any more detail than just mentioning the whole having sex with a ghost storyline they then gave Izzie to show that she is dying of cancer.
3.That Random Musical Episode
Not much needs to be said other than this was a filler episode, one where Grey’s Anatomy felt that it needed to add its one musical episode. It’s not that the music was bad, it was just cringe-worthy and did nothing to boost the show.
2.Basically All of Derek’s Last Season
For many fans of Grey’s Anatomy, Derek’s death was not well received. First off, his character for most of his last season was awful — how dare he kiss another woman! — but to then let him save all those people in the car crash, only to stop literally in the middle of the road to read a text, seemed like a wrong way to kill him off. Yes, there was drama around his departure of the show, but still, he was such an important part of the series, so to let him survive a plane crash, but die because of a text seems like lazy writing to us.
1.George’s Death
In the Grey’s Anatomy Season 5 finale, George decides he is leaving Seattle Grace and joining the army. On the day he is to leave, he rescues a woman from getting hit by a bus, only to get hit by the bus himself. He is then so badly wounded that he is unrecognizable to his friends when he is taken back to Seattle Grace to be treated. It’s only when he finds the strength to sign “007” in Meredith’s hand that they realize who he is. To make his death harder, he dies the same time Izzie flatlines, although she later wakes up.