The 21 Wildest ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Scenes
Grey’s Anatomy is the definitive primetime soap opera of the 21st century. Plot twists lurk around every corner. For every calm stretch of episodes the writers graciously grant these surgeons, there next comes a seismic event so crushing, it reverberates through the show’s core. With 20 seasons under its belt, Grey’s is home to the iconic, the absurd, and everything in between. So we thought, now that the show has returned for Season 20, we’d rank the 20 wildest moments from across the series—plus another, for good measure.
We’re going to start with the moments that are head-scratchers, and so-bad-it’s-good, before moving into the serious shocks and twists that have defined Grey’s Anatomy as a TV legend.
21. Erica Hahn Disappears Into a Parking Lot (Season 5)
Some Grey’s characters get beautiful send-offs. Others just sort of wander away, never to be seen again, as was the case with Erica Hahn. Upset to discover that Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl) was able to keep her job after she cut Denny Duquette’s (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) LVAD wire due to their torrid affair, Erica Hahn (Brooke Smith) leaves the hospital in a huff, disappearing into a parking lot after arguing with her then-girlfriend, Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez). And that’s the last we ever see of her.
“I’m not written out. My final scene is just me heading to my car. I honestly don’t know what happens in the next episode. I heard not much,” Smith told Entertainment Weekly in 2008, discussing how even she was shocked to exit the series so haphazardly.
This moment lands with a relative thud in the show itself, but it’s included because it’s a unique level of bizarre. Erica’s relationship with Callie was groundbreaking for the drama, the first queer relationship on Grey’s at a time when network TV was still shy to embrace the LGBTQ community. And maybe they got so gun-shy they wrote her off. Either way, it’s such a flop exit that it flips right around to being iconic.
20. Addison Is Run Over by an Anti-Abortion Protestor (Season 19)
Although Addison Montgomery (Kate Walsh) left the show for her own spinoff after Season 3, Grey’s has lasted so long that it outlived said spinoff, allowing for Addison to return to the mothership for occasional guest arcs. And in Season 19, Addison finally came into the line of fire of a Grey’s disaster, after dodging many bullets before.
Returning to Grey-Sloan to help train OB-GYNs who work in states where abortion has been outlawed, Addison has a target on her back, and this leads to her getting run down by an angry driver. What should be a powerful moment, though, is a victim of a glaring editing error. The scene itself clearly shows Addison not only pulling someone else into the car’s direction, but Addison herself not get hit. Alas, Addison survived, which makes sense considering she was grazed, at best.
19. Stephanie Sets a Rapist on Fire (Season 13)
Season 13 is an all-around pitiful season of television, but it does climax with Stephanie Edwards (Jerrika Hinton) setting a rapist on fire, so it’s almost worth it. The penultimate episode of the season escalates rather quickly, as the rogue patient takes Stephanie hostage to try and escape the hospital. When he starts a fire to set off the alarm so he can sneak out, she, naturally, coats him in gasoline and sets him ablaze. Then he wobbles toward conveniently located gas tanks, causing the hospital to explode.
It’s a wild sequence of events, and one that proved Grey’s could still do a stunt episode like no other. Thankfully, Stephanie survives the explosion, but she does leave the show after this. And really, wouldn’t you quit your job after that series of events? This doesn’t happen to real estate agents.
18. Mary (Mandy Moore) Dies Episodes After Surviving the Shooting (Season 7)
The solace at the end of the Seattle Grace shooting was that at least our main characters survived, as did lovely patient Mary, played by Mandy Moore. Well, it was nice while it lasted.
When Mary returns for Season 7’s experimental documentary-style episode to finally get her simple procedure done, she dies. It’s so cruel, sad, and unexpected. Leave it to Grey’s to one up the devastation of a mass shooting in such a nuanced way.
17. Meredith’s Stepmom Dies of Hiccups (Season 3)
On a show with patients congealed together by a train crash, people who have sawed off their own foot, and even victims of lion maimings, no patient story should seem out of the ordinary. That’s why the death of Meredith Grey’s (Ellen Pompeo) stepmom, Susan (Mare Winningham), is so shocking.
Flipping the script from some of the more bombastic patients, Susan is just suffering from hiccups and some acid reflux. All seems fine until it escalates further and further, and she dies. Like… okay. Why not kill someone from hiccups? Okay, if you’ve seen the episodes, you learn that her symptoms ended up being more lethal than just hiccups, but that doesn’t make it less absurd. Life is unpredictable, and so is Grey’s Anatomy.
16. Meredith Gives Birth During a Power Outage (Season 9)
Grey’s is no stranger to making women give birth in the most dire circumstances possible. And having Meredith give birth amid a power outage as the doctors perform an emergency C-section on her is really par for the course for Grey-Sloan Memorial. But the stakes rise when Meredith begins to bleed out and needs Bailey to save her.
Meanwhile, Richard Webber (James Pickens Jr.) is electrocuted in the hospital electrical room, and an intern electrocutes herself and dies in the Season 10 premiere, too. It was a vicious day at America’s deadliest hospital, evidently.
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15. April Leaves Her Fiancé for Jackson at the Altar (Season 10)
The rollercoaster romances of Grey’s Anatomy have put viewers through so much, but occasionally, you get a moment of pure bliss. And Japril shippers got their moment in the sun when Jackson Avery (Jesse Williams) interrupted April Kepner’s (Sarah Drew) wedding to announce his love for her, leading the two to run away together.
It’s a pivotal moment for April, as she finally embraces the unpredictable over the life she had always dreamed of. But alas, it’s all washed away with poor writing choices in the later seasons. But that doesn’t change the excitement and shock of seeing the two emerge from the chapel’s double doors.
14. Meredith Is Attacked and Severely Injured by a Patient (Season 12)
Few characters have endured more trauma than poor Meredith Grey. A season after the tragic death of her husband Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey), the writers thought: Eh, let’s make things worse. Meredith is the television equivalent of Job.
While alone with a patient, Meredith is attacked as a result of post-seizure hyper aggression, almost killing her. The episode documents Meredith’s months-long recovery, speedrunning an entire season of material, and it’s an inspired episode of TV. Told primarily from Meredith’s perspective, the episode leans into an uncomfortable silence due to her temporary deafness.
13. Callie Torres’s Harrowing Car Crash Is Juxtaposed by a Musical Episode (Season 7)
Most shows wouldn’t follow up the shocking car crash of a pregnant main character with a musical episode. But more should, to be honest. After Callie Torres and Arizona Robbins (Jessica Capshaw) get in a heated argument, the two are blindsided by a full-on collision, shooting Callie out of the passenger seat and injuring her severely.
The emotional fallout of this cliffhanger is largely replaced by the accidental comedy of hearing all of these characters—most of whom cannot hold a note—sing. But, it’s a fun episode and a remnant of the joys of network TV. Dare I say, it’s a well-written episode, too, and the emotional beats actually do land. If you don’t feel a bit inspired by Sara Ramirez singing “The Story,” well, that’s on you.
12. Andrew Deluca is Stabbed and Killed by a Human Trafficker (Season 17)
Andrew DeLuca (Giacomo Gianotti) joined Grey’s as a bright-eyed intern just episodes after Derek’s death. His end was much more harrowing, though. The entire arc, from suffering from mania due to bipolar disorder, to increased skepticism over a patient he believes is being trafficked, to the climax where it turns out he’s right about the trafficking and he’s stabbed and killed, is a doozy, understandably.
It had actually been many years since Grey’s killed a main character, so maybe it was inevitable. But the writers’ room certainly got creative with this one.
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11. Richard Webber and Ellis Grey Are Revealed to Have a Love Child (Season 10)
When you run for two decades, you’re going to repeat some plotlines. And Grey’s really leans into that absurdity by giving Meredith not one, but two secret siblings. While Lexie’s (Chyler Leigh) existence was less of a shock to our protagonist, the introduction of Maggie Pierce (Kelly McCreary) is a shock to Meredith’s system, and the audience’s.
The secret child of Richard Webber and Meredith’s mother Ellis Grey (Kate Burton), Maggie was put up for adoption, only to make her way to Grey-Sloan Memorial at the tail end of Season 10.
10. Izzie Has Sex With the Ghost of Denny—And Has a Brain Tumor (Season 5)
Some would argue Izzie having sex with the ghost of Denny Duquette was the moment Grey’s slipped into the incredulous, too far gone to ever return. I disagree. How else can a soap opera reveal a brain tumor than through the stunt casting of a beloved guest star so she can have apparitional sex?
Sure, this plot is farfetched and leans all the way into the absurd, but it’s no doubt a memorable arc, and the twist reveal that Izzie has cancer is a shocking punch to the gut.
9. Alex Exits the Show Off-Screen to Be with the Kids He and Izzie Have That No One Knew About (Season 16)
While Erica Hahn’s exit was certainly bizarre, the way Grey’s wrote off Alex Karev (Justin Chambers) was straight-up deranged. After 16 seasons as a main character, Alex’s last appearance on the show was not a goodbye. In fact, it’s not until 10 episodes after his last episode that the show actually addresses his absence.
With voiceovers provided by Chambers, we learn through a series of letters that Alex has left his wife Jo (Camilla Luddington) to go be with Izzie in Kansas, who used their embryos to successfully birth twins five years before—unbeknownst to the audience. Maybe it would’ve been nice had any of this context been provided outside a written letter at the last moment, but alas.
8. Addison’s Introduction (Season 1)
Some shows get progressively bolder, and some start at 100. Grey’s has loved a show-changing twist since day one, and the Season 1 finale is proof of that. Just when things seem good between Meredith and Derek, we meet Addison Shepherd, Derek’s estranged wife.
“And you must be the woman who’s been screwing my husband” is an iconic line that flipped the reality of Grey’s on its head. Only nine episodes in. Right there, Grey’s cemented itself as a titan of the craft, and has only continued to up the ante ever since.
7. George Is Hit by a Bus and Dies (Season 5)
Grey’s has said goodbye to many series regulars over the years through every means imaginable. But George O’Malley (TR Knight) was the guinea pig. After two seasons just floating around, George decides to enlist in the army, and you think the show’s setting him up for a nice exit. The character had received so little screen time in Season 5 that it’s not immediately noticeable he’s absent from the finale until it becomes entirely clear what’s happening.
The “John Doe” Meredith has been treating is none other than George, having been hit by a bus. The Season 5 finale ends with George and Izzie both flatlining, leaving viewers with a summer-long cliffhanger to see who, if either, will survive. Unfortunately, that was the end of the road for George (although he does appear in Meredith’s coma dream in Season 17, of course!).
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6. Izzie Cuts Denny’s LVAD Wire (Season 2)
What’s a girl in love to do? When you’re on a primetime soap, you just might need to cut your forbidden lover’s LVAD wire so he can jump spots on the donor list, and thus be saved. At least, that’s the thought process of Grey’s Anatomy’s most chaotic intern, Izzie Stevens.
Sadly for Izzie, the stunt doesn’t prevent Denny from dying soon after, leading to Izzie bawling in her prom dress on top of his dead body. It’s the first of many Grey’s episodes to kill off a character’s love interest, but certainly not the last. Still, almost 20 years later, it’s one of the most devastating moments in the show’s history.
5. Meredith Drowns, Goes to the Afterlife, and Survives (Season 3)
The three-episode arc that watches Meredith drown, flirt with the afterlife, and fight to return to the Earthly realm is Grey’s at its peak. It’s indulgent, insane, and wonderfully written. Amid it all, Meredith’s mother dies and meets her in the afterlife, reminding her daughter she’s extraordinary.
It’s a tearjerker and a classic Grey’s moment. It’s hard to top, but trust the cruel, brilliant mind of Shonda Rhimes and co. to somehow find a way. And that’s just what they did.
4. Meredith Sticks Her Hand in a Bomb (Season 2)
The first of Grey’s many stunt episodes is also one of its finest. Airing after the 2006 Super Bowl, the two-part bomb episode has everything you could want and more in an iconic soap arc: a lovable character whose only purpose is to die, an iconic song playing over a devastating moment, and a moment for our heroine to find agency amid her personal peril.
Cristina Ricci and Kyle Chandler make such a lasting impression in their two hours of screen time. It’s a wonderful two-parter, and a perfect way to expose the show to newbies. Oh, and during all this, Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson) was giving birth, just to add further stakes to the insanity.
3. Derek Dies (Season 11)
There’s nothing more jaw-dropping than the death of Derek Shepherd. After 11 seasons as Meredith’s love interest and the show’s male lead, Grey’s Anatomy finally offed Derek in the most devastating, frustrating way possible.
After saving the lives of victims of a brutal car accident, Derek pulls over in the middle of the road to grab his phone and is hit by a semi-truck. He’s then taken to a run-down hospital where incompetent care leads to his demise, acting as a truly harrowing way to write off such an iconic character. It’s hard to even be sad watching as the pure anger the episode causes drowns out all other forces. But, nonetheless, it’s a defining moment in the show’s lore.
2. A Plane Crash Kills Mark and Lexie (Season 8)
If there were ever a moment to say Grey’s Anatomy jumped the shark, look no further than the plane crash in the Season 8 finale.
After a season building up to the cast accepting jobs at new hospitals, a plane crash strands Meredith, Derek, Cristina (Sandra Oh), Arizona, Lexie, and Mark (Eric Dane) on an island, and leads to the death of the latter two, while Arizona loses her leg. It’s devastating and absolutely the most brutal thing to ever transpire on the show. The loss of both Mark and Lexie left a dark cloud on the show for years to come. Dare I say, it’s the moment the show finally flew too close to the sun, but nonetheless, it was an iconic way to end a season.
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1. The Hospital Faces a Mass Shooting (Season 6)
The Grey’s two-part shooting are the stunt episodes to end stunt episodes. Suspenseful, disturbing, and ballsy, the Season 6 finale took the show to new heights with its daring approach. While the show’s brand has long been killing off characters in increasingly bold fashions, the shooting was revolutionary (at the time, only one series regular had been killed off).
Not only is it a wild stunt, it’s superbly written. Both episodes are heart-wrenching and brilliantly paced, with fantastic rewatch value. It’s not easy to strike a balance between sensational and impactful, but this is an expert’s work. It’s genius plotting, made more chilling by the fact we meet the shooter episodes before as the heartbroken husband of a deceased patient. The episode has layers and is an immense thrill ride all the way through. Nothing could ever come close to this arc, even if Grey’s makes it to 40 seasons.
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