The 15 most unforgettable moments of 15 years of Grey’s Anatomy
On Friday, 27 March 2020, Grey’s Anatomy will be 15 years old.
Since it would take you 14 days and 21 hours to watch all of it, we’ve selected some of the top moments for you to re-watch.
Spoiler alert!
Those of you who haven’t checked into Grey’s Anatomy yet, please be warned – this list is, obviously, filthy with spoilers.
Denny dies (Season 2, episode 27)
This must have been the most heart-wrenching episode of the entire series. Fourteen years later, we’re still not over it.
Meredith wins an award, and sees an apparition of her late mother (Season 14, episode 7)
While in theatre, operating, Meredith finds out she has won the Harper Avery Award through a video feed. But the most touching moment is when she looks up to the gallery and sees her late mother, Ellis, applauding her, which is significant, since Meredith has always lived her life in her mother’s shadow. This was the show’s 300th episode, and was jam-packed with Easter Eggs.
Cristina’s non-wedding (Season 3, episode 25)
One of the show’s most cracking finales plays out during what should have been Cristina and Preston’s wedding. But it’s not Preston who ends up cradling Cristina, of course. It’s Meredith.
Erica finds something out about herself (Season 5, episode 6)
“I didn’t even know I was missing the leaves, I didn’t even know leaves existed,” Erica tells Callie. “You are like glasses.” But she doesn’t quite get the reception she was hoping for.
Alex’s vows at his and Izzie’s wedding (Season 5, episode 22)
Which Grey’s fan can’t recite Alex’s vows by heart? “Today’s the day my life begins. All my life I’ve been just me.” And who among us manages to not shed a tear every time we hear them? This was the show’s 100th episode, and was supposed to be Derek and Meredith’s wedding. But Alex’s words on the day more than made up for it.
The plane crash (Season 8, episode 24)
This episode, called Flight, just about ended us. Lexie!
Meredith tells Derek she’s pregnant (Season 9, episode 7)
We love the look on Derek’s face when he reads the writing on Zola’s little pink “World’s Best Big Sister” shirt.
When Dr Bailey gets drunk (Season 7, episode 9)
“Sexual sorbet?” [cackles]. “I love it!”. Dr Bailey was first introduced to the interns as “the Nazi”, and there’s no doubt she runs a tight ship. But when she lets her hair loose, she’s the most fun to watch.
Elisabeth Moss’s cameo (Season 3, episode 19)
This episode aired before we saw Moss in Mad Men and The Handmaid’s Tale, and marked a huge turning point in her career. She played Nina Rogerson, the daughter of a patient with a rare bone disease.
Meredith’s “stupid, embarrassing, humiliating, corny” thing (Season 4, episode 17)
When Meredith built Derek a house made of candles, showing him where all the rooms in their future house would be, and tells him they could be extraordinary together rather than ordinary apart, he gives her what is probably the best kiss in the entire series. (Yes, we’re calling it.)
“You have a voice. So use it” (Season 12, episode 9)
In this episode called The Sound of Silence, Meredith grapples with her recovery after she is brutally attacked by a male patient, and her monologue about the importance of women speaking up – the fact that it could save their lives – is a potent one. (Did you know this episode was directed by Denzel Washington?)
Goodbye, Derek (Season 11, episode 21)
It’s fitting that Derek ended up sacrificing his own life while saving other people, but, man, we still wish it had never happened.
“He’s very dreamy, but he is not the sun” (Season 10, episode 24)
In the episode that showed the end of the show’s most important relationship, between Cristina and Meredith (fight us), Cristina tells Meredith about how important she is to her, ending her speech about Derek’s wants not eclipsing Meredith’s needs with – “He is not the sun – you are”. And then she walks out the door and we cried for days.
The shooter (Season 6, episode 23)
Talk about an explosive season finale.
“Choose me. Pick me. Love me.” (Season 2, episode 5)
Probably Meredith Grey’s most iconic monologue, delivered to Derek, convincing him to leave his wife for her.
Want more top moments from Grey’s Anatomy? These MsMojo videos are just what the doctor ordered.
The funniest moments of Grey’s Anatomy
The most feminist moments on Grey’s Anatomy
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