Before I jump into this list of "Grey's Anatomy" scenes that will make you feel like someone ripped your heart from your chest, warning! If you are in the middle of/plan on watching "Grey's," stop right here. This countdown will spoil some of the best episodes for you. If you are up to date with the current season and want to do some reflecting on the pain and emotions Shonda Rhimes has evoked in you, carry on.
8. When Izzie woke up from surgery with short-term memory loss.
"How did the surgery go? Did you get the tumor out?"
*3 minutes later*
"How did the surgery go? Did you get the brain tumor?"
The chills I had during this scene were so real.
7. That time when Meredith's drunk father slapped her across the face.
That slap was so unexpected, I genuinely gasped out loud. Meredith was just trying to help save his wife and did everything she could. I figured maybe they would come together at this point in the show, but I never expected him to hit her!
6. The hospital shooting.
Cristina unknowingly in the elevator with Clark, the killer, Clark almost killing Bailey, Derek getting shot...it was all too much to handle. I was reduced to a puddle of tears when Cristina was trying to save Derek at gunpoint and Clark shot Owen. And Shonda Rhimes actually let us believe Derek was dead! Is she serious?
5. Denny dying not even an hour after proposing to Izzie.
The love story of Denny and Izzie warmed my heart. It was so adorable and innocent, and she did everything she could (legal or not) to keep that man alive. I was rooting for Denny to get better and for them to get married. Instead, he gets his new heart but dies of a stroke. Really?! Also, the way Izzie says "An hour ago he was proposing, now he's going to the morgue" killed me. Whenever my friends tell me they are starting to watch the show, I warn them: "Denny Duquette will ruin you."
4. Adele during Bailey's wedding.
The way Adele's Alzheimer's so rapidly progressed leading up to her death was tragic. When Adele came into the hospital on Bailey's wedding day vomiting blood and Bailey took off her wedding dress and threw on scrubs to operate on her, I was a mess. Once again, Shonda Rhimes got our hopes up and crushed them when Richard and Bailey were discussing how Adele was doing post-surgery. I was so happy that Adele was going to be okay. That was, until the camera panned to Richard standing teary-eyed in the corner of the party. And the final scene of the episode with Richard and Adele slow dancing on their wedding night! Rhimes really knows how to emotionally destroy us.
3. O'Malley's death.
George dying so early on in the show came as a huge shock to me. O'Malley was easily one of my favorite characters and I was crushed when he died. I remember just watching the episode, another trauma came in with a "John Doe" who was hit by a bus. I thought nothing of it and kept watching. The guy was in bad shape. When Meredith asked him to write his name on her hand and he wrote "007," my heart shattered. "It's George! John Doe is George!" I had chills. George was such a sweet guy with a warm heart on the show; the fact that he died trying to protect a stranger only made me love him more.
2. Mark and Lexie.
Mark and Lexie were so adorable together. They had such chemistry that they couldn't deny even when they were broken up. Mark was never really the serious relationship type, but that changed when he met Lexie. They were always smiling ear-to-ear when they were together, and I was really pushing for them to get married. When the plane crashed and I saw that Lexie was being crushed under part, I knew she wouldn't make it. The way that they confessed their undying love to each other and were planning out their future had me bawling. This, coupled with the brilliant acting on both of their parts, easily made this one of the most heart-wrenching scenes of the show.
1. That time Shonda killed off the second main character.
The worst of them all. I could probably rant and vent about this all day. So many things about the death of Derek Shepherd emotionally destroyed me. Number one, the fact that Derek died saving the lives of innocent people, of course. Number two, had he been taken to Seattle Grace, he would have lived. He would have been in the hands of his loved ones and the best possible doctors. Instead, he was taken to an unequipped hospital that was not even a trauma center! On top of that, the doctors were lazy and arrogant. Had the male doctor listened to the female and gotten Derek a brain scan, he would not have died. It was pure torture sitting there watching Derek die at the hands of amateur doctors. Also, the fact that he — as a neurosurgeon — knew he had a brain bleed and was going to die but was unable to verbalize it, made it all the more devastating. Shonda is really good at killing off all of my favorite characters.
Yes, there are many more tragic moments in the show that I could have used for this list: Callie's accident, Cristina leaving, Meredith drowning, bomb-in-chest-cavity gate. "Grey's Anatomy" is, put simply, a series of shocking and sad moments. However, I rewatched the entire series over from the beginning and chose the scenes and moments that made me cry the hardest. Now, you're probably wondering why I cried at all over Thatcher slapping Meredith, or Izzie temporarily losing her memory. My answer to you is, I don't know! Something about those scenes hit me hard. I think the best way to sum it all up would be this excellent gif of my savior/enemy, Shonda Rhimes:
