10 Episodes Of Grey's Anatomy That Aged Like Milk

MovieStillsDB Published Aug 4, 2026, 10:15 PM EDT Shealyn Scott is a Senior Writer at Screen Rant. She has been writing for the site since 2024, focused on network, reality, streaming, and classic television. A creative writer, journalist, and lover of the written word in all its forms, Shealyn enjoys deconstructing scenes from her favorite shows, using context clues and historical precedent to predict major plot points (which, due to her successful track record, has sparked rumors of clairvoyance). As an award-winning student journalist, Shealyn spent her college years advocating for the humanities while studying English Literature. Her love of storytelling propelled her to expand her degree with minors in Writing and History, believing life to be a mere collection of stories that can be framed in as many ways as a movie scene. As a Senior member of the TV Team, Shealyn treats the series she covers like books, analyzing every line, camera angle, and lighting choice. Thankfully, her personal mission statement lines up perfectly with Screen Rant: every creative work deserves just as much thought from the viewer as it received from its creator. Sign in to your ScreenRant account Grey's Anatomy is one of the biggest shows in the history of network television, but not every episode has aged well. Since its premiere in the early 2000s, the medical drama has been a mainstay of ABC's fall lineup, constantly introducing new fresh-faced interns and esteemed surgeons to keep an interesting array of characters in its ensemble cast. Even two decades later, Grey's Anatomy remains somewhat inescapable, especially considering the hit Shondaland show is constantly evolving— for better and for worse. As the release date for Grey's Anatomy season 23 draws nearer, longtime fans of the show are likely well into their annual rewatch, binging either the earliest seasons for a heavy dose of nostalgia or the later entries as a recap of the new characters, pressing storylines, and unresolved plots season 23 will have to contend with. Whether you're an avid Grey's Anatomy viewer or a casual fan embarking on your first watch, however, there are certain episodes that may be worth a skip. "What Have I Done to Deserve This?" Season 2, Episode 19 Grey's Anatomy season 1 introduced arguably the most important group of characters the series has ever had, despite only a handful still existing in 2026. The first group of interns— Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), Alex Karev (Justin Chambers), George O'Malley (T.R. Knight), Izzie Stevens (Katherine Heigl), and Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh)— are affectionately known as MAGIC, both an acronym of their first initials and a perfect description of their group chemistry. Unfortunately, Grey's Anatomy hit the ground running with its interpersonal drama. George pined after Meredith from the moment he met her, but nothing ever came of it besides a failed attempt at a rebound in season 2. "What Have I Done to Deserve This?" explores the aftermath of Meredith breaking down in tears during their would-be hookup, but the series places far too much onus on the main character for her drunken mistake. Ironically, most viewers detest George for his poor initial reaction and the casually misogynistic grudge he (and later Patrick Dempsey's Derek Shepherd) held against Meredith. "In the Midnight Hour" Season 5, Episode 9 One of Grey's Anatomy's earliest tragedies was the case of Denny Duquette (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), a patient with congestive heart failure who died of a stroke shortly after an emergency transplant. His passing hit the audience like a truck, while his love interest, Izzie, was utterly consumed by her grief. Nevertheless, the young doctor gradually began moving on in her personal and professional lives— until season 5, that is. In an irrefutably absurd Grey's Anatomy moment, Izzie begins hallucinating Denny as a result of her undiagnosed metastatic melanoma. Initially, however, the medical drama suggests Denny's presence could be paranormal in nature, leading Izzie to engage in something that can only be described as ghost sex in season 5's "In the Midnight Hour" while her real-life boyfriend was none the wiser. Even if Izzie's illness was meant to explain Denny's so-called apparition, the steamy scene is as pointless as it is uncomfortable to watch, and it needlessly jeopardized the legacy of a fan-favorite side character. "Song Beneath the Song" Season 7, Episode 18 Regardless of the countless baffling medical inaccuracies and frustrating plot twists prior, "Song Beneath the Song" was Grey's Anatomy at its most controversial. The narrative itself is fairly simple: after Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez) is involved in a major car accident, the lives of her and her unborn child hang in the balance. Of course, there's only one logical route an acclaimed medical drama can take with such high stakes on the line: a musical episode. Without question, Ramirez gave a remarkable performance. Sadly, not even the Tony-winning talent could save the fever dream-esque episode. What could have been a harrowing near-death experience in Grey's Anatomy is instead widely regarded as an off-putting spectacle of subpar singing. Furthermore, any merit "Song Beneath the Song" has is forever eclipsed by its infamous reputation as the laughingstock of the series. "Hope for the Hopeless" Season 8, Episode 12 Owen Hunt (Kevin McKidd) may be one of the most hated characters in modern TV history, but it isn't without reason. During his stint on the ABC staple, the trauma surgeon was hypocritical, judgmental, and— above all else— a toxic partner to numerous women. Chief among them is Cristina Yang, who was constantly under his scrutiny. One of the couple's worst fights comes in season 8, when Owen unleashes all his pent-up frustrations on Cristina: he disapproves of her friendship with Teddy Altman (Kim Raver), looks down on her ambition as a budding cardiothoracic surgeon, and blatantly disrespects her previous decision to have an abortion. Throughout Cristina Yang's character development in Grey's Anatomy, she never wavered on her plan to remain childless, but Owen never understood her— as a doctor or as a person. Consequently, his wildly inappropriate outburst insisting she "killed" his child is an unsavory moment that viewers can't forget, let alone forgive. "If/Then" Season 8, Episode 13 Whereas "Hope for the Hopeless" is genuinely upsetting to rewatch, season 8's "If/Then" is just plain bizarre. The episode is an extended dream sequence wherein Meredith imagines what her life would be like if her mother were more loving. The ripple effect proves to be extreme, as the alternate universe is full of uncanny tweaks, from replacing Meredith and Derek's relationship in Grey's Anatomy with Meredith and Alex to subbing in April Kepner (Sarah Drew) as the protagonist's new best friend. The notorious "what if?" episode is unsettling simply because of how viscerally wrong it feels, but at least it isn't outright problematic. "Two Against One" Season 10, Episode 8 It's only fitting that "Two Against One" is a tough watch for two primary reasons: its awful OCD subplot and its mistreatment of an iconic TV friendship. Meredith and Cristina weren't always on the same page, but their full-blown feud in the season 10 episode felt out-of-character and overblown. Meanwhile, Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson) is one of the most important characters in Grey's Anatomy, but the medical drama abruptly decided to write in a storyline where she struggles with OCD. It's exceedingly rare for obsessive-compulsive disorder to have such a late onset in general, but the series practically forgets about Bailey's diagnosis after enough time has passed, making it a fruitless and fairly insulting portrayal of an already grossly misunderstood disorder. "How to Save a Life" Season 11, Episode 21 Unsurprisingly, the death of Derek Shepherd marked the end of an era for Grey's Anatomy, and it has only gotten worse with age. Unfortunately, the character's untimely demise was somewhat inevitable, but how the long-running drama handled it was far from perfect. During a cross-country drive, the beloved Dr. McDreamy pulls over to administer life-saving care to civilians caught in a car crash. Just as he prepares to leave after playing the hero, however, Derek himself is struck by a semi-truck— a climactic moment bogged down by dated graphics and ineffective CGI. To add insult to injury, Grey's Anatomy makes it abundantly clear that Derek could have survived; he was just treated by the wrong doctor. Fans hated the character's sendoff when it first aired, and the resentment has only festered in the last 10 years. "The Room Where It Happens" Season 13, Episode 8 Every show like Grey's Anatomy falls victim to filler episodes, wherein nothing consequential happens, and the overarching plot remains stagnant. Grey's Anatomy itself has had its fair share throughout the past two decades, but "The Room Where It Happens" is by far the most egregious. The Hamilton-titled episode revolves around four surgeons operating on an anonymous patient. They take turns inventing an identity for their John Doe in an effort to humanize him, complete with daydreams of imaginary lives and flashbacks from each character's own emotional history. Admittedly, the episode's greatest crime is that it's boring, but it's undoubtedly an hour most viewers wish they could get back nonetheless. "Danger Zone" Season 14, Episode 5 Owen's role in Grey's Anatomy has always been divisive, but dedicating an entire episode to his savior complex was truly a recipe for disaster. Ignoring the absurdity that his sister, Megan (Abigail Spencer), returned after a decade of being presumed dead, the episode underscores with painful clarity how Owen will constantly try to control the women in his life, from Cristina to Teddy to Megan to Amelia Shepherd (Caterina Scorsone). Plus, "Danger Zone" crushed all hopes of a real relationship between Meredith and Nathan Riggs (Martin Henderson), which made Grey's Anatomy season 14's gratuitous build-up seem all the more worthless. Granted, Riggs never held a candle to Derek, but the swiftness with which he disappeared from Meredith's life was notably jarring. "Leave a Light On" Season 16, Episode 16 Yet, season 16's "Leave a Light On" has the uncontested worst storyline in Grey's Anatomy history. Major character departures are never easy, but most main cast members can find solace in retiring their role with a proper swan song. George's death left viewers reeling, Cristina ran away to live her best life in Switzerland, and even Izzie had an interesting reason to leave. In stark contrast, Alex Karev's exit from Grey's Anatomy felt like a slap in the face for the audience. Rather than safeguard his character's development and his love story with Jo Wilson (Camilla Luddington), Grey's Anatomy wrote out Alex by having him leave his wife because— as the show reveals via three handwritten letters— Izzie secretly had his children five years prior. With only a voice-over and some half-baked metaphors, Grey's Anatomy said goodbye to Alex by making him a coward, a cheater, and a million other atrocities that ruined one of the show's best doctors. Release Date March 27, 2005 Network ABC Directors Rob Corn, Kevin McKidd, Debbie Allen, Chandra Wilson, Allison Liddi-Brown, Jeannot Szwarc, Tony Phelan Cast Ellen Pompeo Dr. Meredith Grey Chandra Wilson Dr. Miranda Bailey Writers Shonda Rhimes, Julie Wong, Jen Klein, Tameson Duffy, Meg Marinis Creator(s) Shonda Rhimes, Michelle Lirtzman