Grey’s Anatomy has had a long run, with 19 seasons since 2005. With such length, many characters have come and gone throughout the show. While some provided great moments, others brought the show into lulls. This list highlights the best and worst of the series. 

Bests:

Lexi, the younger sister of Meredith, joined the show in season 3. While her introduction originally caused chaos within the hospital due to her relation to Meredith, she changed the show for the better. Even though there were some missteps along the way, she was always trying her best and dedicated to her work. Her relationship with Mark was iconic, capturing some of the best moments of the show. Her screen time was always worthwhile, making her one of the top characters on the show.

Mark, another originally problematic character from his relationship with Addison, later became a fan-favorite on the show. He always had the most interesting storylines, and his personality provided a welcome excitement. Despite having many relationships, he was always caring towards the one’s he truly loved, as shown for his care for Lexi and his daughter, Sofia. These changes in actions accumulated to his tragic death, which continued to radiate throughout the later seasons.

Christina, one of the original six, lasted 11 seasons before leaving for Switzerland. She was always the rock of the group, keeping them all together. Without Christina, I don’t believe they all would have made it as far as they did. She acted as an amazing friend to Meredith, through all her struggles with Derek, even when she wasn’t as supportive. She was driven throughout the show to become a cardiac surgeon, which allowed her to have a successful career. 

Alex is an impressive character. An insane amount of character development allowed his personality to completely change throughout the series. While originally coming off as rude and self-absorbed, he transitioned into a caring and generous character. Madison Lewin, a junior at BHS, said, “Alex Karev is my favorite character of all time. His character development was absolutely incredible and just his entire personality.” He ended his time on the show as Head of Pediatrics, furthering illustrating his growth. His exit, though, may change your idea of his growth after he leaves Jo, his wife of many years, and lets her know through a letter.

Jo is another terrific character. Her past plagued by struggle, becoming homeless at 16, Jo was forced to persevere most of her life. Despite this, she was still able to become a successful surgeon. Not only this but, she was always a joy in her scenes. Her relationship with Alex was fun and enjoyable to watch. When the show was heading downhill, her appearance brought new and interesting storylines that caused her to become an important character. 

Worsts:

While Izzie did have her highlights on the show, her many problematic actions caused her ranking in the five worst characters. Her relationship with a patient, Denny Duqette, caused her to cut his LVAD wire to ensure he received a heart transplant that was going to go to another patient. The heart was wasted as soon after Denny died from a stroke. Although she cared greatly about the one’s she loved, it caused her to disregard others. Even after being gone for over ten seasons, she still caused problems, after she had Alex’s children without his knowledge, causing him to leave Jo.

Maggie caused problems the second she joined Grey Sloan as her arrival revealed Ellis and Richard had a child together. Her father, Richard was married to Catherine, the mother of Jackson. Even with this relation, the two decided to date. She dated her brother. Also, against advice, she operated on a family member that she had recently met, and a small mistake from not knowing the policy of another hospital resulted in their death. She brought her grief on everyone else as after she refused to work and brought down all others that tried to help her.

Rebecca wreaked havoc across season 3 of Grey’s, causing many to want to forget her existence. While initially seeming as a regular patient, her actions soon changed opinions. When first appearing, she had lost her memory after an accident, but even when the past returns, she refuses to go back to her life. The pressures of her life fell upon Alex, causing struggle within his life.

Despite only appearing for a couple of episodes, within Sadie’s time on the show she caused many problems. As practice, the interns were performing medical treatments on one another. Sadie took this a step too far when she let another intern perform an appendectomy on her. When the appendix was inflamed they were forced to get help, revealing their actions. Throughout her time in the hospital her knowledge was behind that of her peers that led her to quit to avoid the humiliation of being fired.

Penny is a hard character not to hate. She killed Derek. Even though she was the only person in the hospital who knew what to actually do to help Derek, her inability to advocate for herself resulted in his death. Soon after she joined Grey Sloan’s team, but without mentioning her actions. Gianna Gravelli, a BHS junior said, “Penny is a bad character because she was one of the reasons Derek died and it was horrible she came to Meredith’s Thanksgiving celebration and she had a huge nerve showing up and not saying anything about killing her husband.” She should have known her role in Derek’s death made her incompatible with the hospital, and her stay lasted longer than it should have. 

Especially with so many characters, a few were definitely not needed and the show could have done better without. But others’ time on the show are what caused the show to be so popular and engaging. Despite some characters having their problems, Grey’s Anatomy is always a great watch.