My Grey's Anatomy Hot Takes

Grey's Anatomy is a show that has been around since 2005, but only entered my life in Fall 2023. I became interested after seeing the discussion on social media.

I did go into the show knowing about major spoilers like people's deaths, the plane crash, the shooting, etc. One thing that I love about the show is that there is no right or wrong answer sometimes. It handles very real and controversial topics, especially when considering the time it aired. This allows for bountiful discussion among fans with different values, opinions, and beliefs.

There will be spoilers ahead.

1. Izzie should have lost her medical license after she cut the LVAD wire

After falling deeply in love with her patient, who needed an LVAD to keep his heart beating, she decided to cut his LVAD wire in order to move him higher on the transplant list. One hospital had two hearts available. Denny's didn't survive, leaving one heart for two patients.

Izzie wasn't ever my favorite character, but she especially lost my respect when she cut Denny Duquette's LVAD wire. She wasn't Denny's doctor. Cutting that LVAD wire took the heart away from someone else. After Denny receives the heart, he dies from a stroke. Every second that the doctors fought over the heart stole time from the healthy heart. That specific heart was intended for a different dying patient who had a family and wanted to fight to live. Denny expressed that he wanted to sign a DNR. Although an awful situation, Izzie's actions here were selfish and not ethically driven.

Preston Burke got shot trying to get to her, which led to a myriad of other issues. Her colleagues were kind in protecting her. I was shocked when she wasn't fired immediately, but she resigned and came back later.

2. April Kepner shouldn't have been fired for her error in Season 6

If Izzie didn't lose her job for purposefully sabotaging a patient's medical care, then April shouldn't have lost her job for an accident.

During a very busy ER day, a woman comes in after a fire and April gets distracted by the chaos and forgets to look at the back of her throat. During the episode, we get all of the doctors' perspectives on the situation. The patient was handed off to many doctors and, for the most part, was overlooked by all of them. Part of me hopes that after this mistake, the hospital changed its policies on how to handle intense trauma situations to avoid such a reckless handoff of patients to surgeons. Then, the other part of me remembers this is fiction.

Doctors in that hospital make fatal mistakes all of the time. In season two, Alex Karev kills a patient by accidentally ordering the wrong dosage of the patient's medicine. He hadn't passed his intern boards at this point and easily could have been fired for that.

April should have faced a suspension or other punishment. Webber firing her was unwarranted. There is also brief mention of budget issues leading to this decision, but there were also for Izzie. It felt unfair for April.

I'm glad that they gave her another chance later in the show.

3. Cristina needs to stay single

Cristina Yang is my favorite character because her ambition and goals never wavered. The bond she shared with Meredith felt like the show's emotional anchor, and I love the depiction of a "soulmate" friendship that doesn't rely on romance. While her confidence was construed as cockiness, it was always backed by undeniable brilliance. She was a character who knew exactly who she was and what she wanted, making her dedication to surgery both inspiring and formidable.

Ultimately, her relationships weren't ever healthy because she would always prioritize her career above all else, which was a choice that her partners struggled to respect. There was a clear disconnect with both Preston Burke and Owen Hunt, as we saw how hard it was for her to open up to people about her personal life. All she wanted to do and talk about was surgery. This was most evident when she told Teddy that she could have Owen if it meant Teddy stayed to mentor her. While her clarity of purpose is admirable, it’s unfortunate she chose partners whose life goals were misaligned with her own.

With Owen specifically, she made this extremely clear. She told him that she would never want children and that this wouldn't change. He pushed back so strongly, believing that she would change her mind. She knew who she was and he didn't want to believe it. They shouldn't have ever gotten married.

Although I am not a big fan of Shane Ross, his values aligned with Cristina's. He dropped everything in Seattle and moved to Switzerland without a second thought just to keep learning from her.

In my opinion, she needs to be single or find someone who will put their relationship second, just like her.

4. Teddy should have ended up with Tom Koracick

For the majority of Grey's Anatomy, Teddy's main character trait is "is in love with Owen, can't have him." While they served in Iran together, he was engaged. When they came back, Owen started seeing Cristina.

As a viewer who doesn't like Owen, I find it hard to watch and believe that so many people think so highly of him. However, Teddy spends most of her time pining after him, pre and post-Henry.

However, Tom Koracick was a much better match for her. Teddy spent so long pining after Owen that it became her norm. He was finally looking at her the same way that she'd been looking at him, but it wasn't healthy. A day after sleeping with Amelia, Owen travels to Germany and impregnates Teddy. She finally thinks she can be with him. Then, she discovers his family. One of Owen's main problems is that he can't be single. He doesn't know who he is without a partner.

Tom was much kinder to Teddy and could love her more than Owen is capable of. Tom built them a crib for their baby. He supported her during pregnancy more than Owen did. Lastly, and most importantly, Tom loved Teddy simply for her brilliance and personality. He adored her. He was even willing to be her secret affair from Owen, doing anything he could to be with her.

Owen and Teddy's complicated history should not have won here. Owen has done unforgivable things to Teddy, including the situation with Henry's death. Tom saw Teddy as a real, beautiful person. Owen saw her as his next wife.

At the time I'm writing this, it's been announced that Teddy and Owen are leaving, but the episodes where that's happened haven't been released yet. Who knows what could happen?

5. The Show Should Keep Airing

The most commonly discussed opinion that I see about Grey's Anatomy is whether or not it should still be releasing new seasons. The main comments on all of their posts consist of "they're tired" or "the show's gone on too long."

I am afraid that most of the people making these comments are not actually fans of the show. In my opinion, people who watch the show should be the only people making these types of comments.

With that said, I don't want it to end, although I do understand the fans who do. Most of the beloved characters are gone by now, the episodes don't have the same magic as they used to, and a lot of the acting could use work. However, I love having something to look forward to every week, whether or not the episodes suck. This is my comfort show.

Opinions aside, I also appreciate how the show takes a stance and advocates for medical real-world issues. Although I do love watching the show as a distraction from reality, I do think there are important conversations that need to happen and I appreciate the show using its large platform to address complex topics.

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Ultimately, Grey's Anatomy works because it doesn't always give us a "right" answer. Whether it's the frustration of Izzie's LVAD mistake versus April’s firing, or the fact that Cristina always prioritized herself over unhealthy partners, the show thrives on these messy, debatable choices.