The Disaster Timeline
The Beginning of the End
Meredith Grey starts her internship at Seattle Grace Hospital and sleeps with her boss, Derek Shepherd, before knowing who he is. Izzie, George, Cristina, and Alex round out the intern group.
Grumpy's Take:
"Where it all started. Meredith sleeps with the boss (HR nightmare), George is pathetic, and everyone is way too attractive for people who work 80-hour weeks."
Denny Duquette & The Bomb
Izzie falls for a patient, Denny Duquette, and cuts his LVAD wire. Meredith puts her hand on a bomb in a body cavity. Addison Shepherd arrives to ruin Meredith's life.
Grumpy's Take:
"Izzie commits a felony for a guy she just met. Meredith has a death wish involving explosives. And Derek is still married. Great choices all around."
The Ferry Boat Incident
Meredith almost drowns. Burke leaves Cristina at the altar. George marries Callie in Vegas. The interns take their medical boards.
Grumpy's Take:
"Meredith turns blue. Cristina gets eyebrows shaved off. George makes the worst marital decision in history. Just a mess."
The Post-It Note
Meredith and Derek get back together but break up again. Then they get back together and 'marry' on a post-it note. Lexie Grey arrives as an intern.
Grumpy's Take:
"A legal contract on a piece of stationery? Sure, that'll hold up in court. Also, Lexie is too perky for her own good."
Ghost Sex & The Elevator
Izzie has a brain tumor and sees Denny's ghost. Owen Hunt arrives and chokes Cristina in her sleep. Derek proposes in an elevator.
Grumpy's Take:
"We're doing ghost sex now? Really? And Owen Hunt arrives to start his reign of terror on everyone's happiness."
The Shooter
Seattle Grace merges with Mercy West. Izzie leaves Alex. A grieving widower comes to the hospital with a gun in the season finale.
Grumpy's Take:
"The merger brings in people we hate (Percy, Reed). Then the finale happens and suddenly we're all traumatized. Thanks, Shonda."
The Musical Episode
Callie and Arizona get married after a car crash. Everyone sings 'How to Save a Life'. Meredith messes with the Alzheimer's trial for Adele.
Grumpy's Take:
"Doctors singing while operating? No. Just no. Also, Meredith commits fraud (again). Is anyone watching these people?"
The Plane Crash
The residents take their boards. A plane crash in the finale kills Lexie and eventually Mark. Arizona loses her leg.
Grumpy's Take:
"Everyone dies in the woods. It's miserable. We lost Mark and Lexie, the only couple that actually made sense."
Buying the Hospital
The survivors buy the hospital and rename it Grey Sloan Memorial. Bailey gets OCD. Adele dies.
Grumpy's Take:
"They become the board of directors? They can barely manage their own love lives. Now they run a hospital?"
Cristina Leaves
Cristina Yang leaves for Switzerland to run a cardio institute. Meredith and Derek fight about his job in DC.
Grumpy's Take:
"The only sensible person (Cristina) leaves the show. Now we're stuck with everyone else."
Derek Dies
Derek Shepherd dies after a car accident due to incompetent doctors. Meredith disappears for a year and has a secret baby.
Grumpy's Take:
"McDreamy is McDead because he stopped his car in the middle of the road to answer a phone. Classic."
Penny Comes to Dinner
The doctor who killed Derek comes to a dinner party at Meredith's house. Callie and Arizona fight for custody of Sofia.
Grumpy's Take:
"The most awkward dinner party in history. And Callie decides to move across the country for a resident she's known for five minutes."
The Fire
Alex beats up DeLuca. Stephanie Edwards sets a rapist on fire and leaves. Minnick tries to change the teaching program.
Grumpy's Take:
"Alex almost goes to jail. Stephanie is a hero but leaves anyway. And Minnick is the most annoying character since... well, everyone else."
Weed Cookies
The doctors accidentally eat weed cookies. April has a crisis of faith. Arizona leaves for New York.
Grumpy's Take:
"Finally, a funny episode with the cookies. But then April marries Matthew (the guy she left at the altar)? Lazy writing."
Season of Love (Barf)
Meredith dates DeLuca. Teddy is pregnant with Owen's baby. Jo meets her birth mother.
Grumpy's Take:
"Meredith dating a resident? We've seen this movie before. And Owen is still making everyone miserable."
Alex Leaves via Letters
Alex Karev leaves Jo to be with Izzie and their secret twins. He explains it all in letters.
Grumpy's Take:
"Character assassination at its finest. 16 seasons of development flushed down the toilet for secret farm twins."
The COVID Beach
Meredith gets COVID and hallucinates dead people on a beach. DeLuca dies chasing a sex trafficker.
Grumpy's Take:
"We spent an entire year watching Meredith sleep on a beach. Riveting television."
Nick Marsh Returns
Meredith splits time between Seattle and Minnesota. She dates Nick Marsh. The residency program is shut down.
Grumpy's Take:
"The hospital is falling apart (again). Meredith tries to leave (again). And we're supposed to care about Nick Marsh?"
The New Interns
A new group of interns arrives that mirrors the original MAGIC 5. Meredith leaves for Boston. Ellen Pompeo steps back.
Grumpy's Take:
"They rebooted the show with new babies. Meredith finally escapes, but we're still here."
The Strike
Teddy collapses. The interns are in trouble. Everyone is fighting.
Grumpy's Take:
"20 seasons. 20 years. And they still haven't figured out how to run a hospital without constant disaster."