Greetings, reader!
My Grey's Anatomy theme month continues, with this week's specific topic being the show's best characters. With a combination of various factors such as likability and emotional investment, character writing and arch, entertainment value, acting performance and significance to the the show's DNA, these are the very best characters from the massive main cast the series has provided over the years.
A spoiler alert is in order: specific plot points will be discussed, as the post is aimed at people who have watched the series.
Here are my honorable mentions: Andrew DeLuca (Giacomo Gianniotti), April Kepner (Sarah Drew), Arizona Robbins (Jessica Capshaw), Jo Wilson (Camilla Luddington), Lexie Grey (Chyler Leigh).
10. Mark Sloan (Eric Dane, Season 2-9)
The character of Dr. Mark Sloan, remembered by many as 'McSteamy', works well for several reasons. The obvious one is his redemption arch - the way he's brought into the series makes you feel sure you'll never the like the guy, as we've been treated to a bunch of antagonistic lore before we even meet him for the first time. However, he gradually grows in a realistic-feeling way, and no matter how against him a viewer like myself has been at the start, he will end up melting your heart with antics like the plastics posse, Sofia's parenting trio and the star-crossed romance between him and Lexie.
Of course, Eric Dane is great in the role throughout it all - which means that even before he becomes especially likable, the character is extremely entertaining and great pot-stirring content for all the relationship drama in the series.
9. Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey, Season 1-11)
I swear, it's a coincidence that I have McSteamy and McDreamy ranked in immediate succession. But yeah, Derek is a complex one - he could be annoying as hell at his worst, and the character writing wasn't always consistent. But, ask yourself: can you imagine Grey's Anatomy without Derek? Yes, I'm obviously aware that we've gotten ten seasons of Grey's without him after the character's death, but I mean it in the sense of imagining the series from its beginning without the character's existence.
Derek is absolutely one of the most inherent characters to the show's DNA. As the larger-than-life love interest of protagonist Meredith Grey, and just as a character who became a household name and pop culture phenomenon due to his charm, chemistry with Meredith, incredible hair and perfection of the 'handsome doctor character' archetype, Derek is rightfully one of the most iconic characters in the series, even despite all his flaws. And let's face it, most humans are complex, and Derek was so endearing at his best that it more or less makes up for the moments of frustrating arrogance.
8. Amelia Shepherd (Caterina Scorsone, Season 10-)
The show itself was better in the era where 'Dr. Shepherd' referred to Derek and not his sister Amelia, but as a character, Amelia is more complete, more likable, better-written, and just more my Dr. Shepherd in every possible way. Like her brother, Amelia is a complex character with her share of demons, but her 'flaws' come from a much more understantable and sympathetic place (one is a conventionally successful family favorite whose privilege often lead to an arrogant and dismissive attitude, while the other is the family's 'black sheep' who has had to struggle with anxiety, depression and addiction, and has had to constantly prove herself to everyone throughout her life).
The storylines of Amelia dealing with her mental health and other issues while balancing them with her tormented-genius career and turbulent love life are gripping and inspiring. In a show filled to the brim with strong female characters, she is one of the biggest badasses, and a character you really grow to care about as a viewer.
7. Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo, Season 1-)
"You can't work on your family"
"Everybody in this damn room is her family"
From what I've gathered, Meredith is a bit of an opinion-splitting protagonist, with some viewers feeling like she's constantly outshined by supporting cast members while others feel that she absolutely is the personification of the series. I see both points - she is less of a unique/colorful personality than many of the characters in the ensemble, but I completely see that as a purposeful choice from showrunner Shonda Rhimes and company - it's not like they forgot to write a vibrant personality for Meredith, but rather that a relatively stable and 'normal' personality in the main character works wonders for this particular show. The main character of a TV series is like the striker of a football team, and while many protagonists are the show-stealing goalscoring Haaland type, Meredith Grey is more of a Thierry Henry type, using the position to selflessly make everyone around her better and only taking the spotlight when needed.
Also, in a show largely reliant on emotionally invested viewers caring about the characters and having their heartstrings tugged, very few are as strongly care-worthy as Meredith. While she might be slightly less entertaining than some of the characters (again, a purposeful choice and not an oversight), one thing she has going on for her is that she goes through a lot over the course of the series - losing her mother, losing her husband, losing her sister, losing a fuck-bunch of friends, having a miscarriage while being trapped in a mass shooting, barely surviving a drowning incident, barely surviving a car crash, barely surviving a plane crash, barely surviving physical assault and barely surviving not one but two explosions in the hospital are just some examples. The strength showcased by the character, as she survives all this baggage and continues to practice medicine no matter what obstacles life throws at her, is inspiring and beautiful.
6. Callie Torres (Sara Ramirez, Season 2-13)
While I do like and care about a vast majority of the show's major characters (and even Owen Hunt has his moments), I do admit that they're all very flawed. That's very much the point in a series focused on relationship drama, but as someone who likes to like people, it helps when there are some characters you can stand behind at any given time. Out of all the doctors in Seattle Grace (later Grey Sloan Memorial), Callie Torres is probably the closest to this.
Of course, even Callie has her bad moments, like any fleshed-out character is bound to. But in a vast majority of situations, I found myself on Callie's side in any given conflict, and it's nice to have an emotional support character you can root for and rely on to such a degree. Sara Ramirez is a wonderful actor, and they put so much effort into playing Callie, who left a huge mark on the show by being one of its most consistent, lovable and badass characters.
5. Alex Karev (Justin Chambers, Season 1-16)
You'll probably hear the same take from any given Grey's Anatomy fan - with Dr. Karev, it's all about the arch. Even more so than with the case of Mark Sloan, Alex begins his journey as a massive, massive asshole, someone I truly despised when watching the first season. Then, you start to learn his backstory. And follow how he grows in the present day, with important character relationships (romantic ones with Izzie and later Jo, as well as his friendships with Meredith and Arizona) helping him learn, mature, and change his behavior.
Throughout all of this, Justin Chambers is pure dynamite in the role, selling the smug jerk -moments just as believably as the heartfelt moments where you think about how much Alex has been through and just want to give the guy a hug. One of television's finest character archs.
4. Jackson Avery (Jesse Williams, Season 6-17)
Okay, perhaps Jackson (especially in his later seasons) goes even ahead of Callie, or at least onto the same level, in terms of likability. What started out as an average-seeming, by-the-numbers character grew into a massive favorite of mine during his twelve seasons in the show's main cast, thanks to elements like Jesse Williams' role performance, the character's larger-than-life relationship with April Kepner, and the opinion-dividing writing decision to more or less turn the character into a mouthpiece for the many social statements the politically charged series was keen on making.
I can see how the lastly mentioned element would rub many viewers the wrong way (as proven by many angry IMDB reviews). But for someone like me who shares the showrunners' left-wing views and appreciates TV shows using their platform to highlight important issues by integrating them into their stories, it felt powerful and relatable to follow how Jackson became more and more aware of, and invested in, the social injustices in the world of medicine, and became a real warrior on that front. No other character caused as many inspired fist pumps in this viewer than him. The way he was written out really amplifies this, and it's nice to think that currently in the show's timeline he's still out there, fighting the good fight.
3. Richard Webber (James Pickens Jr., Season 1-)
Yeah, we love Hospital Dad. Yes, he has his flaws like anyone in the show, but Hospital Dad loves the hospital and its doctors with an unwavering passion, and the warmth eminating from him turns the characters around him into better versions of themselves. This makes it all the more heartbreaking when he deals with struggles like alcoholism, or the two love-of-his-life women both dealing with Alzheimer's disease. Thankfully, for a lot of the time, Hospital Dad gets to be the comic relief of the show (especially in his post-chief years), with just the right brand of dry, dorky humor.
But, yeah, the lore behind this character and his vastly complicated character relationships is an almost mythical theme in the show. This goes for his friendship with Bailey, his sort-of father-daughter-but-it's-severely-complicated relationship with Meredith, his romantic relationship with Adele and later Catherine - and of course the Richard-Ellis lore, which is the most significant (and heart-piercing) piece of backstory in Grey's Anatomy. The episodes focusing on their past are among the show's best.
2. Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh, Season 1-10)
Sandra Oh's career-defining performance is more or less synonymous with the series itself in pop culture, and for good reason. As much as Grey's tries and succeeds to be an ensemble-driven show with the large cast taking turns in the spotlight, there's no getting around the fact that Cristina manages to steal the show in a vast majority of her scenes. She's just such a well-rounded and complete character - all of her actions, decisions and lines of dialogue are consistent, fleshing Cristina out to the point of feeling like a real person you know and love. While I had my reasons to continue watching the series from season 10 onward, I do admit that a part of the show died when she left for Switzerland (the only exit arch even better than Jackson's) and things were never quite the same.
While one must appreciate Shonda and her writing team for envisioning a character like Cristina, the lion's share of my praise towards the character has to be directed at Sandra Oh - as good as the character is on paper, the concept of her wouldn't be a top five character if she was played by a lesser actress. Sandra Oh made the character her own, adding brilliant nuance and variety to Cristina - she always had her 'default setting' nailed down to perfection, and whatever nuance a specific scene would call for, be it emotional vulnerability or dry humor or sexual tension or painful conflict or literally anything the script needed, she would simply add that layer while keeping in the believably same character. Absolute brilliance.
1. Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson, Season 1-)
There are countless reasons why for me, Doctor Miranda Bailey will always be the best. Let's start off with the fact that her chief-of-surgery arch was written in the stars to an epic degree; despite being a mere resident when the show begins, it is always in the cards through subtle hints in the dialogue, becoming more and more obvious as the show progresses, that becoming chief is simply her destiny. It's because of this that in a series where the chief changes every few years, her assuming of the position in the season 12 premiere is the only time I was moved to tears from the selection of a new chief. I felt so deeply how this was something the character has wanted (and worked her ass off for) for so long. Her tenure as chief seemed like the series in its final form, and the seasons with post-Bailey chiefs have felt like an epilogue or a slightly different show.
Furthermore, Bailey hits a great many superlatives - she's the arguably funniest character on the show, but also the one with the most heart (who am I kidding - she is the beating heart of the show if you ask me). In a series delightfully full of strong women, she is the ever-reigning queen, not taking bullshit from anyone. She's flawed like anyone on the show, but unlike many characters, she's aware of her flaws and is constantly trying to learn and adapt - this can be seen from her marriage with Ben Warren being the healthiest romantic relationship in the series by a country mile, the storyline of Bailey dealing with her OCD diagnosis and its implications, and her general character growth from the distant and mean resident with an unfortunate nickname we meet in the pilot episode to the warm and lovable (but still someone you do not want to mess with) character we know and love today.
Many of the show's most emotionally powerful moments have to do with Bailey, because she encapsulates so much of what makes the series great - her victories feel like victories for the whole hospital, just like her losses are mourned by all those around her. Quite simply, as an invested viewer who cares about all the major characters, there is no one I care as deeply about in the series as the fragile yet powerful, complicated yet consistent, utterly magnificent Doctor Miranda Bailey.
Thank you for reading! Tune in next week as I continue my Grey's Anatomy theme month with a ranking of the show's saddest deaths.
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