"Shut up! No one is leaving and no one is dying."
—Meredith Grey 2x26 "Deterioration of the Fight or Flight Response"
"It's not the same. Nothing is the same. Everyone is leaving and everyone is dying."
—Meredith Grey 9x01 "Going, Going, Gone"
This is a character page for former main characters of the Grey's Anatomy shows: this means that they left the show on which they were a main character before that show ended.
open/close all folders
Meredith Grey
Dr. Meredith Grey (Portrayed by Ellen Pompeo)
Appears in Grey's Anatomy (S1-present); The Video Game; Station 19 (S1)
"I'm a doctor. Dr. Grey. I'm a surgeon, just like my husband was. I know how this works. You've waited the requisite number of hours, and now you can officially declare him dead. Normally, you'd talk to me about organ donation. But by the looks of his chart, there's not much left that works to donate. So, the ICU needs a bed. Those must be the papers... the papers you want me to sign to decide what to do with my husband... Now that he's dead, but not really dead. [...] Does that about cover it, doctor? Is that what you want to talk to me about... while I sit here with my sleeping children? You want to talk about killing my husband? Give me the papers."
Meredith Grey is the Narrator for the series, giving a voice-over dialogue for every episode (with very few exceptions). Daughter of a world-famous surgeon, she has been dogged by allegations of nepotism—especially after she also found out that she was sleeping with her boss, also-world-class neurosurgeon Derek Shepherd. The show follows her adventures as she attempts to navigate the world of internship (and eventually residency) at Seattle-Grace Hospital. As the star of a medical drama, Meredith deals with a lot of crap.
- Abusive Parents:
- Ellis Grey was extremely negligent and incredibly harsh to Meredith. As Alzheimer's sets in, we get scenes of her yelling about how little she respects her daughter.
- Her father, Thatcher, flat-out abandoned them both in Meredith's childhood and again in adulthood.
- Aloof Big Sister: Is this to Lexie at first, but thaws the ice as the two grow closer.
- Broken Bird: Whooo boy! One has to wonder if Shonda Rimes has an enemy out there named Meredith Grey for all of the crappy things that happen to Meredith starting from before the show even starts, never mind what comes after.
- Character Development: In the fourth season, she starts talking therapy and begins to actually acknowledge and address her problems.
- Character Title: The show is called Grey's Anatomy for a reason.
- Cool Big Sis: Eventually evolves into this for Lexie.
- Disappeared Dad: Her dad abandoned Meredith and her mother when she was a child.
- Drowning My Sorrows: Meredith and tequila.
- The Eeyore: To the point she used to call herself "dark and twisted". Eventually with Character Development (and a little help from therapy) she grows out of it a good deal.
- Happily Married: To Derek. Initially anyway.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Cristina. So much that Meredith mentioned that she was the third wheel of her mariage, which is incidentally falling apart now that she left. She even wonders if she is the love of her life, but makes it clear she is not attracted to her at all in a sexual way.
- In-Series Nickname: Following her plane crash, she became a frightening attending, described as a monster of mythic proportions, awarding her the nickname of Medusa.
- It's All About Me: Constantly.
- She essentially monopolizes the grief over Derek's death.
- Worst offense though is probably the episode "Crash Into Me" where an ambulance has crashed and overturned, two paramedics suspended upside-down inside the rig, one of them dying. As Meredith watches his panicking wife weep and plead for him to stay with her, all she can think about is this:
Meredith: I've never met her before and yet I'm the person who handed her the worst day of her life. In her story, that's who I am. That's who I'll always be.- A recurring theme is her rash decisions, made altruistically but seemingly without regard for how they will inevitably affect those close to her. She's the typical Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right! character archetype, but this not only set her back, but also put others' careers in jeopardy.
- In Season 7, she ruins Derek's Alzheimer's trial by putting Adele Webber among the patients receiving the drug instead of the placebo. She did this to help Webber's wife, but when the truth comes out, she's not the only one who almost loses her job: Derek's trial is ruined, and Webber has to step down as chief, taking the blame for her. Even worse, she kidnaps her and Derek's newly adopted child, Zola, to prevent her from being taken away. Again, she did it to protect the child, but she did it with total disregard for how it would affect other people's lives, because Derek ends up having his Alzheimer's drug trial ruined and his child taken away by social services. He himself calls out Meredith for this. Not to mention that their actions are in vain, as Adele doesn't get the drug anyway, as the trial is stopped.
- In season 15 she treats an uninsured patient and loses her job for it. She knew this could happen but, again, this also leads to Webber and Alex to lose their jobs for finding out what she did and then trying to cover for her, instead of reporting her. Of course, she did what she did to protect someone else, but in the end it's only Rule of Drama that allows her to avoid jail and, along with everyone else, to keep their jobs.
- Looking for Love in All the Wrong Places: Before settling down with Derek.
- Love Triangle: With Derek and a variety of other men, such as Finn. Also with Derek and Addison.
- Missing Mom: Loses her biological mother in 3x17, though this allows her to bond with her father's new wife Susan. Then she dies six episodes later.
- Morality Pet:
- For Richard, who sees her as a daughter due to her being the child of the woman he loved as well as having seen her growing up from afar.
- Also for Alex. Though they were at odds with each other at first, Meredith eventually became one of the few people Alex would open up and talk to aside from Izzie (who was his Love Interest and who he had a Slap-Slap-Kiss relationship for the most part anyway). Indeed when he tells on Meredith on season eight, Cristina calls him on it by saying that he has just hurt the one person who ever cared about him.
- Platonic Life-Partners: with Alex, especially after Cristina leaves in season 10.
- Really Gets Around: Before her relationship with Derek stabilized, she was in the habit of getting drunk and picking up random men for one night stands.
- 10-Minute Retirement: Along with the other plane crash survivors to protest the sale to Pegasus.
- Trauma Conga Line: She's the star of a Medical Drama. What do you expect?
- To elaborate: she has a Disappeared Dad, a famous surgeon mother who was very cold towards her and believed her to be average. Then, when she joins Seattle Grace as a surgeon, she has to deal with even more hardships which stretch the lines of a medical soap opera. This includes stopping a bomb with her finger during surgery, witnessing her husband get shot, being held at gunpoint, miscarrying, losing her husband in a car crash, being assaulted by a patient. At one point, she died (though got better).
- "Well Done, Daughter" Gal: Toward her mother. Her father too, to a lesser extent.
- You All Meet in a Bar: How she met Derek.
Derek Shepherd
Dr. Derek Shepherd (Portrayed by Patrick Dempsey)
Dubbed by: Damien Boisseau (European French)
Appeared in Grey's Anatomy (S1-11); Private Practice (S2, S5); The Video Game
"It's a beautiful day to save lives everyone. Let's have some fun."
"Breakthroughs don't happen because of the medicine. Real breakthroughs happen because someone is scared to death to stop trying."
Our first sight of Meredith Grey, in the pilot episode, was of her waking up naked on the couch, realizing she was late for her first day as an intern at Seattle Grace, and shooing her one-night-stand partner out the door. Our first sight of Derek Shepherd, new Seattle Grace hire and God Of Neurosurgery, was when Meredith was assigned to his service and recognized him as her one-night-stand partner. Despite Meredith's concerns over sleeping with her boss, the two entered into a functional relationship... Only to have it disrupted by the arrival of Derek's estranged-but-still-legally-wed ex. And then the second season started and things got really complicated.
- And Starring: Credited as "And Patrick Dempsey"
- Beard of Sorrow: Grows one in season five during his Heroic BSoD arc.
- Career-Ending Injury: Damages his hand in the plane crash, causing him to only get 80% function back and his hand going numb during a surgery. Eventually fixed.
- Catchphrase: "It's a beautiful day to save lives."
- Da Chief: Briefly in season six, resigns following the shooting.
- Death by Irony: Dies of an undetected brain bleed, with his internal narration knowing exactly what to do without being able to communicate, but especially because the only neuro guy at the podunk hospital he's taken to is at a big dinner and doesn't want to leave, with Derek open on the table for hours. When his doctors find out that they just killed the damn best neurosurgeon in America because of missing a CT they get some BSODs, Penny especially.
- Happily Married: To Meredith, despite their issues.
- He Is All Grown Up: Although we don't get to see the transformation for ourselves, he reveals to Bailey that he was a skinny acne-ridden band nerd with bad hair in high school, as opposed to the McDreamy we know today.
- Hospital Hottie: Known around the hospital as McDreamy.
- In-Series Nickname: McDreamy.
- Killed Off for Real: In season 11 episode 21, from a head injury.
- Knight in Sour Armor: ...Or, in the alternate universe, McDreary.
- Mr. Fanservice: Had a couple scenes where he was shirtless, and even one scene when he is supposedly completely naked because he and Meredith were making out in the living room and were caught during the act. With time passing, he no longer provided this service, leaving this job to Mark Sloan and Avery.
- Love Triangle: With Meredith on one corner and either Addison or Nurse Rose on the other.
- 10-Minute Retirement: Along with the other plane crash survivors to protest the sale to Pegasus.
- With a Friend and a Stranger: Arguably this with Mark and Owen. Mark and Derek grew up together and Owen was introduced pretty dramatically out of nowhere in Season 5. All three eventually become good friends.
Cristina Yang
Dr. Cristina Yang (Portrayed by Sandra Oh)
Appeared in Grey's Anatomy (S1-10, S14); The Video Game
”I'm laughing, just not externally.”
"Oh, screw beautiful. I'm brilliant. If you want to appease me, compliment my brain. "
Meredith's BFF—or "person," in the show's parlance—Cristina (no H) is an Insufferable Genius whom Meredith nonetheless takes to. Bluntly sarcastic, Married to the Job and unashamedly ambitious, she has chosen to specialize in heart surgery, and is known to jump at the opportunity to do cutting-edge, impressive operations. Sandra Oh won a Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe for the role after the show's first season.
- Cool Teacher: Not only has one in the person of Mr. Feeny, but (much to the audience's surprise) becomes one as an attending surgeon supervising the latest crop of interns.
- Deadpan Snarker: Her most defining trait, along with her being an exceptional surgeon, which naturally leads to her being an Insufferable Genius.
- Defrosting the Ice Queen: We're still in the defrosting process, but she's gotten much, much better. Lampshaded by Bailey in season 9 when she notices Cristina starts to show that she cares about her interns and even gave Bailey relationship advice.
- Designated Victim: While there's plenty of trauma to go around the whole cast, it seems like most season have a story arc that causes Cristina to become a sobbing wreck.
- Disappeared Dad: Her biological father was killed in a car crash when Cristina was 9. She tried to hold his chest back together with her hands. It didn't work.
- High-Powered Career Woman: Cristina is the medical field take on this trope. She sees cardiac surgery as her calling, is unabashedly ambitious, and has the surgical skill and talent to back it up. She's cold and calculating, has a veritable house of emotional walls built up, and is willing to do just about anything to ensure she climbs to the top of the cardiac surgical world, which endears her to very few of her peers outside of Meredith, her "twisted sister." Over the series, she is constantly battling with chasing her ambitions and figuring out just where romantic love and family fit in, if they can: she sacrifices her own credibility to help Burke out in surgery when he suffers hand tremmors both out of love and for a chance to perform surgeries and twice she spirals after realizing she's pregnant, despite never wanting children of her own because it would take time away from her career.
- Genius Slob: Her personal hygiene is fine as you'd expect of a surgeon but in episode 10 of season 2 we see her apartment is close to Trash of the Titans level of messiness as opposed to Burke's place which she claims would be clean enough to perform surgery in.. She even tells Burke that she hired a maid once, but she ran away.
- Good Girls Avoid Abortion: Averted when she gets one in the eighth season premiere, leading to tension with Owen.
- Heroic BSoD: In season seven following the shooting in the season six finale. Again after the events of season 8.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Meredith, sometimes to the point of overshadowing her actual marriage.
- Hot for Student: Shacked up with her cardio professor while at Stanford.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Cristina let Owen go in the Season 9 finale so that he can have a family of his own as Cristina did not want to be a mother.
- Karma Houdini: An odd example. Though plenty of horrible stuff happens to Cristina on a more or less regular basis, it's all mostly random. Whenever she does something wrong, however, especially in regards to believing she's above the rules whenever she disagrees with them, she is never punished, only rewarded, which leads to absolutely no character development in regards to her arrogance.
- Star-Crossed Lovers: Cristina and Owen love each other but have faced countless obstacles in their relationship and break up every season (But eventually they get back together. This remains to be seen in Season 10)
- 10-Minute Retirement: Along with the other plane crash survivors to protest the sale to Pegasus.
Izzie Stevens
Dr. Isobel "Izzie" Stevens (Portrayed by Katherine Heigl)
Appeared in Grey's Anatomy (S1-6); The Video Game
"I feel like I'm moving in slow motion. Like I'm moving in slow motion and everything around me is moving so fast and I just wanna go back to when things were normal. When I wasn't "Poor Izzie" laying on the bathroom floor in her prom dress with her- her dead fiance. But I am. So I can't. And I'm- I'm just stuck. And there is all this pressure cause everyone is hovering around me waiting for me to do something. Or say something, or flip out, or yell and cry some more and I'm happy to play my part."
The Establishing Character Moment for Isobel Stevens came in the fourth episode of the show, after Alex discovered that she modeled lingerie under the stage name "Bethany Whisper" and pasted her pin-ups all over the hospital. Izzie stripped down to her underwear and castigated the other characters for their sexism, pointing out that her modeling career has allowed her to escape the bank-breaking student loans they all have to live with. She then embarked on an ill-fated relationship with heart-transplant patient Denny Duquette, in the process earning the show one of its two acting Emmys. However, Heigl wanted to focus on her family and burgeoning film career, and asked to be written out.
- Author Avatar: According to Shonda Rhimes, who should know.
- Bridezilla: An unusual version in that she's not even the bride: Meredith passed to Izzie all planning for her wedding as a way to cheer her up and keep her busy during chemo. (Conveniently, the Why Waste a Wedding? trope pops in later.)
- Hospital Hottie: She was even a model, which is why she had no student debt like the others.
- I Have This Friend: She gives her interns information about "Patient X" as a way of both teaching them and figuring out what's wrong with her. Also, unusually for this trope, none of the interns ever make the connection that she is Patient X.
- I See Dead People: Hallucinates Denny throughout the fifth season, which seems to be evidence that she's simply gone mad. Actually, the cancer has reached her brain.
- Nice Girl: Was one of the nicest people on the show.
- Once Done, Never Forgotten: After she cuts the wire on Denny's LVAD, other characters rib her about it endlessly. Having said that, in a real hospital this would have resulted in legal action and possibly jail time, not just a (voluntary) resignation followed by probation, so if anything she's a Karma Houdini by way of the Rule of Drama.
- Put on a Bus: Following being fired she divorces Alex and leaves.
- Commuting on a Bus: Returned a few times before leaving for good in the twelfth episode of season six. Heigl has since mentioned that she would be open to doing a few more appearances to wrap up loose ends, but Rhimes says it's unlikely, as bringing her back in would disrupt her long-term plans for the show.
- Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!
- Shaming the Mob:"And what are these? Oh my God, breasts. How does anybody practice medicine hauling these things around?"
- So Beautiful, It's a Curse: Justified. The few patients who recognized her from centerfolds all went on to question her credentials as a trained doctor. Because, after all, a woman can't be both beautiful and smart. (Well, okay, the Double Standard itself is not justified, but the fact that people would employ it...)
- Teen Pregnancy: Revealed in an early episode. Later, she gave her daughter a needed bone marrow transplant.
George O'Malley
Dr. George O'Malley (Portrayed by TR Knight)
Appeared in Grey's Anatomy (S1-5); The Video Game
"It's like we're on a train and it's going 200 miles per hour and it would be so nice just to get off."
One of the original five interns, George was the token nice guy, nursing a very visible crush on Meredith. He then moved on to Callie but ended up caught between her and and Izzie, failed his intern exams, and struck up a friendship with Lexie after being, essentially, held back a year. Eventually he decided to join the Army as a trauma surgeon and save lives. Which he did.
- All Love Is Unrequited: a long-standing thing for Meredith.
- Butt-Monkey: Definitely. Spends most of the first season as hapless comic relief. Ends it by getting over his crush on Meredith and going on a date with a cute nurse. ...And coming down with syphillis.Izzie: *walking in on George bent over a gurney with his pants down* "What are we doing?"
Meredith: *poised at his backside with penicillin syringe* "Curing George's syph."
George: "Breaking George's spirit." - A Day in the Limelight: The first character to provide voice-over narration besides Meredith. Since then, a number of others have gotten to as well.
- Extreme Doormat: Has his moments.
- Fourth-Date Marriage: Had one with Callie, essentially.
- He Cleans Up Nicely: YMMV, but, on any given day George can come off looking kind of sweaty and pudgy and unkempt. But seeing him showered and in a suit, especially his army uniform, WHOA.
- Hope Spot: Has saved a girl by literally throwing himself in front of a bus, has joined the Army to save lives, and the girl is now enamored of her Knight in Shining Armor. ...In the finale of Season 5, where he dies.
- Love Triangle: Between his best friend Izzie and his actual wife Callie.
- Out of Focus: In the fifth season, he doesn't do much. This is part of why they wrote him out: they ran out of ideas for what to do with him.
- Two-Timing with the Bestie: Cheats on his then-wife Callie with his best friend Izzie.
Preston Burke
Dr. Preston Burke (Portrayed by Isaiah Washington)
Appeared in Grey's Anatomy (S1-3, S10)
"I am Preston Burke. A widely renowned cardiothoracic surgeon. I am a professional and more than that I am a good and kind person. I am a person that cleans up behind myself. I am a person that cooks well."
The head of cardiothoracic surgery, Burke was ambitious and sometimes arrogant, with his eye set on succeeding Richard as the Chief of Surgery. He and Cristina started a quirky, intense relationship that would have led to marriage if he hadn't done that "leave your bride at the altar" thing.
- And Starring: Credited as With Isaiah Washington
- Career-Ending Injury: Is shot at the end of the second season, resulting in tremors in his right hand. Cristina goes to great lengths to cover it up.
- Drill Sergeant Nasty: Not literally, but Dr. Burke's "pick on one guy" intern training method is based on a technique employed by actual DIs. Yes, this makes George Private Pyle.
- Insufferable Genius: Not as much as Cristina, but still had his moments.
- The Bus Came Back: Returned in Season 10 to offer Christina a job managing his new hospital. She accepts, which becomes the basis for her eventual departure from the series.
- Put on a Bus: He dumps Cristina at the altar, removes his belongings from their apartment and is never seen at Seattle Grace hospital again.
- Runaway Fiancé: He leaves Cristina at the altar and sends his mother to collect his belongings from their apartment.
- Real Life Writes the Plot: Isaiah Washington was summarily fired at the end of Season Three due to allegations of having said homophobic slurs against T. R. Knight. Thus Burke leaves Cristina at the altar and sends his mother to collect his things.
Addison Montgomery
Dr. Addison Forbes Montgomery Shepherd (Portrayed by Kate Walsh)
Appeared in Grey's Anatomy (S1-8); Private Practice (S1-6)
"I perform life-saving surgeries on babies in the womb. I can certainly fix my own sink, and the handyman was backed up for three days."
Addison knows how to make an entrance: her first line was also the last line of Season 1, and a Wham Line: "Hi, I'm Addison Shepherd. And you must be the woman who's been screwing my husband." The story of How She Got Here is gradually explained over the next few years: she and Derek married right out of med school, and she eventually cheated on him with his best friend. Derek walked away without even bothering to file for divorce, and she carried on with the best friend until realizing she still loved her husband and wanted him back. An opening in OB/GYN at Seattle Grace was the perfect opportunity. The relations continued for some time, and while Meredith won Derek, Addison got a consolation prize: her own Spin-Off, Private Practice, which was set in Los Angeles and ran for six seasons before wrapping up in 2013.
- Anti-Villain: Type IV as she's not a bad person, just a rival to Meredith.
- Ascended Extra: Was only set to appear in five episodes in season two. Ended up with her own Spin-Off.
- Last Episode, New Character: Though she still got first billing in the guest-star list, despite appearing onscreen for all of 20 seconds.
- Odd Friendship: Poised, composed Addison with down-to-earth, irreverent Callie. Also provides a Meta Twist: unusually for this show, which per Word of God is about "smart women competing with each other," their friendship does not have Drama Bombs dropped on it every other episode. They also became friends by both having slept with Mark.
- Preppy Name: Izzie discusses this when she gets the nearly $9 million inheritance from Denny, asking Addison how she handles being rich."Addison Forbes Montgomery Shepherd. That's a lot of names. A lot of rich-sounding names."
- Put on a Bus: To Private Practice, at the end of Season Three. This has not precluded the occasional Commuting on a Bus, both to and from Seattle.
Callie Torres
Dr. Calliope "Callie" Torres (Portrayed by Sara Ramirez)
Appeared in Grey's Anatomy (S2-12); The Video Game
"Should we clear Trauma One to remove the giant bug from Avery's ass?"
"[I am] a superstar with a scalpel! [...] No! Don't say my name. Do not. I am too big a star for you to say my name. I build arms out of nothing, and legs, like God. And when I win the Harper Avery and every other prize there is, you will rue this day, Chief Webber. That's right. I said "rue"."
One of the first new characters to be added to the cast, Dr. Torres first appears in the second season as a Love Interest to George, who at the time had just had a chance to consummate his crush on Meredith—she was having a weak moment, with the end result that it Went Horribly Wrong. Needless to say, Callie looks appealing by contrast. An orthopedics specialist, Callie lives in the basement of Seattle Grace to save on rent and get a jump on awesome overnight surgeries. She frequently acts as a conscience to the other characters.
- Brainy Brunette: While it's a given since she's a doctor, Callie is also noted to be very applied in studies. Her study cards for the interns' exams are considered legendary, and she also has a infallible "Torres Method" for studying, which Dr. Webber directly asks her to share with Meredith in order to help the latter in the resident's exams.
- But Not Too Bi: Callie is attracted to and has had relationships with both men and women. She dates mostly women following her coming out as a bisexual.
- The Cameo: Makes a non-appearing cameo in Arizona's final episode via text messages and Sara Ramirez' "The Story" playing.
- Cartwright Curse: Nearly every major character she's had sex with has had something terrible happen to them. George and Mark both died, and Arizona nearly lost her life in the same incident that led to the latter's death, but still ended up losing her leg in the process. In retrospect, Erica was probably smart enough to get out while she still could.
- The Cast Showoff: In the musical episode. Sara Ramirez was in the original cast of Spamalot, for which they won a Tony Award.
- Closet Key: In season 5, Callie was this for her then-girlfriend Erica.
- Cure Your Gays: Callie's father brings her childhood priest to the hospital to convince her that faith can cure her sexuality. She is righteously furious.Callie: You can't pray away the gay!
- Deadpan Snarker: Is pretty good at delivering some great one liners.
- Embarrassing Middle Name: Iphigenia.
- Full-Name Basis: Well full first name, Arizona is the only regular character to call her Calliope instead of Callie at least to begin with, though eventually she does start using Callie too with Calliope only being used occasionally.
- Gone Horribly Wrong: During the court case against Arizona for custody of Sofia, Callie allows her lawyer to use more than one low blow to win. Instead, Arizona wins the case, and Callie finds herself not only without her daughter, but with Arizona furious at her for what she did in court, and then alone when Penny leaves for New York.
- Happily Married: To Arizona, until they divorced.
- Odd Friendship: Callie seems to have a penchant for these.
- With Owen, in recent seasons — which makes sense, when you consider that they were married in the Alternate Universe episode.
- With Meredith, after Cristina is gone. Callie was never exactly on particularly bad or great terms with her, but they’re more or less confidants from then on.
- With Bailey, which started more or less during Season Five and stayed through.
- She also has a camaraderie with Cristina, whose personality is nothing like hers, that rises from them being roommates for a few seasons. Indeed when Cristina went through her Heroic BSoD in Season 7 at the same time that Callie was heartbroken by Arizona's depart to Africa, they spent almost an entire episode just hanging around together.
- Parental Abandonment: When she comes out of the closet, her mother and father disowns her.
- Platonic Life-Partners: With Mark, despite the fact that they have had sex quite a few times, but never had any romantic feelings for each other other than lust. This eventually gave us Sofia.
- Promotion to Opening Titles: In season three.
- Rhyming Names: She was briefly "Callie O'Malley" during her short-lived marriage to George.
- 10-Minute Retirement: Along with the other plane crash survivors to protest the sale to Pegasus.
- Twofer Token Minority: Bisexual and Latina.
- What the Hell, Hero?: During the trial against Arizona for custody of their daughter Sofia. When she goes to Arizona before the judge's ruling, to reassure her that she knows that she too is a good mother, Arizona refuses to forgive and forget what Callie allowed to happen in court, as she allowed her lawyer to land some really low blows to win.Callie: [she sits on a bench, near Arizona] No matter what the judge decides: I know that you're a good mom, too. And I just want you to know this doesn't change that.
Arizona: [Arizona can't even look at her] The things that you let them say about me... I would never have done that to you. Never.
Mark Sloan
Dr. Mark Sloan (Portrayed by Eric Dane)
Appeared in Grey's Anatomy (S2-9); Private Practice (S2-3); The Video Game
"I want you to promise me something. If you love someone, you tell them. Even if you're scared that it's not the right thing. Even if you're scared it will cause problems. Even if you're scared it will burn your life to the ground. You say it. You say it loud. And you go from there."
The "McSteamy" to Derek's McDreamy, the two have been close for a very long time; he even served as best man at Derek's wedding to Addison. ...And then was the "best friend" she cheated on Derek with. His presence as a Guest Star in the second season caused quite some strain (Derek punched him), but after he joined Seattle Grace's permanent staff they were able to patch up. This on-and-off-again pattern kind of set the tone for all his other relationships: with Callie, his Platonic Life Partner with whom he had a daughter, Sofia; and with Lexie, his most long-standing romantic entanglement. Mark was written out during the first two episodes of Season Nine, possibly at Dane's behest and possibly because Executive Meddling reduced the show's budget.
- Always Someone Better: Derek was this to him his whole life, which may have contributed to him sleeping with Addison. Still he considered Derek his best friend above all and came to terms with his jealousy, even joking about his Always Second Best status from time to time.
- Anguished Declaration of Love: To Lexie, when she's dying.
- Anyone Can Die: In the Season 9 opener after spending 30 days in a coma, Derek and Callie pull his plug as he requested in his Living Will.
- Ascended Extra: Was only set to appear once in season two, until fans asked Shonda Rhimes for him to come back, which lead to his Promotion to Opening Titles in season three, episode three.
- Deadpan Snarker: Has his moments.Mark (to Derek who is in the elevator with Meredith, Addison, and Rose): I bet you're wishing that you're taking the stairs right about now.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: With Derek.
- It's All About Me: Prior to his Character Development.
- In-Series Nickname: In his first appearance, he is given the nickname McSteamy.
- Ladykiller in Love: With Lexie and/or Julia. According to him, it's just Lexie, and it always has been.
- Mr. Fanservice: Shows up at the end of the second episode of season three in Addison's hotel room, barely wearing a towel.
- Platonic Life-Partners: With Callie, despite the fact that they have had sex quite a few times, which eventually gave us Sofia.
- Really Gets Around: He probably slept with nearly all the nurses in the hospital. From the main cast, he has been with Lexie, Addison, Callie, Teddy and Reed.
Lexie Grey
Dr. Alexandra "Lexie" Grey (Portrayed by Chyler Leigh)
Appeared in Grey's Anatomy (S3-8); Private Practice (S5); The Video Game
"The problem is we're human. We want more than to just survive. We want love. "
Meredith's half-sister was produced after their mutual father, Thatcher, re-married without telling Ellis. She and Meredith initially had a frosty relationship, due in no small part to Meredith's Parental Abandonment issues, but the two eventually became quite close. Sweet, emotional and featuring a photographic memory, Lexie became something of a Tagalong Kid for the five interns, forming a relationship with Jackson and a crush on George. Her most enduring romantic entanglement, though, was with Mark Sloan. Chyler Leigh eventually decided to move on to other projects, but not before helping to contribute to the Season Eight finale, one of the whammiest Wham Episodes of the series.
- All Love Is Unrequited: To George.
- Badass Adorable: She is incredibly sweet and adorable, and she is one of the smartest, most promising surgical residents at Seattle Grace due in part to her photographic memory. As Derek puts it: "She has a photographic memory, we're all out of our league."
- Beware the Nice Ones: She is one of the nicest and well-meaning doctors on the staff, but tends to snap back when pushed too much.
- Brainy Brunette: Graduated from Havard (as a class valedictorian to boot!) and is shown to be a smart and resourceful surgeon.
- Break the Cutie: Boy, howdy! For as many horrible things that happen to Lexie, you gotta wonder if Shonda hates her as much as she hates Meredith!
- The Cutie: She is upbeat, rather naive, very caring, and serves as the Tagalong Kid to the interns.
- Dropped a Bridge on Him: Gets crushed by plane debris at the end of Season 8.
- Early-Bird Cameo: Appears in the last two episodes of Season 3, before her formal introduction in the Season 4 premiere.
- Extreme Doormat: Goes out of her way to befriend Meredith in Season 4, including eating an omelet made by Meredith. This puts on a new spin on "Lethal Chef" because Lexie, who knows she is allergic to eggs, ate the thing anyway.Lexie: I'm an adult child of an alcoholic. That is what happened to me. I have boundary issues. When Meredith made me eggs this morning, I couldn't not eat them. I had to pretend I wasn't allergic to eggs and now I have a rash covering my entire body.
- Foreshadowing: Lexie's younger sister, Molly, appears in Season 2, mentioning her older sister who is in med school at Harvard. Considering that Lexie herself didn't appear for another two seasons, this was either Shonda Rhimes planning out her Myth Arc or planting a Schrödinger's Gun.
- As mentioned, Meredith doesn't know her father remarried. Cristina drops the Wham Line on her: "Did you meet your sister?" Molly herself doesn't learn of the relation until her return appearance.
- Grade Skipper: She skipped the third grade.
- Hospital Hottie: Her attractiveness is mentioned by both residents and patients.
- The Ingenue: In the beginning, she's a sweet, kind, little socially awkward and endearingly naive girl who wants nothing but to get closer to her older sister Meredith. She grows more cynical due to the sheer amount of Break the Cutie moments, but still retains a childlike innocence and devotion to her closest ones.
- In-Series Nickname:
- Little Grey, used usually by residents or attendants, to distinct her from her older sister.
- Lexipedia, due to her excellent Photographic Memory.
- Go Out with a Smile: She dies smiling from hearing Mark's Anguished Declaration of Love for her.
- Kill the Cutie: Dies at the end of season 8 due to a plane crash.
- Nice Girl: Lexie is a very caring, friendly, and kind girl.
- Photographic Memory: She has such a prodigious ability that she remembers everything, even minor details. This allowed her to ace her residency exam. She got pretty famous among her colleagues thanks to it, and they frequently refer to her as "Lexipedia."
- Really Gets Around: Has a lot of sexual partners and of the main cast has slept with Mark, Alex, Jackson, and had an unrequited attraction towards George.
- Self-Induced Allergic Reaction: In the season 4 episode "Lay Your Hands On Me," when Meredith cooks an omelet for her, due to Lexie's Extreme Doormat tendencies towards Meredith and her delight at Meredith doing something nice for her, she eats the omelet even though she is allergic to eggs. She ends up getting a full-body rash.
- Sorry to Interrupt: Lexie has an unfortunate knack for walking in on people in the middle of making out or having sex, which results in poor Lexie making the most mortified expressions. For instance, once, she walked in on Callie and Arizona having shower sex.
- Tagalong Kid: Even though she's not actually a kid, she's the youngest of the main cast and is Meredith's little sister, so she tends to be treated like this trope by everyone else.
- Unrequited Love Switcheroo: Starts off with a thing for George, but he's too focused on his own problems.
- Youthful Freckles: Lexie has freckles, which reflect her youth and naivete.
Erica Hahn
Dr. Erica Hahn (Portrayed by Brooke Smith)
Appeared in Grey's Anatomy (S2-5); The Video Game
- Ascended Extra: Had a few appearances in seasons two and three before becoming a regular in the fifth episode of season four.
- Butch Lesbian: She is more androgynous in mannerisms and style than her lover Callie. Though the writers said that it would be a little too obvious and stereotypical to make the tough, confident woman (who turned down Sloan) a lesbian...and then made her one. And then fired her. Saved only by Brooke Smith's excellent acting (see the "you are glasses" speech).
- Chekhov's Gunman: Not only Hahn herself, but also her patient—he was supposed to get the heart Izzie stole for Denny.
- Closet Key: She was this for Callie, helping Callie realize she was bisexual.
- Coming-Out Story: Erica realizes she is gay after dating Callie.
- Defrosting Ice Queen: Throughout season four she was a massive bitch toward Cristina, banning her from her OR. After Richard telling her that she needed to be a better teacher and starting a relationship with Callie, she became more likeable.
- Dr. Jerk: She's rather abrasive to just about everyone, patients included.
- Let's Wait a While: Erica and Callie agree to wait before having sex because they are unsure they're ready to have sex with another woman. However, in the next episode, in what is assumed to be another date, they have sex.
- Put on a Bus: She leaves the show after getting into a fight with Callie.
- The Rival: To Preston Burke.
- Screw This, I'm Out of Here!: We see her heading to her car after breaking up with Callie.
- This Is Unforgivable!: Her reaction when she learns of Izzie's LVAD antics: she criticizes Webber's administration and demands Izzie be fired. Webber shoots her down, and when Callie defends the hospital and Izzie (in that order) as well, Erica gives up.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: No suggestion is given that we'll never see her again. Cristina has to deliver an Info Dump about it next episode.
Arizona Robbins
Dr. Arizona Robbins (Portrayed by Jessica Capshaw)
Appears in Grey's Anatomy (S5-14)
"Don't let the roller skates fool you. Peds is nothing but hardcore."
"This is not general surgery in miniature. These are the tiny humans. These are children. They believe in magic. They play pretend. There is fairy dust in their IV bags. They hope, and they cross their fingers, and they make wishes, and that makes them more resilient than adults. They recover faster, survive worse. They believe."
An attending physician in pediatrics, Arizona was raised in a military family and was named after a battleship. She is The Spock to Callie's McCoy, despite being typically more upbeat and childlike in comparison, and the two have formed a stable marriage together.
- All Gays are Promiscuous: She cheats on Callie with Dr. Lauren Boswell at the end of Season 9. The marriage ain't so stable now.
- An Arm and a Leg: The plane crash results with her having her left leg amputated above the knee.
- All Lesbians Want Kids: Averted and zigzagged. A major point of contention between Callie and Arizona is that the Callie wants children and Arizona doesn't. In fact, they eventually break up over it. However, in the Season 6 Finale, all of the carnage makes Arizona rethink her position and decide that not having kids wasn't worth not being with Callie.
- Cigarette of Anxiety: Arizona smokes when she is nervous, a habit that she hates.
- Comfort Food: When her brother died, she ate a lot of donuts to feel better.
- Closet Key: While not confirmed, it's possible Arizona was this for Leah Murphy.
- Disabled Snarker: During recovery after the plane crash, Arizona snarks at Callie out of resentment that she allowed Arizona's leg amputation.
- Exiled to the Couch: She sleeps on the couch until Callie is ready to forgive her for cheating with Lauren.
- Fatal Flaw: Spends an episode trying to figure out hers, due to Mark saying she should know what it is before trying to get Callie back after leaving her to go to Africa and then coming back. At the end of the episode he tells her that her flaw is that she bails when things get hard, which makes her unreliable.
- Genki Girl: Especially during work, where she has to play the part to sick children. Though she's quite energetic out of the hospital too.
- Happily Married: To Callie until they separated.
- Has a Type: So far her two significant relationships have been with Callie and Eliza, both are vaguely ethnic (Ambiguously Brown and foreign language speaking) orthopedic surgeons.
- Heroic BSoD: Following her amputation, she just lies on her bed, doesn't seem to leave her apartment, which she still shares with Callie, and doesn't take care of her daughter. She harbors a lot of resentment towards Callie too, and not even the death of Mark seems to move her.
- Lipstick Lesbian: Arizona is rather feminine in appearance and personality, and she is attracted to women.
- Military Brat: Her father is a colonel, and her brother died in war. She was even named after a battle ship.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: For Nick, an old friend, who refers to her by many nicknames — all of which are cities in Arizona. This leads to her "My name is not Flagstaff" speech which is really about dealing with loss.
- Once Done, Never Forgotten: Her cheating with coworker Dr. Lauren Boswell in season 9 strains her already damaged marriage with Callie.
- Promotion to Opening Titles: In season six.
- Really Gets Around : Before getting married to Callie, slept with a lot of nurses of the hospital and after her break-up with Callie, with the help of wingman Richard Webber.
- The Mentor: To Alex, when he starts to specialize in pediatrics. When Callie suffers a car accident and has a high-risk operation with Arizona watching from the gallery, Alex leaves said surgery to go to Arizona's side.
- 10-Minute Retirement: Along with the other plane crash survivors to protest the sale to Pegasus.
- Token Minority: Not for Grey's itself, which actually has a more racially diverse cast that Real Life Seattle, but for the television industry as a whole: when Robbins was Promoted to Opening Titles, she became the only lesbian starring character on primetime television.
- She's now a Twofer Token Minority because she is a lesbian and physically disabled.
April Kepner
Dr. April Kepner (Portrayed by Sarah Drew)
Appears in Grey's Anatomy (S6-14)
"In trauma, we're concerned with one overriding question. How did this happen? What was the mechanism of injury? How do we see past the mess and confusion of trauma to figure out what the damage actually is? Infinite possibilities put the patient on the table in front of you. Now you have to figure out, will they live? Will you be able to save them or are they a lost cause?"
Another of the newly-introduced residents, April has gone on to be a trauma surgeon. She is principled, hard-working, neurotic and—quite surprisingly for the show—a 28-year-old virgin, by choice. Rhimes created the character as a Designated Monkey to be disliked and fired after two episodes, but changed her mind and kept her around; this might explain the audience's divisive response to the character.
- Break the Cutie: To start, getting fired, tripping over the body of her best friend and getting covered in her blood during the season 6 finale. Then in season eight, she loses her virginity to Jackson, the guilt over breaking her promise to Jesus causes her to fail her boards, causing her to get fired by Owen and all of her offers rejected.
- Butt-Monkey: Among her peer residents, who mostly just considered her annoying or didn't take her seriously. They didn't even see her as a contender in the run for chief resident, and when she won the job, it took a long while for her to get their respect.
- Characterization Marches On:
- When she first arrives to Seattle Grace, much like the other residents from Mercy West she acted a tad rude to others and sometimes had a feel of Bitch in Sheep's Clothing going on. After she gets fired and returns, she is a lot better and plays more the part of The Ingenue and Genki Girl, though she slipped back into her old part a few times. Meredith even lampshaded at one point, and she apologized saying it was habit.
- In the episode which reveals April is still a virgin, she gives as main reason the fact that she waited too long, and men seem to find her annoying. She even gets close to sleeping with Alex of all people, thanks to a newfound crush. In later episodes however anything about her chastity is portrayed to be closely related to her Christianity and that she didn't have sex before because of a promise to Jesus, which makes those other episodes mentioned before quite the Early-Installment Weirdness for that aspect of her character.
- Chaste Heroine - Used to be, until she lost her virginity to Jackson.
- Day in the Limelight: She gets to do the narration in Season 11 episode 11
- Genki Girl: She's a ball of uptight energy.
- Happily Married: To Jackson, at first. But now they're not even married anymore.
- Promotion to Opening Titles: In season seven.
- Odd Friendship: Uptight, conservative April with upbeat, confirmed-lesbian Arizona.
- Once a Season: Gets fired. Possibly a nod to her original purpose.
- Open Mouth, Insert Foot: She is rather prone to saying the wrong thing at the wrong time.
- Outliving One's Offspring: Her first child with Jackson is stricken with osteogenesis imperfecta, and dies in the womb.
- Put on a Bus: Written out at the end of Season 14 when she spontaneously marries Matthew.
- The Bus Came Back: Appears unexpectedly for one episode in Season 17. She has remained in Seattle and she and Jackson have been amicably co-parenting their daughter; meanwhile, she's broken up with Matthew. Jackson asks her to move to Boston with him to take over the Avery Foundation, allowing Jesse Williams to be written out and the show to wrap up both their storylines.
- Second Love: Matthew, an EMT who is also waiting for marriage.
- Runaway Bride: Until a love confession from Jackson prompts her to leave her husband standing at the altar while she and Jackson run away in his car, and get married fifteen hours later.
- Took a Level in Badass: Kepner slowly but surely become more assertive as more time passes. Eventually, in season 11, she decides to join the army to treat people on the field. Nearly a year after, she is back, and by the conclusion of "Time Stops" there is no doubt that she is badass.
- Wacky Marriage Proposal: Matthew arranges a flashmob to the tune of The Proclaimers' "(I Would Walk) Five Hundred Miles", which Meredith declares true proof that he and April are perfect for each other. She accepts.
- Working with the Ex: She and Jackson eventually divorce.
Jackson Avery
Dr. Jackson Avery (Portrayed by Jesse Williams)
Appears in Grey's Anatomy (S6-present)
Catherine: Nepotism is for the weak.
Jackson: That's what my birthday card always said.
One of four new residents introduced in Season Six after Seattle Grace merges with the nearby Mercy-West hospital, Jackson was originally viewed by the main characters as interference and competition. Time and familiarity have made him more accepted, however, and he is currently a plastic-surgery fellow. Though his grandfather is the famous Harper Avery (of the Harper Avery Foundation, and the Harper Avery Award), and his mother the nearly-as-famous Catherine Avery, Jackson was never pushed much because he was "just the pretty one," and became a driven surgeon of his own accord.
- Anger Montage: When he's attempting to dismantle Samuel's crib. He badly cuts himself while trying to reach through the bars and flies into a fit of rage, smashing the crib, throwing a chair, then destroying the rest of the room.
- Anguished Declaration of Love: A particularly heartfelt one with Maggie in Season 14.
- Jackson: "Maggie, you think of yourself as this goofy underdog and it's an old idea. You're beautiful. You're brilliant and powerful and you have all the power here. I'm over here sunk and you keep showing me just how capable you are of walking away."
- Batman Gambit: When he fools the shooter in 'Death And All His Friends' and pretends to let Derek Shepherd die. It was a highly risky move, what with having a pistol held to his face, but it ends up working. The shooter is so agitated he doesn't bother to double-check before fleeing the room.
- Beneath the Mask: A calm, charming, good-humored doctor who works as hard as anyone else on the team. It's also apparent as the seasons go by he has a seriously difficult time expressing himself, either avoiding direct confrontations or bottling up his pain until it overflows. A major example is just before his break-up with April, where he suddenly yells and slams his hand on the table. Then there are several meltdowns in Season 7, Season 11 and Season 15 where he actively isolates himself or snaps out of nowhere.
- Big Brother Instinct: To April, following her nearly losing her virginity to Alex, causing him to punch Alex in the face.
- Birds of a Feather: With Meredith, as a platonic form of this trope. Both are children of famous surgeons, had absentee dads, have a pretty dry/sarcastic sense of humor, and get along pretty easily, though they do disagree when it comes to certain things.
- Brainless Beauty: Subverted. He is often mentioned to be very attractive by nearly everyone who meets him and the fact that beauty might be all he has is often brought up. His own family seemed to rule his out as this trope, and he had to work hard to show he was just as smart as anyone.
- Broken Pedestal: It's bad enough to discover his grandfather was a serial sexual deviant who fired female doctors who refused his advances. But finding out his mother helped cover it all these years to keep up the family name is worse. This is somewhat helped later when the man drops dead in the middle of a meeting. Jackson looks downright giddy about it.
- Jackson: "I am happy to inform you that my grandfather has died. ...Doing what he loved."
- The Charmer: Played with, then deconstructed. He wavers between being a suave flirt and someone who's keenly aware of the dehumanizing pedestal he's been put on since birth. At one point he tries to use his looks to get Teddy to let him do some surgical procedures, by batting eyelashes and flirting. She ends up confronting him by having Jackson answer a quick quiz about a heart surgery, to make sure he really isn't a Brainless Beauty after all.
- Character Development: When he cries into Maggie's arms while waiting on the results of his mother's surgery. This is a major leap from the man who normally bottles up his emotions until they explode and always cries alone.
- Chronic Hero Syndrome: Despite being cool under pressure in the operating room, has a tendency to rush into a dangerous situation. This is seen when he saves a little girl from a burning bus about to explode, then later when he rushes into a burning building to find Stephanie. His very first introduction involved him football-tackling an angry patient wielding a hammer.
- Cry Laughing: A vivid example in Season 11, when he's faced with the reality of his newborn son, Samuel, being diagnosed with a lethal birth defect.
- Disappeared Dad: Robert Avery couldn't handle the pressure of being an Avery. His mother Catherine raised him single-handedly, and continues to be active in the Avery Foundation despite having married into the family. He later visits his father in Montana in season 13, though wants nothing to do with him.
- Green-Eyed Epiphany: With Maggie. Come Season 14 he offers to take her out for a drink, which she turns down because she's aware of how easily complicated their lives could be if their relationship attempt fails. When Maggie's Tinder date arrives Jackson stares the man down with a look that's not entirely friendly.
- Heroic Safe Mode: Very good at keeping his cool in terrifying, tragic situations. Not so good at expressing anger, grief, or hurt among his family and partners.
- If You Ever Do Anything to Hurt Her...: Jackson to Webber when he finds out the guy's dating his mother.
- Jackson: "You hurt her, I hurt you."
- Mr. Fanservice: His abs are legendary.Jackson takes off his shirtStephanie: Oh, lord.Jackson: What? You want me to put it back on?Stephanie: Are you kidding? Don't ever put it back on.
- My Beloved Smother: Jackson is very close to his mother. He also finds her incredibly controlling and is regularly frustrated with her insistence on pushing him toward paths he doesn't want. At one point he even calls her a lunatic. This is readily apparent in Season 14 over a tense dinner with his parents and Maggie, where his mother gets frustrated at his attempts to pull away from the family name.
- Catherine: "He left plenty to the foundation. It was his gift to you."Jackson: "It's not a gift, Mom. It's an economy."Catherine: "It's how he showed his love."Jackson: "Yeah, well. I don't want it."
- In Season 8 Jackson heads off to take the prestigious boards exam...and is horrified when he runs into his mother. While Catherine is at the same hotel on business, Jackson assumes she's arrived to spy on him. Considering she has literally hired people to spy on him and loves forcing herself into his OR to discuss his life choices, it's an understandable assumption. Later in the episode he flees to the bathroom to panic about all the ways he could fail her.
- A minor, but no less frustrating example in 'Judgment Day', when Jackson attempts to eat a cookie and Catherine literally snatches it out of his mouth like he's seven years old.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: In order to get the aid of a doctor from another hospital, Jackson agrees to waive a non-disclosure agreement she had made with his grandfather, assuming it has to do with a past research project. Instead, it was to cover up the fact the doctor was one of 13 women Avery Harper sexually harassed, meaning the woman can now organize a massive lawsuit that will hurt the hospital.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: The normally unflappable Avery has a meltdown in Season 7 after surviving the hospital shooting. He starts yelling when he realizes he's locked in with a patient and refuses to stop giving said patient CPR even when his co-workers try to help. He's later found kicking over a gurney and clutching his head. When you consider how traumatic the entire experience was, it's a wonder he was able to work at all.
- Outliving One's Offspring: His and April's first child, Samuel Avery, had osteogenesis defecta (brittle bone disease) and died just hours after being born.
- Promotion to Opening Titles: In season seven.
- Religious Russian Roulette: Does this when April is brought to the hospital severely hypothermic and on the brink of death. This later leads him to reconsidering atheism and exploring Christianity.
- Restricted Rescue Operation: During the hospital shooting. He's held at gunpoint by the shooter and told not to save Derek Shepherd. He seems to play by the shooter's rules at first, letting Derek flatline and even telling the others to hold their hands up. Once the shooter leaves, however, he reveals he had only disconnected the machine and gets right back to work.
- Sex Equals Love: At first played straight. Subverted after April's pregnancy scare.
- Survival Mantra: When attempting to save Nisha, the biker that got hit by a car in his stead.
- Jackson: "If I had to live, you have to live. If I had to live, you have to live. If I had to live, you have to live."
- Thousand-Yard Stare: Frequently. Considering he might have PTSD (and definitely has repressed anger issues), it's unsurprising.
- Trauma Button: Being locked in with patients. This originates from being trapped at the mercy of a mass shooter while attempting to save Derek Shepherd's life in Season 7. Not long after Jackson has a meltdown when the new security system locks him with a patient with heart failure, then another one in Season 15 while testing out Bailey's hyperbaric chamber.
- Walking Shirtless Scene: Tends to take his shirt off frequently.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: Unsurprisingly, given his larger-than-life grandfather and Disappeared Dad. He is concerned he learned a "Screw This, I'm Outta Here" attitude from his father.
- What Beautiful Eyes!: People often comment on his green eyes, usually when talking about how handsome he is.
- Will They or Won't They?: With April.
- Unflinching Walk: When he rescues a little girl from an exploding car.
- You Are in Command Now: The bankruptcy plot is resolved when the Harper Avery Foundation buys out the hospital, unexpectedly resulting in Jackson becoming chairman of the board.
Shane Ross
Dr. Shane Ross (Portrayed by Gaius Charles)
Appeared in Grey's Anatomy (S9-10)
The only male amongst the new five post-plane crash interns, Shane is dead set on getting into the neurosurgery program. Shepherd isn't so sanguine.
- Ambition Is Evil: Evidently being set up for this in Season 10.
- False Friend: Sometimes tries to backstab Heather Brooks, Shepherd's actual choice as his protégé, in order to supplant her.
- Gone Horribly Right: His actions lead to Brooks' death, when he substitutes her as the person assigned to find Dr. Webber, himself Only Mostly Dead by electrocution. Brooks herself wasn't so lucky.
- Heroic BSoD: Once Brooks dies.
- In-Universe Nickname: Cristina calls him "Happy," as part of her Theme Naming of "interns after Seven Dwarfs" thing. (As Jo's nickname indicates, she wasn't able to keep up the sequence.)
- The Pollyanna: Eternally upbeat, at least in Season 9.
Maggie Pierce
Dr. Maggie Pierce (Portrayed by Kelly McCreary)
Appears in Grey's Anatomy (S10-present); B-Team; Station 19
"Okay, it's not Mississippi Burning or anything, but it is all over. It's when people assume I'm a nurse. Or when I go to get on an airplane with my first-class ticket, and they tell me that they're not boarding coach yet. It's like a low buzz in the background, and sometimes you don't even notice it, and sometimes it's loud and annoying, and sometimes it can get dangerous, and sometimes it is ridiculous, like right now."
Current Head of Cardiothoracic Surgery, she revealed to Richard Webber shortly after starting work that Ellis Grey is her birth mom.
- Annoying Younger Sibling: Sometimes to Meredith, especially when she wants to know about Meredith's love life. Becomes a downplayed trope as they grow closer.
- Beware the Nice Ones: Maggie is one of the sweetest characters in the show. That doesn't stop her from clocking a homophobe in the mouth with a right hook.
- Birds of a Feather: With Jackson. They're both intelligent, hardworking professionals in the medical field who appear, for all intents and purposes, pretty composed. Peel back the layers, though, and you have two emotionally constipated workaholics who have a really hard time being vulnerable around others.
- Buffy Speak: Can get... interesting with how she gets across her thoughts.
- Child of Forbidden Love: the product of the extramarital affair between Meredith's mother Ellis and Chief Webber, given up for adoption after the Will They or Won't They? between them swung towards "Nope."
- Did I Just Say That Out Loud?: A particularly cute moment between her and Avery before they hook up, when he goes to sit down with her during lunch and gets confused at her staring.
- Jackson: "...Is there something on my face?"Maggie: "Oh, no, no. Your face is perfect."
- Dramatic Drop: Drops her coffee upon seeing Jackson. Makes sense, since the last she saw him he made it clear he's smitten with her.
- Emotionally Tongue-Tied: Wavers between being very blunt and struggling with vulnerability. A Justified trope, thanks to her high-pressure upbringing and social neurosis.
- Friendless Background: Maggie mentions a few times how her intensive studies didn't leave her much time to make friends. That, and being bullied for being a few years younger than everyone else.
- Genki Girl: She's probably one of the most optimistic characters on the show. Her mother calls her a 'ray of sunshine'.
- Happily Adopted: Was very happy in her adoptive family. She just wanted to know about her real parentage.
- Horrible Camping Trip: In Season 15. Despite hating camping, she wants to show Jackson how much she cares and takes the plunge. It results in her getting painfully bitten by nearly every insect, twisting her ankle and losing sight of Jackson in some very strange weather.
- Motor Mouth: Tends to talk a mile a minute, usually when she's passionate or nervous.
- Kids Are Cruel: Was badly bullied as a kid, with her status as a young genius being a point of jealousy for many of her classmates. Maggie shares with the other doctors how she was locked in rooms, called nasty names and saw her possessions destroyed.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Seemingly played straight when Maggie insists on an innovative trial for her mother's cancer, only to see her symptoms get even worse. This is then subverted when it's revealed her mother had not only been sick for years, but had made peace with her death.
- Opposites Attract: Despite several similarities, Maggie and Avery differ on the personality front. Maggie is more peppy and anxious, while Jackson is calm and a little suave. They also come from very different backgrounds: Maggie was adopted and had to work hard to be accepted at a prestigious university, while Avery grew up with a silver spoon in his mouth and was raised by a single mother.
- Sand In My Eyes: When talking to Webber about the death of his wife. She insists she suddenly has allergies.
- Socially Awkward Hero: A compassionate and kind doctor who excels in heart health. She's also way more competent at open-heart surgery than asking men out on a date or talking about her problems.
- "Well Done, Son" Guy: Explored between her and Webber. While Maggie tries to brush off the missed opportunity of a father and daughter relationship as no big deal, it's clear she's pretty hurt about it. When Webber realizes she genuinely wants to give their family a second chance he starts reaching out to her, sharing details about his past and being more open.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Calls out Jackson when he confides in random women about his struggles instead of opening up to her. This trope is then flipped on its head when he calls her out on the same thing.
- Wrong Assumption: A frequent committer of this. Could be a side-effect of her brain working at a thousand miles per hour.
Stephanie Edwards
Dr. Stephanie Edwards (Portrayed by Jerrika Hinton)
Appeared in Grey's Anatomy (S9-13)
"I've spent my whole life in hospitals. My whole life, and I think I need to see everything that's not in a hospital. I need to travel and explore and hike and breathe, and breathe... and breathe. Breathe real air, so deep, I want to breathe it all in. Away from the monitors, and the blood, and the sterile gowns, away from saving other people's lives. I want my own. It's time I live my own. You changed my life, Dr. Webber. You taught me how to take my past and find my path. Thank you."
The emotional one of the group, she was primarily known for being Jackson's rebound after breaking up with Kepner, then moved on to get her own back story and new boyfriend.
- Blind Without 'Em: subverted in Season 10 when she gets laser surgery.
- Delicate and Sickly: Stephanie was born with sickle-cell disease, and spent much of her childhood in-and-out of hospitals, which led to the decision of her becoming a doctor.
- The Determinator: the best example would be the season 13 finale, where she goes through a burning part of the hospital in order to save a young girl. However, this event leads to her Put on a Bus moment at the end of the season.
- Hidden Depths: recently revealed to be a former cheerleader. This was her first Character Development on the show.
- Love Interest: to Jackson.
- Satellite Love Interest: Discussed during the bankruptcy arc. Jackson starts trying to find a new job elsewhere and Stephanie is horrified to realize she is planning to follow him.
Leah Murphy
Dr. Leah Murphy (Portrayed by Tessa Ferrer)
Appears in Grey's Anatomy (S9-10, S13)
The sarcastic one of the group. She's careful about who she lets her guard down with.
- All Girls Want Bad Boys: Jo told her to stop and proposed she started something with Shane as he was nice, but unfortunately, she didn't like nice. Jo pointed out that she picked the right guy then, as Karev was mean. And thoughtless and a douche, Leah added.
- Ambiguously Bi: Sleeps with Alex, and then with Arizona... and then never expresses romantic or sexual attraction to anyone after that. It's terribly unclear whether she was bisexual to start with, or if she just decided that If It's Arizona It's Okay.
- The Bus Came Back: After leaving for not performing well in the residency program, she excels elsewhere and is welcomed back to the program/show when Penny leaves. This causes some shake-ups in the show.
- If It's You, It's Okay: Maybe with Arizona.
- Knight in Sour Armor: Leah comes across as somewhat cold and selfish, but in fact she cares a great deal about the people around her.
- Mad Love: Leah also tends to become infatuated with anyone who shows the smallest bit of interest in her (which stems from her insecurities).
Nathan Riggs
Dr. Nathan Riggs (Portrayed by Martin Henderson)
Appeared in Grey's Anatomy (S12-14)
"I promise you can't judge me harsher than I judge myself every day. It's a life sentence, mate."
Cardiothoracic surgeon who worked with April Kepner during her time in Jordan. After bringing a patient to Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital, he got a job working there. Seems to have some Unfinished Business with Owen Hunt.
- Heterosexual Life-Partners: Was this for Owen before he cheated on Owen's sister Megan.
- Perma-Stubble: He often sports this look.
Alex Karev
Dr. Alex Karev (Portrayed by Justin Chambers)
Appears in Grey's Anatomy (S1-16); Private Practice (S2); The Video Game; B-Team
"Surgeons are all messed up. We're butchers, messed-up knife-happy butchers. We cut people up, we move on. Patients die on our watch, we move on. We cause trauma, we suffer trauma. We don't have time to worry about all the blood and death and crap it really makes us feel. Doesn't matter how tough we are, trauma always leaves a scar. It follows us home, it changes our lives, trauma messes everybody up, but maybe that's the point. All the pain and the fear and the crap. Maybe going through all of that is what keeps us moving forward. It's what pushes us. Maybe we have to get a little messed up, before we can step up."
A late addition to the pilot (Chambers had to be stitched in during re-shoots), Alex personifies Troubled, but Cute and benefits from the All Girls Want Bad Boys trope. When not sleeping his way through the interns, he's also a pediatrics specialist, suggesting that his Manchild tendencies are good for something.
- Advertised Extra: In season 1, anyway. There was a recurring nurse that had more screentime than him at the time. After season 1, this became a non-issue.
- Character Development: Went from a Jerkass intern at the hospital to much more well-mannered man who displayed more empathy towards his co-workers and patients. He even became Meredith's person after Cristina's departure, and these guys didn't exactly see eye-to-eye in earlier seasons.
- A Day in the Limelight: Narrated a Season 9 episode instead of Meredith.
- Disappeared Dad: druggy, alcoholic, abusive. Played by James Remar.
- Dr. Jerk: He is rather cold, callous and brusque. Unless a child in involved.
- Friend to All Children: The one exception to his Dr. Jerk tendencies. He ends up in Pediatrics.
- Freudian Excuse: Had a shitty childhood, with an abusive father, causing him to be put in foster care in his teens. Then he dates a patient who later goes crazy. Just when things start to be looking up for him after getting together with Izzie, she gets cancer, leading to their marriage. Then Izzie gets fired, she leaves him, then gets shot and almost dies in an elevator giving him PTSD. Then his brother has a mental break due to his schizophrenia, trying to kill his sister, causing him to be put in a mental institution. Now he has survivor's guilt after the plane crash, which he was supposed to be on. No wonder he sleeps with interns.
- Jerkass: Initially, Alex started out as a character whom most fans would attest was unlikeable. By season 13, he was considered one of the best characters on the show.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Eventually.
- Jerk with a Heart of Jerk: At his worst.
- Love Triangle: Between Izzie and Lexie, but then Izzie left him and Lexie died. He's currently dating Jo.
- Manchild
- Promotion to Parent: Took care of his younger brother and sister because of their parents' mental problems/drug addictions.
- Put on a Bus: During season 16 he leaves Jo to live on a farm with Izzie after finding out she used their embreyos to have kids
- Really Gets Around: Tended to sleep with interns a lot before forming a relationship with Jo.
- Relationship Upgrade: In Season 11, Alex discovers he is now Meredith's "person" due to Christina's departure. He attempts to help Meredith with Margaret Pierce claiming to be her half-sister.
- Troubled, but Cute: He has a lot of issues but he is still attractive.
Andrew DeLuca
Dr. Andrew (it. Andrea) DeLuca (Portrayed by Giacomo Gianniotti)
Appears in Grey's Anatomy (S11-present)
Nico Kim
Dr. Nico Kim (Portrayed by Alex Landi)
Appears in Grey's Anatomy (S15-present)
- The Ace: Is very good at orthopedic surgery and knows it.
- All Asians Know Martial Arts: Is of Korean descent and knows Taekwondo. Although it is still not enough to kick down a door that has a cement truck parked in behind it.
- Has a Type: Is into nerdy guys, which is what causes him to kiss Schmitt the first time.
- Heroic BSoD: When an attempt to cement a weakened vertebrae causes a patient's death, Nico is knocked for an emotional loop that causes him to become cold and distant, even to Schmitt.
- Seme: To Schmitt, being taller, athletic and more self-confident.
- Straight Gay: Has absolutely no stereotypically gay behaviors.
- Tall, Dark, and Handsome: Schmitt compares him to a Roman sculpture.
