Since Netflix has made 11 of the 12 seasons of “Grey’s Anatomy” available for instant streaming, I’ve been hopelessly addicted to the show. But for as much as I can’t get enough of the medical drama, I can’t overlook some of its faults. And though no series is perfect, I’ve come up with a list of what I consider to be “Grey’s” five fatal flaws:
1. Everybody Dies
Speaking of fatal, mastermind creator Shonda Rimes has been known to kill off her characters with a zeal matched only by George R.R. himself. It seems that at some point, every character either kicks the bucket or leaves the show.
I’m not just talking patients here. Patients come and go. Usually when they die, viewers don’t bat an eye, because death is a natural part of any hospital. People fall ill beyond recovery, surgeries go wrong, post-op complications pop up unexpectedly—it happens. No, it’s more than simply the sick people in gurneys to which I’m referring. I’m talking about the characters that have stuck around and blossomed for five seasons, built cozy nests in the deepest caverns of your heart, only to get hit by a bus or die in a fiery plane crash.
Sometimes, though, the patient deaths are just as unbearable, especially when the same character keeps coming back to the hospital over the course of several episodes, revealing a heartwarming story and making you fall in love before he or she flat-lines.
In the end, you’re left losing the ability to ever feel again. Thank you, Shonda, for playing with my emotions like a dog’s chew toy. If you need to find me, I’ll be in therapy for the rest of my life.
2. Off with Their Heads!
As for the characters that get to survive Rimes the Reaper’s unforgiving scythe, they get to be so aggravating at times that you wish someone would’ve dug their graves long ago. Izzie was super irritating and way too emotional for her own good. Needless to say, I’ve never been so happy to see someone get cancer and run away.
Personally, I find Callie Torres unbearable most of the time. She always makes such rash, stupid decisions and she’s ignorant of other people’s feelings. Not to mention she’s also self-centered. I frequently want to smack her upside the head and set her straight. Christina Yang is a piece of work too. She can be really irritating, even though I love her for being such a badass. Yang is as stubborn as they come and she’s just as arrogant as she is hard-headed. She lives in her own little bubble.
And then there’s Meredith Grey. I know she’s all “dark and twisty” and that makes her a really great lead role, but come on, even after she has the perfect husband and kids, she can still be a huge Debbie Downer. Get this woman some antidepressants already.
I understand that the majority of your life sucked, but you need to move past it all, Mer, and count your blessings. And while I think her Eeyore-like mien is essential to her being, I still believe that she needs to grow out of it in order to fully develop as a character.
All right, maybe I wouldn’t wish any of these people dead or even off the show, but they really do piss me off beyond belief. However, something tells me that there’s no reasoning with any of them.
3. Rinse and Repeat
No two storylines are exactly alike on “Grey’s,” but there are some themes that keep rearing their ugly heads all too often.
There’s standing up to homophobic parents of a homosexual patient, Alex attracting all the crazy chicks, Christina sleeping with Owen again after they break up for the millionth time, Christina getting PTSD after every traumatic event, Christina thinking she knows it all only to find out that she doesn’t—yeah, she doesn’t grow very much as a character—and of course, everyone always dying (sorry, I can’t seem to get over that).
I hate repetition. As a viewer, I want new and exciting ideas to keep me interested. Not the same thing done five different ways.
However, I do have to admit that the characters occasionally acknowledge these recurring events and sometimes poke fun at them. I appreciate self-awareness.
During the plane crash episode, Yang was wondering around screaming, “Why does everyone keep dying??” and I couldn’t stop laughing for a solid ten minutes.
See, Shonda, even Christina thinks you kill people too much.
4. Suspending (Dis)belief
While “Grey’s” has some really great plotlines, it also has some pretty stupid ones.
I usually don’t have a hard time getting sucked into a good dramatic tale. But occasionally, the events that take place on the show are just a little too much to believe.
For starters, am I seriously supposed to believe there are that many disasters in Seattle? Because if so, I am never visiting Washington. Chances are my plane would crash during the biggest storm of all time, then I’d get hit by a bus right before a gunman found me and shot me dead in the face. Oh, and I’d also somehow be lucky enough to survive all of that.
A specific story arc that I found particularly preposterous was the Izzie and Danny Duquette bit.
As if the whole love affair wasn’t bizarre enough, you really want me to believe that she believed she was having sex with a ghost?
I know Izzie had a brain tumor and all, but that just seemed kind of far-fetched, even for this show.
They didn’t even play it off like she thought he was still alive. Shonda somehow thought it was more believable for Izzie to be getting it on with a dead guy. Ew.
5. “Grey’s Anatomy”: The Musical?
Remember that one time “Grey’s” pretended to be “Glee”? Despite my best efforts to block it out of my memory, that totally unnecessary episode is seared into my brain forever.
Clearly, that whole set up was created solely for Sarah Ramirez (Callie Torres), who has an amazing voice.
Everyone else, not so much. I’m pretty sure my ears are still bleeding from Owen’s feeble attempts at singing. Enough said.
Don’t let my criticisms deter you from watching “Grey’s Anatomy,” though. I just love the show so much that I can’t help but be a little critical sometimes. I think Shonda Rimes has a great thing going and I want her to strive to make the show the best that it can be. There’s always room for improvement.
