The 10 Most Controversial ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Episodes, Ranked

Whether you love it or hate it, there is no denying Grey’s Anatomy has always been, and will always be, a hot topic show. But considering the sheer number of seasons it has under its belt, it should come as no surprise that it has its fair share of controversies.

A lot of the controversy happened behind the scenes, but there was a lot that happened on screen as well, and there are episodes and storylines that simply haven’t aged well among fans of the show. With that in mind, let’s take a look at the episodes and storylines that have garnered the most criticism and rank them accordingly. From awkward plot twists to questionable character arcs, there’s plenty to discuss as we reflect on the show’s evolution and the impact it has had on its audience.

10. “Fear (of the Unknown)”

Season 10, Episode 24 (2014)

A pretty widely agreed-upon opinion is that fans don’t like the character of Leah (Tessa Ferrer), and that was made even more so when she sparked up a brief romance with Arizona (Jessica Capshaw) during her split from Callie (Sara Ramirez). But despite her not being a particularly likable character, she did spark a pretty important change in the hospital: Grey’s no fraternization policy.

After a particularly uncomfortable surgery with Callie, Leah and Arizona’s relationship is outed, and Callie starts refusing to teach her and begins treating her differently. This prompts Leah to file a sexual harassment claim. Arizona initially believes the claim to be against her, but it is against Callie for allowing her and Arizona’s relationship to get in the way of her teaching capabilities.

9. “Damage Case”

Season 2, Episode 24 (2006)

Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey) may be called McDreamy, but he’s anything but, and this Season 2 episode proves it. After Meredith (Ellen Pompeo) confides in him about sleeping with George (T.R. Knight), he shames her for it and insinuates that she sleeps around, bringing up the vet she was dating as well.

Rather than taking his insult, Meredith tells him, “You don’t get to call me a whore,” and rightfully points out that she was all in with him, but he chose Addison (Kate Walsh) over her, so she is allowed to date other people. Ultimately, Meredith and Derek reconcile and end up together (until his death, that is), but this is such an icky moment to look back on with them.

8. “Undo”

Season 13, Episode 1 (2016)

In Grey’s Anatomy‘s Season 12 finale, Jo (Camilla Luddington) turned down Alex’s (Justin Chambers) proposal because she’s already married and living under an assumed identity. She drunkenly confides this in Deluca (Giacomo Gianniotti), who helps her get home and into bed. Of course, that’s the moment that Alex arrives home, seeing his girlfriend crying with Deluca standing over top of her.

Alex mistakes the situation and, in a fit of anger, beats Deluca nearly to death. It was so bad that Deluca nearly lost his vision. He went on to press charges against Alex, which he eventually revoked to protect Jo, but it’s a haunting moment in the show’s history, and a stain on Alex’s character. It’s certainly a controversial moment, because even though Alex believed he was helping Jo in the moment, he very nearly killed Deluca, and it’s hard to get past that.

7. “In the Midnight Hour”

Season 5, Episode 9 (2008)

Izzie (Katherine Heigl) is a controversial character on her own, but her relationship with Denny (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) was a high point for the series, even if it was also quite controversial and should have cost her medical license. But he died, so fans made peace with the fact they’d never see him again. Until Denny showed up in Season 5, confusing not only audiences but Izzie herself. Turns out she had a brain tumor and was hallucinating Denny, which was a cool twist, but again, a controversial one for one very specific reason.

If the show had just kept it at Izzie’s tumor presenting as her seeing Denny, then it would have gone over a lot better. Because it was a clear sign that something wasn’t okay. But the show decided to double down and make Izzie have sex with ghost Denny, and that was just too strange for even the diehard Izzie and Denny shippers to let slide.

6. “Hope for the Hopeless”

Season 8, Episode 12 (2012)

Ask any Grey’s Anatomy fan who their least favorite character is, and you’ll likely hear the answer “Owen” (Kevin McKidd), and for good reason. It seems as though with every passing season, he gets worse and worse. He’s misogynistic, he’s baby-crazed, he’s controlling, the list goes on. And yet the show kept Cristina (Sandra Oh) tethered to him for so long, despite her being the pinnacle of independence. The moment that fans really turned on Owen was when Cristina fell pregnant with his baby and decided to have an abortion. She made it clear to him from the get-go that she did not want children, and despite his wanting them, he stayed with her anyway. So he was vehemently against her getting an abortion, but she got one anyway, because it is ultimately her decision.

They sweep it under the rug at first, but it comes out in an explosive argument at a birthday party where Owen accuses Cristina of killing their baby in front of all of their friends. It’s a controversial episode because Cristina should never be criticized for her choice, let alone by her partner, who knew her stance on children. It just put into perspective how wrong the couple was for one another, and how awful of a person Owen could be, even to the woman he supposedly loves.

5. “Wish You Were Here”

Season 5, Episode 11 (2009)

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In Season 5, the doctors are faced with a dilemma of both morals and ethics when a death row inmate is brought into the hospital seeking urgent medical care. Derek doesn’t want to treat him due to his father having been murdered as a child, and the culprits never being caught. Meanwhile, Meredith opts to treat him like a human being, despite his crimes.

Another dilemma faced is that the man, William Dunn (Eric Stoltz), finds out that a child needs an organ transplant, and gets it in his head that he could be a donor, if only the doctors allow him to die in the hospital and not by lethal injection back in prison. And for the briefest moment, Bailey (Chandra Wilson) asks Derek to let him die on the table, so that she can save her own patient, but ultimately decides against it. It’s a fascinating episode because you really don’t know which way it’s going to go at any moment, and it’s a controversial one for that very reason.

3. “Song Beneath the Song”

Season 7, Episode 18 (2011)

The actual storyline behind the infamous Grey’s Anatomy musical episode is strong. It picks up directly after the previous episode, when Callie and Arizona get into a car accident that results in a pregnant Callie being thrown through the windshield. It’s a classic disaster episode in the show’s run, and it has all the makings of greatness (Kate Walsh‘s Addison Montgomery even returns to deliver the baby!). Still, the show decided to make it a musical episode, which wasn’t the best choice.

What results is the most skippable episode in the show’s run. Not many of the cast members can sing, which makes the whole thing feel awkward. And given the tone of the show and the particular storyline unfolding, it was not a comfortable experience overall. It’s much more of a guilty pleasure episode, because while it is ultimately important to the overall show, it’s certainly a controversial watch among fans.

2. “How to Save a Life”

Season 11, Episode 21 (2015)

Killing off one of the biggest and most popular characters on your show is never going to go over well, especially when said character is Derek Shepherd. Even more so when you have him narrate his own death episode and then die from a head injury despite being a neurosurgeon. The whole thing is incredibly tragic. But it’s the aftermath that is the worst.

Meredith, Derek’s grieving wife, handles everything so poorly afterward. And look, it’s understandable. She just lost her husband suddenly, but she doesn’t think to call his sisters, his mother, his friends, no one. And there was time to do so. He was brain-dead, but he was still on life support, meaning there was time to call and say goodbye. But she didn’t. Instead, the show focused solely on Meredith and made it seem as though only she was affected by Derek’s death when that just wasn’t the case.

1. “Leave a Light On”

Season 16, Episode 16 (2020)

Grey’s Anatomy is not afraid to write off characters, whether it be by killing them off or simply having them move on to other things. The latter was the choice for Alex Karev when actor Justin Chambers decided he wanted to leave the show, but with the way the show did it, it may have been better if Alex just died.

Instead of getting a proper and satisfying send-off like, say, Cristina Yang, Alex doesn’t say goodbye to any of his friends and colleagues. He doesn’t even tell his wife that he’s leaving. Instead, he leaves them all letters and disappears into the night to go be with his ex-wife and their children that she had sometime over the last ten years. It’s a baffling decision for such a well-liked character, and it completely ruined the development he had over the years.