Meredith Grey has seen tragedy after tragedy during her time on Grey's Anatomy, however, some instances manage to stand out as the worst.
In addition to enthralling medical cases and dramatic romantic relationships, Grey's Anatomy is marked by its central character's constant misfortunes, particularly Meredith Grey. The long-lasting and award-winning medical drama explores the personal and professional lives of surgeons in Seattle as they build their careers and work to climb the surgical food chain to become the best of the best. The intriguing characters with larger-than-life personalities are part of what makes the show so memorable and successful, and Meredith Grey has served as a paramount example of this.
Meredith has been central to the show's plot, as viewers have seen her mature and grow over many years. While her life is rich, thanks to a thriving medical career that she always dreamed of and a beautiful family, it is undeniable that Meridith Grey has seen more tragedy than almost any other character on TV. As Meredith now moves to Boston and leaves Seattle, ahead of Grey's Anatomy season 20, hopefully, her bad luck does not come along with her.
10.Meredith Opened Her Heart To Derek, Only To Find Out He Was Still Married
Season 1, Episode 9, "Who's Zooming Who?"
One of the most captivating aspects of Grey's Anatomy is Meredith and Derek's relationship timeline, which was filled with ups and downs. Soon after beginning their relationship, a heartbreaking bombshell was dropped - Derek had been married to Addison the whole time. Given how difficult it was for Meredith to open her heart to Derek in the first place and the fact that she had just shared with him the details of her mother's declining health, this was a terrible thing to have happened. It damaged her newfound growth in the trust department and came at a horrible time, given that she was navigating her mother having Alzheimer's.
9.Meredith's Mother Having Alzheimer's & Not Knowing If She Would Get It Too
Season 3, Episode 17, "Some Kind of Miracle"
It is revealed from the pilot episode that Meredith's highly intelligent and renowned surgeon mother, Ellis, was suffering from Alzheimer's. In season 3, episode 17, "Some Kind of Miracle", Ellis dies from the disease, leaving Meredith constantly on edge about her own future. Given that Alzheimer's can be hereditary, Meredith expresses multiple times that she is extremely worried about having it, even going so far as telling Lexie that she might have "babies with Alzheimer's".
The worry never goes away for Meredith and even passes on to her daughter, Zola. At the beginning of Grey's Anatomy's season 19, viewers learn that Zola has been suffering from panic attacks. She is seen having one during a school presentation as she thinks about the possibility of her mother and aunt dying from Alzheimer's. This entire storyline placed a lot of challenges for Meredith, as it plagued her with a deep sense of fear that follows her through her life and has even passed down to her children. The only upside is that it has motivated her to pursue research in the field.
8.One Of Meredith's Best Friends, George, Dies & She Is The One To Discover It
Season 6, Episode 1, "Good Mourning"
The first of multiple horrific things to happen to Meredith in Grey's Anatomy season 6 was George O'Malley, one of her best friends, dying. George had enlisted in the army to become a trauma surgeon, and on his way home to spend time with his family before officially joining, he saves a woman who is about to be hit by a bus. He does so by jumping in front of the bus himself, which causes him to sustain horrific injuries that completely alter his face to the point of non-recognition.
Given his condition, he is rushed to Seattle Grace as a "John Doe." George eventually dies with no proper identification. Meredith is the one to discover his identity as he uses his fingers to write "007" on her palm, a nickname given to him by his friends before he dies. Not only was George's death difficult for Meredith, but the fact that it was relayed to her in such a shocking manner only made it worse.
7.Meredith's Husband Getting Shot In Front Of Her
Season 6, Episode 23, "Sanctuary"
During a two-part special in season 6, a patient named Gary Clark goes on a shooting spree at the hospital after his beloved wife dies under Derek's care. Out for revenge, Gary shoots Derek, and a pregnant Meredith witnesses the entire thing. She then must stand by as her best friend, Cristina, has to perform a life-saving operation on Derek and, during it, Gary returns to stop the surgery from happening.
All of the stress causes Meredith to miscarry as Derek is being operated on. Although Derek lives, this is one of the most awful moments for Meredith, as she has to undergo extreme duress as she waits to see if her husband will make it out alive and has to grieve the loss of her baby. To add insult to injury, Meredith finds out later that she has a hostile uterus, making it difficult for her to get pregnant again. She then gets on fertility drugs, which almost makes her go blind, so she has to get off of them. The writers certainly dealt Meredith bad card after card in this regard
6.Meredith Is Involved In A Plane Crash And Loses Her Sister
Season 8, Episode 24, "Flight"
The plane crash episode is one of Grey's Anatomy's most tragic, resulting in the loss of multiple characters and causing serious trauma for others. Meredith, in particular, suffered a great deal as a result, ultimately losing her sister, Lexie. In addition to the loss of the sister she only came to know a few years prior, Meredith also suffered from severe plane-related anxiety following the incident. Having Meredith experience the horrific crash but also lose her sister was just too much to put on one character.
5.Meredith's Best Friend, Cristina, Moves To Switzerland
Season 10, Episode 24, "Fear of The Unknown"
Despite all of the extremely terrible things that have happened to Meredith, at least she had her best friend and "person" by her side through it all. That was until Cristina moved to Switzerland after her ex-boyfriend, Preston Burke, offered her a job as the head of a hospital there. Cristina was Meredith's rock and source of emotional support, with the two even "dancing it out" when tragedy struck.
To see her being taken away from Meredith after Sandra Oh decided to leave Grey's Anatomy was gut-wrenching, especially because it meant that she wasn't around when she needed her the most, after the loss of Derek. It also continued the pattern of people abandoning Meredith. And, in the end, the person who took her place in terms of being that support person for her, Alex, left too.
4.Meredith's Husband & Soulmate, Derek, Is Killed In A Car Crash
Season 11, Episode 21, "How to Save a Life"
One of the most devastating moments of the show for Meredith was when the love of her life, Derek, died in a tragic accident. He arrived at the scene of a car crash and assisted the victims, saving a total of four people before ultimately returning to his car. As he begins to drive, his phone rings, and when he reaches to pick it up, his car is hit by a semi-trailer. He is rushed to the hospital, where he dies due to poor medical care. His doctor did not run a CT scan, which proved to be a fatal mistake.
Meredith is then forced to deal with the loss of her soulmate and the father of her children. She also learns that she is having another baby, meaning she has to go through her pregnancy alone. It is too much for her to be at the house that Derek so lovingly built for the two of them, causing her to take her children and run away. Although described as a necessary decision by Grey's Anatomy's creator Shonda Rhimes, given how much Meredith loved Derek and the strength it took for her to open her heart to him after so much trauma, it was a terrible thing to kill him off like that.
3.Meredith Is Forced To Work With The Doctor Involved In Her Husband's Death
Season 12, Episode 5, "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner"
As the episode title suggests, one of the Grey's Anatomy characters was in for the surprise of a lifetime in the form of an unexpected dinner guest. Given that Grey's Anatomy tends to dish it all out to Meredith, it's no surprise that she was on the receiving end of this twist. While hosting a dinner party at her home, in walks one of the surgeons who was present the night of Derek's accident, Penny Blake.
Although Penny tried her best to get her superior to get Derek a CT, Meredith blamed her for his death and was deeply upset that she was at her home. Regardless of whether her anger towards her was justified, it was horrible that she was reminded of that terrible night at what was supposed to be a happy affair. Not only does she have to see her during this party, but she is reminded of her loss every day when Penny starts to work at Grey Sloan Memorial. On top of that, Meredith has to train Penny and try to put her feelings aside to remain a good teacher to her.
2.Meredith Gets Attacked By A Patient
Season 12, Episode 9, "The Sound of Silence"
Despite all of the absurd that went on in the walls of the hospital, such as the aforementioned shooting, Meredith viewed it as a safe place. That is why it is so unfortunate that Meredith was attacked in the hospital while treating a patient. The patient was suffering from post-seizure hyperaggression attacks, and as Meredith was trying to help him, he threw her across the room. She ends up getting so injured that her jaw gets displaced. What makes the situation even worse is that when her children come to visit her in the hospital, they are startled by her appearance and are scared to go near her.
1.Meredith's Boyfriend's Missing Fiancé Returns
Season 15, Episode 20, "The Whole Package"
Considering all that Meredith has been through, it is surprising that she managed to open her heart up again to the possibility of love. In typical form, she begins a relationship with fellow Grey's Anatomy doctor Nathan Riggs. The two's relationship comes to a screeching halt, however, after his fiancé, Megan Hunt returns. Megan, who is also a surgeon, has been missing for 10 years, and when she returns, Nathan is overcome with emotion and goes back to her.
While it is completely understandable why Nathan chose to be with Megan, it is still heartbreaking to see Meredith lose another partner throughout Grey's Anatomy. After she worked so hard to be open to the idea of romance in her life again, it is devastating that the man she chose to be with ended up choosing someone else. It is also especially sad that she witnesses Nathan get to be with his one true love again when she knows she won't ever get that chance.