Grey’s Anatomy: Why Every Main Character Who Was Killed Off???
Grey's Anatomy has said goodbye to many main characters, and some of them were, unfortunately, killed – here's every one of them.
- Grey’s Anatomy has a reputation for killing off its main characters, leaving fans unsatisfied with their endings.
- The characters who have died on Grey’s Anatomy were often close to the protagonist, Meredith Grey.
- Some characters, like George O’Malley, Lexie Grey, and Mark Sloan, were killed off due to behind-the-scenes conflicts or actors wanting to explore other projects.
Grey’s Anatomy has gained a reputation for killing some of its main (and most beloved) characters instead of giving them satisfying endings, so who dies in Grey’s Anatomy? Grey’s Anatomy follows the basic premise of medical dramas, focusing on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they balance their professional and personal lives, which more often than not overlap and create a lot of drama inside and outside Seattle Grace Hospital (now Grey Sloan Memorial Hospital). Grey’s Anatomy is led by Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo), who started her journey as an intern at Seattle Grace Hospital alongside other characters who went on to become audience favorites.
Of the group of interns from Grey’s Anatomy season 1, Meredith is the only one who continues to be part of the show, as all her closest friends have left the series – and most of them ended up being who dies on Grey’s Anatomy. Grey’s Anatomy has become infamous for going on the “easy” route and killing characters when their time on the show is over, and only some lucky few have been given satisfying endings where they got to keep on living. Unfortunately, all of those characters who were killed off were very close to Meredith – from friends to family members and even her husband.
George O’Malley – Season 6
George O’Malley (T.R. Knight) was the first of many major Grey’s Anatomy deaths, and his demise was quite tragic. George struggled to find his path and when he seemed to have finally found it as a trauma surgeon, he suddenly decided to join the U.S. Army in Iraq. Richard Webber gave him the last day off, so he could spend time with his family, but on his way home, he jumped in front of a bus to save a woman’s life. George was left severely disfigured, to the point where the doctors couldn’t recognize him.
It wasn’t until he traced “007” (one of his nicknames) on Meredith’s hand that they knew who they were trying to save. Unfortunately, George’s brain swelled during surgery, and he was declared brain-dead, becoming the first major character in terms of who dies on Grey’s Anatomy. Behind the scenes, Knight left due to a “gradual breakdown of communication”, Rhimes reportedly discouraging him from coming out, and him not being comfortable with where George’s story was going. Knight did return as George in Grey’s Anatomy season 17 during Meredith’s COVID hallucinations, which was more than a kind gesture on Knight’s part.
Lexie Grey – Season 8
Meredith’s half-sister, Lexie Grey (Chyler Leigh), also became one of the people who dies on Grey’s Anatomy, and to make it worst, it was during one of the most traumatic events in the series. In season 8, Meredith, Derek Shepherd (Patrick Dempsey), Cristina Yang (Sandra Oh), Mark Sloan (Eric Dane), Arizona Robbins (Jessica Capshaw), and Lexie were on their way to assist with the surgery of conjoined twins at a hospital in Boise when their plane crashed. Lexie was crushed by a piece of the plane, injuring her pelvis, legs, and left arm, and died minutes after being found.
However, there was enough time for Mark to say goodbye to her, and he stayed by her side until her last breath, assuring her that he loved her. Unlike other cases where the decision was based on behind-the-scenes conflict, Leigh’s exit from Grey’s Anatomy was because she decided it was time to close Lexie’s arc and spend more time with her family. Like George O’Malley, Lexie also reappeared in Grey’s Anatomy season 17 for Meredith’s coma hallucinations to remind Meredith that she’s allowed to enjoy her life, despite everything going on.
Mark Sloan – Season 9
Another character who dies on Grey’s Anatomy as a consequence of the previously-mentioned plane crash was Mark Sloan. With the help of Cristina, who realized he had a cardiac tamponade and drained the fluid, Mark was able to survive until they were rescued, but his health continued to deteriorate. It was later revealed in Grey’s Anatomy season 9 premiere episode that Mark was on life support, and as determined by his will, the machines were turned off.
Mark died with Derek and Callie Torres (Sandra Ramirez) by his side. As for why Eric Dane left Grey’s Anatomy, he revealed he saw an opportunity to leave the show as he was already interested in other projects. Dane did reprise the role of Mark in Grey’s Anatomy season 17 when he appears in Meredith’s “dreams” and lets her know that he’s always watching over Callie, Arizona, and his daughter.
Derek Shepherd – Season 11
One of the saddest and also most criticized Grey’s Anatomy deaths is Derek Shepherd’s. Meredith and Derek were the show’s main couple, but that came to an end in season 11 when Derek died and left not only Meredith but also fans with a broken heart. After a lot of trouble in their marriage for different reasons, Derek decided to move back to Seattle from DC to be with his family, but he had to go back to DC to resign. On his way there, he got into a car accident, and after a lot of complications, he couldn’t be saved.
Meredith made the hard decision of removing him from life support, and so Grey’s Anatomy viewers said goodbye to “McDreamy”. The reasons behind Dempsey’s departure from Grey’s Anatomy are a combination of him feeling it was time for him to leave and on-set conflicts with Rhimes, Pompeo, and the rest of the cast. Nevertheless, Derek was one of the many characters who dies on Grey’s Anatomy only to have a special cameo in season 17. Appearing in three installments, he sees Meredith on the beach during her dream, and the two talk about their family.
Andrew DeLuca – Season 17
The most recent main cast member who dies on Grey’s Anatomy is Andrew DeLuca (Giacomo Gianniotti). DeLuca became one of Meredith’s love interests, and he was in a constant battle with his mental health, showing signs of mania just like his father. His mental health deteriorated in season 16, to the point where Miranda Bailey (Chandra Wilson) didn’t believe him when he told her about a patient who was the victim of human trafficking. DeLuca decided to investigate the case all by himself, and while doing so, he was stabbed by an unknown assailant.
Although he seemed to be on the way to recover, he suffered a cardiac tamponade and went into DIC, and he eventually passed away. He also convened with Meredith on the beach during her coma in Grey’s Anatomy season 17, thanking Meredith for being a constant source of inspiration for him. Gianiotti’s exit from Grey’s Anatomy was planned from the beginning, as showrunner Krista Vernoff stated (via Looper). “I think that he went out fighting for what he believed in. And he was through his mental health crisis. He’d become a very productive member of the hospital staff. And he wasn’t going to let this woman walk away again,” Vernoff said.
